Dilemna 1

[Bruce's_Mom]

My good friend will be going out of town from the 21-Jan10, and she had just purchased a new doxie puppy...I mean it is tiny and in my opinion was too young to be taken from its mother, but despite having simply purchasing the dog over the internet, from what I guess is a mill given they had about 6 available litters, and having it less than a week they were going to leave it in a kennel...I felt so sorry for him that I volunteered to babysit! Well now I am concerned about the dog for several reasons, and had a few questions for YTers about what would and would not be appropriate while I care for the little guy:
(1) The dog appears healthy and is up to date on shots and wormings (otherwise he would not be allowed near my Bruce), but I suspect he has been handled improperly and I worry may have been a little roughed up...I watch my pal's boyfried grab him by the skin on the back of his neck and just be rough with him, and apparantly they do not think this is a problem and will only do the bare minimum with the vet...So do you think it would be inappropriate to take him to my vet and have this checked (think his neck/back may be hurting) while they are away?
(2) They are feeding him crap, Purina 1 puppy chow...Would it be okay for me to blend and switch him to a better food, if I buy them a couple large bags of it? I would like to do this because well their dog seems to have issues with the food (stools are not runny but not solid, poops too much, is itchy, etc), and I do not want my Bruce to get into this crap while it is in the house...
(3) They seem to think it is good to leave him in his crate like 9 hours per day in order to "help with the potty training process." I personally cannot do this because it in my opinion is mean...But would it be wrong for me to switch him out ot the crate and put him in Bruce's old xpen with pads?

I know it is there dog, but I worry about the little guy...What are your opinions?

[Marie]

I see why you are concern. I know is their dog but you are taking the responsibility of his care. I dont know what kind of friendship you have with them, meaning that if you do in fact switch his food and take him to your vet this will not cause friction or conflict. I know you are thinking on the well being of the pup. And personally they should have waited to get this pup until after they were back from their trip to give him the proper care. But since is too late for that. I guess I will present this points to them.
You can tell thme that you are feeding Bruce a premiun food and you will prefer to feed their dog the same.
I agreed with you, 9 hours inside a crate is cruel to me. You can tell them that while his at your home you will use your xpen.
Honestly, I dont know what you should do. Is a dilemma that you must decide what to do before they go on their trip. Good luck. Im so I really wasnt of any help.

[red98vett]

OMG I LOVE little doxie babies - MY son has 2 boys and they're the cutest things - they are actually like yorkies in many ways and want to be near us all the time -

PLEASE TELL THEM that weiner babies can easily be injured by picking them up wrong - the have very long spinal cords and can be hurt by picking them up that way - I HATE seening someone do that !!!

He is going to need some room to play and leaving him in a crate is just mean - I hope you can show them that you really know what you're talking about and maybe they can learn from you and get that baby an x-pen !

You're a wonderful person to take him for your friend and I wish you the best of luck -

Here is a picture of my son Reid and his baby Briggs taken Thanksgiving ...he's still a puppy and just the CUTEST kisser !

[troubletb]

Ok, First let me say this: This is only my opinion and in no way meant to hurt anyone.
With that said here I go:

The think if you can find some information on the interenet about them hurting the puppy by picking him up by the scruff of the neck, you should do so and quickly.

Purina One puppy food is not crap, it actually isn't a bad dog food, and if that is what they decide to feed thier puppy, you should not change it. I had a westie for more then 13 years and he survived on Purina One, Believe it or not it has no by products and is better than some of the fancy expensive designer foods out there!

As I do agree with you that no one should keep a puppy in a cage for 9 hours at a time, it is their puppy and you can show them that its not healthy for him, and you can change his routine while you have him and try your hardest to get him trianed while he is spending time with you, but you have to realize that he is their dog and what ever you do to him they will most likely go back to raising him the way they think is best or just their way.

[schatzie]

The responsibility you are taking on is tremendous. You are being very generous with such an offer and good gesture.

If I was in this situation I would have a long talk w/ your friends about your concern over their puppy. Possibly even having them write down their vet's #, how much food to feed, what the pups daily routine is, a copy of the shot record, etc. Any information on him will help just in case an emergency arrises and you do need to go to the vet, her vet or yours.

Changing his food is not a good idea in my opinion. It could possibly cause harm/stress on this little guy.

Also, taking this little guy to the vet needs to be brought up w/ your friends. This is THEIR baby and might become quite offended w/ you taking them to your vet behind their back.

If you gave them YOUR fur baby and they switched the food and took your fur baby to the vet w/ out your consent this could get really touchy and cause ill feelings.

I just feel that a long chat w/ your friends before hand would be so very helpful. This way, everybody is on the same page of each others feelings, what care is to be expected, etc and nobody should get hurt/angry or have any questions.


With open communication your friends will see that you just want whats best for their pup and all of yours friendship.

I hope it all works out.

[red98vett]

Very good post - I think you're right...

[StewiesMom]

I'd do everything you suggested except change his food; when she gets back from her vacation (why the hell would she buy a dog and then go on vacation btw??) tell her about all the other better dog foods that she could have him on that would stop his itching -- something tells me she won't care though.

[Bruce's_Mom]

Thank you guys all for the input! I really appreciate it! The real problem here is that I have tried discussing these issues with her, very calmly, but her boyfriend sees the treatment of animals very very differently and she tends to believe he is an expert in everything. The poor little guy has not been outside in the fresh air in 3 days, because their theory is that if he never goes outside he can never get sick and they will never have to pay for a vet...Essentially they are more concerned about $ than the dog's care, I do not really think they seem him as a companion afterall he was purchased on a whim after a local radio station held wiener dog races...I do believe he is actually hurt from his handling, and they refuse to take him to the vet, but he squeals when held normally and seems to have a very odd gate when he walks, so even if I just sort of got him the treatment he may need you guys really think that would be wrong (I did try to talk to them about it, and they think he is "being a baby")? I guess I won't ...

And perhaps crap was not the best word to use regarding Purina, what I should have said was I would never feed it to Bruce, and the pup is having issues that appear to be dietary...The reasons I would not feed this food are (1) it contains nonhuman grade ingredients and even though we are talking about dogs I feel they should not be given things like: chicken by-product meat, animal digest (which is there to breakdown things like horns or hair that may have "accidentally made there way into the food", or pure lard; (2) it contains things that are known allergens to many animals: ground corn, corn meal, and corn gluten meal, (3) dogs on a wholistic pet food eliminates much less and in smaller quantities. Sorry if I offended you however, my focus should have been on the fact the dog is not eating the food well and appears to be having common food related problems like the itchies in the absence of fleas or any visible skin issue...

Thanks again guys, I guess my question should have been what would you do if you felt your good friend was abusing an animal?

[red98vett]

Honestly - My son has so far has had 3 hotdogs - (he lost his precious Mikey to Cushings Disease) but None of his EVER squealed when we held them

you could be very right he is hurt - I can't stand how some people can treat a puppy and my heart hurts thinking someone would pick up a hotdog by their necks - that provided NO support to that long back they have... and they are so fragil when small - even adults need special care because of their long backs and short legs

I really hope you can talk sense to them - if anything - tell them they are going to break that babies back if they handle him wrong - at the very least, cause him constant pain....MAN - people just amaze me

you're doing SUCH A great thing by this little guy - GOOD LUCK & I hope all goes well -

[Sherry Lynn]

My Mom always had Doxies while I was growing up, and they are wonderful little diggers... I mean buggers! She even got into breeding for a while, but had trouble parting with the pups when the time came.

While diet and crate training are certainly concerns, what really upsets me is the rough handling of the puppy.

These little darlings are NOTORIOUS for having back problems. I've seen several that have had to have surgery because of rough handling or being dropped, and it usually leaves them paralized in the back legs so that they need a 'walker' in order to get around. It just breaks my heart.

I pray that you can get through to these people before it is too late. Good luck, and keep us updated.

Villette, those are a couple of good looking guys you got there!