Show us your pets!

[bmccasland]

No photos tho...
Herald was feeling pretty frisky this morning, and of course I was running late... Anyway, I was trying to give him his insulin shot, and he'd roll over, so I'd get another pinch of skin and almost get the needle in, and he'd roll over. We played this game several turns before I managed to be quick and get him poked.

[mtbdarby]

Toby is beautiful!

Do you believe in karma??? Remember my rescue earlier this year, Rusty? After 4 months of trying to retrain his fear agressive behavior, we gave him to the trainer we had been working with. A week after he had him, he sent us an email saying he was doing well.

Over the past 5 months I have sent him 3 emails asking for an update on how he was doing. Nothing. I got a phone call this morning saying Rusty was on some guys porch this morning! I called the number I had for dog trainer dude (DTD) and a guy answered saying I had the wrong number.

So I did some googling this morning and found he has a facebook page with a picture of his two dogs he had before Rusty, and Rusty! So, do I take Rusty back or hunt DTD down to pick him up? Because of his lack of replies I was wondering if he was for real and Rusty was safe. And what dog trainer wouldn't change his tags and put his info on it?

The real concerns are if the aggressive behavior has been corrected, which I would think it was since there are 2 other dogs in the house. His 1 email told me he had bonded with his cat, lol. And I don't have one of those! Just Zeus, my 13 yo border collie who Rusty had taken to biting at the end. And I still don't have a job so it's gonna be a tough winter anyway.

Any thoughts, ideas, points to ponder?? I've always felt bad giving him up and my son has asked about him during this whole time. I thought maybe this was the worlds way of saying he belongs with us. Or worse, that Zeus didn't have much more time with me (he's healthy though).

OK, enough rambling. TIA.

[tulip]

So what's Rusty been up to the last five months? Has he, in fact, been with a trainer who has worked with him effectively, or has he been ignored, neglected, or worse, abused? I find it very strange that the so-called trainer seems to have disappeared. I would find it very surprising if DTD actually made progress with him. But maybe I'm being over skeptical.

In your last posting when you had to give Rusty up, you were very concerned that he would bite your son, and that you son was scared of him. I don't see how taking Rusty back without knowing how he has been treated the last five months. You could be putting your son in danger of being bitten and developing a lifelong fear of dogs.

I don't think your only options are the two that you stated. You could contact a rescue organization or a refuge. Rusty needs a place that is appropriate, and it does not seem like your place is appropriate for him, at least it was not five months ago. He probably needs a place without other dogs or kids.

EDIT: If you do take him back, I would really encourage you to work with a reputable trainer, not just with the dog, but with the whole family/household. It's not enough to have a trained dog. The people need to know how to interact with the dog, and so do the other dogs. That's going to cost $$, which I know is tight. Something to think about. Best of luck to you.

[TsPoet]

Do you believe in karma??? Remember my rescue earlier this year, Rusty? After 4 months of trying to retrain his fear agressive behavior, we gave him to the trainer we had been working with. A week after he had him, he sent us an email saying he was doing well.

Wow. I think Tulip has some good advice.
I do believe in Karma, so if it were me, I'd give him another chance. But, that isn't the smart thing to do.
Do you have a dog training club? If you could get in touch with dog enthusiasts int he area, they might have training options and/or training advice for you.

[mtbdarby]

Thanks for the insight Tulip and TS. I called my vet and she said a similar thing but didn't have any rescues to recommend me to. I left messages for 2 rescues in the area I found on the internet and am waiting to hear back. If they could help me screen him I'd be more comfortable. I also posted an ad on CL to see if DTD will email back with a current phone number so I can see if he'll tell me what the heck happened.

When we worked with this trainer (who had good references) he did work with us as a family. His website has a lot of pix of Rusty in different scenarios so it's weird he updated the pix and not his phone number. Of course, that was his only job and in this economy in a sparsely populated area, maybe he had to give up his cell phone/business recently. Who knows. All I can do is try my best to find the best home for Rusty, regardless of where that ends up being.

This will be an interesting day!

[mtbdarby]

Rusty update - after serious thought, I decided not to take him back. I did talk to the people that found him and they were just a few blocks from the address on DTD website. They took him over and returned him. Guess he's still training dogs and Rusty seems to be fine there so he's "home".

It would still be nice for the guy to return my emails but what can you do?

Thanks for walking me through the dilemna!

[Zen]

he's all alone and no one knows!

[lph]

he's all alone and no one knows!

and he sounds like he's about to throw up Poor Lorenzo.

[MartianDestiny]

Any thoughts, ideas, points to ponder?? I've always felt bad giving him up and my son has asked about him during this whole time. I thought maybe this was the worlds way of saying he belongs with us. Or worse, that Zeus didn't have much more time with me (he's healthy though).

I basically agree with Tulip.

If you are really interested in possibly keeping him you could give it a week or two and see how he is. You'll probably get a sense by then if his old habits are returning or if he's significantly better.

In that time look at rescues/no kill shelters/and other options. I don't remember his issues, but it could just be he needs a house with no small children and no other dogs. That's not a terribly uncommon request from independent rescues, so they'd probably be willing to work with you/him. Especially if you're willing to "foster" him while he's up for adoption.

I think I'd be very hard pressed to track down a "trainer" and give the dog back when that "trainer" never changed the dogs info, won't answer your phone calls, and lost the dog though.

Finding a good trainer would be a Godsend if you wanted to keep him, but could be expensive especially for one on one work (I pay $70 a session). That may or may not be feasible at this point.

Anyway, I'd say yes it is fate. I wouldn't say that means you have to keep him. Finding him a new home either independently or with the help of a reputable rescue is another option worth exploring; especially if his aggression is still showing.