My new rescue - Sad and lengthy update

[Whirlwind]

Sorry he is not working out for you. But you tried and he sounds like he needs to be in an one dog home.

Good luck finding him one.

 

[willkatdawson]

Does your area have a Humane society? They might be willing to work with him. I know in our area the animal shelter and humane society are two very different things. The pure breed rescue is also a great way to go.

 

[Equus5O]

I've been in touch with Rottweiler rescue groups. They're not accepting dogs at the moment, and especially not dog aggressive ones.

Little by little, he's becoming more acceptive of the other dogs. When the geezer dog and the Jack are out, and when the chickens are out, he's in a crate in the garage. I want to expose him to the other animals, without risk of dismemberment of the other animals (the crate is wrapped with tie-outs to prevent him from breaking out). He's not as frenzied at the sight of the other animals as he was five days ago. Today, the Jack came into the garage while he was eating, and he didn't react at all. He'll bark at the dogs and the chickens when the enter the garage or pass by the doorway, but calmer than before.

Our next plan of attack is to muzzle him, with a prong collar, and walk him in the vicinity of another dog.

He's starting to play with a rubber bone. He's not devouring his food as if he's starving.

He's totally bonded with me. If he's loose outside, I can't go into the house, because if he sees me pass by a window he'll jump at that window.

I have to bear the expense of a vet visit. I can't expose the other dogs to him without vaccinations. It's going on a week now. If we keep him any longer, I'm going to have to get him neutered. I have hope (too great expectations, I know) that he will improve after. It would totally suck to take him for an exam and neutering and end up with the shelter taking and putting him down after all.

We just can't bring ourselves to give up on this dog, yet we don't want to endanger our child or our other animals, and I can't forget my 72 year old mother. I guess she's at risk, too.

Sandra

 

[NapsWithChickens]

I agree: you're in a pickle. ~sigh~ He is such a handsome fellow!

How about St. Hubert's Giralda in Madison, NJ? I don't know if they are close to you... but I grew up in Morris County and, I swear, we thought that they walked on water there. It was one heck of a shelter/rescue.

Hugs to you for trying to rescue!

 

[Equus5O]

Quote:
I've never heard of it before, but I looked it up. It's about an hour away from me. Kind of far for training, but I'll call and see if they can help me.

Thanks for the tip

Sandra

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

My thoughts are does he respect one sex more than the other? My dogs are way OVER bonded to me and would fight if I was alone with them, so I had to have DH do the introductions when I wasnt home.

I went to the store, came home, and both dogs were out in the back yard TOGETHER, I about came unglued thinking OMG Rally (boxer) is going to kill Sully (Chihuahua). BUT DH, said nope ignore them both, go inside then come back out. Well they both sleep with us now, along with the cat and our 3 yr old dd lol

 

[Skyesrocket]

I would wait until the female is out of heat to give the guy a chance. Even the best behaved intact males will mark and act dog aggressive when a female is in heat. As soon as the standing heat is over everything goes back to normal.
Give him lots of exercise....long walks and fetch games and give him time to settle.
So nice of you for bringing this guy into your home.

 

[Equus5O]

It didn't work.

This morning I took him out at about 6:30 am, while the rest of the family was sleeping.

As soon as we rounded the front of the house, he zoned in on my sons playhouse. He alerted at the bottom of the slide. As I walked closer, he lunged beneath the ramp that's next to the slide. He had an animal in his mouth. I called to him, but it was like I wasn't even there. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't intervene. The cat didn't have a chance. There's no way I can attempt to intervene during a killing frenzy. I had to turn away and leave.

When I reached the corner of the house, I looked back and he had dropped the body. He barked at it several times. I retrieved my rabies pole, a leash and some cookies from the garage and returned to the dog. I called to him, but he wouldn't respond. He continued to play with the body. I have to say that I was afraid to approach him with the pole. What if he was guarding the body, and turned on me? I just couldn't risk that.

I heard the slightest tinkling sound from behind me. That sound was the collar of my mothers Jack Russell Terrier approaching from behind me. My mother had let the dog out, not knowing I had the Rottweiler out. The Jack heard the Rott. bark and came around the corner. The Rott. was focused on the dead cat, and didn't see the Jack coming. I whispered "Cashew!!" and grabbed her. When the Rott. heard me speak, he turned and came toward me. I turned my back to him and stuffed the Jack inside my bathrobe. I was terrified. She struggled against me inside my robe. The Rott. stopped and looked at me as I tried to keep the Jack's head hidden. I called to my mother as calmly as I could to call the Rott. and get him to the front of the house. I can't believe he went to her. Usually, he won't leave me for my mother or my husband. On shaking legs I went to the pool fence and brought the Jack in there. I didn't let go of her until I knew the Rott. was secure on the other side of the house, and I could get the Jack into the house.

That was a closer call than you can imagine. I pictured him knowing that I had the Jack and attacking me to get her. Or what if she hadn't had her collar on and I hadn't heard her approach? What if it had been the bigger dog? I couldn't very well stuff a Shepherd mix into my bathrobe. It could have easily been one of my own cats, inadvertently let out by my son (one cat is like a vulture! she sits and waits for the door to open).

I saw this dog pounce on the cat without making a sound. There were no playful barks or lunges. He alerted, and hunted. He was absolutely silent. And then he barked at the dead animal. And then he played and tossed with it some more. It was like watching the Orcas "play" with the seals. He was having a grand old time.

The risk in keeping the dog was just too great. I have an 8 year old son, two dogs, two cats and twelve chickens. Accidents happen. Doors don't get closed all the way, and dogs get out. Dogs get let out when someone doesn't know the dangerous dog is out. Cats lurk by the door and wait for it to open. Children unknowingly move too quickly and startle a dog.

This afternoon, I took the dog back to work and had dispatch notify the shelter.

I tried. I really did. I contacted Rottweiler rescue groups. He had wonderful qualities, but the animal aggression negated all the other qualities. I took him to a trainer who works with aggressive dogs, for an evaluation. He really couldn't help me. I couldn't spare the expense of training and neutering a death row dog. I wanted to give it a week or so, and see how receptive he was.

I hope he had a good week. I hope he enjoyed the good food, and the good interaction with people. He got to play, and run, and get scratchies, and sit in my lap and give kisses.

 

[mekasmom]

Not all dogs should be saved. There are hundreds of thousands of dogs in this nation that need a home. If this dog is a danger to other pets, then it is not necessarily one that should be saved. It is taking a home from another dog that doesn't have aggression/dominance issues and is not a threat to society. What if this dog would accidentally break his leash or get out an open door and attack a small child who happened to be walking her own small dog? I know our vet is the one who decides whether a dog is to be destroyed or not in this county. And any signs of aggression are reasons for destruction in his opinion just to insure the safety of society. Not all dogs should be saved. It is just a sad fact of life.

 

[sred98]

So sorry for you and the dog. It sounds like you tried everything you could.

Try not to be too hard on yourself. He had a chance, and it could have been a lot worse. He did have one week in his life where he had food, shelter, and people that cared. I'm glad he was off the streets. We could have been reading about a child that was attacked by him if you hadn't taken him.

He sounds like he was just a loose cannon. I would have been hesitant to trust him with your son or mother. You just don't know what can set a dog like that off. I'm glad that everyone is ok, (except for the poor cat, but I'm sure he never saw it coming.) and just remember you did what you could.

Shelly