Found Lost dog

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JaniceZ

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Hello!

So a dog followed me and my dog (Pippin) home from the park Thursday morning. I am trying to find its owner. I have called the humane society to see if anyone is looking, brought him to my vet to get checked out and micro chipped, he didn't have one. And I have posted a lost and found add on Kijiji. I have also asked around the neighborhood, no one seems to have seen him before. Tomorrow I am going to put up some fliers with my phone number.

Everyone I have talked to tells me chances are I am not going to find the owner. Dog is an intact male, seems young, and was not microchipped. That included with the neighborhood I found him in, (not great) I have been told someone probably got tired of him and just let him go.

Also, my friend moved in with my husband and I. Her fiance (sp?) and her have been looking into getting a dog after she finishes school (end of December). She has expressed interest in taking Dog if the dog and her fiance get along. I know they would provide him with a good home.

So how long do I need to hold him for the owner? We would rather not send him to the humane society, as the local one has a high kill rate. Even if my friend cant take him, we would end up keeping him before we sent him to the humane society. If my friend does take him, she wants him to stay at our place until she moves out at the end of December. I am worried that Pippin (my dog) will become attached, and it would be cruel to keep Dog for too long and then have him leave. Is that something I should be worried about?

Any advice would be appreciated!
 
My son found a dog running on a back country road. He put him in his car and went to the few houses on that road and asked if anyone knew the dog, no luck. So he brought him home, he was only about 3-4 months old still had his baby teeth, poor little guy!! Well not so little, he looked to be a Lab mix with really big paws. We called all vets in area and gave description etc, none of them recalled seeing a pup like that recently. Had him scanned no microchip. We placed him on PetFind and Fiddo Find on the internet no luck. As the days went on our chances of finding his owner grew slim. The strange thing was I was seeing pictures of pups that looked similar on the local shelter's weekly posting in the local newspaper, maybe litter mates so sad...........So, after about 2 weeks we started to decide what to do with this sweet pup we called Marley(he truly was a Marley type doggie). My daughter and her fiancé had been considering getting a Lab so end of story!! Happy ending too, that was 4 years ago!!!! Marley is living in Germany with my daughter her husband and their 1 year old daughter who loves Marley and he loves her!!

I think 2 weeks is a good amount of time considering you are actively searching for his owners. If you or your friend can give this dog a forever home I think that is wonderful!!!! Good luck and I am praying that this dog has followed you home because you will help him find that home!!
 
I look for 10 days and then either find a new home, decent rescue or they end up living with me. 10 days is what our local SPCAs typically give before rehoming found dogs. There are decent organizations out there that can help get reasonable priced neutering for your rescued dog. What breed? Just curious.

If you keep the dog and spend money on neutering and shots and heartworm etc.. I would add a microchip during neutering procedure. Nice to have the dog identified as yours and not risk the owner showing up after you have spent money on the dog and trying to claim the dog back.

That all said... If the dog is well cared for, decent weight and looks to have had a loving home, then you should post at the local shelters a "found" notice. there very well could be a desperate owner that has lost their dog or if un-neutered male, might have gone "wandering" to find his next "girlfriend". You may also be able to post on petfinder and facebook too. Many dogs are not microchipped until neutered and if lost without a collar, finders might assume the dog is abandoned when he really does have a home.

For a dog I found not long ago, collar grown into his neck and not healthy, no microchip and not neutered, I felt safe to assume that he did not have a loving home and I found him a caring foster. I did watch papers for lost dog out of curiosity but giving the condition of the dog I was really glad I didn't find his previous owners. Best wishes. Glad you didn't just ignore him and are helping him find his way.
 
Perhaps 2 weeks is not long enough. My daughter reconnected a dog with its owner after 3 months.

The story: she picked up a black lab on the interstate, no collar, and took him home. Did all the usual stuff to find and advertise; this was on a college campus and lots of places to post as well. Got a call after 3 months from a girl; came to see him and felt on his neck, looking for a knot where a beebee gun had shot him previously; bingo, her boyfriends dog who had left him with a friend while he was moving, well you know the friend was not a good dog keeper. My daughters dog did not seem to mind when this dog left, she was used to my daughter having dogs coming and going I guess, we both seemed to be always rescuing animals.

I must say that the owner was so thrilled to find his dog, they were very close and a beautiful reunion

You know, black lab is so common, this girl just called on a whim .My daughter found this dog miles from where he was staying.
 
Thanks everyone. I have asked around at local vets, and left a description at the humane society, the only dog shelter I know of locally. I think hubby and I will have to keep him for a while longer, as we do believe he came from somewhere where he was at least fed. He does seem to have abandonment issues, as any time someone leaves the house without him he crys and crys like he thinks were never coming back. Last night my hubby and I went to dinner with the inlaws and left both dogs at home with my friend. Found dog paced the back yard for an hour, and when friend brought him inside he cried himself to sleep. So I think his owner must have gone somewhere and dog got out trying to look for his owners?

I am going to post some pictures around town today. finally have some decent weather
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.

Not sure of his breeding, we are thinking chow chow cross, possibly with a Rottweiler or pit bull? but we are not breed experts by any means.





Also, so far I have not heard anything. My kijiji ad has 40 views on it, but no emails.
 
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He looks like he could be an older dog. I'm no breed expert, but to me he looks like he could be a Chow/Lab X. What color is his tongue? Chows have purplish colored tongues, its a breed trait.
 
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I was going to guess the same as Chantab and also ask color of tongue. That muzzle looks chow body type looks lab, any webbing on feet? Does he have extensive tartar on his teeth? If clean, he is probably younger, if tartar is advanced I would guess older.

For leaving him alone, stuff him a bone with peanutbutter or something yummy when you leave so he associates you leaving with something good.

bestwishes, nice of you to help him along to find his way.
 
Thanks everyone, his tongue is covered in blue splotches. I checked his feet, they have to same amount of webbing as my Australian shepherd. The reason we guessed rottweiler is because his neck is as thick as his head. His teeth are very white, with no tarter buildup at all, but he does have all of his teeth (or the same amount as my 1 year 4 month old). If his owners brushed his teeth would that throw off the age?

Another question. He sniffs and pees on everything when we go for walks. EVERYTHING. If we were to keep him (assuming no owner shows up) would neutering help with this? or is this a learned behavior that training will correct?

Thanks for every ones help.
 
Oh he is a cutie!! Love his soulful eyes!!!! My guess would be Chow/Lab too. Poor guy, he must have been left behind and missed his family, thus the abandonment issue
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As for the sniff/pee issue I don't think neutering will help that habit. If he is only doing this outside on walks he may stop after he has been walked in the same areas, he will get used to those places and his scent will already be there.

What are you calling him? I know how they say once you give him a name he is "home" but I think he already had his new home picked out!! After all that is why he followed you and Pippin home!!!!!!!
 
I can't really add anything that hasn't been said. I also think he is a chowxlab, agree he will probably not stop marking when he goes for walks just because he is neutered (which would still be a good thing to do for a whole list of other reasons)but you can teach him that he must not stop unless you allow it. he should learn to walk with you. You are talking him for a walk not the other way around. He should have plenty of time to relieve himself but marking is not a requirement and it says he is in charge of you not the other way around. He is a lovely looking guy and I salute you for helping him. Also I agree with misty'smom, he needs a name ;) he thinks he is home already (plus even if his original owners do show up you need something to call him until them)
 
I agree that the sniffing and "marking" probably won't stop after neutering. The sniffing is the way that dog's with their very sensitive sense of smells "read" the "mail"-and how exciting that is outdoors! The "marking" is their way of announcing who they are and what they are about and that they were there. (ME!!!). It's inside you won't want it of course. (He doesn't, does he?).
 
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Sorry, I disagree about the sniffing and marking staying that bad if he is neutered... Male doggies will sniff and lift their legs on walks, but neutering will greatly reduce the marking behavior and if the dog is young enough when neutering especially. Un neutered males have the ability to spread it around much better than neutered males, they have excellent sphincter (I can't spell that sorry) .. control and they can shut off and start again and still leave a little squirt for your porch at home, this is the main reason I do not enjoy living with an intact male because I want my dog to completely eliminate and not stop and lift his leg on every bush in town. My neutered males mostly pee almost all their pee when they go outside in one place. Then on a walk they might sniff and pee some, but it is HUGELY reduced for most of my dogs once they are neutered. I teach all my dogs the "no sniff" command when I don't want them to pee on something and use a "Hurry up" command when I want them to pee in a specific spot. Dogs can be taught when and where it is ok to pee. I use a different leash for my dogs for shows and for walking in public no pee areas, and when I change to my long lead they know it is ok to sniff and pee. Even male dogs that I have gotten as adults (my 7 year old bassett for example) that have pee'd and sniffed and scratched and lifted legs on everything, were no problem once they were neutered. It is like night and day difference.

If his teeth are bright white, he is either young or he has just had a professional dental done on his teeth in my opinion. Regardless of brushing, tartar can build up and my dogs even when brushed daily, can build enough tartar in a year or two to need a professional cleaning, so my guess is that he is probably young if his teeth are bright white. Check his molars on the top in the back too, canines can be bright white if the dogs enjoys bones, but if the top molars in the back are bright white too, I would guess he is young.

The spots on his tongue probably another good indicator of the chow in his background.

Best wishes. PS, I have found the sniff and pee lift leg on anything urge goes down greatly about 3 months following neutering.
 
ps, he might even have some northern breed something in his background, his tail has some curl and lift and he has that white point goggles over his eyes like some northern breeds do.

he looks like a "marley" or a "Duke" lets play.. name that dog:)

Actually, he will tell you his name, start asking him what he wants to be called.
 
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Thanks again for all the replies. He is well house trained, no lifting his leg on anything inside thankfully.

As far as a name, my husband is calling him Gronk, short for Gronkowski, a football player on the Patriots. I went with it thinking he wouldn't be sticking around long.... lol. We have tried calling him all sorts of names, seeing what he would come too, but he doesn't really respond to anything at all. Hubby thinks he might have been trained in another language, since he doesn't respond to the word sit, but if you point at the ground he sits right away. I thought he might be deaf, but I clapped behind his head when he was sleeping and he turned and looked right at me. We haven't done any name recognition training since we are not sure he will be staying here (anyone want a dog? ;)), and I wouldn't blame someone if they didn't want to call him Gronk LOL.

His back molars are not so shiny white. I also looked at a website that aged based on how ridged the bottom incisors are. Based on that site and comparing with my dog, I think he is between 2-4, but again, I am no expert.

More of his personality is shining through as he becomes more comfortable with us. He love attention, and is not above a little begging to get some pats. His anxiety is getting better, I can now leave him downstairs (with my dog), without him howling, as long as I am back downstairs within two minutes. If I take longer than that he has figured out how to knock over the dog gate and comes running upstairs. His recall off leash needs work, but again its like he doesn't even hear you when you call. He also needs some on leash manners. There are a few people in the neighborhood he doesn't like much, he barks and growls at them if we stop walking to close to them. These people say they have never seen him before. I think he might be leash aggressive since he has been sweet to everyone who has come to our house since he has been there.
 
Shorthorsemom: My response about the sniffing and "marking" or peeing was in regards to outside and I meant it the way you did. That the dog does not actually pee but has the small amount left over, as you stated. And, yes, I too have worked with my guy so that he knows the "no sniff" and such commands for on his walks; but I do like to let him do some sniffing to read the "mail" and such at times. (and I use the doggy bags in case of accidents too).
 
No problem, I knew what you were saying performancemini and I wasnt trying to say you were wrong (sorry if it came out that way), I was clarifying a question I thought i read on her earlier post about the marking and peeing and was imagining how often an intact male could be squirting on a walk and thinking she was wondering if that was just him or if it would get less if she neutered him.

I had a recent rescue and my kids were amazed at how often he peed. My son says "hey, you didn't walk that dog, he peed like 20 times mom!" had to explain intact vs non intact male and ability to spread it around to my kids. I have neutered older dogs and have been very happy when the urge to do the 3 drop squirt on everything that is upright gets much less after neutering,

I use a longer leash and tell my dogs they can walk ahead and that is the ok for them to sniff and pee and poop and whatever. Great that he doesn't go in the house for her. Lots of intact males (and some neutered) lift leg in the house and that can be such a problem to break that habit in a dog. My mothers neutered male bishon hits my refrigerator every time he comes into my house. Drives me nuts.

For dental, all dogs are different, but it sounds like you are in the ball park on age. If he was as old as his grey muzzle suggested and had not had regular dentals, he would probably have gingivitis and maybe even some loose teeth, so I agree, he is probably somewhat younger rather than older even though he has a grey muzzle. 2-4 would be a good guess it sounds.

On the leash behavior and not being comfortable around folks on a leash, can be common on a dog that was tied and left alone outside and everything was just out of reach, Could also explain why he doesnt know basic obedience like the word sit. Some folks get a dog, tie it outside and don't give it socialization and think the dog will thrive and be a good watch dog, when in reality it creates a dog that is insecure, low on pack socialization and can be barky and lungey when on a lead.

Teach him all commands using food. Sit, give a treat, down give a treat. Say the word, help him have a success doing the command and food reward him for the correct response. put him on a leash inside the house. When he is near you or looking at you, tell him he is good and food reward. When he learns he gets food for looking at you and he is comfortable on leash in the house, try the same outside and reward him whenever you stop him on leash near somebody but BEFORE he does the bark or lunge.

Teach him that stopping next to somebody and looking at you for guidence will get him a treat. Pretty soon he will see a stranger and look at you, reward should be huge. If he barks or growls, do not correct the bark or growl, but rather change direction and walk away quickly and reward him when he stops being nervous and looks at you. I bet he is SUPER smart and he will train quickly.

Decide your name for him and use it even if he won't be staying forever. So often folks use a dogs name for a correction so he might be afraid to respond to the name calling idea, he may tell you later. My bassett didn't respond to any name. We called him Fred. Later he told me he liked the name scooby and he comes running when I call him scooby and ignores Fred now. LOL. Teach him his name is the best thing he ever heard by saying his name, and when he looks at you ( you might have to help him understand by turning his head gently) then food reward him. I have seen dogs shut down when they hear their name because an owner has for example come home to trash overturned and yelled the dogs name in anger, or if he was barking outside and instead of quiet the owner yells his name. Owner thinks he is correcting the dog, dog thinks his name means something bad.

Best wishes.
Sometimes those gift dogs turn out to be the best dogs ever.

take care!
 
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Great post shorthorsemom.
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Regarding the sniff and pee discussion. My response was to whether it would stop when he was neutered and I took it to mean will it stop completely. To that I still say the answer is no, not with out training that gets the dog focused on the handler more than the rest of the world, but I agree with you it will ease up. I absolutely agree with you about the intact males always having a squirt or two in reserve. I have a friend who owns a male Boston and she often asks me to take him when she travels. Last time he was here he decided to mark my couch.
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I have to treat him like a new puppy all the time, attached to me by a line or in his crate when he is in the house. Most of that would go away if she would just neuter the poor fellow but her husband has a problem with it
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Reignmaker I have lost count of the husbands that cross their legs when I mention neutering their male dogs. LOL. You would think they (meaning the testicles) were connected somehow, it is truly a male bonding sort of thing I just don't understand. My friends husband said he wanted his dog to be able to have sex and be happy. Convincing him that his dog would be happier without them was another thing. For instance, what I saw was a B quality very friendly lab from a back yard breeder. Owner had another intact older male living in same house with aggression issues and younger intact male was already picking fights with other dog. Owner wanted dog to have sex and make baby dogs with somebody elses female (they won't own a female dog)... yikes, hit my head but finally convinced them to do it, but husband still glares at me on occasion. haha. I was a vet tech and encountered many husbands that would gladly spay the females because the heats were such a pain to deal with , but wanted their male dogs in all their glory marking behavior and all.

I laugh when I see products such as "neuticles" that you can have your vet insert into the empty sac during the neutering procedure to make it look like your male dog is still intact. I guess they come in different sizes too. ... ok, now I am just being silly but after reading the ad for them I imagined somebody buying the smaller size for a big dog and having a min pin with doberman sized neuticles. sorry, I still can't believe they exist and just cant help being amused somewhat..

There are dogs that just plain like to pee, and there are dogs that have a jackhammer leg lifting problem and they enjoy watering everything in sight and even will walk up to people and pee on them too. When showing dogs, we all knew not to walk too near the miniature pinscher intact males as they would pee out of their crate as you walked by and if you got any pee on you, you were a male dog target all day at the indoor shows where trees and bushes were not to be found.

I always give my "dogs improve after neutering" with a speech about some training to go with it, because training is a big part of everything and dogs are smarter than most folks give them credit for. The number 1 reason dogs are given up on is basic training. It is so sad. Some of the brightest and smartest and most awesome dogs are the ones folks quit on and give away or rehome. Why? Because those are very smart dogs, and smart dogs are not content with just sitting around and doing nothing all day while folks work or have other things to do, so they act out and do things the owner does not like. They are called "dumb" by the owner which breaks my heart. My best dogs have been ones that I call "gift dogs". I have friends who do agility and they pick from the shelter high energy dogs with alot of zoom. Add obedience and agility and you have a dog with a zest for life and a job to do.

The dog doesnt care if you have email, or you want to stare at your iphone and be a zombie once you get home, they want you to get up, take them out, train them and tell them they are good dogs. They want their pack loving and peaceful.

I have 7 dogs in my home and we have a peaceful pack. They all get mommy and family time and they are all content with their place in the pack. The younger ones get plenty of exercise ,and the old geriatric dogs get quality time too.

take care and bless all of you dog lovers out there who make a difference and care and do what is right.

snicker.. bet some of you are googling "neuticles" right now. yep they do exist. Options to keep wife and husband happy. Nobody knows except your vet. Unless of course you pick an odd size, kind of like Dolly Parton.
 
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Just had to comment on men, hubbies, etc having a hard time with neutering their male dogs; I'm married to a rancher, his dad is a rancher, etc... Neither want to neuter male dogs, but both willingly geld colts and castrate bull calves. [My FIL has been gelding his own colts for over 60 years, last one he did himself was just a couple years ago, he's 78 this year; that colt is probably the last colt he'll buy and train, but he's still riding and driving his horses. He has 2 Percherons, 4 Fjords and 2 dun saddle horses.]
 
I hope you all know I am just generalizing on the men with their dogs comments and not trying to be mean at all. I have had a couple of outstanding bred dogs in my lifetime I was tempted to keep intact and felt guilty for doing the snip on them. I was given a two year old doberman once that had decent german bloodlines and he was gorgeous. his breeder owner was getting a divorce and she came into work one day and held a hand full of registration papers up like a hand of cards and says "pick a dog, any dog" and he is yours. I said, "Is Max in that pile?" and she says, yes.. and signs the papers and handed them to me and says, "now he is yours". I was 18 and my parents forbid me to bring home the "killer doberman".

He lived at the vet hospital where I worked and I began taking obedience classes with him. He was very fond of humping anything that bent over in front of him. He weighed 95 lbs and one embarassing moment when he jumped me in front of my vet, my vet says "I can fix that". LOL. Neutered and trained and mascot of the vet hospital. He wore a lab coat and stethiscope around his neck and we called him Dr. Max., He sang to the song "dust in the wind" and became my constant companion. One day my parents noticed him in my car and said "what is that?", I said... my dog. They again said I couldn't bring him home, and I said, I don't care, he is mine.

Then one day "dr max opened the door to the kennel and went in to the back where we were boarding dogs and ate 15 bowls of dog food the technician was soaking for feeding. He bloated. I stayed with him and walked him and was planning to sleep in the kennel all night with him to be sure he didn't get a torsion and my mom says "you can bring home the dog for ONE NIGHT".

Well.. with all the obedience training and neutering and socialization, Max was ready to meet my parents. My dad who never liked dogs, LOVED max. This was a push button obedience trained boy with a great sense of humor. Dog of my dreams. He lived almost 16 years. He was my introduction to the wonderful world of dog training and taught me that great dogs are worth their weight in gold and even unwilling parents can be convinced to let a big dog into their house if he is trained properly. Neutering helped too. When you do right by a dog they get more freedom. Freedom to go everywhere and stroll and horse shows, dog shows, art shows, parties (max always got an invitation to come with me). In the days before cell phones, having your teenage daughter toting a doberman around made my parents more comfortable. When I got a flat tire on I95 one night and had to get help from a stranger to get the lug nuts off the tire, I was glad to have Max with me. The guy that stopped says, I have a daughter and I wouldn't want her on I95 changing her tire at night... I said " I have a doberman" and he said... "well, now that we are on equal terms, lets get that tire changed.

take care and best wishes. Train, neuter, love... Dogs are awesome.

PS, there are many un-neutered very mannerly dogs out there just like there are many mannerly miniature horse stallions out there. But like in minis, many folks just aren't capable or have the time to deal with the hormones and drives and for those folks, neutering regardless of beauty and breeding is the right choice. One should never feel guilty for neutering a beautiful and well bred animal. Often it is the smart thing to do.
 

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