How aggressive is the owner? Can you approach him with help? Be like hey, we love having your dog by but I've noticed x,y,z, can we take him to the vet for you/shampoo him/treat him? Depends on how invested you are in the animal and neighbor relationship. I follow some local pet groups online and that's usually the approach recommended first. There are often cases of neglect here.... Dogs on chains with no shelter out in all weather, etc. Usually offering a free dog house or something can help the animal. Approaching the owner with accusation or negative attitude usually means the animal is going to continue to suffer and put off possiblity of help from others if approached again. Rarely, the owner is a totally malicious asshole who seems to prefer their animal to suffer. But the approach makes a big difference in outcome. Would you take the dog permanently?
I shampooed him once, that or something else twisted the owner's panties enough that he isn't talking to us. The dog looked better for it, and I think that's all he needs is a medicinal shampoo, baths often until better and then maintenance. Maybe I'll take him a bottle of the stuff we use that we know works. I don't really care to continue a friendship with the owner, we just don't have anything in common. If I do that and the dog doesn't show obvious improvement, then it would be tough to discreetly have the dog taken in hopes of a responsible owner adopting him. I've waited for a month, hoping he would do something for the dog, it hasn't happened. I'd love to give the dog a home, but as much as we travel, it would be a burden and not what is best for him. Our dog is highly trained, the wife's service dog, we can confidently take him in any situation and he will behave. I wouldn't do that with this dog, he'd spend too much time at a boarder.
It's worth a shot but I doubt he will shampoo the dog himself. Shampoo isn't that expensive, the act of doing it is more troublesome than the price of the product. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that any sort of enforcement agency would do anything. The only way they might get involved is if it is off the owner's property and you call them to pick him up. The neglect is mild enough that I don't think the law will do anything.
Also, let's be real. What is he going to do if his dog keeps roaming over to your house and coming back clean? You're already feeding him too.
I went and talked to the guy today, to tell him I was going to start bathing his dog. He can barely walk because of a back injury and he said he was broke. He was in his garage making non-taxable, homemade liquor to sell. He was nice and thankful. I'm gonna pick up some worming meds to give the pit, too
I'm glad you took the time to talk to the owner. He's in a shitty situation but doesn't sound purposefully malicious. You're building bridges and being a good neighbor.
I volunteered for the SPCA. I jumped to the conclusion that I did based on all the awfulness I saw there. I did call the animal control chief, knew him from the SPCA, and did find out that it isn't a criminal offense to bath a dog that comes to your house. Just in case, before I went over there.
Played with her today and she's super friendly and energetic. Same with the father. I have high hopes for the personality of the pup.
This is awesome. I have never picked out a puppy before but can imagine that it was exhilarating. It's cool that you can see the parents to get an idea of the quality of your dog. So glad you found a match who clicked with you. My dog picked me out and he is MY dog, sticks with me no matter what.
That's how it should be. My sister, on the other hand, picked out a puppy from a breeder in another state based on it's colors and markings and it was flown in. It was a fuckhead but also she is an inept dog owner so....
Yep... that's the main reason for getting a puppy, so that they can bond while the cats are still bigger than she is, and she's impressionable. I've heard excellent things about Shepherds being cat friendly when properly introduced at a young age... basically if the master says "this is my friend", then it become Doggo's friend too.
They still take a ton of socializing and training to get a "great" German Shepherd. One of our dog's sisters has killed four other small dogs. I blame the owners, 100%. The owners should be put down, and the dog given to someone that can give it training and guidance, keep her in check the rest of her life. Our GS has never attacked another dog and actually saves squirrels from our psycho cat. I saw at the shelter, there are so few dogs that are vicious for no reason. Best example I have of bad owners, a friendly pit got adopted out, came back six months later and bit every single employee and volunteer that entered her kennel. How she turns out will be impacted way more by you than her bloodline. I know you will do great. Take her everywhere you reasonably can when she's young, around as many we'll behaved dogs as you can.
Honestly, the hardest thing to figure out right now is how to do the food/water thing. The cats have 2 feeding stations, one upstairs in the dining room, one downstairs in the bathroom, open, free-fed. I'm not free-feeding the puppy. So I've got to figure out how to change the cat's feeding locations appropriately.
They still take a ton of socializing and training to get a "great" German Shepherd. One of our dog's sisters has killed four other small dogs. I blame the owners, 100%. The owners should be put down, and the dog given to someone that can give it training and guidance, keep her in check the rest of her life. Our GS has never attacked another dog and actually saves squirrels from our psycho cat. I saw at the shelter, there are so few dogs that are vicious for no reason. Best example I have of bad owners, a friendly pit got adopted out, came back six months later and bit every single employee and volunteer that entered her kennel. How she turns out will be impacted way more by you than her bloodline. I know you will do great. Take her everywhere you reasonably can when she's young, around as many well behaved dogs as you can.