wwud about stray dog?

[balls2DWall]

since xmas i have a stray dog that sneaks in. shes about 3 yrs old little terrier. however i have a very old dog that has a heated shed and this little dog comes in and practically boots out the old dog. i have found our old dog curled up in the rain shivering. our old dog is partially blind nearly deaf has arthritis. while i am a dog lover our priority is to make sure our old 16yr dog is comfortable and has shelter

turns out this stray belongs to an old gentlemen not far from us. he has carers and perhaps cant take care of the dog. she stayed with us continuously for a month and later found out he was actually not home (whether in hospital or holidays not sure).

at the moment i am feeding her every night and locking her into a big run with our other yard dog. this yard dog was a rescue and im waiting to get her fixed in the finer weather so that she can then be lose.

so i have 2 indoor dogs, one old outside loose dog and one locked up rescue dog and a stray. do i just keep her? i havent even given her a name dont want to get attached. if i let her roam she will go off (perhaps back to her owner) and then appear back in the middle of the night and kick out my old dog out of her warm shed who then ends up sleeping outside shivering which dives me mad.

i have even had my partner drop dog back to owner over his fence and she appears back. its not her fault poor thing. but shes not been taken care of. pound is not an option.

I feel sorry for the dog who is looking for shelter & warmth. Perhaps report to RSPCA or catch him & take him to them so they can sort what's best for him. I understand you also don't want your dog wet or cold but this little dog is going where he's safe. Your garden may need to be better secured so he can't get in. Ultimately you have a responsibility to report to RSPCA for his welfare

Poor old dog kept outside. Surely, such an old dog needs more comfort.

once and for all our old dog has a shed with a rug and duvet under her and heat halogen lamp over her and is free to come out to the loo and a wander in our safe yard when she wants!! end of.

tinkerbell me too! she does get warmth and shelter in our dog run in a dog kennel she is sharing with our rescue. they seem to get on better.

im afraid RSPCA she would end up in an pound. they are full to the brim. i would keep her but a) want to find out if owner misses her/wants to keep her and has he the facilities to keep her in and b)how to keep them all safe and not have my old dog sleeping outside in the awful weather. someone suggested a fence to corner off the old dogs shed from the stray and ive just said it to dp and he thinks thats a good idea so will see what we can do.

Goodness me, how dogs have survived since the dawn of time without a house to sleep in, is quite beyond me.

Of course dogs are fine outside, especially if they have shelter and warmth. In fact they're probably bloody happier than the dogs cooped up inside!

For goodness sake stop saying it's "cruel"; so emotive and silly. Some dogs prefer to live outside. Some dogs, it's all they've ever known and would always stay outside given the choice. In other country's like Australia and the U.S it's standard in rural areas for dogs to roam and come back and forth as they please. We don't all live in neat little detached with a nice square of garden that our dogs have a sniff around in three times a day. My friend in Germany would take his dog into the forest and sometimes she didn't come back so he'd leave her to it and then go and pick her up the next day.

RSPCA if it’s not being cared for and is getting out. Especially if it was left alone for a month. Or just keep it, he clearly isn’t looking after it.

unfortauntely RSPCA not an option the pounds are overflowing. I will find out if this owner can take of this lil dog or I will.

If the man refuses to let you keep it you’ll have to call the RSPCA as they have the power to remove the dog even if it’s against his wishes.

you dont understand. pounds are over flowing here. i dont want the dog to go to a pound! end of! thats where it will end up if i report to the RSPCA.

If you're locking the stray in, how can you say the 'stays are getting longer'? Surely that's down to you?! Let her out/take her home. That chap could be missing her desperately.
I really can't understand why you haven't if this has been going on 3 months.

It looks less like you've rescued the dog and more like you've stolen it to me

Bring the poor old girl inside. She's 16!!

You say it'd be traumatising for her to change her surroundings, but I promise you, if you led her to a nice warm bed in the evenings it'd be far less scary for her than being turfed out into the cold rain, because of a dog she can't see or hear. She'd thrive as an indoor dog, being elderly and infirm.
I don't think it's inherently wrong, keeping dogs outside, but in this situation you are completely out of order.

Sorry but am I understanding correctly that you have an unspayed bitch roaming a garden in which strays can get in? I think you need to deal with that before taking in any more dogs as you'll end up with more than one dog needing a home then.

@balls2DWall where are you located? Is the stray relatively small?

We are on the waiting list with Battersea for a small dog which is ok with kids. Has to be smaller than a regular chunky staffy.

That aside, a letter to the occupant/ his carers is a definite way forward.

Have a chat with the owner as planned. What if he says he cannot look after it? What solution would you actually find acceptable?
If he does insist on looking after his dog, he should dog proof his garden. Surely that's the preferred outcome.
You can also state what you intend to do, if his dog keeps returning to your property eg locking his dog away for the night, so it cannot bother your old dog and he might also have to come and retrieve it himself.