Let My Inexperience Be A Warning To Others.

[Justin Glover 12]

I write this with some trepidation because I'm sure there will be some who completely disagree with what I am about to say and will consider me to be irresponsible and some may even consider me to be crule but I write this with two aims. To highlight what I feel is an important point and to hopefully dissuade others making the same mistake.

 

In the space of a week Merlin (the resuce dog) chewed everything in sight and dug holes everywhere in the garden. He was impossible to leave alone and unattended even for a second as he would chew something else even as soon as you took it off him he would go for something else. It got to the point that Freya our other rescue dog was constantly on edge and cowering because she thought we were telling her off. I had previously asked advice about muzzling but the idea of doing that long term didn't sit easy with me and even though people had suggested crates I didn't think it fair to crate one dog when the other was free. Last night we were even looking at doggy day care and then when he had dug yet another hole in the garden and then my wifes plant pots seconds later we decided enough was enough.

 

Merlin was found on the streets presumed dumped by gypsies although this is not a criticism I like as I have friends who are Romany gypsy and they treat their animals better than some children. In short Merlin has had to go back to the rescue center as he simply wouldn't have been able to have been left for the two days a week there was nobody at home.

 

This has not been undertaken lightly and I might be a grown man but I was almost in tears this morning because Merlin represented so much more than just a dog. He was a way to get back into field sports and a way of reconnecting with he memories of my father who passed away last year.

 

This does highlight one thing and that is for anyone considering a lurcher that there are plenty of good reliable breeders out there and sometimes it is better to get from a pup to train it the way you want from the very start, A dog of his age with the uncertain backstory is bound to have problems and whilst we were keen to egt another dog and I wanted to get a working dog it isn't always a good idea to get a dog of which you know nothing of its past.

 

I do not post this lightly and I am feeling awful about returning him but I do know for certain that he will not be out to sleep and this week with us has at least allowed us to gove a clearere assessment of what he is truly like. I jsut hope now he finds a place where he will be with someone who will give him the full time attention he needs and he won't need to be left alone even for short periods.

[lurcherman 887 12,679]

Should of gave him to kate b lol

[BGD 6,385]

Honestly pal if a dog isn't going to fit in with your life it's best to be honest with yourself straight away rather than spend months getting more stressed and possibly taking it out on the dog. Don't beat yourself up about it, it just wasn't meant to be.

 

Will you be looking at getting a pup to bring on and work? You've obviously got the enthusiasm for it

[dodger 2,662]

Big turn around within a few days could you not of got him a kennel and run?

 

I do also agree with BGD tho atb..

[skycat 6,172]

A puppy will dig holes in your garden, and empty your plant pots, as well as going through what may be a prolonged chewing stage. So, if you decide to get a pup, you will need to kennel it when you are not there. It is not fair to crate a pup that can't control its bowels or bladder for as long as an adult dog can, besides which, pups need to pee and crap far more often than adults, as they are being fed several times a day.

If the dog in your avatar is the one you've just sent back to the rescue place, it looks as though it has a fair bit of Saluki in it. Most Saluki types are high energy, and need a lot of input and stimulation and exercise just to be happy in their lives. They are not the sort of dog, when young, to leave loose in a house on their own. And as for feeling it to be unfair to crate one dog when the other is loose: they are dogs, not children. A dog won't feel jealous or resentful just because it isn't getting exactly the same treatment as the other.

I suggest you think long and hard before embarking on a puppy, of whatever type.

[socks 32,253]

What you've written fella is what most dog men already know .......

[Greyman 25,237]

Sounds like a normal new dog to me, either walk it until all it wants to do is sleep, or get yourself a cat

[Justin Glover 12]

Sounds like a normal new dog to me, either walk it until all it wants to do is sleep, or get yourself a cat

no thank you I don't need a cat but having to walk around continuously after him wasn't working. He's not a pup he's between two and five and so should be through the chewing stage and I'd moved most things from one garden to the back but he was just relentless and he was walked at least six times a day.

[jeemes 3,522]

That dog sounds like a basket case,but I dont think you are the type or have the experience to handle more than one dog..Why do you go for rescue dogs anyway? If you are the sort who gets emotional about these things I think you should think again about dogs. If you want to get into hunting dont piss about picking other peoples rubbish up,get a pup from good breeding,but first create the right environment where a dog can be a dog,,,NEWSFLASH..They like digging plus chewing as they grow,and are best being reared where that isnt really a problem.

[bird 9,594]

Sounds like a normal new dog to me, either walk it until all it wants to do is sleep, or get yourself a cat

+2, dont get a pup or a dog, get a cat, if you want to hunt get a gun, some people are not cut out for dogs,

[green dragon 694]

Jacker. my staffy was a nightmare hed been threw 3 people buy the time he was 2 he's was lockd a tiny garden full of shit I got him at 3 he's now 12 it took ages to get him write he destroyed everything wold bark all night but it's well worth it couldn't of asked for a better dog Now but I just like a challenge. You could of tried a bit harder mate you only gave it a week not haveING ago like just my opinion

Edited July 15, 2016 by green dragon

[lurcherman 887 12,679]

Fancy putting that up lol

[walshie 2,804]

I'm far from a working dog expert, but I have had dogs all my life and rescued several over that time.

 

You posted your intro on 12th July and by the 15th you've given up? I don't believe in flogging a dead horse, but that does seem rather a short time to decide it's not going to work out.

[tb25 4,626]

And to think I offed to start the dog of . Stick to gold fish

[Dig-deep-draw-charlie 2,707]

On the kennelling part, it's not as easy as some make, some pups take to it and some don't, or maybe just mine, in short he's a wee b*****d in the pen, after a long walk (trying to slim the terriers up) he comes with me and runs about like a mad man, fed like a king and a bone for a mastiff, I put him in the run after every walk and feed him, when he gets up he screams the board down to get out, training is slow, I couldn't leave him for the night at the minute or my tree hugging neighbours will be on the phone again