Where to leave a guard dog?

[aubriee]

My exhusband has agreed to keep my two dogs (shih tzu and akita) when my mom and I go to WDW in Sept. The schih tzu will be 2 1/2 y/o and has stayed with him before. However I'm concerned about my akita, who will be 11 months old by then. My ex has an older rottweiler (who adores my schih tzu, but does not know the akita). My akita is a typical akita (read stubborn, very dominant, natural aggressive guard dog tendencies, etc). I'm afraid he will get out and hurt someone and may not get along with my ex's rottie. My Akita is in obedience training at the present time, but will always be a walking time bomb when it comes to aggression. Anyway I don't want to leave him with my ex, he would bite any neighbor who tried to come in to feed him (since we won't be there), and I'm afraid a kennel would not take him out and exercise him, since he can be difficult and will be scared since we won't be around. Besides which he is an inside dog and has never spent a night in his life outside. My ex lives too far away to come feed and walk him every day.

He just finished a 1 on 1 six week obedience course and next week he starts another obedience course with other dogs. After he finishes the next obedience course he will be able to participate in the dog park the trainer operates. The trainer says she will keep him, but her kennels are outside, plus she raises German Shephards and I'd hate for him to get in a fight with one of them.

Any suggestions for what I could do with him while we're in WDW? What do you do with your guard dogs when you're on vacation?

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

I don't have guard dogs (mine are Golden's, and would let anyone in ), but I run a dog sitting business out of my home and also work for a pet sitting service, so I have some experience with this question. My best advice would be to ask your vet if he/she has any recommendations.

I would see if you could find a pet sitter, either professional or someone recommended, who could come and stay at your house. Your dog would feel much more comfortable, and would come to trust this other person. Your dog wouldn't feel threatened, and would be able to stay inside, in his familiar setting. Yes, paying someone to stay at your home could be more expensive than a kennel, but it would be worth it for your peace of mind. If your vet has no suggestions, look in your phone book under "pet sitters".

If not, maybe your vet could recommend a kennel which might be indoors.

Also...ask your trainer!!!! I'm sure he/she has dealt with similar dogs and may have somone he/she recommends, since the kennel she runs may not be best for your dog.

Good luck finding somone. I don't know when your trip is, but I would start looking early. It would be extremely helpful to introduce your dog to any new sitter several times before leaving for any good length of time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

he would bite any neighbor who tried to come in to feed him (since we won't be there)

If I were you I would take your trainer up on the offer. The dog will be better behaved there than at home left to his own devices (if he's that aggressive I'd be worried while I was away about whether he'd hurt the sitter). I'm sure the trainer will be careful in keeping the dogs apart, and I wouldn't worry too much about the fact he's never slept outside. He'll be safe in a kennel and that's the important part.

My Akita is in obedience training at the present time, but will always be a walking time bomb when it comes to aggression.

Is this dog more aggressive than usual? You didn't ask but in reading your post I'm glad to see you're taking the dog to training and socializing him with other dogs. It's important for breeds with aggressive tendencies to be well trained and socialized, and extremely difficult (and dangerous) to live with one who's not.

Good luck!

 

[gris gris]

Hi, we have the same kind of problem, minus the agressiveness. My dog is actually a scaredy cat which makes me nervous. He doesn't like strangers at all. So, when we go away, we have family members who stay at our house. We also have a friend that the dog has recently decided he likes, and this friend is single, so when we go to WDW this year he'll stay at our house. Otherwise it's my cousins or BIL who stay with him if we go away. I would never kennel him or leave him with the vet because I'm afraid of what he'd do, since he's never been in that environment. If I were to hire a pet sitter to stay overnight, I'd definitely need to make sure the pet sitter came over many many times before hand to make sure they aren't afraid of each other. Once my dog knows someone and recognizes them, he's okay. I think you're right in not having him stay with your ex. Do you have anyone in your life that the dog is comfortable with that could stay at your house?

 

[Alexsma]

We are in the same situation with our dogs. My 12 year old cocker spaniel would let anyone in the house, but our 6 year old German wirehaired pointer gets a little overly protective. We have a good friend of the family who has gotten to know our dogs over some time come over and let them out. The first time she stayed the pointer wouldn’t let her open his cage! She calls my cell phone while we are traveling to our destination, my advice feed him some treats open the cage take the package of goodies and sit on the couch and ignore him. It worked she didn’t have any problem with him after that. Also most dogs are more protective of their own house, not so much other peoples. Good luck!