Poor "Blue" Hunting Dog

[shelley120861]

I have the saddest story with hopefully a happy ending. In short, we believe our garbage man dumped on of his hounds off at our home since rabbit season was finished and he didn't want to continue to have to feed the dog. This is a typical practice for hunters in our area who use their dogs for hunting then just discard them like they're worthless. It enrages me! Anyway, when the garbage man came to pick up the trash yesterday, the dog immediately went to him, jumping on him and licking him. I found this odd as we couldn't get but about 2' from the dog. The garbage man said it was his dog and he got lost on the last hunt. I find it awfully strange that the dog ended up at our home. Anyway, he said he didn't want the dog, that he was going to leave him in the woods. I told him no he wasn't, that we would take the dog and give it a good home. I immediately noticed the dog had 3 gunshot wounds in his neck. We had not noticed before because he would not let us get near him. I immediately picked the dog up and brought him to the vet. His previous owner NEVER had him vet checked, no shots and not neutered. We found out he has roundworms and heartworms and they are treating him for that and the gunshot wounds. The vet says he otherwise looks healthy and hopefully will make it through the heartworm treatment. I'm asking for prayers for little "Blue". He will have a good life with us, something he's never had I'm sure. Now the questions, of course I'm wanting to buy him some toys and chew bones, which I'm sure he's never had. He's about 4 years old. Do you think he can learn to play? Also, he finally let us touch him when he saw his owner, and is a sweet loving dog. He will be free to roam in our one acre fenced yard and I'm going to get him a nice dog house that I will put on our back covered porch. We are also getting him neutered after the heartworm treatment. I just don't know how people can be so cruel and heartless to animals! I posted Blues pic in my profile as I couldn't figure out how to do here. Will keep you all posted and if anyone has any recommendations on hound dog care, please advise! Again, this is a hunting dog so I'm not sure if that changes a dog or not?

 

[mutts]

Bless you for taking the poor thing!! Seriously that's a huge thing to do. Poor baby.
I HATE people sometimes. Why?? Why be so cruel?
As for hounds-- they follow their NOSE! Do you have a fenced in backyard? You'll most likely need one to keep this guy in, he'll probably never forget his hunting background.
Do you have other small animals in your home (cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs etc)? You'll need to keep them safe as I'm sure he will always have that hunting instinct in him.
I would look into a reputable dog behaviorist... he/she could evaluate the situation more thoroughly and you can figure out your next step.
Good luck!

 

[shelley120861]

Update

Thanks, so mcuh for your post! I hate people sometimes too so I feel your pain! We have a LARGE one acre fenced in yard. I'm a little concerned as we have an above ground pool (it is covered) but do I need to worry about him getting in it? It does have a deck around it, but I don't know if he would jump in. The ladder is not attached so I'm worried that he could get in but not out. May need to put the ladder back in. Not sure if they would go in water or not? Will see about having it closed off so he can't get in the pool. Our workers just called and we're having our workers come tomorrow to block the pool off and close some small holes in the fence. Just called to check on the baby and he is doing well, just watching him with the heartworm treatment. Please pray for our little Blue! Thanks! Oh, and yes we have cats inside! Don't want him hunting them! LOL!

 

[mutts]

I would supervise him around the pool, watch and see if he tries to jump in or if hes overly curious about it. If he is I would definitely block it off or put something in the pool that he can easily get out of the pool if he needed to.
As for the cats-- there's no telling if he "hunts" cats or not but I would not take a chance. Most dogs that are prey driven will chase just about anything small that runs! So be careful! This is why it would be beneficial for a canine behaviorist to be called.
I really hope everything goes well concerning providing him with a home. If not, im sure there are breed specific rescues in your area that would take him and place him with a more able home. Good luck either way. I will definitely pray for you guys. Best wishes!

 

[Barb04]

Thank you for helping him.

 

[Barb04]

I copied and pasted your pic here

 

[smkie]

You can make a little dock out of wire and wood that sits down in the pool so that if the dog does fall in he has a way to get out. THat is what we did for the ducks and peacocks with their water tanks.

I wish you could report his a$$ I would want to chase him down with his own truck and deliever him to his daily destination.

Dogs should be able to sue people.

 

[Pointerhaven]

You definately need to watch him with the pool. If the cover is the tarp type held down my gravity or water bottles he could fall in and get tangled in the cover and drown. Is there a gate on the deck entry? I had an employee loose two beagles like that, it was so sad. I keep our pool gate locked at all times. My dog is not allowed on the deck without suppervision. There is an item called a Skamp Ramp sold on line to allow the animal to climb out. Also Tyler will have a Life Vest this year. He loves the pool and is a "Hunting Dog" is is a Pointer. Your guy looks like a Tri-colored Beagle, unless he has long legs and then he would be a hound. Hunting dogs make great pets and there is nothing wrong with him following his nose. However they are know to bay and bark. Training is essential and they usually love toys.

 

[cloudcandy]

What a sad story,luckily it sounds like it will end happily.I wish nothing but fun and games and lots of love for that pretty boy.Thank you for giving him a home and I hope that rotten man burns in hell.