Dumped Dog Please Reassure Me We Are Doing The Right Thing. UPDATE. ONE YEAR LATER

[ThreeWishes]

Forgive me for the novel. But here is the back story.
There is a very large wildlife management area right past suburbia that has always been a very common dumping ground for unwanted dogs. I personally found two dogs standing at the entrance a decade ago forlornly looking at the passing busy 2 lane 55 mph road. Took them both in as I used pass this area on the way to my old boarding barn. One of those dogs I still have the other got old and I put her to sleep 2 years ago.

Anyway fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was driving out to take my horse trailer to my mechanic’s house and I saw a skinny dog darting around the entrance of said management area. Obviously stressed and frightened. I pulled over and tried to catch him and he ran off into the dense woods. I told my mechanic about the dog and he said he would keep an eye out. Over the next 2-3 weeks there were sightings but the dog was too elusive to catch. Then last Thursday I was driving out to the WMA to walk and saw his head pop out of the tall grass. I immediately turned around and went back home to get water and dog food. He wouldn’t let me close enough to catch but he drank the bucket of water like a starving man in the desert and gobbled the dog food. I called my mechanic and he offered to help. I cooked a T Bone steak and with my friends help me as able to get the dog in his car. He was so skinny and infested with ticks.

Drove the dog straight to my barn and gave him a bath and started pulling fully Lima bean sized ticks off him. He was skittish but tolerant. I fed him a flea/tick pill from one of my dogs and my friend agreed to take him back to his house and put him in an outdoor kennel with a dog house under his equipment shed. Dog is young. Maybe 9 months. Intact male. Energetic and goofy with not the best manners. But he’s obviously still extremely puppy like. No signs of aggression. Looong toenails. Big balls. Skinnnnny.

I cannot take him. I already have four dogs. My dog is elderly 14 ( big dog) and there’s just no way. My friend will take him but he has a spayed female. So this new addition absolutely must lose his jewels before he can be integrated into his tiny house.

So if you’re still reading. Thank you. And my question is this. Dog barks his ever loving head off in the kennel. My friend has neighbors. and it’s colder now so he borrowed an extra large ( think Great Dane sized) dog crate and brought the dog in his living room last night. Dog was very content. Problem is friend works from 7-3:30. After that he plans on taking the dog out to my barn and letting him run around in the fenced area to get out and stretch. He’s done this since he took him in. Did it twice a day over the weekend but now that he’s back to work dog has to stay crated or kenneled ( which means barking) from 7-3:30.

The rescues are full. The pound is waiving all adoption fees they’re so overwhelmed with dogs. To go the route isn’t possible and would likely be grim. He’s got a vet appt on the 29th. Are we doing the right thing ??? I guess if he was in the pound he’d be in a cage 24/7. He has the potential of becoming a very good boy. Please give us some advice.

Meet Tiger.

[endlessclimb]

Deal with the barking, get him scheduled for a neuter ASAP. Once the jewels are gone and recovery complete, try to integrate him with the female of the person who might be able to keep him.

You can put a bark collar on, but I wouldn’t. Doggie has had some BIG BIG changes lately and is stressed to the max.

Have you tried putting a blanket over the crate?

[ThreeWishes]

He actually loves his female dog and is very submissive to her. We let them meet and run around like nuts but under supervision he is obviously very keen. She just lets him know no sniffy sniffy buddy. Let’s just play. They will absolutely work out. he just is not comfortable leaving them free together in the house with the male intact. Female actually lays down right beside his crate and keeps him
Company he is way less stressed in the crate than in the kennel outside. Vet appointment is for the 29th. That’s the soonest we can get in very typical for this area that will just be the initial appointment. Hopefully they can schedule the neuter in the next week after that.

[endlessclimb]

I’d just hold tight until then. The neighbors will survive a temporary aggravation, and I bet the dog will quit the barking in another week or less.

[Posting_Trot]

I think you’re doing the right thing. It seems likely that the dog is young and is maybe still full of puppy-ish antics. He may calm down as he ages a bit; of course that is only speculation.

Neutering him is the right thing to do, and if the dog is okay in the crate, honestly he’s better off in the crate until he’s absolutely confirmed as a non-destructive member of the household. The crate not only protects the female dog, but also the couch, the rug, the chair legs, etc.

Good luck to you and to your friend. You have good hearts!

[ThreeWishes]

Thank you both! The kennel outside is much larger but obviously the dog hates it. He was very content in the crate. It just goes against my nature to think about a dog locked up like that but I guess it’s just for a couple of weeks. He is absolutely still 100% puppy. He ate one of my friends CD’s that was on his back seat (just chipped up the case). It’s like a 10 minute drive and he got busy right away. He really is very sweet. It’s sadly the nature of this area people dump dogs. After they figure out you actually have to do something with them like vet, care, and neutering and vaccinations and manners.

[beowulf]

You are absolutely doing the right thing.

Sheltered and fed is better than starving to death and/or hit by a car on the highway looking for food. Ask me how I know - this is how I ended up with four ditch dogs. Over my two year stint in Aiken, caught 12. Only kept 4. I didn’t do too bad.

Give it time. The barking may resolve once he is settled into his new routine. Thank you and your mechanic friend for all your efforts saving him.

[ThreeWishes]

Thank you. All I could think about at the time was how pathetic it was that he was so thirsty. The nearest water source in that wildlife management area is 5 miles back to the lake and it hadn’t been raining for weeks and of course there was a storm coming on Saturday. so I insisted we catch him without much of a plan. And then when I caught him, I was like oh crap. I’ve never seen so many ticks on a dog in my life. Shout out to Simparica Trio and a chilly soapy bath at 9:30 at night perched on top of the barn picnic table. I can’t believe how well it worked

[ThreeWishes]

PS I love the term ditch dogs. Honestly my last 4 dogs have been ditch dogs. I just cannot drive by even when the inn is full. Kept them all. This one I just could not but thankfully my friend could. I just wanted to make sure he was safe. Thank you, everyone again.

[ThreeWishes]

Ohh and he’s 100% chill at the fence line with horses and unfazed by cats. He really could turn into a very good dog. Given the chance. It’s just horrible timing with the holidays here trying to get him in as quickly as we could with a vet. But you all have made me feel immensely better.

[Rallycairn]

Imo there’s no question you are doing the right thing. Doggo is fine! Hopefully, the barking will subside with time and after neutering. Lots of options to address that if it doesn’t. Pat him, his girl buddy, and yourself on the back. Breathe. You did great!

[ThreeWishes]

Thank you.

[Scribbler]

Crates didn’t exist when I had a dog and was around dogs as a kid, but then people tended not to get dogs if there wasn’t a stay at home parent, a yard, and children. People didn’t get dogs if they were out all day.

The crates seemed weird to me but apparently they are very useful and part of current best dog practices because the dogs just curl up like they are in a den and sleep. They seem to find them reassuring. I haven’t used one but have seen them in use. Much better than being agitated outside

[Bonnie2]

Call around and see if you can get him castrated sooner. Maybe your horse vet could do it at the barn. It is a very straightforward procedure. And make sure whoever whenever cuts his nails while he is anesthetized! He is very lucky to have met you. If he has a few bad weeks in the crate, the upgrade in his lifestyle will be worth it.

[GoodTimes]

I think you’re doing the right thing. And I would highly recommend to continue with crate training. Having a safe space like that can be so helpful for them. Less stress during any future moves, vet visits, etc.

[trubandloki]

Crate training is a great tool for any dog to know, and it sounds like this dog is happy safely tucked into the crate. Happier than it is in the kennel.

Edit to add - @GoodTimes said the same thing far better than I said it.

[ThreeWishes]

Great minds think alike. I did call around and this is the soonest appointment I could get. My farm vet actually castrated my barn kitten on the counter of my feed room for $25 !!! but she is not comfortable doing a large dog.

[RHdobes563]

When I had seven(!) dogs, I crated them while I was at work. Particularly because one was same-sex aggressive (and HATED one of the other males) and because I had a female who disemboweled a new couch once. I put all of my crates in the unused downstairs bedroom.

I had two extra-large crates, one shared by the two dogs above (Garnet and Kira–Dobermans), one shared by two bestie males (Dante’ and Moose–Dobermans), one large-sized crate (Peter–Doberman), and two small crates that held (Buddy–Peekapoo) and Jenny (Sheltie). I would work from 8:00 a.m., come home for lunch from 12:30-1:30 p.m., and then work until 4:30 p.m.

Now, I have only two dogs (both female Dobermans) and still have an extra-large crate set up in my ‘dining room area.’ That is because Darcy always likes to be fed in it; she is reassured that no one (3 now-deceased males and 1 current female) can come up behind her to steal her food.

The crate is next to an in-wall heat vent, and Darcy LOVES to go into it (on her own) to sleep on the thick bed of old blankets on it. Recently, Brooklyn has discovered this prime spot, too, and if Darcy leaves it for some reason, Brooklyn will take ownership of the crate. A couple of days ago, I was amused to see BOTH of them occupying the crate together, enjoying the warmth from the vent and, maybe, each other.

Many of the people in our local dog club have said that their dogs like their crates and have no problem being ‘locked’ in when necessary. Right now, my two are napping; Darcy has the crate, and Brooklyn is crashed out on a crib mattress (works better than a dog bed for us).

I think that “Tiger” sounds like a LOVELY dog with an ability to adjust to the home he is in. I hope that he gets the chance to stay.

Edited to add: If Tiger’s nails are still long at his vet appointment, I think, too, that that would be a great time to trim them to a proper length.

[ThreeWishes]

I’m going to actually try to trim them myself. He lets me handle his feet better than some of my dogs. I don’t think it will be a problem. I’ll just go slow and do one or two at a time

[JanM]

Bless you and the farrier for rescuing this dog.