Dog Community

Best Friend Suddenly Doesn't Want Puppy

Posted : 3/6/2007 12:12:25 AM

Ugh... well I was worried this would happen... my best friend got a BYB sheltie pup (against my warnings and advice) a couple months after I got Shippo. I tried to help her train the puppy with simple advice (like don't use puppy pads, confine the puppy when it's not supervised, ignore the whining in crate, etc.) but she completely ignored me. After the puppy cried for a few nights in the crate, she started letting her out, and then stopped using the crate altogether. She tried confining her in the laundry room with a baby gate with puppy pads, but she cried back there and so they let her roam the house eventually, with a puppy pad in a corner, which she used 50% of the time. Her house began to smell like pee, and her carpet by the front door started disappearing because the puppy was chewing it. I stopped going over there a whole lot, because the pee smell gave me a headache, and after being busy a lot, I hadn't talked to her in over a month, till she called today.

She told me today that she was thinking about giving Tola (the puppy) away or just leaving her at her parents' house, and told me everything that was wrong with her now, including a lovely new resource guarding behavior involving her toys. I told her that a lot of the destruction could have been prevented by just crate training. I also said it's a horrible idea to leave her at her parents' house. They don't take very good care of their animals there, and she knows that because one of her dogs was killed there, and another was run over and I had to basically steal the dog from her dad and surrender it to a rescue just for it to get proper vet care (they were just going to let the dog bleed everywhere).

Um... so long story short, I offered to ask my landlord if it's okay for me to "foster" my best friend's dog, so that I can give her some proper training and find her another home if she still feels that she can't keep the dog anymore after I keep her for a little while. I love my best friend to death, but I sure wish she'd listen to me sometimes about training. >X.x;<

So now I've possibly committed myself to a 9-month-old sheltie with some problems. I sure hope I know what I'm getting myself into! >@_@<

Raja19

Posted : 3/6/2007 12:22:16 AM

Gee sounds alot like my cousins, who get dogs and end up letting them pee everywhere and do not take them being aggresive seriously at all. It is very frusterating. I sure hope you can train the puppy and hopefully rehome her.

Did your lanlord say yes that you could foster her? If he did that would be great.

astaracheetah

Posted : 3/6/2007 12:36:11 AM

Well, I wasn't able to get ahold of her today, but I'll try again tomorrow. I think there's like a 75% chance of her saying yes. She's nice and understanding, but there's always the chance that she'll say no.

I'm going to have to buy a crate, and the dog is not spayed yet, so I told her before this happens, she needs to spay the dog BEFORE she comes here. I'm going to have to tether the dog to me as if she were 12 weeks old since she isn't reliable at all, and I'm going to have to re-train her to the crate (that's probably going to be the worst part, because my boyfriend is going to whine and complain about the noise she's making for the first couple of days. I haven't even told him yet. I'm not going to even bother until I get my landlord's answer lmao...

I figure while I'm jobless, I might as well make myself useful...

Raja19

Posted : 3/6/2007 12:40:17 AM

That is going to be alot of work for you, but I am sure it will be very rewarding when Tola gets less food aggresive and becomes better trained. Shelties are usually very nice dogs...right?

Luvntzus

Posted : 3/6/2007 2:44:44 AM

I hope your landlord agrees to let you take her! I have to say though, I'd be really surprised if your friend would be willing to spend the money/effort to get the dog spayed before giving her to you. [&:]

astaracheetah

Posted : 3/6/2007 2:57:05 AM

We've already talked about it, and she agreed to spay her before we go through with this. >^^;<

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/6/2007 7:06:52 AM

This makes me so angry. Shelties are brilliant (if barky) dogs, and easily trained if someone learns how to do it and puts in a bit of time. Most of the ones we see are housetrained before many of the other pups in their classes.
You are really sweet to want to bail this dog out from a really irresponsible owner. I really hope it works out. Keep us posted.

Scout in Canada

Posted : 3/6/2007 7:26:31 AM

I hope you are able to foster this poor sheltie - the nice thing is, once you've worked with her for awhile and reversed your friend's poor training, I think that will be a very adoptable dog and shouldn't be hard to find a forever home for. Good for you!

jessies_mom

Posted : 3/6/2007 7:41:47 AM

You're an angel to save this puppy, and thank goodness your friend has agreed to have her spayed. I hope your landlord agrees to another dog and your boyfriend is understanding. Keep us posted on her progress.

gradyupmybutt

Posted : 3/6/2007 8:38:41 AM

Bless you for taking this kiddo in. I hope your LL will say it's okay. It's heartbreaking to watch someone ruining a good dog by stupidity or laziness. I'm positive that once you're finished with Tola she'll be a dream girl.

Susan Robertson

Posted : 3/6/2007 9:13:05 AM

That is so frustrating for you since you tried to

revent this in the first place. I just can't understand why some people even WANT a dog if they have no intention of spending the time and effort to avoid all these "human created" behavioral issues. All preventable, but now it's a heartache.

At least you are trying to do the right thing and "fix" this pup before it winds up in a shelter. Fingers crossed that your landlord will allow you to take her in.

rwbeagles

Posted : 3/6/2007 9:48:58 AM

Make sure you are prepared to deal with barking. Shelties are notorious for it. LL might be less happy about the situation if that's allowed to get out of hand.

Good thing you're doing [

]

astaracheetah

Posted : 3/6/2007 2:14:15 PM

I hear corgis are also supposed to be highly vocal... but Shippo is a very quiet dog lol. I know Tola is already vocal, but I think I can curb it just a little bit. My landlord has two very yappy dogs of her own, and my neighbors' dogs never shut up, so I don't think we'll have too big of a problem lol...

Still trying to get ahold of her though. I think right now she's on a plane, flying back here.

Laurelin_429

Posted : 3/6/2007 2:43:28 PM

Shelties are barky, comparatively. they don't just sit around and howl for no reason, and my two will be quiet if you tell them. it has to do with training, but they still bark more than most breeds- many herders do, it seems.

I remember you saying that your friend had gotten this pup and you weren't approving. Shelties are very smart dogs. It shouldn't be too bad to train her if she actually gets the time and someone willing to just sit down and do it. As an owner of shelties (and one BYB one at that) they can be amazing dogs. My back yard bred sheltie is my best friend int he world. Wonderful dog, great personality and pretty healthy for her age thankfully. They're great with families, and just joys to have around. They do need time and someone willing to train (as do other breeds) and someone willing to groom. I wish i was still in contact with Trey's breeder, she used to do sheltie rescue all the time and would have people you could contact. I lost touch with her after she went through a lot of personal issues and moved across country.

Man, if it were next year, I'd be interested. >.< I'm possibly looking for a youngish sheltie rescue but I can't get one until next fall at the earliest. (Still haven't decided on the breed or anything for sure yet)

Good luck with Tola and keep us updated!

astaracheetah

Posted : 3/6/2007 5:56:38 PM

Alright, the landlord says it's fine. She even says she fully trusts me. >O_O< So now I just have to bring it up with the boyfriend. That'll be fun.