This is Lucky's story. I rescued him from the pound because I felt sorry for him... a very bad reason. We've had ups and downs during his training, but he has turned out to be the best dog I've ever owned. I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, but it has worked out well for us.
A friend told me that many of the local college kids will drop off their dogs upon graduation. This was how he picked up Max, his beautiful Labrador. On a hunch, I began dropping by the pound in late spring, hoping to be as lucky. I saw several dogs, they were all adopted quickly, but none of them appealed to me. It was a good way to spend my lunch hour, so, by fall, it became a habit to drop in a couple times a week.
One day, in November, one of the drivers came in with a Cocker Spaniel and placed him in the first cage. It seems that someone had dumped him from a car 2 or 3 months earlier. Several of the neighbors tried to coax the dog in with food, but he would always run away. The officers began setting out baited live traps, hoping to catch him. He was wary of the traps and wouldn't go near them until the officers convinced the neighbors to stop feeding the dog. A couple times he managed to steal food from the traps, but he was eventually caught.
This was a sorry looking dog. I estimated his age to be about 2 years, and he appeared in fairly healthy shape, but his fur was a solid mat, interwoven with twigs, pine sap, dirt and was unclipped or combed for at least a year, perhaps since birth. When led into the kennel, he looked as if he didn't care what happened.
I went over to
talk with him, but he acted uncaring. He didn't wag his tail and
wouldn't come to the door, even when offered a doggy bone. He
laid down on his bedding and stared at me from across the cage.
It is my experience that this can be a danger signal in many
dogs, especially Cockers. Depending on how they've been handled,
this can be a warning sign. It indicates the dog wants to be left
alone, and they'll sometimes use their only means of defense, a
sudden "unprovoked" attack.
I came back the next day, Friday, to see if he was any better. It was then that I noticed he had a 12" piece of heavy bailing wire hidden in the mats behind his rear legs. When I mentioned it to the AC officers, they immediately dropped their work and came over. When they entered his cage, he stood up but didn't make any attempt to escape, even when they slipped the restraining collar over his head. He wasn't vicious, he just didn't seem to care. A few quick clips, and he was able to move his legs freely. When they left, he came over to the kennel door and wagged his tail a couple times. He still refused the doggy bone, and soon went back to his bedding.
I returned the following Tuesday (they are closed Mondays) and took him into the visitation room. I was able to spend about half an hour there, and gained his trust enough to clip a few of the mats and give him an examination. His eyes were clear, but he had a very minor ear infection. He wasn't infected with fleas, but, I later discovered, had some blackened patches on his belly that looked like frostbite (although it wasn't cold outside). His feet appeared sound, and he seemed to have healthy skin under all that matted fur (for example, his ears were matted with 2" of fur, twigs and dirt). More important, was his mental appearance. My voice is fairly deep, and when I spoke to him he wet. Despite this, he seemed intelligent and willing to obey, with no signs of aggressive behavior. His top knot, ears and feathers are a gold color, but the fur on his back was a deep copper color. When I discussed him at home, the name Lucky came up (for Lucky Penny). I like the name. Not only did it fit his coloring, but I also figured he'd be lucky if someone adopted him. Most folks look for active, frisky dogs with lots of spirit. Lucky had given up on people and didn't expect any good from them.
That evening I returned with my 13 year old son, my girlfriend Judi, and my niece to see how they would get along. We were all shocked when he suddenly turned and leapt into my son's lap before we could react. He sniffed BJ a few times, accepted some pets, then climbed down. He allowed himself to be petted, but still wet every time I would move towards him. Obviously he would be a lot of work, so I decided we'd wait and see. It was a couple days later I decided I had to adopt him. You see, his holding period was up, the kennels were all full, and no one else wanted to adopt Lucky. Despite their best efforts, they are forced to kill half the dogs that come across their threshold, and it's especially bad during the holiday season.
I admire our local AC people. They have a hard job to do, so it would be easy for them to neglect their charges. Instead they care for their charges as best they can. It's a hard job. I know. I've had to face that decision myself.
The pound must hold a dog for 5 full days before they can put them up for adoption. Due to the holidays and the need to have him fixed before he could be released, Lucky spent 2 weeks in the pound. Their fees are around $50, very reasonable considering it includes the first vet visit, and the cost of neutering the dog (a requirement to avoid further unwanted pets). He's been a member of our household for 2 years now. It's been a long process, but he's a completely different animal now.
When we brought him home, he didn't know how to be a dog. At first he was afraid to chew his rawhides. The first chewy lasted 3 weeks, and now they last less 10 minutes. We gave him his own bed, but he was afraid to go in it. He seemed to think he was being scolded. It took several days of coaxing and praising to train him to use it... and the bedding had to be washed many times during the process.
Part of his training was in grooming. Although his coat is fairly light, compared to many Cockers, they all need regular grooming. It took 8 hours, over 4 sessions, to hack away the mats, and bathe him twice, to get his skin and remaining fur clean. When we were done, he was beautiful. His dark red color, set off by the golden feathering was unbelievable. As his diet and health improved, his coat began to glow. Even today, when he walks through the living room and the sunlight reflects his rippling muscles, we remark on what a gorgeous animal he is.
4 or 5 trips to the vet, over a 3 month period, were also necessary to get him back to full health. Besides a minor ear infection, he developed an eye infection, and a dry rash on his skin. The black skin on his belly, probably from laying in water, was a staff infection that had to be medicated. At first we were afraid he might have kidney problems, but it turned out that he was just dehydrated. He drank large amounts of water, for nearly a month, before the symptoms eased off to normal.. Antibiotics, skin lotion, ear drops, and eye salve, along with a balanced healthy diet, rest, and exercise, brought him from 21 pounds, up to his current 28.5 pounds, the perfect weight for him.
My voice terrified him, so I keep him out in the family room, on the linoleum, for training. After 2 weeks, we were able to move his bed into our bedroom. It took 3 months before I could stand over him to scratch his ears, and he wouldn't leave a puddle. Unfortunately, if something upsets him, we still have occasional problems with this. Changing work schedules, a possum or aggressive meter reader in the back yard, or even a heavy rain storm can cause problems.
One point I can't over stress is Judi's help in all this. She taught him to relax. Her patience, compassion, and insight made all the difference in his training. He responded to her voice better, and she didn't get as upset when he goes into regression. Of course, he also didn't pee on her every she petted him, either. It took several months before I could call him for pets. If he has an accident, 90% of the time it's because I've called him. My son, BJ, has also been a calming effect on Lucky. One sentence of advice. I you decide to "rescue" a dog, be ready for submissive urination. Like taxes, you can yell and scream, but it just makes it worse.
Once Lucky was healthy, and we had his confidence, we were able to begin obedience training. He's one of the smarter dogs I've encountered. At first I believed he'd already been trained, but I'm not so sure now. He picks up new tricks so quickly, such as Hoops, that I wonder if he's been trained, or is learning afresh.
We started off with simple things, and worked upwards. Judi has taught him to sit and stay, and to play "doggone" (a bed trick, crawling under the covers and rooting around in play). Go Potty (go outside) is a useful "trick" for a dog that has a submissive leaking problem. Together we've taught him to fetch. He originally didn't like balls, but now he loves to fetch it. Down (get off my lap) and lay down (rest position) weren't hard to teach. Hoops was something I admired about my former dog, Winston... so I taught it to Lucky (this is a leap into the air, while turning a 360 degree circle). He walks on a lead perfectly, but he doesn't like lead training (walking around the court). By now, he'll walk by my side, even when off the leash. Speak was a harder trick, since he didn't like to bark. Instead of barking, he'll move his mouth, most of the time while making a soft guttural sound. He's not an extrovert, so howling is hard to teach, although our other dog, Breezie, does so on command. Every dog has "natural" tricks, and some that are very difficult to teach.
There are some "tricks" you can't teach a dog. One is a sense of time. For some reason, when it's bed time, he will head for the bedroom. If I'm not ready for bed, like tonight, he'll pace back and forth to the bedroom, reminding me it's time. With my schedule, I don't know how he knows this, but he never fails. It's funny, on a weekend, when we're watching a movie, he'll keep coming out to see if we're still OK... and to let us know his schedule is upset. Breezie, on the other hand, is happy to lay by my feet until I head into bed. These are the sort of things that make each pet unique.
By now, I've run out of tricks. He isn't inclined to fetch slippers and such. If you know of other tricks I can teach him, please drop me a line (main screen). I'd love to hear about your dog.
As I said earlier, I named Lucky because he would be lucky to be adopted. As it's worked out, he's not half so lucky as I am. I've had a number of dogs in my life, many I hardly remember. As much as I want to put a couple up on a pedestal, there have been none better than Lucky.