Why do people neglect their dogs?

Sorry guys, but I really need to vent a little.

Some of you may not know that I am a dog groomer, so I see all kinds of dogs in all kinds of conditions. Now, it's very VERY unusual for someone with a long coated/non shedding breed to actually take care of the coat.. but there's a big range here.

For instance, today I had two lhasa apsos. Both were severely matted. The lady couldn't even get the male dog's collar off! I had to practically skin the dog to get the mats off, (yes the whole fur can come off in one piece) and both ears were infected because they hadn't been plucked or cleaned in who knows how long.. The female was even worse, her little girl parts looked rotted.. black and swollen. I just can't believe people let their dogs get like this.

So.. if you want a long coated dog, YES, you have to brush it! It takes 10 minutes twice a week and you've got a beautiful, healthy dog! Agh!

*off the soapbox*

Poor little puppies!!! :hug:

It's just very frustrating.. you explain to the owner what they need to do.. they say 'uh-huh' and bring the dog back a few months later in exactly the same condition.

I know you guys would understand.

Yeah....I've seen that a lot, especially with herps, but I know it happens a lot with all pets. People come asking for advice on how to take care of them or fix the problems they've already created....and when you offer them timely and well-thought advice, all they come back with are excuses about why THEY can't/won't follow a single stitch of advice they've just asked for. :worry:

Yeah exactly. A lot of people are quite rude when we offer advice too. One lady couldn't believe she needed a slicker brush AND a comb.. geez..

Oh April, I completely know what you mean. I've seen people bring their dogs into the vet with collars embedded in their necks. No, you can't put a collar on a puppy and expect it to grow with it!! UGH! I've also seen the dogs that are so badly matted all you can do is shave them. It's so much worse when there's fecal material caked in the matted fur. :rage: How can you not notice this?!?!?! I have short haired dogs because I know I'm not a daily brusher, but they do get their brushings. (No mats here!! ;) ) Some of the worst cases are dogs who are left in the back yard and are chained. (and yes we've had to cut out some chains that were embedded too :bleh: ) I've seen pet dogs so infested with ticks that they were severely anemic. They actually had to have transfusions, because they had been so badly drained. All of these things are so easily remedied with a brush, and nice bath and a couple minutes outta your day. Grrrr..... :evileye:

Oh how disgusting for the poor dogs and for you April to have to deal with that degree of neglect and the just plain dirty, smelly way they bring in their so called loved pets. I'd be tempted to take some clippers to them! It's one thing to have someone groom your pet, it's another to neglect it to that point. Humans are so stupid sometimes.

We've been talking about getting an Alaskan Malamute at some point (through a rescue of course). I've been around northern breeds before but never owned one myself. Before we even get close to taking on a dog with that sort of coat I will likely pick your brain about proper coat management so I can get right into a good routine that way.

~~Jo~~

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

It's so much worse when there's fecal material caked in the matted fur. :rage: How can you not notice this?!?!?!

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I unfortunately see this almost every day. It's so hard to get it out of my clipper blades too :bleh: Another one of the groomers had a dog who had so much poo stuck on her butt that nothing else could come out (it was sealed shut).. once she got it off, there was rotten feces stuck inside that just kept coming out.. it was horrible. I had something similar happen to me with a pekingese a few weeks ago. Her poor bum was so sore.

Jo - Malamutes are awesome and beautiful dogs (though they sure can make noise!). These guys SHED! They 'blow' their coat usually two times a year. It comes out in chunks. At these times it is important to brush daily especially behind the ears and between the legs and in the armpits (friction areas) it's best to take the dog to a groomer because we've got SERIOUS blow dryers (we have 4 horse power ones) that blow the hair right out.

Great advice, thanks April! Well before we consider getting one I'm going to do tons of research, maybe even volunteer at the rescue to make sure I know what I'm getting into. Living in the Canadian Yukon I got exposed to a lot of northern sled breeds but admiring one is not liking owning one.

For now I just drool over the dogs at the breed rescue pages and hope that when we move we can finally have one (a well fenced yard is a must on my list of what I want in the new house).


~~Jo~~

Oh and malamutes are champions at finding skunks too.. 80% of the skunk dogs we get are northern breeds.

We had a rescue malamute for a couple years when I was in high school, Max. He had been kept in a fenced-in, concrete dog pen until we got him. He was fine - just never allowed to run around and be a dog. My folks live in the country in southern Indiana and have plenty of property and woods for dogs to go explore and just be dogs (mmm! digging! skunks! sticks!).

That first winter we had was a good, hard, cold, snowy winter - and he LOVED it! He would run as fast as he could from my Dad's shop (about half a football field away from the house) and then pull up his front legs and just snowplow through the snow! He could just not injest enough snow and ice and cold into his malamute body! He loved eating icicles and playing "fetch" with snowballs and just generally wrasseling about in the snow - nutty dog! =)

April -


What's your thoughts on Akitas? Any experience w/them? My boyfriend would like to have one but until we get a fence put up - no doggies for me!!!

I know that all the northern breeds really shouldn't be allowed off lead unless in a fenced area. They just aren't like retrievers who have an instinct to return....sledding breeds are bred to run...and keep running. That's one reason many of them end up rescued. They won't stay home unless you make it so they can't leave home. They can also climb fencing like you would not believe possible and most don't do well with very small dogs or cats (a bit too much hunting instinct there). Malamutes do better with kids than Huskies usually. Oh and don't expect either breed to walk on lead well...again....instincts to pull are just so strong. We had a mix lab/husky...she did better on a haltie than a collar and loved to be under harness and haul anything around....dogs like jobs! :)

I'd research on Akita's well. From what I've heard (though have not owned one) they are a dog with a mind of it's own and need to know their place in their family "pack", though of course any happy dog does but a naturally dominant breed needs it even more so.


~~Jo~~

we had a 'pack' of akitas (3) living next to us a few years ago. great dogs... very very very energetic. she took them to the river every night to run for 90 minutes... rain, snow, shine... didn't matter.

they often tried to break down the fence to get out and would dig like CRAZY - they did not like to be contained (and she was a GREAT doggiemom)

but it may have just been those 3... i'm no expert.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I know that all the northern breeds really shouldn't be allowed off lead unless in a fenced area. They just aren't like retrievers who have an instinct to return....sledding breeds are bred to run...and keep running. That's one reason many of them end up rescued. They won't stay home unless you make it so they can't leave home. They can also climb fencing like you would not believe possible and most don't do well with very small dogs or cats (a bit too much hunting instinct there). Malamutes do better with kids than Huskies usually. Oh and don't expect either breed to walk on lead well...again....instincts to pull are just so strong. We had a mix lab/husky...she did better on a haltie than a collar and loved to be under harness and haul anything around....dogs like jobs! :)

I'd research on Akita's well. From what I've heard (though have not owned one) they are a dog with a mind of it's own and need to know their place in their family "pack", though of course any happy dog does but a naturally dominant breed needs it even more so.


~~Jo~~

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To be honest - they are not my dog of choice and right now I'm enjoying the fact that I don't have to take the cats or snake out to do their business:)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

we had a 'pack' of akitas (3) living next to us a few years ago. great dogs... very very very energetic. she took them to the river every night to run for 90 minutes... rain, snow, shine... didn't matter.

they often tried to break down the fence to get out and would dig like CRAZY - they did not like to be contained (and she was a GREAT doggiemom)

but it may have just been those 3... i'm no expert.

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Oh my - that just sounds like too much for me right now....maybe down the road....

I see neglected dogs a lot out here in the country; people tend to have the mentality that a dog can live its whole life chained to their porch with a tiny doghouse, (or worse, running free, endangering themselves and passing cars.) never being allowed into the house; not my idea of what a dog's life should be.
But people often ignore cosmetic ignoring; it is just as big of an issue.

Lori, I really think that when getting any dog or even a mixed breed, just learn what you can about that breed's needs, general temperment, etc. and as you are doing, be very honest about what you like or don't like in a dog, what you have time for and space for, etc. There's a lot of breeds I would love to own but wouldn't probably fit my life right now. Once you know what you want in a dog, there's probably a lot of breeds or mixed breeds that would fit in nicely with your family.

I met some folks a few years back that were having awful troubles with their aussie...ankle nipping, hyper, chewer, etc. They didn't want to give her up, they truly loved the dog but didn't understand the breed or do research (kinda bought it because they loved the look). Since they had a lovely fenced yard anyways, I figured they should probably invest in a small flock of ducks (wing clipped of course) and just turn them loose daily in the yard. Ducks are harder to "push" then sheep so it would keep the dog supremely happy, give the ducks a bit of exercise and likely solve a lot of their problems with her. They were an older couple and a high energy dog that aches to have a job to do was probably not the best choice for them in the first place.

Awfully sad but a huge percentage of these herding breeds end up in rescues as do a lot of northern sled breeds because they just act out when they haven't got a job to occupy their minds or put their high energy to proper use.

~~Jo~~

My dog is a herding dog (english shepherd) and she is definitely high energy! She keeps all the squirrels in the yard in check. Very intelligent dogs too.. not for apartment living that's for sure.