Littletown
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2003
Location:
Posts: 415 |
Advice for your rescue dog
I would like to see you post a good photo of this dog on here; could you do that ?
Do you know if rescue pulled him from a shelter as a "stray", or if he was an "owner surrender" ?
Your dog may have pitbull in him (due to the brindle), or greyhound, bullmastiff, boxer, etc. Or Plott hound, as you said.
It is possible that the dog was once owned by a hunter, & because of his bad habits (mouthy, fearful aggression, chewing everything, etc.), he may have been given away to someone who didn't keep him properly contained, he may have gotten lost during hunting, or stolen & dumped by someone, who knows...
What bothers me about your description of him is that he 'stops dead in his tracks on a walk - or just flat out lies down'. That is not normal for a dog to do (except for Basset Hounds, who often pull that one while you are trying to get them to cross a street !!). The last dog I had that showed what you have described as "exercise intolerance" turned out to have a major cardiac problem, & died suddenly at the age of just under 3 years. Does this dog have a recent test for heartworm ? If not, I would get him in to see a vet right away, before you invest any more time (and love) into him. If he tests negative for heartworm, I would definitely let the vet know about his frequent "laying down", & maybe have his cardiac status checked out.
A dog of this breed should not tire so suddenly and easily while walking. As for running him next to you while on your bike, what if he suddenly stops to lay down while you are expecting to continue forward; you could end up being injured because of him. (Yes, it happened to me while I was exercising the neighbor's show dog. I broke a few bones, & the dog got loose when I fell).
I'd get your dog's health checked out, first - before I did anything more active with him. The rescue may have made sure he was up to date on vaccines, & most likely neutered him - but not all rescues test for heartworm, & I know of no all-breed rescues that do routine cardiac status testing, or OFA-style hip xrays. Dogs in pain will also stop often to lay down; his problem could be a (hip) pain issue, & not cardiac. Best to get him checked out.
One thing you could do (for FUN) is to take him to a local Coonhound meet & ask them if they are going to have a treeing contest, preferably with a live coon in the cage. You would find out right away if he is at all interested in the coon, or if he is afraid of it, or just not interested.
While you are at the meet, enjoy the bench show, field trial, & water races; you will meet lots of nice people, & who knows - you may find a brand new sport to enjoy on a regular basis 
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