Little Dog Advice

#1
AlabamaVolunteer

AlabamaVolunteer

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Oct 20, 2004
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#1
You have all seen my Bluetick Coonhound. I am wrestling with a tough decision. We have just moved into a new house, in a subdivision, with no fenced in yard. Fencing in the yard is not an option. He stays in a fenced kennel most of the time. Here is the thing. It is killing me, because he doesn't have the room to run and play and do what dogs, much less hunting dogs do. He has always been more of a pet to me, even though he can tree and track and so forth. I have about decided the best thing is to find a better home for him. But last year he was playing with a rock and swallowed it. $2000 later he was his ol self again. But that is what is making the decision hard is we have so much invested in him. He is still intact for stud purposes, so he gets a little restless some times. Help me guys. Tell me do I do what I think is the right thing and find him a good home where he can have some freedom, or be selfish and keep him here, cooped up the majority of the time. I know what needs to be done, it is just hard for me to do it.
 
#5
#5
renting. Are newlyweds and are still paying for the wifes college. can't justify that kind of money for somewhere we may only be a year. We looked and looked and looked for almost a year to find something with a bigger yard, or one with a fence, but nothing ever worked out.
 
#6
#6
I'm telling you. The answer is an invisible fence especially if this is a short term situation. It's really not that expensive and when you move you can take it with you.
 
#7
#7
understandable.

if you will only be there a year, maybe you guy can tough it out.

i understand your reasoning for not having him fixed, but perhaps that will help calm him down some, as it usually does. like LIO suggested, take him to a park and let him run.
 
#9
#9
Well he has always either had a big fenced in yard, or lived out in the country where I could let him run and play till he wore himself out in the afternoons. The invisable fence is something i have thought a lot about, but what is stopping the ladies from coming in my yard and "asking for it"
 
#10
#10
I hate to disagree, but I have experience with coonhounds, I own two, and an invisible fence is not an option.

Reason being, if their prey drive kicks in and they go into hunt mode they will disregard the invisible fence and more than likely get hurt in traffic.

Your only option is to provide at least 30 minutes of hard playing time. This could be at a dog park or you should buy the longest retractable leash you can find and go for a daily walk in the park.

My wife and I lived in an apartment for almost a year and a half with an 80lb Treeing Walker Coonhound.

If you want it to work then you will make time.

Hope this has helped.
 
#11
#11
OrangeEmpire said:
I hate to disagree, but I have experience with coonhounds, I own two, and an invisible fence is not an option.

Reason being, if their prey drive kicks in and they go into hunt mode they will disregard the invisible fence and more than likely get hurt in traffic.
Click to expand...

Didn't think of that, but that's a good point. I had a Walker Hound several years ago that would lock in on a scent and go berserk and a shock collar wouldn't have done much good.
 
#12
#12
When we were shopping for a house a neighborhood we looked at only allowed invisible fences.

The lady kept trying to tell us it would work, I asked her bluntly, have you ever seen a coonhound with their prey drive kicked in..........?

Then I politely told her that my male coonhound dug a six foot long three foot deep trench in about a minute to wipe out a nest of ground hogs.
 
#13
#13
OrangeEmpire said:
My wife and I lived in an apartment for almost a year and a half with an 80lb Treeing Walker Coonhound.
Click to expand...

I just read this post again and noticed this. I have no earthly idea how you pulled that off. My dog is in the backyard of a 3/4 acre lot and she drives me nuts half the time.
 
#14
#14
GAVol said:
I just read this post again and noticed this. I have no earthly idea how you pulled that off. My dog is in the backyard of a 3/4 acre lot and she drives me nuts half the time.
Click to expand...

It was an 800 square foot apartment and he stayed in his cage between 10-12 hours a day. This includes sleep time and all.

It is all about what you want out of the relationship, my wife and I wanted it to work so we made it work. At the time I was on second shift and I would take him out in the to the park after my gym time.

The dog thinks a car ride is the greatest thing in the world next to mamaw's house.

He would stay in his cage till my wife got home and then they would go for a nice long walk.

If you want it to work, then it will be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have.

On a side note, this dog lived over half of his life at a shelter. When we got him his was under 50 lbs. He was brought back after being adopted because the owner says he was terrible with kids. He wanted him destroyed.

Perry is the most gentle dog you will ever meet but you can tell he was abused to the point of almost death. He has scars on his head where he was beaten.

Once we got him the vet found that his thyroid did not work then we had to treat him for his behavioral problems of being scared.

All told, the crazy vet bills, him losing it at times, we have pumped over $10,000 into him.

Would I do it all over again, I bull crap and say I wouldn't, but I would.
 
#16
#16
yeah mine renched up the back yard after moles one time. That is the thing I have wondered about when it came to the invisible fence. He has a "trainer" collar with four different strength levels, and there has been times I have hit him hard with the level four and he would disregard it as long as he could if he wanted something bad enough.
 
#17
#17
OWB said:
I'd like to borrow that dog.
Click to expand...

The funny part about the story is that it was at my best friend's house in Kentucky.

We were on our way back to Ohio and we were just stopping by to say howdy.

Perry went to the back yard and went to town.

Also, once we went to my parents house and as soon as he got into the back yard, I mean just stepping inside the gate, he ran to opposite side of the property dug a foot hole under a bush and wiped out a nest of baby ground hogs.

It was not a pretty site, but you cannot get mad at them because that is what they were made to do.

Perry has actually chased a set of deer before.

Our female walker actually lived at my parents house for about a year before we could take her. She kept that back yard clear of every thing. That was the only time that their garden was left untouched the whole time it was up. You name it and she has probably killed it.

We are finding out with the Bloodhound that, they are a very stubborn breed, LOL!, and that they love every body and this includes animals.

We were talking with a lady who has had bloodhounds all of her life and she told us a great story about her present one.

She gave her bloodhound a milk bone every day. The dog would then go in the backyard and bury it. This does not sound too unusual until you find out that the bloodhound was burying it for his racoon friend.

One day the racoon quit coming, she did not know why, and the bloodhound went through a depression stage.

Then the bloodhound found a new racoon friend and started burying the milk bone for him.
 
#18
#18
Invisible fence for those breeds is definitely a bad idea. Like OE said, when a drive kicks in, little can stop it. One track minds in something engrained in these animals cannot be stopped by a zapping.
 
#19
#19
tough one, but if it is only temporary, then i'd try and keep him and do the hard exercise thing daily.....

we have a beagle, and while not the same thing, when she gets a scent, she's impossible to stop sometimes, and forget about it when a rabbit comes in the back yard, she goes bananas.......

we have a house, but the BY isn't fenced yet. right now we hvae a 30' chain the back yard we put her on......and we probably don't do this regularly enough, but we do go out and do the chase thing, fetch etc...and she basically has free reign in a 60' circle.

sometime next spring, im hoping to fence it in so she can just run around on her own......but so far, this seems to be working ok.....
 
#20
#20
Can you loan her out to a family member for a year? Parents or someone have a fenced in yard?

No way I would give my dog away. My wife and I bought our first house because the apartment we were living in was going to kick us out because our dog was going over their 25 lb limit, only by about 40 lbs though. We were probably getting a house soon, but this just kicked it into overdrive.
 
#21
#21
I tried invisible fencing but my boxer just powered through it. She is a tad stubborn, too.
 
#22
#22
AlabamaVolunteer said:
You have all seen my Bluetick Coonhound. I am wrestling with a tough decision. We have just moved into a new house, in a subdivision, with no fenced in yard. Fencing in the yard is not an option. He stays in a fenced kennel most of the time. Here is the thing. It is killing me, because he doesn't have the room to run and play and do what dogs, much less hunting dogs do. He has always been more of a pet to me, even though he can tree and track and so forth. I have about decided the best thing is to find a better home for him. But last year he was playing with a rock and swallowed it. $2000 later he was his ol self again. But that is what is making the decision hard is we have so much invested in him. He is still intact for stud purposes, so he gets a little restless some times. Help me guys. Tell me do I do what I think is the right thing and find him a good home where he can have some freedom, or be selfish and keep him here, cooped up the majority of the time. I know what needs to be done, it is just hard for me to do it.
Click to expand...

Your putting off the inevitable. Build a fence or pay someone too.

Until you do that, take up running. Run with your dog 2-3 miles every day, he will get some good exercise and make it a lot easier on him.
 
#23
#23
oklavol said:
Your putting off the inevitable. Build a fence or pay someone too.

Until you do that, take up running. Run with your dog 2-3 miles every day, he will get some good exercise and make it a lot easier on him.
Click to expand...

you looked over where he said he rents, and therefore cannot build a fence.
 
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