Stray dog!!!

shadej

7am this morning my husband who is working on a industrial estate called me saying he found a stray puppy. As he said the dog looked sad and unfed I agreed to go and collect the dog. The dog was filthy, smelly, quite skinny, hungry and very thirsty.
I have now got the dog home and have fed and washed him. I am unsure what to do now. The dog keeps peeing on the floor, god forbid he does a number two.:eek:
We have a cat and they don't seem too playful just yet. I am happy to keep the dog, as my son has taken a shining to him. The problems are, how do I find out if he has had is jabs? He looks about 1 year old to me. Its it dangerous to trust a stray dog of that age with a child? My son is 6 and the dog could bite him if he plays rough. How do I go about training a dog of that age to use the garden? Do I need to report it to anyone, in case he was lost? The dog in my opnion look as though it has been abused, he seems scared and very jumpy, but also very loving and sweet.

gremlin

First well done for collecting the dog and taking him in :T

but I would suggest that before you consider keeping him you take him to a vet to be checked. Then contact animal rescue and other local vets etc. to see if he is maybe a lost pet.

You may think hes been abused but maybe he's so jumpy cos he is young and lost and afraid?

There might be an owner distraught at their pup going missing?

If you do this first and it is definate that he's a stray then you can sit back and spend a lot of love and time quite happily on this pup knowing that hes truly yours.

shadej

Ill call my vet and book and appointment, with a bit of luck he is chipped.
The industrial estate my husband work in is in the middle of nowhere.
I got the impression someone dumped him, but I should be more open to the fact that he just got lost. I will pull out the yellow pages and phone around as I think it would be best for him if he is reunited with his owner.

Any tips on the weeing?

UKTigerlily

The problems are, how do I find out if he has had is jabs? Unless you find it's Owner I don't think you can, the only way I can think of is *maybe* a blood test? The resident Vets here & others will know!

He looks about 1 year old to me. Its it dangerous to trust a stray dog of that age with a child? My son is 6 and the dog could bite him if he plays rough. Always supervise kids & dogs at all times, whether stray or not. Make sure your Son knows how to treat the Pup & when to just leave him alone, I know kids love Pups & will want to be with it all the time! That might be abit overwhelming for the Pup, maybe you could get it a dog cage? The charities may be able to lend you one i'm not sure? They can feel secure in them but never ever use as punishment & never lock it in until it's used to being therte & happy. Again, others will know more

Do I need to report it to anyone, in case he was lost?
I'd definitely take it to the Vet to check for a microchip & check the inside of any collar if it was wearing one, sometimes people write on the inside of the collar also. Try calling all the Vets in the area, they can take the description incase anyone asks & also let you know if anyone's reported one missing. Also any charities (PDSA/RSPCA/Dogs Trust etc) wouldn't hurt to let pet shops etdc know but maybe leave out anything really distinguishing so people can't just say it's theirs.

Well done for taking it in, it's obviously very scared & will appreciate a cozy bed this time of year. I hope the Owner can be found & has simply lost the Pup and not abused it. Good idea to take it for a check up anyway microchip or not. I hope it's reunited with it's Owner & if not it's great you'll home it! You could also call the council to ask where they take stray dogs they collect, the Owner may have called that place?

hellokittygal

Do you have a utility room?
If not the kitchn would do, try and confine the puppy to that room for now and nip to pets at home and purchase some puppy pads, my puppy went straight to them and used them instaed of the floor for a whil till she was trained to go out.
Other then that, all i can suggest is take him.her into your garden every 15 min and then when she/he wees outside praise them up loads.

Good luck.

UKTigerlily

shadej wrote: »

Ill call my vet and book and appointment, with a bit of luck he is chipped.
The industrial estate my husband work in is in the middle of nowhere.
I got the impression someone dumped him, but I should be more open to the fact that he just got lost. I will pull out the yellow pages and phone around as I think it would be best for him if he is reunited with his owner.

Any tips on the weeing?

I'm no dog expert but never tell him off if he goes in the wrong place, praise him when he goes in the right place, offer to take him to where he can go at least hourly or if you see him looking like he needs out. When he goes in the wrong place don't say anything just quietly clean it up with something that won't have the smell linger so he doesn't use the same spot again. Tons of praise when he goes outside or wherever you want him to go. If he's circling, whining, scratching at door etc he's probs ready to go!

suki1964

The vet can give a tire test to check for immunity but that will cost so usually its another full set of jabs

Congrats on your new addition - if YOU are sure you want a pup that is. Any doubts you may have its best to be honest sooner rather then later. Not everyone is up for the disruption a pup causes to family life

Do ring around all the rescues and the council pound just in case hes a stray and someone is searching for him

NEVER leave dog and child together unsupervised. I would say that to anyone no matter how long they have had their pup for.

Toilet training is out every hour on the hour till he goes. When he performs you start teaching him the trigger word - here its "wee wee" lots use "busy" or some sort. Its so that you can teach them to pee on command, I can let my lad out in horrendous weather tell him "wee wee" and he will do what needs to be done and back in again. Same if Im in a rush out the door or something. Once hes been - loads of praise. Basically dont allow your pup to have time to think about using in the house as the toilet, praise all the ones outside, just mop up and ignore the accidents.

If you read through here there is lots of advice on puppys - can be applied to all new to the family home dogs not just 8 week old bundles of fluff

The Perfect Pup by Gwen Bailey is a great reference to new (and old) owners

Oh and if he is a stray and underfed and a bag of bones, dont over feed as you will just make him ill. Feed smaller amounts through out the day. Be prepared for him to wolf it down and maybe even snarl or growl at you if you get close, if hes been scavenging he will have got used to food guarding (it can be trained out of him so dont panic). Make sure you feed a good quality food, dont give milk or dairy products as it goes through them

shadej

Thank you all, the vet has agreed to see him at 3pm and I have taken photos and will email them to all the lost dog places I can find. Ill let you know how the vet goes.

shadej

Thanks Suki1964,
Around this time last year our 8month old puppy was stolen. It took ages to get my son over it and now he has warmed to this dog. But as we have lost a dog I know how hard it can be on the family that lost him so I will do my best to get him home.
If that fails he will have a home here. It was easy to train our dog as we had him from 8 weeks. This dog seems set in his ways. He is very tired and has been sleeping since 8am.

Kerriebaby

contact the local dog warden/vets/pet shops etc he may well have got lost

wickychoo

If, after all search is exhausted, you decide to keep him he shouldn't be too hard to train.Its too soon to tell if he's set in his ways or not and older dogs can be trained, with kindness and patience, to be just as obedient as those trained from a pup (or more so in the case of a friend's Border Terrier pup! :rotfl:). Give the lad a chance, he's obviously been through a lot, so let him relax and learn that life's not scary all the time. By taking him out every hour or so he'll soon start to learn where to pee.

Well done on you and your OH for giving this lad a chance and picking him up:beer: there are people out there who wouldn't do that even.