Updated - He Has Got Worse

[kirsty79]

He and Pickles are outside whilst we are at work which is Monday to Thursday 8am till 5pm. My partner and I both work too far away from home to be able to go home and let them out during the day otheriwse I'd have no problem at all with them inside all day. But 9 hours would just be too long toilet wise. They are inside all of the rest of the time, so inside more than out if worked out.

Dogs can go a lot more than 9 hrs. I had a girl who broke her leg and had to have it pinned. I lived in a basement apartment and getting her up the stairs was hard. The vet said she could go 26 hrs. Once a day worked fine.

Have you somewhere inside he can't completely destroy though?

My daughter and her boyfriend had thought that his mum and dad had taken their dog (9 year old large cross breed) with them to the beach house (as they usually do) but they had left him at home in the laundry. That was on the Friday night. They got up saturday morning, went out for the day, came home, went out for the night. And then discovered dog in laundry on Sunday morning. He had water and had been quiet and also hadn't toileted. Talk about feeling guilty though.

No, nowhere he couldn't destroy so inside isn't an option After seeing what he did to the back door I have no doubt he will do the same inside to the doors or walls.

[kirsty79]

Can you ask what will happen to him OP?

I would be struggling to decide what best to do as well, it's not an easy decision to have to make at all.

I have emailed the shelter owner to ask and will let you know :)

[Greytmate]

I wouldn't have Eric PTS no. As stressed as I am I believe he has so much potential, even if I can't give him the home he needs, someone who is more experienced or perhaps has the finance and extra time required must be able to.

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he would do the same in any home. That is why he needs a professional assessment.

How easy do you think it would be to find an owner that wants a problem dog instead of one with no problems? Why would somebody want to do that? Do you think an owner that does want a problem dog may still want him if his problem is quickly solved? What if his problems are not really solvableat all?

I am not saying you should put this dog to sleep. I am saying that it would be highly unethical to place this dog in a home without it having been assessed. Not all dog temperament problems are solvable, or even managble long-term., no matter how expereinced or financial a person claims to be.

[Dame Aussie]

God if I followed some of the advice in here one of my dogs would be dead. Mosley has eaten a coffee table and a mattress but never did we consider taking him back and having him PTS. We persevered and have had no major destruction since. Yes he will chew but not to the same extent.

I'm not saying this dog is the same, he sounds a lot worse but I think some of the advice here is jumping the gun a bit, JMO of course.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Aussie3

[LizT]

I wouldn't have Eric PTS no. As stressed as I am I believe he has so much potential, even if I can't give him the home he needs, someone who is more experienced or perhaps has the finance and extra time required must be able to.

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he would do the same in any home. That is why he needs a professional assessment.

How easy do you think it would be to find an owner that wants a problem dog instead of one with no problems? Why would somebody want to do that? Do you think an owner that does want a problem dog may still want him if his problem is quickly solved? What if his problems are not really solvableat all?

I am not saying you should put this dog to sleep. I am saying that it would be highly unethical to place this dog in a home without it having been assessed. Not all dog temperament problems are solvable, or even managble long-term., no matter how expereinced or financial a person claims to be.

Greytmate is right. And if him being in a concrete run all day surrounded by high cyclone wire is the future that will keep him from causing major damage and possibly hurting himself and getting out the new potential owner needs to be made aware of this.

[LizT]

He and Pickles are outside whilst we are at work which is Monday to Thursday 8am till 5pm. My partner and I both work too far away from home to be able to go home and let them out during the day otheriwse I'd have no problem at all with them inside all day. But 9 hours would just be too long toilet wise. They are inside all of the rest of the time, so inside more than out if worked out.

Dogs can go a lot more than 9 hrs. I had a girl who broke her leg and had to have it pinned. I lived in a basement apartment and getting her up the stairs was hard. The vet said she could go 26 hrs. Once a day worked fine.

Have you somewhere inside he can't completely destroy though?

My daughter and her boyfriend had thought that his mum and dad had taken their dog (9 year old large cross breed) with them to the beach house (as they usually do) but they had left him at home in the laundry. That was on the Friday night. They got up saturday morning, went out for the day, came home, went out for the night. And then discovered dog in laundry on Sunday morning. He had water and had been quiet and also hadn't toileted. Talk about feeling guilty though.

No, nowhere he couldn't destroy so inside isn't an option After seeing what he did to the back door I have no doubt he will do the same inside to the doors or walls.

Yes, my very well behave Border Collie X went to town when we left her in the bathroom of my in-laws beach house when we went to the National Park for an afternoon (no dogs allowed). She went to town on the door frame and ripped up the edge of carpet that protruded under the door and she was not a destructive dog at all.

[WeimMe]

My girl's worst offences include eating the corner of a wall (she was bored maybe?), destroying a french door scratching to get in and tearing up our newly installed irrigation system (which I suspect was purely for the joy of it). Thank goodness she eventually grew out of it!

[voloclydes]

dogs with big problems take a long time to come right...

sophie has been 2years and still occasionally eats stuff.... ok so more than occasionally....

and the OH has trained her to poop at dawn, so now at my place when i go pre dawn she poops on the concrete.... so i just shovel it...

[trifecta]

I have not read all of the responses, I always seem to be time poor these days, but upon re-reading your opening post, alarm bells began to ring! You say the dog is underweight...... has anyone mentioned hyperthyroidism? I know it is rare in dogs, but the hyperactivity, or more accurately irritability, & the fact he is failing to thrive, could possibly be due to overproduction of thyroxine.

[Erny]

I have not read all of the responses, I always seem to be time poor these days, but upon re-reading your opening post, alarm bells began to ring! You say the dog is underweight...... has anyone mentioned hyperthyroidism? I know it is rare in dogs, but the hyperactivity, or more accurately irritability, & the fact he is failing to thrive, could possibly be due to overproduction of thyroxine.

A good thought, Trifecta, even though the possibility needs a bit more investigation and thought. But it is very unlikey to be hyperthyroidic. However, just because the dog is manic active, doesn't mean it can't be hypOthyroidic. Early onset hypothyroidism can present itself as nervous, pacey, over active and dog difficult to put weight on (in amongst a stack of other possible symptoms). It is later in the disease when this reverses and (for example) the dog has inexplicable weight gain, lethargy. At this point, the thyroid tissue is destroyed by about 70% and this is when those typical clinical signs begin to appear.

Because our Aussie tests tend not to reveal hypothyroid issues until a bit later, I send my dog's bloods to Dr Jean Dodds in the USA for testing - she runs a full blood panel test, something that our pathology depts don't have the facilities to do, and her analysis is not based on just "small, medium, large" dog .... breed and age are also taken into account.

[trifecta]

Yes Erny, you are right. The endocrine system has a bearing on every cell in the body & hypothyroidism is, as you say, much more common. I think this is well worth investigating, my gut feeling is that there is a medical reason behind the behaviour. If it is a thyroid problem, it may also be relatively inexpensive to treat, cheaper than remodelling the house at any rate!

[trifecta]

I am on another list where thyroid problems have been topical lately. In one household, two out of four dogs & one human are hypothyroid.

One of the respondents posted a link to a website which indicated a correlation between fluoride & endocrine function. Fluoride has actually been used to suppress productivity of the thyroid in HYPER-thyroid patients.

Many of us live in cities & communities which supply fluordated water, this could be especially detrimental to health where iodine intake is low.

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/thyroid/

[Erny]

Funny you mention that, Trifecta. I am hypothyroidic as well. Mind you ..... so is my Mum and my sister, so in my instance I presume it is one of genetics.

But I do agree with the thoughts that relate to health links with our treated drinking water.

[Lady Flying Furball]

I feel upset for you Kristy and Eric, and also angry that it would seem no assessment was done on the dog to find out how he would be in a normal home environment. If the dog has thyroid problems yet again I feel upset that you have ended up in this awful situation. I know that there must be great moments with him that make it hard to imagine letting go of him BUT honestly what a stress!! If you do take him back you will feel sad. Just remeber next time to go a more secure route, a dog in rescue where you know what you are getting.