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Original poster

a few questions about dogs

36 replies

quickdrawmcgraw · 24/11/2007 09:01

The Yorkie(pic on profile) that we are minding till we find the owner is still at our house. I've brought him to the vet to see if he's been chipped but no luck, I've looked on lostandfound.ie but no report of him missing, I've been in touch with the police but nothing there either and I've also asked everyone in the village if they recognise him. I'm reluctant to put up posters because I've been told that often people use found posters to either get a pedigree dog to sell on or get dogs for dog fighting.

I have completely fallen in love with him (now that I've given him a bath) and so had dd and ds. It's like living in limbo though because I don't know when or if we'll find his owner. We had talked about getting a dog recently and dh was 50/50 about it. He now feels hoodwinked because he hadn't agreed to it and now suddenly there's a dog in the house. He's not very affectionate with animals which I'm sure comes from his parents. (His dad was sent down to the sea to drown a puppy in a bag when he was 8((it escaped)) and when his mum's brother didn't feed his rabbits their father had them killed and made into a pair of rabbit skin gloves for his mum )
Anyway this dog would be perfect for our family if we didn't find his real home. He's very easy, friendly with children, doesn't yap, is house trained and is very sweet and affectionate.

His unpleasant habits are: if he's very excited or nervous he does a tiny wee, he seems very keen on his willy and often licks it when you're petting him which is very offputting and he gets sick if he travels in the car. So my questions are can I do anything about the wees when excited and the car sickness and also is the willy obsession normal or is there something I can do to stop him?

OP posts:

Threadworm · 24/11/2007 09:10

Wees when excited: Always greet him in a very low-key way (no eye-contact, don't lean over him, go down to his level, and preferably ignore him for a while before greeting).Be similarly low-key in all the situations where excitement-weeing is a problem.

This weeing is a submissive sign, designed to placate you (ha ha), so you need to be non-threatening. Our dog used to do it on greeting DH. No he only does it to one, very large and loud man.

Licking willy: It's what dogs do. DHs probably would too if they could reach. Can't be helped.

Car sickness: made much worse by nerves. Probably when he has settled down with you and is more relaxed you hould start with very very short journeys and build up gradually. Vets can give medication for car sickness.

Hope you can keep him. He sounds lovely.

rosybud · 24/11/2007 09:11

Hi quickdraw, that is so difficult not knowing if he is going to stay with you or you will find his owner.

How did you find him? Have you had him long? If no-one has reported him missing etc you may be keeping him!

Did the vet tell you how old he is? We had our Lab castrated when he was nearly one but before that there was a lot of willy attention!! Or perhaps an infection? Sounds like questions for a vet perhaps. He may grow out of the car sickness if he is still a pup.

Good luck, i hope your dh comes around to the idea, he may have no choice now you have all fallen in love with your dog!

Threadworm · 24/11/2007 09:12

'Now', not 'no' he always wees on one man.

(He doesn't see this man often. It's not a problem really, and he might have grown out of it anyway.)

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 24/11/2007 09:21

thanks, The vet said yesterday that he was between age 2 and 3.
I did wonder if getting him castrated might make his less of a 'willy licker'

I will keep all greetings low key and make sure dh doesn't get too cross when he jumps on the sofa. He did a dribble last night when dh told him to get off and there was a lot of huffing and puffing and stripping of covers, disinfenctant etc. Dh has a touch of OCD which is very useful when it comes to housework but not when I've trying to convince him to agree to keeping a leaking puppy.

I'd love to go shopping and get him a proper bed and some feed bowls but as he was only found on Wedndsday it might be a bit of a waste.

OP posts:

Santasmissyontheside · 24/11/2007 09:26

he is just the cutest thing!!

Threadworm · 24/11/2007 09:46

Aw, he is lovely. So tiny. Yorkies are really clever dogs.

It's not surprising that he is nervous enough to wee after all he has been through. I am sure that the problem would put itself right in a short time if you were able to keep him. Yes, make as little fuss as poss in front of him about the settee incidents etc.

Tell DH that this tiny yorkie, if he had a chance to settle in, would probably be much less mess and trouble than any other dog you might get.

Even if it's too uncertain to buy bedding etc, make him his own sfe spot with a couple of old towels or whatever.

Santasmissyontheside · 24/11/2007 09:49

we used to have a family dog, she was a bassett hound and when she got excited she would piddle too!

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 24/11/2007 10:29

dh just laughed at something he did!!!!
He might be melting.

OP posts:

vacua · 24/11/2007 10:45

if they are not claimed within (7? 10? 14?) days and are officially reported stray via dog warden I'm pretty certain original owner has legally relinquished all claim - check with police/dog warden - and can't get him back

it's really not that difficult to register a pet as missing via the police, doglost, vets etc - unless the dog has travelled a great many miles the owners can't be searching very hard for him, he'd be chipped and insured and wearing a collar with ID if he meant anything to them at all. Collars can come off of course, but chips don't.

Freckle · 24/11/2007 10:58

Have you contacted local vets? A friend lost her cat (Siamese, rather elderly but much loved) just before she went on holiday. She asked me to keep an eye open for her. I contacted local vets, RSPCA, council, etc. and left details. I later received a call from one of the vets as one of their clients had reported finding a Siamese. It was Polly and I managed to get her back and home before my friend returned from holiday - can you imagine the homecoming???

If you have reported the dog to the Police and local authority (who have responsibility for stray animals), I think you can claim the dog as yours if no one has claimed it within 7 days. Check with your local authority as their rules may differ.

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 24/11/2007 20:54

oooh I didn't know you could claim the dog as your own if you had it for a certain amount of time. I wonder is it the same in Ireland.

I've reported it to local vet and police but not local athority yet. He's such a nice dog that I'm sure he came from a really lovely home so if I did ever find them it would be a very happy homecoming (for them obviously but not us ).

I doubt he's travelled far but I think he maybe bolted on Halloween night as there are always loads of fireworks that night around here and I'm sure he'd have been terrified. I agree that if his owners were really missing him they'd have at least got in touch with the local police.

OP posts:

whispywhisp · 24/11/2007 21:15

I think you'll find the normal length of time you have to wait is 14 days before you can claim he is yours but you must report him found with the various agencies - Dog Warden, Police, RSPCA etc. That way you are covered should someone come forward later on.

Weeing - that is just excitement - he has been through a lot and its all new to him.

Willy licking (!) - castration would sort that out.

Travel sickness - yes, we have exactly the same problem with our JRT - it is down to nerves etc. Should you travel with him on your lap talk to him and distract him as much as possible. If you travel on your own with him put him in a confined area (basket/cage) and cover the cage partially with a blanket - some dogs suffer with motion sickness and the scenery flashing past the windows etc. Your vet can give you something for this. I learnt to do lots of short journeys initially and then build them up. If you know you are going out don't feed him directly before you go out.

LazyLinePainterJane · 24/11/2007 21:21

Awwww he's tiny!!! Hope you can keep him. Don't understand why someone would shell out for a pedigree dog and not get it chipped!?

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 26/11/2007 11:25

quick update....
I rang our local pound and they said that if I wanted to keep him I had to leave him in the pound for 5 days and if no one clamied he would be legally ours. Otherwise if I just kept him he could be claimed by owners anytime over the next year! Gulp Which should I do? I'd prefer him to be banged up in the pound for 5 days because it's so much quicker but I hate the thought of it for him as he's a nervous little thing.

You were all right about the nervous/excited wees. They've stopped now because he's more relaxed and we talk to him in a calmer way. He in also licking himself less. Phew.

OP posts:

Threadworm · 26/11/2007 11:31

What a stupid and outdated rule! If it was me I would be tempted to put him in the pound for 5 days, just to remove all uncertainty (after all, you might have to kennel him sometimes for holidays in the future). But only if I could talk to the staff about ways to minimise the upset for him. Could you leave him there just during opening hours and take him home at night? Could you leave pieces of his accustomed bedding, toys, food, etc? Is the kennel well-run?

If you do leave him, perhaps make allowances for him for several days afterwards -- until he has settled again.

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 26/11/2007 11:35

I know! my heart sank when she said it. That sounds like a good idea about asking if I could take him home at night. I hopes it's not too far away.

OP posts:

Threadworm · 26/11/2007 11:42

Oh, if you do put him in the pound, perhaps make sure he is vaccinated and protected against kennel cough etc?

It's a horrible hoop to have to jump through. Hope it all works out for you.

EmsMum · 26/11/2007 11:56

It might just be worth checking with the pound if insted of actually having him for the 5 days, they could post up picture and description, then if anyone thinks its theirs you could bring him in to see if theres wild recognition? If I'd lost my dog I'd be happy that someone was caring for it personally.

whispywhisp · 26/11/2007 17:48

What's five days when you could have him for the rest of his life? Due to the not-knowing if he's vaccinated you'll probably find he'll be placed into a kennel in quarantine etc.

vacua · 26/11/2007 17:51

people leave their dogs in kennels for 3 weeks or so when they go on holiday, I'd take the longer term view if there are no halfway measures so you can establish ownership (and peace of mind) as swiftly as possible - every day dogs are rescued from the most awful abuse and trauma and successfully rehabilitated and rehomed, to spend less than a week in the pound really won't do lasting harm. maybe you could visit and volunteer to do walks each day?

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 26/11/2007 18:06

I'm pretty much decided now on the pound but might just ask them if it's ok to leave a picture and description as EmsMum suggested. No reason not to ask anyway.
Yes, 5 days is really not very long and I'm sure they look after them well enough.

OP posts:

whispywhisp · 26/11/2007 18:53

My JRT was thrown out of the boot of a car, aged 6 weeks. She was witnessed being dumped and made her very scared journey along a very busy stretch of ringroad until a very kind driver managed to safely stop and pick her up. She then spent the next 4 weeks in a rescue centre, on her own, in a huge kennel with huge barking dogs all around her. I saw her and fell in love with her immediately and adopted her and brought her home aged 10 weeks. She is now 7 months old and despite having a dreadful start in life she took just a few days to settle with us.

Despite having such a traumatic start, having to spend weeks on her own in a kennel, she has adapted and knows how lucky she is to have found a family that adore her.

Dogs can adapt so spending just five days in a dog pound really isn't too much to expect him to cope with quickdrawmcgraw. It'll be hard for him, and for you and your family but you've got to look at the future and the many happy years you will hopefully have with him. xx

Original poster

quickdrawmcgraw · 28/11/2007 22:12

I did as EmsMum suggested and emailed them to ask if I sent in a photo and description would they let me keep him at home and they said YES so fingers crossed till next Tuesday.
Thanks EmsMum!

OP posts:

EmsMum · 28/11/2007 22:21

My pleasure!

whispywhisp · 28/11/2007 22:35

quickdraw........everything crossed for you!! xxxx

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