Adopting a dog advise?

[john s]

I am hoping to adopt a dog this week i cant wait to get him he is 4 years old and from a breeder and kept in a cage most of the day. I want to give him a new life and better life i would like to know from people who owns dogs how hard he will take the transition. From his old home of 4 years to his new home ive been told it might take time any advise of how i can make it better for him.

 

[TROLLCAT]

what kind of doggy , you have a lot of work ahead of you , luv , kindness and don't feed it human food the rewards are greater than you ever imagine

 

[john s]

Its a 100% pure bread english bull dog.

 

[what_next]

i remember when we adopted a dog from a (not so nice) family, it took some work, but dogs are remarkably adaptive and dont dwell much on the past. which makes it easier to get them in a different state of mind.

 

[MOMMA]

I adopted a German Shepherd a long time ago that was in a similar situation. Pretty much a Puppy mill type set up for this guy, the lady had too many dogs so he stayed in a crate for most of the day. Because he had limited exposure to the real world, he was frightened of almost everything. He didn't have the regular well developed emotions socialized dogs had. It took a while but he came out of his shell. He was always quite leery of strangers though... Patience and exposing him to the real world gradually would be my advice. Good for you! Every dog deserves to be loved and cherished.

 

[-LadyDirt-]

I "bought" one of my dogs when he was two years old from a registered breeder, his only life was a kennel, breeding, showing, etc until I got him. He was an extremely well behaved dog, very well trained, etc, but he had NO social skills...and still had the breeding male, territorial instincts, so for the most part he was pretty snarly around ather dogs..it took a long time to get him social with other dogs and even until this day he's pretty snotty, but sometimes he plays, but for the most part just ignores other dogs and does his own thing..which is fine as long as he's not bothering anyone. If he hasn't been well socialized or trained, I would recommend taking him to socialization and obedience classes right away, something I wish I had done with my older male, but I took him to dog parks a couple times a week and still do to this day, and I bring him with me everywhere I go like friends houses to meet their dogs, etc. I now have a little 3 month old puppy, whom was very playful and friendly with dogs, until some idiots decided it was okay to bring their uncontrollable, aggressive dogs to the dog park and allow them to attack my puppy, who is now fearful and has no confidence to play with bigger puppies.. we are making progress though, I take him to socialization classes and dog parks EVERY day, and walks every day. Basically aside from taking your new dog to classes, I highly recommend you spend a lot of time and effort training this dog.. make sure he respects you as pack leader. Dogs require a lot of time and work. I took my 3 month old puppy to a class this weekend with puppies who were between 4-7 months old, and none of them could perform HALF the obedience commands my puppy has already mastered within the couple weeks I had him, and its not because the puppies are hard to train or they are dumb...its because the owners do not put enough time into training.

Oh and just a quick comment on the human food, to each their own, but I do not feed my dogs commercial dog foods or treats.. actually,a lot of human foods are better for dogs then your typical store bought kibble and treats.. my dogs eat raw meat. I feed them raw beef, elk, bison, lamb, rabbit, etc, its called Carnivora. I believe only Tail Blazers pet health food stores sell it, but I buy it from a private distributor for a lot less $....oh and for treats, my dogs get med rare plain steak with garlic, goat cheese, goat milk, goat yogurt and raw fruits and vegetables like green beans, cucumber, peas, apples, melons and bananas... and guess what.. my dogs never get sick and I have no vet bills, and their coats and skin are healthy and shiny..never have any problems with this food..and they poop significantly less, and alot less to clean up... no bad breath.. etc..

anyways..good luck with your new dog and if you ever have any questions dont hesitate to ask! I have been a dog lover and caregiver for a while now and I have been in a very similar situation with getting a slightly older dog from a breeder..

 

[polarice]

I "bought" one of my dogs when he was two years old from a registered breeder, his only life was a kennel, breeding, showing, etc until I got him. He was an extremely well behaved dog, very well trained, etc, but he had NO social skills...and still had the breeding male, territorial instincts, so for the most part he was pretty snarly around ather dogs..it took a long time to get him social with other dogs and even until this day he's pretty snotty, but sometimes he plays, but for the most part just ignores other dogs and does his own thing..which is fine as long as he's not bothering anyone. If he hasn't been well socialized or trained, I would recommend taking him to socialization and obedience classes right away, something I wish I had done with my older male, but I took him to dog parks a couple times a week and still do to this day, and I bring him with me everywhere I go like friends houses to meet their dogs, etc. I now have a little 3 month old puppy, whom was very playful and friendly with dogs, until some idiots decided it was okay to bring their uncontrollable, aggressive dogs to the dog park and allow them to attack my puppy, who is now fearful and has no confidence to play with bigger puppies.. we are making progress though, I take him to socialization classes and dog parks EVERY day, and walks every day. Basically aside from taking your new dog to classes, I highly recommend you spend a lot of time and effort training this dog.. make sure he respects you as pack leader. Dogs require a lot of time and work. I took my 3 month old puppy to a class this weekend with puppies who were between 4-7 months old, and none of them could perform HALF the obedience commands my puppy has already mastered within the couple weeks I had him, and its not because the puppies are hard to train or they are dumb...its because the owners do not put enough time into training.

Oh and just a quick comment on the human food, to each their own, but I do not feed my dogs commercial dog foods or treats.. actually,a lot of human foods are better for dogs then your typical store bought kibble and treats.. my dogs eat raw meat. I feed them raw beef, elk, bison, lamb, rabbit, etc, its called Carnivora. I believe only Tail Blazers pet health food stores sell it, but I buy it from a private distributor for a lot less $....oh and for treats, my dogs get med rare plain steak with garlic, goat cheese, goat milk, goat yogurt and raw fruits and vegetables like green beans, cucumber, peas, apples, melons and bananas... and guess what.. my dogs never get sick and I have no vet bills, and their coats and skin are healthy and shiny..never have any problems with this food..and they poop significantly less, and alot less to clean up... no bad breath.. etc..

anyways..good luck with your new dog and if you ever have any questions dont hesitate to ask! I have been a dog lover and caregiver for a while now and I have been in a very similar situation with getting a slightly older dog from a breeder..

jeesh your dog eats better than most people

 

[takethebounce]

You may possibly have to socialize the dog. Many people don't put enough value into socializing their dogs. If you want to be able to walk the dog on a leash in populated areas, take the dog to off leash areas, you will have to test the waters and see how the dog reacts. The dog will most likely have to have some recall training. Once a dog chooses to make a recall word like "come" optional, it will remain optional. You want your dog to come when called, so it may take some work. Playing hide and seek in your own home works.

If possible I would have a crate in your home, with something familar to the dog, a blanket or something to put in the crate. Many dogs after being crated for periods of time consider it their safe place. If you have friends who are dog owners and have social dogs maybe arange a puppy play day in your home. It may help show your new pup that your home is a safe place. Watch for any signs of of what you might consider the dog being agressive, when in reality it is just unsure.

You want to give the dog a new better life, but you must remember, the dog doesn't know any different. A dog without a job can become restless. Start to chew on things, do what you might think is misbehaving. Excerise daily even for a bull dog is a great life for a dog.

Also find a good vet. The vets in the city are some of the most exspensive. Vets South of the city are sometimes half the price. Check out Okotok's.

At the end of the day, remember it is a dog, they can still be part of the family, but they have to have rules. You don't have to be mean and beat the dog, but be firm. It might sound silly, but you are the master of the household and a dog is only a good as the owner makes it.

edit** I read LadyDirts post after I had posted mine, and I agree about the raw diets, but typically people who have their dogs on raw diets (as I do) are very passionate about it because we see the benefits of it. Honestly kibble foods weren't around until the 60-70's and before that dogs ate the left overs from the table scraps. So if you are interested in raw food diets do your own research and see if its right for you. (its deffinetly right for your dog) Did she mention how much dogs love tripe!!! The only reason Hill's foods (science diet) lines the shelves at the Vet clinics is because Hill's invest so much money into veterinary schools

LadyDirt can you pm me the name or contact of this distributor? I would love to save some money off TailBlazers pricing!

 

[MOMMA]

x3 on the raw food diet!!!!

 

[-LadyDirt-]

jeesh your dog eats better than most people

They do.. but I am passionate about my dogs and believe they deserve to eat just as good as we do, they are no different to me than most peoples children and I care about their nutrition and well being.. and I also have seen the effects of raw diets and can tell you that these diets = significatly fewer and cheaper vet visits throughout the years..My Shiba inu is 6 years old and he doesn't look or act a day over 3..has had absolutley no health issues and has only been to the vet for neutering and vaccines in 6 years..

 

[-LadyDirt-]

You may possibly have to socialize the dog. Many people don't put enough value into socializing their dogs. If you want to be able to walk the dog on a leash in populated areas, take the dog to off leash areas, you will have to test the waters and see how the dog reacts. The dog will most likely have to have some recall training. Once a dog chooses to make a recall word like "come" optional, it will remain optional. You want your dog to come when called, so it may take some work. Playing hide and seek in your own home works.

If possible I would have a crate in your home, with something familar to the dog, a blanket or something to put in the crate. Many dogs after being crated for periods of time consider it their safe place. If you have friends who are dog owners and have social dogs maybe arange a puppy play day in your home. It may help show your new pup that your home is a safe place. Watch for any signs of of what you might consider the dog being agressive, when in reality it is just unsure.

You want to give the dog a new better life, but you must remember, the dog doesn't know any different. A dog without a job can become restless. Start to chew on things, do what you might think is misbehaving. Excerise daily even for a bull dog is a great life for a dog.

Also find a good vet. The vets in the city are some of the most exspensive. Vets South of the city are sometimes half the price. Check out Okotok's.

At the end of the day, remember it is a dog, they can still be part of the family, but they have to have rules. You don't have to be mean and beat the dog, but be firm. It might sound silly, but you are the master of the household and a dog is only a good as the owner makes it.

edit** I read LadyDirts post after I had posted mine, and I agree about the raw diets, but typically people who have their dogs on raw diets (as I do) are very passionate about it because we see the benefits of it. Honestly kibble foods weren't around until the 60-70's and before that dogs ate the left overs from the table scraps. So if you are interested in raw food diets do your own research and see if its right for you. (its deffinetly right for your dog) Did she mention how much dogs love tripe!!! The only reason Hill's foods (science diet) lines the shelves at the Vet clinics is because Hill's invest so much money into veterinary schools

LadyDirt can you pm me the name or contact of this distributor? I would love to save some money off TailBlazers pricing!

100% agree also with what Bounce said here.. crate training is very important..obviously this dog is already crate trained so make sure you purchase a suitable sized crate and make it comfortable for your dog. I use the collapsable wire crate for my puppy..easy to fold down and take with me when we travel. Training and exercise is EXTREMELY important.. dogs need and live for constant mental and physical stimulation.. teach your dog lots of tricks in your spare time, and take to offleash parks and walks for exercise and socialization DAILY. Again, everything else Bounce has mentioned here is very good, sound advice to being a responsible dog owner. Some breeds are lower energy, which I believe the english bulldogs are.. very lazy the ones I've met anyway but still a daily walk is a must at the very least! I have a very high energy herding dog breed of puppy and he will be going into agility classes so he has a "job" to do, to keep him physically AND mentally stimulated, not something that is neccessary for bulldogs but you want to make sure he's still getting th activity he needs to be healthy and happy

On the raw food topic again... I definitely recommend the Carnivora brand over others.. they have been proven to have significant less amounts of bacteria and such in the raw meat. I want to add to the veterinary food diets aswell that Bounce is indeed correct that they invest in the veterinary schools and that is why a vet will always reccomend their dry kibble foods and NEVER will they recommend raw diets..so whatever you do do not buy into their BS reasons why raw food is bad.. most of them say its because of the bacterias, especially with children or sick people in your house with weak immune systems, if the dog eats raw then licks your face, etc but I've been feeding raw for 6 years, I am careful to thaw the frozen raw meat immediately before feeding, and I soak and scrub the dishes with hot soapy water and I have never had any issues, but again this is also why the Carnivora brand is better for these reasons.

Vet clinics outside of cites are definitely cheaper, and whatever you do.. do nto always beleive everything the vets tell you.. Remember they still need to make money and i've experienced it already several times with my puppy and my older dog when I brought them in for routine check up they find a million things wrong and recommend you do this and that immediately and costs you a bunch of money.. so try to find a very reputable vet.. I no longer go to that vet and have found a clinic an hour out of the city that I travel to, they are cheaper and I have found they only perform what is absolutley necessary. My puppy broke a canine tooth in half and it cracked up into the root and he bled pretty badly, I called the vet and she said ""nah he's fine.. no need to bring him in for that he'll get over it on his own"..sure enough he was fine and that tooth would have fallen out anyway.. however, just out of curiousity I called the other vet in the city and they said he should come in immediately for an emergency tooth extraction which would have ended up costing me about $500.... so just be mindful with vets... I guess i'm kinda old fashioned that way..I rarely go to doctors myself.

 

[pano-dude]

great advise, i'm on my 3rd "rescue" dog, got a german sherpard from an abusive owner 14yrs ago, 4 yrs ago took in an abandonded boarder collie and this year took a rotty from a neglecting owner.

Best advise I have is spend as much time with them as possible and be consistant with rewards and discipline.

 

[john s]

Thank you so much for the great advice i was not expecting such good advice and knowlage. Do i have to put him in a cage i would like to get away from that i would like to put his bed in our laundry room. He has been in a cage for 4 years already what would he do if not in a cage? I know it might be hard work but just want him to be a loved dog and part of the family.

 

[plio7]

in my experiance i would slowly wien off of the cage, have a crate in your house and when your out for a long period of time put him in it, as said before it will eventually become a safe place in the house for him. when you go to the store or just out for a little biut leave him out and see how he does. slowly increase how long oyu leave him out while your gone but always leave the crate available, and use it on ocasion just to keep them fermilliar with going into it when you say. both of my dogs have free range of my house for the most part but we worked them both into it and upon occasion still use them if the dogs get unruley while were out or sometimes just for no reason....but we never use it as a direct punishment. if they do something wrong just make them go lay down somewhere, but keep the crate as a positive, safe, place for them that is there's.

right now when we leave the house both of our dogs will actually go lay in their crates with out us saying, once we're gone they take free range but as we get ready they will go and lay down, and meet us at the door when we get home......dont over think it man, as long as you treat him like your best friend he'll return the favor.....cheer and good luck man

 

[Bogger]

dogs are much like kids.... you only have to kick them once.........once they know you will do it, you will not have too again...

both my dogs are rescues, shadow at 100lbs was confined to a 12' square patch of dirt and NEVER was inside a house... now hes a healthy 85lbs and has 4 acres to play...micky was an overweight trailer park mut....now she's an overweight acreage mut.. obviously previously abused, I've never had to kick her because obviously someone else had

If I fed shadow steak I'd be bankrupt in under a month, they get the standard Alpo in a 30L tupperware container and eat when they are hungry (approx 36kg month), and on sundays they help clean up the table scraps... Vet told us that shadow is active and healthy enough that if we want we can mix gravy with his food or add rice to beef him up a bit, he looks too skinny but the vet said he's not too skinny, most dogs are too fat...

 

[Stompin Tom]

Its a 100% pure bread english bull dog.

I presume you have done your prepwork on the English Bulldog. A VERY high maintenance breed. They have allot of medical and hygiene issues.

 

[takethebounce]

dogs are much like kids.... you only have to kick them once.........once they know you will do it, you will not have too again...

both my dogs are rescues, shadow at 100lbs was confined to a 12' square patch of dirt and NEVER was inside a house... now hes a healthy 85lbs and has 4 acres to play...micky was an overweight trailer park mut....now she's an overweight acreage mut.. obviously previously abused, I've never had to kick her because obviously someone else had

If I fed shadow steak I'd be bankrupt in under a month, they get the standard Alpo in a 30L tupperware container and eat when they are hungry (approx 36kg month), and on sundays they help clean up the table scraps... Vet told us that shadow is active and healthy enough that if we want we can mix gravy with his food or add rice to beef him up a bit, he looks too skinny but the vet said he's not too skinny, most dogs are too fat...

This is so true! You should actually be able to see, (or atleast feel) the ribs showing through the dogs coats on most breeds.

 

[-LadyDirt-]

True for most breeds, should be able to "feel" the ribs under the skin, but should not be too visible (ribs, spine, hips, etc) Dogs should be leaner and not chunky but this doesn't hold true as much for bull dogs lol. Their kinda chunky animals to begin with, but have to be extremely cautious not to get them too fat.

I agree as well with what Tom has said... make sure you do research on a breed before you buy... to ensure it is the right dog for you and your family.

 

[imdoo'n]

why not check to see who loves ya the most?


put your dog and GF\Wife in the trunk of your car, close lid, come back in an hr and see who is the happiest to see you.

my money on the dog.

 

[takethebounce]

why not check to see who loves ya the most?


put your dog and GF\Wife in the trunk of your car, close lid, come back in an hr and see who is the happiest to see you.

my money on the dog.

Haha, I would never put the dog in the trunk to being with...