Should We Keep This Dog?

[hanuman1]

Hi everyone.

I'll add some pictures to this mail once I've finished. Basically, this dog turned up at our house a couple of nights ago and doesn't seem to want to leave and we are not sure if we should keep it or not.

It's a bit of a mystery as to where it came from. None of the immediate locals knows anything about it or has seen it before.

It has no collar, but has clearly been very well looked after and trained because its coat is in perfectly clean condition and it will sit as soon as you say 'Nang' in Thai.

It is VERY playful, energetic and affectionate and appears to be perhaps about 6 months old, although I am no expert on dogs.

It seems to have been kept indoors a lot because we have been keeping it outside at nights and it 'cries' quite a lot - it loves human contact. It also appears to be afraid not only of the local soi dogs, but cats as well!

So now we don't know what to do. Somebody said that it has some Rottweiler in it - can anyone confirm this?. (Actually its a female). We would love to keep her, but we have an 18 month old son - would he be safe next to a Rottweiler? Also, we don't know if she has had vaccinations yet. Is it possible to find out with a blood test? If not, and we have her vaccinated (possibly for the second time) is that dangerous for the dog?

Any advice on this would be very well appreciated. Thanks.

H.

[Nienke]

Hi Hanuman1,

As you live in CM and we've met already (Thaivisa party) I suggest to:

1. Keep the dog (although, that has nothing to do with where you live. ). It looks gorgeous! And yes, it looks like a rottie or dobermann mix.

2. Drop by the kennel with your wife, child and the dog and I can give you info on how to handle the dog with children. If you handle and train the dog well, there shouldn't be any problem with keeping it with your 18 yr old child. Of course, never ever leave children and dogs alone/unsupervised, no matter size or small or how friendly it may be.

If you are coming to Tuskers' Xmas party, I'll be there as well. Although, it's better when you drop by the kennel as I have information material there. Details on tel. nr. and route description you can find on my website, see profile and banner on the CM forum.

Cheers, Nienke

[hanuman1]

Hi Nienke

thanks for the advice. I'm amazed you can still remember us through the haze of time and alcohol. what a night that was! hope you are well and business is good.

unfortunately, within an hour of my starting the thread, the dog disappeared. it squeezed out of a gap in our fence and was hanging around outside for a while. i was told that a black pickup had been cruising the sois slowly and its occupants had taken an interest in the dog. minutes later she was gone. i guess she must be back with her original owners which is a good thing. although, i have heard of people driving around and just taking dogs off the street if they like the look of them. hope this was not the case.

anyway, this experience has made us seriously think about getting a dog. and if your kind offer of advice at your kennel still stands, we may come and visit you early next year with a different dog. the great thing about this dog was that it was playful, but QUIET, which is perfect for us. i didn't hear it bark once. is that unusual in dogs? or are there many different types of dog with that character?

as for the TV Xmas do, i'm afraid i won't be in town at that time, but we'd love to catch up with you soon.

regards to you and yours.

H.

[Nienke]

Sorry about that, that the dog is gone. But looked at the pic's again, I won't be surprised that she was a full bred rottie with tail. I surely hope it were her owners or care-takers who picked her up.

In general rotties don't bark that much. Plus, when dogs are just in a different environment, which is not yet seen as their territory, they tend to not bark too often or sometimes not at all. As for your new dog (Care for Dogs and Lanna Dog rescue has plenty of them in different sizes and ages), it depends for a great deal on your training if it will become an excessive barker or not.

Sure enough, my offer still stands. Just give me ring before you plan to drop by.

Nienke

[legag]

OHHHHHH the dog is gone!! Danng she is so cute (last pic). She seems smart too and I'm sure she would have lighten up you holidays and start 2008 with something different if you ever took her in. Well, there's always other soi dogs waiting.