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I have really been struggling with this, so I would like to get ideas from others in rescue. Sorry, it's a long post.
A few days ago DH and I were in a rural area about two hours from home and saw something run across the road. Noticing it was a dog, we pulled over (I will never drive by a loose dog). The dog was approximately 30 pounds, and was quite shy. Her nipples were hanging, so she must have had puppies recently.
I tried to coax her to me, but she would not come. Hubby also tried to coax her, but she didn't want to come to either of us. This was a rural area, with woods on one side of the road and a big cornfield on the other side. The poor little doggie would run into the corn if we got too close. We didn't have any food to offer, but peeled an ear of corn and broke a bit off to give to her. She darted out to get it, then carried it into the rows of corn to eat it. She was obviously hungry.
Someone else stopped and asked if we were trying to catch the dog. He stated she has been running around the area for about 3 weeks, and won't come to anyone. He had a bag of dog food, so we took a few large handfuls (thinking it would entice her to come to us). It didn't work. We tried for about 45 minutes, and then had to give up. We left the food for her, and also a cup which I filled with bottled water.
We didn't have phone service out there, but as soon as we got to an area with a signal, I tried calling the humane assoc, dog shelter, etc. The county dog warden would catch her and put her to sleep (if they could even spare the time). The humane soc. does not go to that area, and no one picked up the phone at the area rescue.
I was thinking about trying to borrow a catch pole and going back out there this weekend to see if I can catch her. If I caught her I would bring her to my city, take her to the local humane society and make a donation to cover her care. However, I am worried that if she has puppies, they will starve if I catch her. There is no way I could search the area for the puppies (if there are any). I just don't know what to do.
I don't even know for sure that there are puppies, but her nipples indicate there probably are puppies. How long would nipples stay saggy after nursing? If there are puppies, I don't want them to starve to to death. Any idea of what I should do?
That's a tough call. If you have the time to invest, could you do weekly visits to the area and try to keep track of her? Or daily even? Leave food and water and hopefully if you don't see any sign of pups after a few weeks, then take her. Sometimes any unspayed dog will have nipples that hang like that - did her breasts (is that they are called on a dog?) look full or was is just the nipples?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
I was thinking the same thing. If she has been there for about 3 weeks and if there are pups, which you would certainly hate to leave behind, then they would start to wander out in a few weeks depending on when she had them. If you can keep giving her food and water then she may begin to trust you and might even lead you to her pups.
I have really been struggling with this, so I would like to get ideas from others in rescue. Sorry, it's a long post.
A few days ago DH and I were in a rural area about two hours from home and saw something run across the road. Noticing it was a dog, we pulled over (I will never drive by a loose dog). The dog was approximately 30 pounds, and was quite shy. Her nipples were hanging, so she must have had puppies recently.
I tried to coax her to me, but she would not come. Hubby also tried to coax her, but she didn't want to come to either of us. This was a rural area, with woods on one side of the road and a big cornfield on the other side. The poor little doggie would run into the corn if we got too close. We didn't have any food to offer, but peeled an ear of corn and broke a bit off to give to her. She darted out to get it, then carried it into the rows of corn to eat it. She was obviously hungry.
Someone else stopped and asked if we were trying to catch the dog. He stated she has been running around the area for about 3 weeks, and won't come to anyone. He had a bag of dog food, so we took a few large handfuls (thinking it would entice her to come to us). It didn't work. We tried for about 45 minutes, and then had to give up. We left the food for her, and also a cup which I filled with bottled water.
We didn't have phone service out there, but as soon as we got to an area with a signal, I tried calling the humane assoc, dog shelter, etc. The county dog warden would catch her and put her to sleep (if they could even spare the time). The humane soc. does not go to that area, and no one picked up the phone at the area rescue.
I was thinking about trying to borrow a catch pole and going back out there this weekend to see if I can catch her. If I caught her I would bring her to my city, take her to the local humane society and make a donation to cover her care. However, I am worried that if she has puppies, they will starve if I catch her. There is no way I could search the area for the puppies (if there are any). I just don't know what to do.
I don't even know for sure that there are puppies, but her nipples indicate there probably are puppies. How long would nipples stay saggy after nursing? If there are puppies, I don't want them to starve to to death. Any idea of what I should do?
She probably does have puppies somewhere. You would really need the time to be able to follow her.
I agree....she's got pups somewhere close by in the area. Leaving food and water for her would be the kindest thing to do at this point. Maybe, the opportunity to follow her at some point to track down the puppies as well.
I have nothing to add to the worthy responses already posted, except to thank you for your care and concern for this poor dog and her possible pups. Every act of kindness reverberates. I have to believe that.
That's interesting...tracking a semi-wild dog who may potentially be protecting (hiding?) her pup. Have any one of you ever tried and been successful with that.
Try using a Heart trap and baiting it. Unless you or your DH are experienced with a catch pole it is not likely to work.
That's a tough call. If you have the time to invest, could you do weekly visits to the area and try to keep track of her? Or daily even? Leave food and water and hopefully if you don't see any sign of pups after a few weeks, then take her. Sometimes any unspayed dog will have nipples that hang like that - did her breasts (is that they are called on a dog?) look full or was is just the nipples?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
A lady at the local rescue told me that about the nipples, but I am such a spay/neuter fanatic I don't know enough about the nipples to judge. I wish I would have thought to take a picture. I can get out there once a week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogpaw
I was thinking the same thing. If she has been there for about 3 weeks and if there are pups, which you would certainly hate to leave behind, then they would start to wander out in a few weeks depending on when she had them. If you can keep giving her food and water then she may begin to trust you and might even lead you to her pups.
Good luck and keep us posted.
It would be great if I could get her to trust me. I'm sure some idiot just dropped her off in the middle of nowhere, and she probably hasn't had much positive interaction with humans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondie621
She probably does have puppies somewhere. You would really need the time to be able to follow her.
It stinks that it's a 4-hour round trip drive, and I would suspect her puppies could possibly be somewhere in the corn field, but it's a huge field and there really isn't any way I can walk through it
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1
I agree....she's got pups somewhere close by in the area. Leaving food and water for her would be the kindest thing to do at this point. Maybe, the opportunity to follow her at some point to track down the puppies as well.
I'll be taking food and water out there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brightdoglover
I have nothing to add to the worthy responses already posted, except to thank you for your care and concern for this poor dog and her possible pups. Every act of kindness reverberates. I have to believe that.
Thanks, but I felt awful driving away from the poor dog
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeBee
That's interesting...tracking a semi-wild dog who may potentially be protecting (hiding?) her pup. Have any one of you ever tried and been successful with that.
Try using a Heart trap and baiting it. Unless you or your DH are experienced with a catch pole it is not likely to work.
Neither of us has ever tried to catch a semi-wild dog. Someone at the local rescue suggested a catch pole, but I have never even touched one. Are Haverhart traps sold in retail stores? My concern with that is trapping her might mean her puppies would starve.
Thanks for the responses. I'm going to take food and water out there on Saturday. I was also thinking about picking up some of the Natural Balance Rolls of food, because they might hold up better if it rains. I will hold off on trying to catch her. I will try to keep calling the local rescue organization...maybe someone will eventually answer the phone. I just feel so terrible thinking about the dog and any potential puppies in the rain, but I don't have the time to make the 4-hour roundtrip drive very often.
Are Haverhart traps sold in retail stores? My concern with that is trapping her might mean her puppies would starve.
I just feel so terrible thinking about the dog and any potential puppies in the rain, but I don't have the time to make the 4-hour roundtrip drive very often.
I don't know. I once worked with an officer from the Humane Society and know have those traps on hand. It took nearly an hour for that very experienced officer to catch a semi-cornered dog with a pole; that's why I say it's not easy.
The HS here have a highly technical emergency rescue unit that is experienced in rappelling, water & mountainous terrain rescues & other dangerous types of rescues. All volunteers. Sometimes, I take our HS for granted. I am sorry that you still haven't heard back from the outfit you called.
Maybe just putting out food is the best you can do right now. Would you be able to set out something like a large plastic igloo for them, with food in it. I am sure you have thought of this.
My guess is that she's not "semi-wild," but dumped, especially because she was pregnant. She might have been living on her own for a relatively short time and isn't feral at all, but is wary because she isn't used to being "in the wild" and is protective of her litter.
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