| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Dusky Beauty |
Posted - Mar 11 2012 : 7:46:23 PM
I'll try to be concise with a long story.
My beloved Pyr mix pup has developed a taste for chewing up my ducks and turkies. There goes my hope of keeping him as an LGD.
I rehomed him 2 days ago with a $50 rehoming fee. I checked in with them a couple of times and it was "my kids love him... he walks so good... what a great dog."
Well I just got an angry text message telling me he has "severe seperation anxiety" and is "tearing up her house" and I have to come get him asap.
Well, for one, that's honestly a new development for the dog. I knew he could get bored and chew something, but I've never seen him try to tear down a door to get outside to people.
First I tried to talk her through the options of securing him someplace where he won't be able to "ride it out" when he's alone for an hour. But she won't consider that.
Ugh... then the message about "refund" came through. Gee I wish she said something yesterday before I spent $30 I had on some backup dog food and diapers.
~*~ http://silverstarfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/ ~*~
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.”
~Erma Bombeck |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| crittergranny |
Posted - Mar 14 2012 : 06:22:06 AM
Sorry to hear about your troubles Jen. It sounds to me like maybe this pup isn't the breed that fits in with your place. I think those big dogs like that naturally have a larger range of area. As a ranchers daughter taught the old ways I have found that the best ranch dogs are heelers and border collies. I now have a red healer/ border collie cross. She is super devoted to me and is usually never more than 50 ft from me. Of course all puppies go through puppy stuff and they must be reprimanded for any aggressive behavior towards livestock, from day 1 and every time. Even if they are just playing they are also learning predator behavior and they have to learn that it isn't acceptable ever. There are some dogs that respect your wishes and some that just figure out how to go behind your back. The latter ones are not suited for ranchwork. Although all dogs are individuals there are some breeds more prone to pursuit of livestock and sometimes progress to chasing deer as well. Anyway if the pup isn't suited for your particular situation I wonder if the person you got him from would take him back. Don't get me wrong, Im not saying they aren't a good ranch breed. I dont know a lot about those dogs but I think it takes a little more work to train a big dog like that as opposed to a smaller ranch suited breed. I have found heelers to be more low maintenence. And it sounds like you are a busy mom.
Horse poor in the boonies. |
| Keeper of the Past |
Posted - Mar 13 2012 : 4:03:56 PM
I have 2 LGDs that run with my flock of sheep. I got them as puppies so I kept them in a pen by the sheep so they could develop a bond. A puppy is a puppy, they love to chew, chase, and get into trouble. I left them in the pen by the barn and I would go out daily with them and let them in with the sheep for a little while. I stayed right there. If they got too rough with the sheep, I scolded them and made sure they behaved. My dogs have never hurt a sheep or lamb. They soon out grew the puppy stage and became very good flock dogs. This type of dog also marks their territory every day. I keep my in a lot with the sheep and they go all around the area peeing on things. I had a friend that cut her flock back to a couple of ewes and her big dogs went to the neighbors and kept expanding their territory. She ended up having them put down because they were protecting other's property like it belonged to them and was growling at the neighbor farmer when he went to tend his livestock.
My dogs stay with the sheep and I go out to pet them about every day. I don't let them out in the yard or near the house because I want them to be good protectors of my sheep. They love to run and play and still act like big puppies some days and they are going on 4 years old.
I have pictures of Sadie and Lady on my blog. They are super dogs. They also love to be loved and act very hurt if I speak harshly to them. They will put their tails down and run away from me.
Good luck
www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are." EE Cummings
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| rough start farmgirl |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 10:50:31 PM
I am so sorry you had to go thru all that. It is so sad. Keep your chin up.
marianne |
| Dusky Beauty |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 8:29:41 PM
Thankfully it's all over now. She decided she couldn't wait to "get rid of him" and stopped complaining about her money long enough to drive back out to my house and dropped him off. DH had rushed me into urgent care to get my errant tonsils treated first thing in the morning so my mother collected the pup for me and gave her her money back.
I'm just sooo relieved the dog is safe and it's all over. It was so heartbreaking-- even though he was only there for two days he wanted to leave with them again... he was so heartbroken and didn't know what he did wrong, it was clear he thought that was *his* family. He's going to stay for a while again while he gets his confidence built up again before I start looking for a new home for him.
~*~ http://silverstarfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/ ~*~
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.”
~Erma Bombeck |
| homsteddinmom |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 08:44:45 AM
hugs to you. Sorry you are going thru this. Wonder if she is just having second thoughts of having to take care of something and this was the best way to get around just saying that?
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
| Dusky Beauty |
Posted - Mar 11 2012 : 8:23:12 PM
Ok, neither option was satisfactory to her. So I got to humble myself to the Stepford wife and explained that my husband took a huge paycut 2 years ago to keep working and reminded her I am supporting my mother and two siblings and informed her that every dollar of every paycheck is spent before it even hits the bank. What a "wonderfully" humbling experience for me this turned out to be.
If she messages back that it's still not acceptable I'll suggest the next time she adopt an animal that she should inquire about the owner's tax bracket. A shelter would sure the heck not give her any kind of refund at all.
~*~ http://silverstarfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/ ~*~
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.”
~Erma Bombeck |
| Dusky Beauty |
Posted - Mar 11 2012 : 8:06:56 PM
Well, I can shift around my money and avoid giving her a postdated check (hopefully... I don't even want to ASK about a post dated check, it sounds so destitute and scammy) and pray I sell my old washer dryer to cover the deficit that will come out of DH's gas budget at the end of the pay period.
I sent her another message (can't talk, tonsil swollen badly or I'd have called.) And I told her plainly, if I come tomorrow, I have no choice but to put her refund in the gas tank as I have no other way to get to her than to drive the guzzler farm truck and that's honestly what it will cost (and I'll still come up short on my house budget in the end.) If she can wait till tuesday, my hubby is already in the neighborhood and can pick him up and I'll worry about the money later while I try to "invent it" from craigslist or something.
~*~ http://silverstarfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/ ~*~
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.”
~Erma Bombeck |
| StrawHouseRanch |
Posted - Mar 11 2012 : 7:53:31 PM
Yikes, you might need to rescue him quickly, unfortunately. Otherwise he might end up in a shelter or worse. I don't know the first thing about guard dogs, but is there some special remedial training they can go through to get the taste of fresh duck out of their minds so they can become a good guard dog? Maybe they just need more maturing? I wonder if the new owners just weren't giving him enough outlet to release all of that Pyr-puppy energy. Hope you can iron things out. I'll keep you in my thoughts...this could become very uncomfortable before it gets straightened out.
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
