And a week on a story unfolded…….with an unhappy ending….
I have not been online for about a week; I have a new addition a Labrador aged 5……
I decided after a few months, ‘older’ dogs were not easy to re-home, after all the checklists I made, I could be a responsible dog owner, 2 hours work in the am and 2 in the pm…Plenty of time for walks.
I saw online a Labrador aged 5, due to a house move now living on a barge the owners decided they thought it unfair on their dog’s lifestyle……no walks…
I made a phone call, a few phone calls later I decided I’d like to meet the dog and owners , a 20 mile trip from my home, their barge was red…
Last Sunday I asked my Mother and Father if they would come with me……..
They were moored on a river near a small village.. …..
We drove up to a beautiful Inn by the river; the day was awful, raining and gloomy….. We saw a few canal boats moored up, but not a red one?
I called the owners they told me to look way beyond the Inn to the left, we all stood on a small bridge, on tiptoes shuffling about…in the rain and getting soaked!!!….Mother bless her had worn shoes and her feel were drenched!!
The owner got of the barge and waved..Just catching a glimpse of him ~ he said he would walk to meet us with his wife and the dog…
In the distance we saw them trundling thru the long grass and the dog on a lead…..
We met, the dog was so friendly, what a greeting…. went back to their barge….and chatted about the likes and dislikes of the dog…. carrots were her treat!!….
She was micro chipped all up to date on her injections…I decided with the owner’s approval to take her for a week to see how she and I adjusted..And they agreed ~ handing us over the documents for her injections and her microchip form…. a huge bag of food and 2 bowls ….
We drove home she was the perfect traveller her behaviour in the home a 110%…..would sit, stay and all the expectations of a Labrador…neighbours came over, tail wagging, the most gentle dog ever… I have to say as a dog for the home so perfect…didn’t go upstairs and her 1st night was no pining at all.
Next morning I take her for a walk, at 5.45 am, her road sense was terrible, but no problem I would train her…
At 10.00 am in the garden I tried to lay ball ~ nothing, she just stared at it…. I took her to the park, kept her on a lead,…..another dog came up wagging his tail…my dog was on a lead…….in an instant my dog jumped up on its hind legs, bared its teeth, her ackles up and was wanting to attack the other dog….I pulled her back and held her collar…….the owner of the dog was very shaken as I was…..at that moment I had no control of her…. I was so alarmed by her behaviour I took her back to the car and came home…..in the home perfect pet…..I attempted again at 5.00pm to take her out again….this time a little more aware of the earlier incident…
Dogs were playing……she looked up and almost dragged me across the park…met with the dogs repeating the same behaviour earlier…something was not right….I took her out for 5 days and each time her behaviour was the same, I was getting more afraid each time and walked where no dogs could be seen…it was very very frightening today my father and I went to his local park……getting out of the car a mother and her children were approaching us with a dog…I sat her down and tried to usher her into the car……..I just made it, my dog was going crazy…….the Mother walked by and said you need to put that dog on a muzzle….I felt so ashamed, irresponsible and embarresed…
I called the owners and explained the incidents asking if this was normal……did you not see her muzzle in the dog’s food bag?..no…I quickly went to the food bag and buried right at the bottom I pulled a rubber full faced muzzle….something caged bear would wear, a Hannibal Lector mask….it was an awful looking muzzle…the dog stood there, wagged her tail, I put the muzzle on the floor, the dog was trying to put it on!!!…I said to the owner I was not told about this…..and I’m not sure I’m strong enough to hold her back….I will bring her back, we don’t want her they said keep her….she is a good house dog, but don’t take her for walks…or just take her to a homing centre, the money we were asking for use it for the costs you will occur to do with her what you please…
I told them I am not the owner of the dog……and they hung up…and would not answer the phone….
…I called the microchip company and she was listed as a dangerous unsociable dog and must not go without her lead or muzzle…and must be handled by a strong owner….
I called the place where they were moored and asked if they knew the owners of a lab….yes he said she has bitten other dogs and he said they were told to have her put down….he gave me a number of a woman who had tried to work with the dog and owners….I called her and she said on no account should she be taken out of the home, she is a danger when any dog is around….and was told she should have been put down, I was also told there is a possibility she could attack children….basically the dog I have does not got a good behaviour record outside of the home…
Arrangements were made by the lady I spoke to have her collected on Monday she said I MUST NOT take her out…….the owners can be traced with the microchip…
What a risk I have been taking….
Looking back?….the barge boat moored so far away from anyone else, on the lead meeting us, not playing with a ball….
pet in a home…I cannot fault her
Do I feel sad and guilty? You bet absolutely 110%…..
🙁
debz
xx
Awww Debz Im so sorry….and you were so excited over this new addition to. I guess when you get an older dog it takes a while to learn their bad habits where with a pup you are the teacher from the beginning. There will be the perfect dog for you out there somewhere though….young or older….:-)
Thanks faye……the lady who will be collecting her said she will attempt to do what she can to stop her behaviour……this is a place where they take labs in…she said sadly if noone takes her if she doesn’t stop the inevitable will happen….they will not let me take her back if she is cured as it may trigger her off…..
I just hope she can be cured she will be the perfect dog….if not I hope someone who lives in the middle of the country like a farm will give her a chance….
Thank goodness for people like the lady who is willing to try and give her help…
Oh debz I am so sorry my friend, and this because her owners did not socialize or train her. Tears here for you and the dog. You know debz the puppy stage is hard and fun. When the vet first came to check charlie over the day after I got her she said you can teach this dog anything and we have. She is 4 next week and just a joy. Maybe a puppy you can teach your way could be the way to go when and if you are ready to give it another go. My heart goes out to you for your difficult week xxxxx
Debz, have you thought of contacting the Dog Whisperer? He has a TV program and he breaks dogs of bad habits the gentle way. It’s a thought … I’ve watched his program and he has done wonders with dogs that have terrible behaviour habits. Just a thought …
Debz… OMG.. what a terrible experience. I owned a Big Red Lab, raised it from a pup. Registered and all. His name was Mac. I truly loved that dog , but after 3 dog obedience classes, a terrible run with a stomach problem that cost well over a thousand dollars, a shock collar, and more TLC, we made the decision to find a different home for him. Put an ad in the paper and was VERY honest about his wild behavior. And let me tell you he was wild, not agressive just had a hard time controlling him. We had several calls and many stopped to see him, but I was very selective on who took him. Then a man came with two sons, I watch them play and play… Mac loved them!!!! He went home with them, but I asked the man to call me or bring him back if it didn’t work out. He called me about 2 months later and said that Mac was a wonderful dog and they just loved him…. Happy endings can be found, and I hope this dog can make it too.
Oh debz I am so so sorry – what an awful experience, and how dare those owners do that to you, or anyone else for that matter. Please don’t let this experience put you off having a dog, they are such very special companions. If you decide to try again, I hope you get a dog who will make you as happy as my Phoebe does me. Take care xoxoxoxoxox
Oh Debz am so sorry to read what happened to you, it made me cry reading it. A similar thing happened to me a few years ago now, though my dog was from a rehoming centre who didnt happen to mention that he had already bitten. I kept him for around 3 months, and he was lovely, as long as no one unknown came to the house. After he bit badly for the second time he had to go back to the centre, where he was put to sleep. My heart was breaking, I begged them to let me keep him, promising to take him to a doggy psychologist, but it wasn’t to be. The vet at the centre said to me that in his short life, he had known love…and that is what comforted me in the months to come. I have Dylans photo up in my lounge along with his other departed brothers and I still love him dearly, Have never completely got over the fact that I couldn’t save him…so I know exactly how you are feeling right now. The blame however rest securely on the shoulders of the previous owners, who did a wicked thing to you, and to the dog. Thinking of you, love Annie xx
Taking on an older dog is something you have to do very carefully. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you don’t.
I have had 4 over the years and all were good as gold, but I have been lucky. Unfortunately you never really know what you’re taking on, even if you think you have full information.
If you want an older dog, which I applaud because there are so many out there needing a loving home, I suggest you go to one of the rescue places. They usually assess the dogs and will give you honest information about the dog.
So sorry to hear you had a bad experience, but don’t let it put you off.
Thank you all for you welcoming comments, today will be my last day with her…….
She has been the perfect house visiter, affectionate, welcoming and loyal during the past week…
However there is another side to her of which I was not made aware of……having spoken to the lady who is to collect her, I was told that a vet had told the owners to have her put to sleep…….
I have no idea why they let me walk into the unknown with her, maybe they did not want the responsibility of doing it themselves, by handing her over to me I was the person who had to assume responsibility for her ‘outcome’…even tho I’m not the legal owner…
I have no idea what will happen to the owners and if they will ever be traced…in the UK with all the rivers we have by now they could be almost anywhere….even a barge going at 4 mph they could hide in wates where noone would find them….
Has it put me off?….now that is a difficult question…..at the moment I have put on hold looking so maybe in a few months even a year, who knows?
I asked all the questions I wanted, there is no way I would have known what irresponsible the owners were…
At the end of the day, she is a dog tho, and at the end of the day no matter what breed of dog it is I used to ‘assume’ certain breeds were better behaved more than others…I will not do that again…
I phoned a labrador society asking about her behaviours and he told me you would be amazed at the amount of midnght lab dog walkers….and the amount of breeders who breed dogs in order to command £500.00 a dog…6 pups a nice earner….some breeders use the same bitch for breeding 4/5 times and this is where some problems occur…I’m not saying all and not saying this is what happened to the dog I was gong to take on…….but amazing what you learn…..and thank goodness there are people out there who do work with dogs and are able to ‘try’ and get them on the right track….
Once again thank you…..
debz
debz i have trained dogs since 1964 and i just wish you had asked me before choosing one and i would have explained all the pitfalls there are likely to be. good luck in choosing another one but in my opinion…you would be better with a puppy no matter how hard to begin with. i am so sorry this has happened to you and i really feel for you 🙁
sorry to hear about your heartbreak,debz…my g-sons had a lab and he was wonderful..and boy did he love his gramma..lol..sadly he started having seizures when he was about 3 years old and passed away during one..he was the cutest little pup..first time i met him he just about pulled my g-sons arm out of its socket..lol..buddy just wanted to say hi to his gramma..lol..taught him to sit and stay in no time flat..pups, like children, are happier when they know they have limits..on the other side of the coin is my son’s lab..she was huge and very very friendly..their corgi-mix ,who also was crazy over his gramma,didn’t like it when she got too rowdy with me and would attack her..so i’d end up in the middle of a skirmish..lol..but she would settle down after the growling and snapping was over..they just wouldn’t take the time to train her..and i knew ,and so it seems snoopy did too,that she could easily knock me down and possibly hurt me..in the end they moved to no-pets apartment and had to give both dogs away..snoopy saved his new owners life..she had fallen and was unable to get up and her husband was out in the yard..snoopy kept jumping against the door and barking till he caught the man’s attention and he came to see what snoopy was fussing about..and snoopy showed him..all ended well..he’s a great dog and he’s dearly loved by his owners..i don’t feel that a dog should be judged by his breed entirely..don’t give up on finding a good and sweet dog,debz..he or she is waiting out there someplace waiting for you..in the mean time..how about getting a cat?..lol
Dearest debz, so sorry this is your last day with her and so sorry what the owners did to you both. Karma will come.
I have read that the border collie is tops in intelligence and poodles next. I have had both from puppies and both were wonderful and easy and eager to train. Only thing with a border collie is if you don’t give it a job it will find one its self lol. oh and poodles, or mine at least, likes to run the household, actually she does it very well! Little power struggles in the beginning, like biting me when I tried to get into bed with her dad and her. put her on the floor, she jumped up and bit me again, so it was off to the laundry for her where she cried and whimpered for twenty minutes. When she stopped I let her out and put her on a rug at the end of the bed, said stay, and she did, no more biting mum lol. She is 4 next week
Debz no words…I had a similar thing happen to me…in the end i had to have the dog put down
XXXXXXXX M
Thank you all xxxx