Please give me the strength to adopt ex dps dog.

[Mandalakia]

So exdp and I have been separated 3 years.

He has a labrador that he has never really taken care of. When I met him the dog was a bag of bones, he used physical punishment and rarely took him out for walks. I took on care of the dog, stopped the physical punishment and looked after him along with my own dog. After we split up I kept the dog for 2 years until ex had suitable accommodation to take his dog back.

He's had him back 1 year now and the poor dog is suffering once more He's not fed properly, never walked and left alone from morning to night. He's 12 years old, has stiffness in his joints, bad teeth, a large abscess on his bottom, overgrown claws and just looks miserable.

I've brought him home with me, he's been fed, washed, claws clipped, loved and taken for a walk. I do love him and know the right thing to do is not to give him back, but he's not an easy dog to live with! He's stubborn, food obsessed, hairy, smelly and constantly in the way. Despite all that, I'm pretty sure I'm not giving him back.

Please give me any tips you can on training him. He doesn't listen at all! He's only walked on lead as he's aggressive with other dogs so it's more help with stopping the bin raiding, sock eating, refusal to wait on the mat with muddy paws, etc.

Also I can see some potential health problems emerging so need to organise some pet insurance but who will cover him with existing problems?

(Also, I know I should have run a mile from a man that was abusive to animals. He's not from UK and the culture he's from doesn't treat animals well. I now know that's no excuse and lesson learned)

we have a food obsessed dog.
bin is behind a door, he never stopped, so we just remove it fomr his reach.
In fact a factor of our life is that we never leave food unaccompanied, even for 5 seconds as we leave the room, and at night I have to check that nothing on the counter tops is within reach.
But once we set that up, it all works smoothly. Your poor dog has been starved, so of course he is food obsessed.

Sock eating, again, you need prevention, and sock eating can be really dangerous.

muddy paws. I have a veyr large mat, and I always come in the house first. I stop at the edge of the mat, so the dog is between me and the door. Then I grab towel and clean paws. This works well, as he is trapped. After a while he justs stops and waits.

One advantage of a dustbin dog is that they will do anything for a tasty treat, so training can work well, once you have been doing a habit for a few days it starts to become the normal, so hopefully slowly but surely you can train him.

One advantage of a dustbin dog is that they will do anything for a tasty treat

This. I would honestly rather have a food obsessed (pet) dog than any other kind.

Make sure you always have some treats nearby (securely locked away!) and reward him every time he does something you like - such as lying on the floor quietly - pop a treat in front of his nose. Give him a bed and reward him liberally for lying in it = not so much in the way now .

This helps reinforce the behaviours you want and has the bonus of building the relationship up between you both. The better your relationship the less 'stubborn' you will find him to be.

Insurance: I think Bought By Many have a policy that helps cover existing conditions, so long as they haven't been treated recently, or so long as you don't claim for them immediately. boughtbymany.com/offers/pre-existing-medical-conditions-pet-insurance/

Other dogs: don't walk him near them. Honestly, the very best thing you can do for him is not walk him where he will see other dogs closer than he is comfortable with. There is then further work you can do to help him change how he feels about them, but right now that feels like it might be a bit too much info when you have all these other things to think about. Avoiding other dogs means the problem shouldn't get worse and might improve a little bit as he learns to relax a bit more on walks.

Smelly, hairy and dirty are somewhat the nature of the dog so harder to 'fix'. But regular brushing (furminator brushes can be good for labs), a good towel off when you get home, or drying robe, and plenty of throws where he lies all might help.

Bin raiding: get a bin with a lock of some sort, such as a pedal bin.

Sock stealing: hide them. Eating socks as really dangerous so do whatever you need to prevent him having the chance to.

Good luck and well done for giving this dog a chance and a better home.

With regards to the bin raiding, your job is to make it as inconvenient as possible for him to bin raid.

• keep him away from the bins (baby gate on the kitchen door?)
• locking bins - these are good amazon.co.uk/dp/B004WIZAII/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_fabc_N37ENMYJB131EYATFAM9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1]]
• weights in the bottom to make it harder to tip the bin over (bricks! Literal bricks!)

Sock eating - this is literally a case of keeping them away from him.

Waiting on the mat - can he do a sit reliably on command? If so, I would train a sit every time he comes through that door (even in summer when it's dry!) and give a treat every time.

Walk the dog away from other dogs - reactivity is a pig to sort in dogs of any age, and at this age I can't see you making meaningful progress.

Have you managed to get the abscess sorted yet? The pain from that could also make the dog unreasonably grumpy.

Amazon link didn't work, but the brand was a Simple Human pedal bin

We have had this bin for five years-ish and my old boy - known to those who love him as ‘Binnie Pig’ hasn’t managed to get into it yet.

I would use food obsession to your advantage. Invest in some licki mats and food dispensing toys and puzzles to keep him busy, distract him from nicking your food and also from his pain. I’ve recently bought my boy this snake which is tricky to fill, but keeps him busy and focussed for over half an hour, after which he konks out and sleeps for hours.

Have a good read of the Canine Arthritis Management website and maybe join their FB group. So many things you can do to help him with his joint pain day to day. Obviously he also needs a vet assessment and I would imagine regular pain meds as well.

The teeth and abscess will most likely be the source of the smell. Again, as you already know, vet is your first stop, but daily use of something like Virbac Hexarinse will make a massive difference in the meantime, as it destroys the bacteria that makes the smell and also discourages plaque formation. If he won’t have it as a mouthswash, you can just soak a microfibre dog toothbrush in the liquid and rub it liberally around his gums and teeth.

Are you lifting his feet to dry them or just wanting him to wait on the mat for a couple of minutes. If he’s objecting to having his feet lifted, it’s probably due to the joint pain, so investing in a really good quality, thick absorbent mat instead might be a better option. I’d invest in a really decent quality door mat, as big as you can fit in the available space. They’re prices, but Hug Rugs and Turtle Mats are much better at absorbing the dirt/wet quickly. Alternatively these are cheaper, but still really good. We have them in grey and are waiting to order more when the grey comes back into stock. They’re lovely and soft underfoot as well. (We have the runners around our kitchen to stop our arthritic dog from slipping.)

Pet insurance is likely to be difficult with a geriatric dog. I think many of the bigger insurers won’t start new policies over the age of 8. Hopefully someone with knowledge of one that does will be along soon. Bear in mind that even if you do get a policy, teeth are unlikely to be covered and as the abscess is already there, that probably won’t be either.

I would still go for third party insurance, even you can’t get health cover though, especially as he’s dog aggressive. You can get it by becoming a member of the Dogs Trust.

Sorry, had to take my dog in the garden half way through posting and ended up cross posting with others.

Please god take this dog in to live its last years in peace. Its life sounds like fucking torture, how could you live with yourself to leave it in a life of fear and loneliness
In all liklihood he probably won't have more than a year or so left. This is the worst thing I've read today

Bless him. I adopted a neglected pug with similar issues - awful teeth and lead aggression. He’s also food obsessed so training him with treats works really well. Giving him a treat as soon as we spot another dog outside and walking him past while holding a treat has all but stopped his reactivity. Similarly in the home, showing him what you want him to do with a treat should help. An old dog may be slower to pick up commands and you might have to just dog proof the kitchen, but if he’s food motivated you may be able to lessen some of his traits. I’d also recommend getting his teeth looked at and the rotten ones removed - poor Mr Pug had to have 20(!!!!) rotten teeth out but he’s so much happier since and his mouth doesn’t stink anymore (and he can still eat fine). The downside was this cost about 2 grand and insurance wouldn’t cover it, but I have also heard good things about Bought By Many, and the vets let me pay it off in instalments

you said you have a dog yourself?
Do they get on?

You might find that when you walk them together, he is less aggressive towards other dogs, as he has the confidence of your dog with him.

If he is old, he will be fine on a lead walk,while your own dog has a run round.
he may also be grumpy due to pain, and as you get his pain management under control he may be less aggressive.

also, smell is veyr much due to health and diet.
So that should improve

A picture of the yellow beast for you all 😍

Amazing advice so far, thank you. I will save up and order one of those lockable bins. What a great idea. Also invest in a dog towel for his feet, I never even thought of that as my dog will happily lay on the mat for 5 minutes until dry.

The vets may be more tricky. He is still registered at the PDSA under my name from when he lived with me so he may have to go there first. I'll research pet insurers as I could stretch to monthly payments but not thousands in one go.

I have no problem walking him. He doesn't really attack, just does a weird snarly, head shaky thing at new dogs the first time he meets them. Once he's relaxed, he gets on fine and I've never had a problem with him and my dog. But as he's so big, it terrifies other dogs and their owners so no off lead for him.

Oh he looks like a sweetheart. I have a soft spot for oldies.

You are doing a wonderful thing for him. Thank you. x

You will be able to get pet insurance from Petplan (who are probably the way anyway) - we’re veteran adopters of old dogs and done them all through Petplan. Doubt they will give you lifetime cover but will probably cap each condition at GBP3,000 or One year, whichever comes first, but they will do it. Our greyhound girl was insured with them at just before 12 with that policy. It costs us GBP54 a month and is well worth it as she has pancreatitis and needs a lot of meds, blood tests etc though is otherwise healthy. It’s been good for us as the bills are probably around GBP350 per month for her condition. She’s nearly 14 now so probably won’t be around much longer so frankly the Petplan insurance has been great. Best wishes, it’s a lovely thing you’re doing.

Insuring a 12 year old dog with existing health issues is going to be a non starter tbh, if you can even find someone who’ll do it - it’ll be ludicrously expensive and won’t cover loads of stuff.

You’re not likely to get a bill of thousands though - not on a dog that age, because you’d not be doing anything hugely invasive anyway.

His teeth are likely to be a few hundred, but wouldn’t be covered by insurance even if you already have it... the access assuming it’s not something more sinister causing it shouldn’t be massively expensive and anti-inflammatories for his joints will be fairly cheap.

My dog wouldn't stay on the mat unless I stood with him, and he wouldn't be dry even after 5 minutes!

I dry his feet with a towel. He will 'Wait' while I get the towel. Every single time we come in the bakc door, even if for a quick wee, I tell him to wait for a moment, so he knows that he ALWAYS stops on the mat.

What a sweetie 😍 good on you for taking him out of a miserable home. I agree with PP that you may struggle to find an insurer who’ll cover pre existing conditions, they also won’t cover any eye problems for the pug as he had an ulcer when I got him. But I would really suggest asking if the vets will set you up a payment plan - mine didn’t advertise this, it was all done on the downlow but if you’re struggling with a large bill I think they will be receptive. Or could you take out a credit card for expensive treatment and pay it off monthly at an amount you can afford?

Congratulations op!! Your own ddog looks like my childhood furry sibling!! She lived until we were both nearly 21!! They look great friends to me!! Happy retirement to your old boy!!

That's it. He's mine 🙂

I'll make an appointment at the PDSA first of all. I am entitled to use them but try not to unless it's absolutely necessary.

He's had an interesting life! He's hiked the white mountains in Crete, fought a (small) bear in Giannina, stayed in hotels in Athens, London and Amsterdam. He's done more in his life then I have! Ex dp is a bit of a Disney dad with him though and will trot him out when he wants to, then expects him to stop existing in the meantime.

From your description I was expecting some huge, hairy, overgrown scary beast 😂 he is beautiful and I’m so glad he has you taking care of him.

Bless him - a year or so younger than my old boy. Good on you for taking him in. Oldies can be hard work but they can be wonderful too.

You’ve had some great advice - my two pennorth would be to ask what he’s fed on? Ddog has a spot of arthritis, and we feed him Skinners food with added joint aid. It seems to really help keep him mobile. It’s also a decent price. Obviously make any food changes gradually, I’m sure you know that already 👍 The other thing we do is to keep dog’s exercise levels as consistent as possible - we find he stiffens up if he has a big day followed by a day off. But with consistency he can still run a 5k with me (very slowly and with him setting the pace and dictating any sniffing breaks). Ddog also has a magnetic collar, which I strongly suspect is a bit of woo, but it’s harmless woo and may possible help so 🤷‍♀️ And we lift him into the car - he could jump but it’s a lot of strain for his joints, so he gets a boost.

Bless him, I hope you have many happy times together.

I’ve no advice but he’s a beautiful dog and you have a huge heart to take him on.

He looks like a sweet old boy. Good luck OP!

Don't feel bad about using the PDSA if you need him. Poor thing might not have that many years left in him at that age. How wonderful that he has you to look after his aches and pains.

So Glad you have him. X

He’s lovely!
I’d suggest putting him on a senior feed (we used James Wellbeloved for our old labs). We also gave them Yumove as they got arthritis. Re the bin, we had to put it in the utility room!! At thAt age it might not be easy to insure. Dogs trust are good for third party. At 12 he’s a pretty elderly dog and I’m not sure whether I’d be putting him through operations etc at that age. As for the dirty paws, just towel them off as soon as you get home. None of my dogs would stay on a mat until they were dry. And labs can take ages to dry.