Neighbour and our dog :(

zaksmum

lisawood78 wrote: »

Hang on, there's no way that dog in the picture above is only 8-10 weeks old. I own Great Danes and they are not that big at 10 weeks, far from it. Op are you sure the dog isn't older than the age you were told? Just doesn't seem quite right to me.
And your neighbour sounds like a prat

Definitely older than that in the picture taken when she first got him. How long was he with the friend OP got him from, who originally got him from the breeder? Puppies can't leave their mums till they are 8 weeks old.

And why did the friend get rid of him?

babysonia

Person_one wrote: »

OP, your dog is lovely, but I have to say he could be at risk of being seized as a pitbull type.

There's no surefire way to defend against this, but what might help is not conforming to any of the stereotypes about pitbull types. So don't train him as a 'guard dog', don't encourage any aggression at all and don't keep him outside. He's 6 months old, turn him into a gentle loving pampered family member.

All dogs are 'guard dogs' to some extent. They will all let you know if someone is coming into your house. The dog doesn't need to be trained to be aggressive to be an effective deterrent, just the fact that there is a big dog in the house will make most burglars move on to a house where there isn't.

Get him in, top priority. Fresh chicken is a great bribe, make inside infinitely more exciting and tempting than outside.

That my main concern he does look alot like the pitbull type. We dont want to lose him thats whyi have been putting up with all these problems and not really reacting. I brought him to the cops when they asked what breed he was as we've been told he is a bullmastiff cross staffy. He just looked at the police woman and went back in the kennel.

I have only just woke up, he kept me awake all night until 9am when i had to let him out and he seems to be loving running around in the garden now. He did snooze off for 10mins though so that is a plus.

babysonia

zaksmum wrote: »

OP did say the dog will bark and BE AGGRESSIVE when he hears the neighbour's voice!

Yes he will but only when the neighbour is in his kitchen talking out of the window. He lives in a top flat so can overlook our garden and Ringo will see him looking over and making 'woofing' noises at him and bark. Otherwise if the man is in his garden talking to the other neighbours there is no problem.

babysonia

zaksmum wrote: »

Definitely older than that in the picture taken when she first got him. How long was he with the friend OP got him from, who originally got him from the breeder? Puppies can't leave their mums till they are 8 weeks old.

And why did the friend get rid of him?

I called teh friend up today after reading all these posts.
She said he was born in december last year she had him till mid april/may so he was 4months old then. So now he is 8months old.

I took him to the vets to get his injections and the vet said the same about age - We also asked the vet to help determin his breed and were told he is definately a cross between a staffy pit and a bull mastiff hence his size which will be of a mastiff and the face which resembels a pitbull.

The friend got rid of him because she does not stay a home every other day and would leave him while she went out so i decided it was either to hand him over to a shelter or keep him for myself.

babysonia

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

I had a rescue dog just like that. He even came with the Scumbag padlock and chain.

He lived indoors, was great with the cats, great with the kids, absolutely 100% trustworthy as any dog can be. The only time he ever growled was when some bloke was trying to talk his way into my home. The bloke quickly disappeared.


He was, however, very vocal, talked all the time. And food motivated. So there had to be a baby gate on the kitchen and the bin was emptied after every meal.


I don't think your one was six months old when you got him, though - nearer nine months, so probably as he was getting to be a bit too big to handle - and too soft to get involved in fighting.



Anyhow, getting him indoors is going to take some work. But it's not impossible. After all, just think from how far away you can hear a dog barking when they're outside - miles - compared to indoors, where it's muffled immediately and cannot carry anywhere near as far. The dog outside WILL be louder and more annoying to even morons like the one you have living next door, compared to being indoors. You just have to put up with more noise.


And no, a staff will not starve himself to death. Allocate him a special space, like the kitchen, with a bed, with a bowl and let him associate it with his home. Everything good happens there. Some people build little dens under the stairs or between cupboards or under the kitchen table for their dogs.

It'll take time and effort, but you could be saving his life by doing it.

Thanks for that i have made him a quiet area near the back door so he can come in to feed.

I have to pick up on the fighting you mentioned. I spoke to my friend and it have been told that this dog may well have been breeded with the intention to dog fight.

The dog breeder has moved away as he was having issues with the police regarding dog fighting and this dog was given to her from a ex boyfriend who was a friend to the breeder. This is breaking my heart as if i had not taken him in he would have been used or trained to fight. I think some of his behavioural problems to stem back to his first home as he wasnt really taken care of as well as a dog should have.

gettingready

OP - how old is he?

How old was he on the photos that are here on the thread?

How old was he when you got him?

You said he is 6 months old now which make him 2 month old on the photos (you said you had him for 4 months) - that is not quite right?

Why did the previous owner pass him onto you?

gettingready

babysonia wrote: »

I called teh friend up today after reading all these posts.
She said he was born in december last year she had him till mid april/may so he was 4months old then. So now he is 8months old.

9 months, coming on to 10 months really.... we are at the end of September now...

OP- is Ringo your first dog?

What kind of support/help do you have with him - your family? Husband? Kids? What age the kids?

babysonia

krlyr wrote: »

I would suggest an APDT trainer or APBC behaviourist to help you transition him from an outdoot to indoor dog
http://www.apdt.co.uk
http://www.apbc.org.uk

Might be worth contacting some of the rescues that deal with ex-puppyfarm dogs, like Many Tears, to see what advice they have on getting a dog used to homelife, becaue they will have experienced it many times themselves.
American based, but this link may help http://www.mchumane.org/RehabilitationofaPuppyMillDog.shtml

At the very least, my priority would be making the dog safe from anything this neighbour may do, whether he does it legally or otherwise. I would suggest an enclosed kennel and run as opposed to a standalone kennel and loose in the garden. The enclosed run will provide shelter even if he prefers to be in the outside area, you could face it away from this neighbour and cover up one side to prevent the dog seeing him, and the neighbour will be unable to throw in any poisoned/baited meat, lean over the fence and claim to have been bitten, make a hole in the fence to let the dog loose, etc.
You can often pick these kennel and runs up off Ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fspt=1&_sadis=50&LH_Distance=BD5%200DX..50&_sacat=0&_fpos=BD5%200DX&_nkw=dog%20run&_sop=1

His kennel is exactly like this:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=dog+kennels&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&biw=1366&bih=559&tbm=isch&tbnid=V8GvVVcPDy-htM:&imgrefurl=http://www.champfleurieestate.co.uk/acatalog/info_Dogkennelsmall.html&docid=UX5vqOqFN0XiFM&imgurl=http://www.champfleurieestate.co.uk/acatalog/dogkennelsL.JPG&w=350&h=296&ei=eh1fUJamMsrA0QW71YCADg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1012&vpy=35&dur=4187&hovh=206&hovw=244&tx=153&ty=166&sig=111039568837190680940&page=5&tbnh=164&tbnw=210&start=55&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:55,i:365

But alot bigger, he has no door so he can jump in and out whenevr he wants.

We are moving it to the other side of the garden so it is not in the view of our neighbour anymore. He has a kennel heater which will go on when the weather is cold. Has carpet on the bottom and padding around the sides. These days we have been keeping him in a dog coat so he does not get cold.

i will be having a look aon the websites you have provided. Thank you

babysonia

Raksha wrote: »

I would also say he's very much a 'pit bull type' - so sad to think he's at risk, OP - please make sure you are aware of the legal position regarding the possible seizure of such dogs http://www.deednotbreed.org.uk/
Hope this helps.

I have had a quick look and joined that link you provided as i wanted to read some more but i feel if there was a risk wouldnt the police or the vet mention it to me. As i brought him infront of the police woman to show her and all she said was he's lovely and so quiet as he just looked at her and turned back around into his kennel lol

The vet has also checked him up and did mention his breed saying he is most likely crossed with a pitbull type dog but dismissed my fears of having him seized?

Notsosharp

I don't think the OP is necessarily being cruel by keeping the dog outside.

My mum had a German Shepherd Dog and two springer spaniels that were kept outside at the side of the house. They grew thick healthy coats to cope with the cold and the one Springer was like the OP's dog in that it hated being inside and would just pace and moan and whine when it was inside. Outside he was content and hardly barked or whined. They were kept warm in the winter with plenty of bedding and a heater and they all lived to ripe old ages. I don't really think it is cruel keeping a dog outside provided they are well looked after and catered for. Eg: exercised, fed well, kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There are a lot of people round here that keep their dogs outdoors including the local gamekeeper and the respected Labrador breeder.

Mum was lucky with her neighbours though, they didn't mind the dogs barking as they felt secure with them there (not that the dogs barked that often)

Mind you they did have like a proper dog run with kennel attached and the area was very secure so there was no danger of them getting out or anyone getting in. They also came into the house on a regular basis. When Mum moved house the dogs were kept in the garage with a wood burner and were often warmer then my parents! So that might be an idea too OP if you have a garage.

OP I think it's your neighbour that has the issue with the dog.