So sad for the dog

[Undecidedmare]

I got talking to an elderly lady who lives nearby,normally only say hello in passing but she began talking to the children and we had a chat. Seems her son, who comes in and out of her life sporadically has left his most recent partner, turned up at hers with a bag and a beautiful labrador and has now disappeared again, leaving the dog with her.
The dog is just lovely, really gentle nature, loved my children. The dog seemed desperate to be loved,kept giving her paw and giving all her toys to the children.
The lady needs to re home the dog and it did cross my mind to maybe re home her with us. I asked to spend some time with the dog and I really liked her.
My husband came with me and we tried to walk her and unfortunately she pulled Like a train and I couldn't hold onto her.
Whilst we were out in the light I also noticed how terribly swollen and itchy her ears were, with no fur on the back of them.she is over weight and her coat is very dull,dry with dandruff? And is falling out in handfuls.
Husband said we can't have her as she is in poor condition and the children and I couldn't walk her. The children said they didn't like her because of her very strong pulling and her looking quite unkempt.
I just feel terribly sorry for her, she has obviously been bred from and then passed from pillar to post and yet she still is so loving and friendly.
I am very worried how they will re home this dog and I know it's none of my business but if they will let me I'd like to try and make sure she at least goes to a reputable rescue. Should I offer some help or keep out of it.

If the problem is only really poor condition and training then these are (relatively) easily solvable problems. For me, the most important factor when thinking of rehoming with children is that you say she has a lovely gentle nature. Perhaps a way forward would be to offer to foster the dog for a short period until a suitable home can be found, while working on her training & condition - in the meantime asking DH & DC's to keep an open mind about her becoming your family dog if this goes well...

How can I tell if she is just in poor condition or its something more? Very concerned about her ears they look like a couple of cauliflowers, there are so swollen you can't see into her ears iyswim
Also I know labs can suffer with their hips/ joints. How would i tell?
Husband said she looks like a money pit.
Also met another dog whilst out with her, her hackles went up and she grumbled but she didn't lunge, thankfully. Is this normal? I know she very rarely gets a walk so probably hasn't socialised much.
Also, apparently her previous owners kept her in a cupboard and that was why they took her in, could this potentially have made her unstable. Although as I said she was nothing but waggy and smiley with us.

Definitely start with a visit to the Vets. Do you know how old she is?

These are not huge issues, the skin complaint can be sorted out by a trip to the vets but it may be costly.The pulling is very typical lab behaviour the dog has probably not been walked for a while and is full of energy and excitement.She can be trained to walk nicely on the lead but it will require you investing lots of time and patience to achieve this.Her being over weight is also typical of a lab because they are exceptionally greedy but a good diet, exercise and no treats will see her weight reduce.

I'm biased because I adore labs and would not give any other dog house room,once you get a lab you become addicted. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for your family to have a new member.My concern would be that the owner could return 6 months down the line and want her back which would break your children's hearts.Having any dog is a big commitment so you are doing right to give it deep thought as it is important that she finds a forever home.I hope you reach the right decision.

Forgot to say Lab Rescue offers a great service regarding re-homing.

It could just be that her ears need a good clean and then will settle down.

They think she is about 4, she happily let me have a good root around in her mouth and her teeth looked lovely, probably the healthiest, clean thing about her.
How much could all this tlc cost, how much if she has trouble with her hips, she does look a bit bandy when walking.
We cannot afford huge vet bills if they are in the hundreds.

She is a lovely brown colour
Sadly, we cannot afford thousands. I wish I could help her but I think she could potentially cost too much for us.

You really need to get her assessed before you commit to taking her on as if she has got hip problems you won't be able to get insurance and it will be costly. I was lucky as my rescue shepherd was transformed by a raw diet as he (thankfully) had no permanent issue from his previous neglect (bastards ) And 4 is a good age to still be responsive to training- we used a halti body harness although this took a little longer. Now he glows with health and is an angel behaviour wise - and I have no doubt that he loves us all the more for what we've been through together.

Also bear in mind that chocolate labs tend to be a little more boxy than blacks or yellows which may account for the slightly 'bandy-legged' look!

At 4, would she be limping already if there a hip problems or can it come on at any time?
If she is feeling under the weather could this account for her calm,gentle manner and if we restored her back to health could she turn into a boisterous, bouncy, mad lab.
So many questions!!!! Thanks for you help so far.
Forgot to say we own an elderly rescue cat.

Thanks, she wasn't stand offish at all, she was endearingly squirmy and wriggly and desperate to be petted. Particularly keen for her itchy ears to scratched and then groaned with relief and enjoyment when I did.

you know if you got a pup you wouldn't be able to have a guarantee that they would have future problems either

re her hackles. My older dog is a bit like, she is nervous, she has never attacked anyone or anything.

sorry i meant to say, I am not surprised you feel sorry for her. It's sad when dogs get dumped on family members and passed from pillarto post. I do agree though a training class and some TLC is what most of these dogs need and ALL dogs cost a lot of money tbh. It doesn't matter if they are this perfect pup or a rescue. I take my younger one to classes atm and two of the 'designer' type dogs which are much younger pups, have health issues already :(

The pulling can be managed with a halti or dogmatic . You use them rather than a collar. It's instant, and then you can focus training her to walk without pulling on a collar if you want.
The grumble and hackles could be because she has so much change in her life and is feeling insecure.
Could you ask the lady if you could take her to the vet to be assessed - so you know what £ commitment would be?

The lady said I could have her for a few days. I suppose because I'm an inexperienced dog owner, I'm worried I could be setting up my whole family for a dreadful experience. I don't want that for us or the dog. I really have no idea about dogs and their potential to turn on the children or fight with other dogs, or how to handle this scenario, or am I worrying over something that is unlikely to happen with close supervision. Although I'm more than keen to attend dog training.
If you haven't noticed, I'm the neurotic type!

I don't think you are worrying over nothing, it's responsible to think about if you are ready for a dog before you commit to having one. Can you invest in a few books? look into local positive dog training etc? and just don't rush into anything or feel under pressure to either

Dogs don't generally fight with one another unless they have behavioural issues, same goes for 'turning on children' !

The pulling can be sorted in the short term by using a halti, we use one with our lab collie cross because she pulls so much at the start of any walk.

The itchy ears and mangy looking coat may just be a simple remedy, our dog looked pretty sorry for herself when we took her in. We don't know much about her history and we think she has had many homes but her gentle nature and lack of interest in cats won us over. After a few months of good food, plenty of exercise, a couple of trips to the groomers and a visit to the vets and she looks wonderful. Her coat is lovely and glossy and she is so happy.

If it were me I'd get an mot from the vet of current condition, ears, hips, costings etc... Then I'd go back to the lady with something on paper saying you'll foster him for 3 months, treat current conditions and if it doesn't work out you'll return him and they will return your vets fees. And if they wanted the dog back during this period, they would refund all expenses.

You could set an upper limit for the vet's fees before fostering. Not a bad deal - they will have had free kennelling for 3 months, not had the stress of trying to find a shelter to take an adult dog with problems, and you get to weight up the cost before taking the dog on and a give back option for 3 months in which you can assess behaviour.

They being either the son or mother. I don't think this would be unreasonable. After all, you'll have the vet's report of the original condition of the dog, which if the dog's condition has been left to deteriorate is a powerful bargining tool. The mother could sign if she believes the dog has been abandoned into her care. But better if the son could sign.