I'm going soft - advice needed

TigerTim

Hi All,

This is my first posting on "Animals & Pets". We came back from hols last week to find a beautiful small brindle coloured Collie stray in our front garden. She created an impression as she had shredded a bag of nappies all over the lawn. She has a beautiful face but is absolutely terrified. She must have been treated very badly. She is very afraid of people & her tail was buried firmly between her legs. I fed her for a few days & after a bit of attention she used to come closer & wag the tail for a few seconds. My kids were also mad about her. A neighbour must have reported her as a stray as the 'Pound' picked her up on Wednesday. I called to the 'Pound' yesterday to enquire about her. She's about 1 year old, very quite temperment (no way aggressive when captured) but must have been beaten & treated badly. As far as I can gather, they will keep her for a while & see if she comes around. If she does, they will look for a home for her, otherwise she will be put down. I have felt very sorry for this dog. I hate seeing animals being mistreated. In my single days, I had a Golden Cocker spaniel for 14 years so know what's involved in keeping a dog.

My problems are.
1.Would she be suitable as a pet?. We also have three young children(7,5&3) At least it would get me out walking!!!!.

2. We do not have a very large garden. I would need to construct a run for her as my mother has an adjoining house & occasionally comes in to our garden. She's in her seventies & not too steady on the pegs so the dog couldn't be loose during the day. The dog could have full access to the enclosed garden at night.

3. Is it unfair to keep a dog like this in a small area. I know she would probably be more suited to the country. The plan would be 2 walks a day but I know from my last dog, this doesn't always happen - rain, tired, other things on etc.

4. Can a dog who has been mistreated be brought back to trusting people again?.

I must be getting soft in my middle age. Normally this wouldn't bother me but she did look so sad. There are a lot of questions there but any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Many Thanks,

Tim.

Toulouse

If you're willing to really work with this dog and give her the extra socialisation and training that she needs well then I'd give it a go. You will have to be every careful with the children though.

My girl was a stray too, absolutely terrifed of everything when we found her at about 9 months old. 2 years later and I'm still working on some of her issues with people but she's an awful lot better than she was and I wouldn't change her for the world. My family love her and couldn't imagine life without her. Once she got over her fear of us and into the household routine we started to see her personality shine through. I know it might be stupid but I do think she loves us all the more for what we did for her and she's the bestest most biddable girl ever.

You will have to think about what happens if it doesn't work out with you and her and what will happen to her then?

TigerTim

Thanks, Toulouse. Have thought about the problems if it didn't work out but not sure how I would handle it. I know the kids would be gutted. This is also holding me back from making a decision.

Thanks,

Tim

Glowing

Hiya, well you and your family could take the attidude that you're 'fostering' him until you find him a permanent home. Take him for a month or two and then assess the situation then. It might not actually work out, and you may find that he'd prefer a home without kids or free reign of the garden etc, then worst case you'll have helped rehome a dog in need, who would other wise have been PTS.

I would try get him out of the pound asap, even if it's to move him on to another foster family, it's not doing him any good in there. If you need help, put up a thread on www.irishanimals.ie or petsireland.invisionzone.com

Good luck!

MsFifers

I think its great you are considering this Tim, and I hope you can manage to bring this dog into your life because you sound like you would give it a v. good home.

Just one word of advice which you probably know already, frightened dogs can be bite-y dogs. Just be sure you have the kids well warned not to try to play with or pet the dog until it is well established into your family. As a child I "adopted" a terrified stray (much to my mother's horror) and he wouldn't let anyone near him at all but was ok at a distance of a couple of feet. As I kept feeding him, he would let me closest, so after a few days I made the mistake of thinking he would let me pet him but when I put my hand out to him I got a bite. The poor fella ended up being put down.

I'm not telling you this story to put you off, but just to let you assess if your kids are at an age where they can understand enough to give the dog time and space to learn to trust again.

The dog that bit me was obviously after a lifetime of abuse, and could only expect violence when someone put their hand out to him. Maybe that would have changed had I given him a few months with us, instead of a few days.

BlackCat2008

Hi, you could try contacting http://www.dogsinistress.org/ they rescue dogs from the pounds they may already have there eye on her, if they are willing to rescue her and do some assessments on her they may be able to tell you if she's suitable for your home or best in another. But don't leave it to long to do something they only really give any dog five days or less depending on the pound, some pounds won't even give it a few days to see if a dog will come round once they see that tail between the legs she has even less of a chance, unless some one there has done some home work away from work then they may not even realise collies especially rough collies can be a very nervous dog naturally

I had one that wouldn't walk any were unless I brought a another dog with me or one of the cats tagged along, it tuck about three years for her to walk by her self and even then she'd sit down and refuse to move some times, but if any body got out of line with one of the family she'd warn them of or push them over walls.

The one I have now is more snappy, doesn't like any one near his feet when he's sleeping and insists on sleeping at every one else's feet, he was abused and tin and filty when he came to me he went for me on a few occasions but he has no power in his jaw so I gave him the change to learn right from wrong and the grey hound has put him in his place as well and he's fine now loves every one and loves to play football and loves company. Only if you can give the time and forgive some of the mistakes she will make out of fright is it worth you taking her on she should be aloud to get to know every one but only have one handler until you feel she is safe to be aloud to roam around the garden, house and kids, they other wise have a very gentle yet protective nature towards there families.

It is hard work but well worth the end result if your willing.

peasant

TigerTim wrote: »

4. Can a dog who has been mistreated be brought back to trusting people again?.

Yes, slowly and over time they can. But in my opinion it would need much more integration into the family than you can offer. You're thinking about locking the dog into a run during the day and outside during the night ...with bursts of walkies/cuddles inbetween. That kind of setup isn't ideal even for a "normal" dog ...but one with a history of neglect wouldn't know if it's coming or going. One minute it wouldn't be wanted ...the next minute someone would be walking it or a gaggle of children would want to play with it. That kind of on/off interaction wouldn't really help. A shy dog needs consistency and predictability to "thaw", not blowing hot and cold, if you get what I mean

kerrysgold

I think the dog should be saved either way as she obviously isn't aggressive, just scared. shy/timid doesn't necessarily mean aggressive, I've met a few dogs who were extremely shy/timid but also wouldn't dream of snapping. (would just be wary of you for a while if you accidentally spooked them) would she be living in the house? She'd probably be better off being more involved in the family to give her a chance to get used to being a pet. you could buy her a crate and make it nice and cosy for her so she'd have somewhere of her own to "escape" to if she felt a bit overwhelmed!

fidler23

tim it seems like you have your mind made up about this dog already. I used to work for the ispca and we would be delighted if we came across people as caring towards dogs as you.

If you are worried about the kids I would say to you that she should definately be kept under supervision with them for a period of time, she is young so its unlikely she will develop a problem with them but as the dog is nervous and kids are loud it would be advisable to supervise until you know the dog can be trusted.

As for the problem with the run and your elderly mother in the garden it seems like a logical solutions provided that you do keep bringing her for walks. A pet is also a great way of moulding children into responsible adults.

I will say to ya that most pounds put dogs to sleep after about 7 days so she is on borrowed time at present, as she is shy she is unlikely to be rehomed quickly but the best advice i can give you is to follow your gut on her if you think shes the dog for you and your family keep her if you have even a little bit of fear that she may turn out to be dangerous dont keep her and you will find the right one for you.

i hope this is of some use to ya, good luck with her