Colonelmustard
New member
Today we took Colonel to the dog park, to play with all of my co-workers and their dogs, for his Birthday Pawty. Colonel had never met these other dogs. Here's the break down of "friend" dogs: Drake, yellow lab. Thor, black lab. Harley, Aussie mix. Corbett, Sherperd Mix. Rory, Sherpard Mix.
Note: Colonel had a great time with all of the above mentioned friends.
However, not even at the dog park for five minutes, Colonel was attacked by a Rottweiler, whose owner said, "He always has a problem with intact dogs. I'm so sorry."
As I type this, Colonel is at the vet being sedated so that he can get stitches for the gash behind his ear from the Rottie. No I did not get the other owner's information, and YES I understand, "Dog Park at your own risk." Bill will end up being around $500 and we will have to watch him closely for the next 2 weeks to make sure an infection does not fester.
Now, to the point of this post: this is not the first time this has happened. Dogs REGULARLY start **** with Colonel. To be clear: Colonel does not run away from the fights, he definitely tries to stick up for himself, but he never STARTS them. Nine times out of ten the other owner will apologize for their dog, explain how this is SO unlike them, blah blah blah, and then they mention SOMETHING about Colonel still having his junk.
Here are the CONS to Colonel being intact:
- Doggie Day Cares will not let him socialize with "general population." So, for example: we spent $150 in February to board him for 3 days, but since he was intact the only time he was allowed out of his pen/cage/bed/whatever was for a ten minute potty walk 2x a day. I had to pay extra for additional walks or a 30 minute playtime session with an employee. Which I did.
RESULTS: He didn't eat, or sleep for 3 days. We brought him home, he gorged himself on food, and slept for almost 12 hours straight. HE also had a hot spot on his neck from the kennel's "exit bath" that was a whole different issue.
- Dog Parks: Just like today, other dogs regularly have issues with Colonel's presence. Going to the Dog park is a high anxiety situation for me, and I know Colonel (and other dogs) pick up on that.
- At home: When we have guests at our house or bring Colonel to another house - he will eventually try to hump someone, or another dog.
This puts us in a tough spot: we know that boarding/kenneling when we need to is less than ideal based on how he will be isolated. But taking a trip to a family member's house for a couple of days is A LOT to ask of our family since our dog will try to hump them/hump their dog.
For the first time since we got Colonel we are now considering neutering him. I would like to community's thoughts. Our Vet told me today that she does not believe having him neutered will stop him from getting constantly attacked/fought with, nor will it stop the humping behavior.
We are going to do more research, but I would like to understand if anyone has gone through this as well?
Thanks,
Huston
Note: Colonel had a great time with all of the above mentioned friends.
However, not even at the dog park for five minutes, Colonel was attacked by a Rottweiler, whose owner said, "He always has a problem with intact dogs. I'm so sorry."
As I type this, Colonel is at the vet being sedated so that he can get stitches for the gash behind his ear from the Rottie. No I did not get the other owner's information, and YES I understand, "Dog Park at your own risk." Bill will end up being around $500 and we will have to watch him closely for the next 2 weeks to make sure an infection does not fester.
Now, to the point of this post: this is not the first time this has happened. Dogs REGULARLY start **** with Colonel. To be clear: Colonel does not run away from the fights, he definitely tries to stick up for himself, but he never STARTS them. Nine times out of ten the other owner will apologize for their dog, explain how this is SO unlike them, blah blah blah, and then they mention SOMETHING about Colonel still having his junk.
Here are the CONS to Colonel being intact:
- Doggie Day Cares will not let him socialize with "general population." So, for example: we spent $150 in February to board him for 3 days, but since he was intact the only time he was allowed out of his pen/cage/bed/whatever was for a ten minute potty walk 2x a day. I had to pay extra for additional walks or a 30 minute playtime session with an employee. Which I did.
RESULTS: He didn't eat, or sleep for 3 days. We brought him home, he gorged himself on food, and slept for almost 12 hours straight. HE also had a hot spot on his neck from the kennel's "exit bath" that was a whole different issue.
- Dog Parks: Just like today, other dogs regularly have issues with Colonel's presence. Going to the Dog park is a high anxiety situation for me, and I know Colonel (and other dogs) pick up on that.
- At home: When we have guests at our house or bring Colonel to another house - he will eventually try to hump someone, or another dog.
This puts us in a tough spot: we know that boarding/kenneling when we need to is less than ideal based on how he will be isolated. But taking a trip to a family member's house for a couple of days is A LOT to ask of our family since our dog will try to hump them/hump their dog.
For the first time since we got Colonel we are now considering neutering him. I would like to community's thoughts. Our Vet told me today that she does not believe having him neutered will stop him from getting constantly attacked/fought with, nor will it stop the humping behavior.
We are going to do more research, but I would like to understand if anyone has gone through this as well?
Thanks,
Huston