Should I keep her?

Question

I found a small dog (about 20lbs.). She is clean, healthy looking, and very friendly and happy. She is also housetrained. I also already have one dog, 3 cats, a rabbit, and a hermit crab. She barks at my cats and they are terrified of her. They go and hide for hours if the new dog is in the house. My old dog (13yrs) doesn't seem to mind her, but she barks at my rabbit in his cage too. How can I make everyone get along and except the new dog? She may be about 2 yrs old. Very calm and obedient. I love her already. What can I do? Help!!

Answer 1

It would be really wrong to keep this dog. First of all, for the health of your own animals you should *never* bring a stray into the home. She may look healthy but could have parasites or disease that you don't see but are exposing your animals to right now. Second (and more important) it is morally wrong to keep something that isn't yours. Take this dog to your local pound. They are required to keep strays for a certain amount of time while the real owners can be located. During this time the dog will be quarantined and vet checked for any parasites or disease. If at the end of that time period no one has come forward as the owner of this dog then the dog is legally available for adoption. You can even tell the shelter that you are interested in adopting the dog when you drop it off so that you get the dog as soon as it comes up for adoption.

Do the right thing here. It's not your dog and if it did have a home the local pound is the first place those owners would go to look for it.

Answer 2

If you're in the United States, often times, dogs and cats are microchipped. You should do as the person above said and contact animal control or the humane society. They both have scanners to read the dog and see if there is a microchip there. If it is chipped, then they can return the dog to its rightful owner. I know if one of my dogs ran away for some reason, I would want someone to go out on a limb and try to contact me.

Post a cheap announcement in the "found" section of your local paper. Often times, the person will pay you back for the cost of the ad.

I agree that it is not fair to your other pets to keep the dog if it is causing stress in the house. Your pets probably feel a little betrayed. Although you CAN give it time and see if things get better, I'd take the dog to the humane society, give them a small donation to help pay for food and such until they find a new home for her. The humane society will also check the dog for parasites and heart worm and the like, something that COULD potentially spread to your other pets if they're not on a preventative.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

I would say give it time, try to discourage her from tormenting the other animals(moving her away from them when she starts barking at them) not yelling or anything just remind her that basically all that barking is getting her nowhere, you may never get them to "get along" but after they all get used to the arrangement it will be livable, just keep in mind that the cats may start peeing outside the litter box to show how ticked off they are so keep your eyes out for that...be open to giving her to a family that you will be able to see har and stuff and know she will be cared for as well as with you...just in case this all doesnt end up working out for you...but I would give it some time (evn 2 or 3 months at least to start with unless she is hurting any of the other animals) and you may have to make a "no doggie room or area" and keep cat litter, food, bunny cage, etc. in where they have their area and the doggy cant come in the area, so they feel a little afer...GOOD LUCK...when I answered I was gonna tell you to try everything first to find the owner but I assumed you had already tried that

Answer 4

If You Found Her Like That She's Proably Already Someones Pet, Just Lost Or Whatever, I Say Keep Her If No One Claims Her, And For Them To Get Along They Just Need To Get Use To Being Around Each Other All The Time. They'll Come Around.

Answer 5

First I think you need to try to find the owner of this dog. He was happy, clean, housebroken, and a friendly dog. That tells me that somebody loved and cared for this dog and are probably out looking for him. If you have done that already your other animals will get used to each other in time. Just be patient.

Answer 6

Your new dog is not used to being around cat and rabbits. Time is about the only thing you can do.

Maby try and old her and have her look that the rabbit and meet the cats it might help.

Answer 7

If you found the dog, you have to make an attempt to find the owner. Put a add in the paper. If no one comes forward, then you can start to train the dog to be part of ou family.

Answer 8

Contact your local Animal Control, your local Animal Shelters, and the Police Dept to see if anyone is missing their dog. If she is such a nice dog, she probably is lost from a very sad owner.

You can also look in the newspapers under Lost and Found to see if anyone is searching for a dog that matches the description of the one you found.

Answer 9

You should try to find her real owners before you make your mind up and get to attached. Someone is probably going crazy trying to find her. And if you don't find them, then think about getting an in-home trainer to come into your home and train all your animals to get along.

Its a little more expensive than group classes, but very much worth it.

Answer 10

Time and a squirt bottle of water when she barks at the other animals. It sounds like she may not know what they are but she needs to learn not to scare them.