Agressive behaviour help

Irishcrx

Hi,

I have two dogs currently living in my house, one is my own a Siberian Husky who is 10 months old and I trained myself, he is a great dog and no problem to me he is obidient, playfull , well taken care of etc.

The second dog is a bitch , mix of a colly and whippet. My housemate took her in last year and I allowed her to stay with us as she had no where to go, she was about 8 months old when she came to us. Over the past few weeks/months her behaviour is going from bad to worst ,she is constantly tearing things up around the house, her barking is out of control and is very loud, if we put her outside she will stand at the door and bark and bark until someone lets her in, I try to get her to stop barking before I let her in but my housemate gives in and lets her walk all over him, she is always jumping on the furniture, she attacks my dog over food all the time (In fairness she doesn't get fed enough) I feed her when I can but since she is not mine I cannot afford to feed her all the time, I have mt dog on a schedule and I feel bad when I feed him in the morning and at lunch and her first meal won't come until 6 which would be his 3'rd.

Playing games with her is a nightmare, I play fetch and catch out the back with my dog but I have to lock her in the house when I do as she becomes super aggresive, she won't return or release the top or ball she growls, froughts and barks and even has attempted to bite me and other people who attempt to take the toy back. I have tried training her but she simply will not even listen to get her to sit or stay during it never mind anything beyond it.

At this stage everyone in the house is a little worried about her and her behaviour, in fairness I see the route of it being, lack of training, hardly any walks one a week maybe, bad feeding schedule and lack of in general and her I have spoken to my housemate about this but he doesn't do anything about it, he likes the novelty of having a dog but expects everyone else to deal with her and because she sees the way me and busker interact day in day out I think she gets extremely jealous but I cannot do anything with her other than what I do now because at the end of the day she is not my responsibilty and I feel so sorry for her and for the people I have around or living there that are dealing with this aswell.

Advice please?

barbiegirl

I'm a softie, I'd take responsibility. I'd hate to see the dog put down because it's owner doesn't know how to treat a dog. I'd start from scratch and go from there.
Probably not what you want to hear, but as your flatmate soumnds useless I'd feel obliged to step up to the plate.

Toulouse

I agree with Barbiegirl, I couldn't have that kind of thing going on under my roof. Can you get him to give you money for food so you can feed her? Are you even willing to take her on?

It's your house so you lay it down for him, either he shapes up and starts treating that dog like she deserves or you'll <insert whatever you're prepared to do here>

jimmyn

Oh boy. A Collie crossed with a Whippet. a dog that will need constant attention, a job to do and tons of physical and mental exercise.

I think you know what the problem is, and what needs to be done. But you're looking for reassurance here.

The way I see it, you have 3 options:

1) Your housemate takes responsibility for his dog, feeds it, trains it and exercises it properly.

2) You take ownership of the dog and do all of the above

3) You find a new home for the dog, with someone who will do all of the above.

That's it. Those are your options. Pick one.

Irishcrx

Don't get me wrong, we all care about her welfare and i have no doubt without us she'd already be dead, we are the ones who feed, walk her, give her water and attention it's just I explained to him when she came I cannot afford her as I have my own dog and he has to take care of her. I work all day 5 days a week I already said two dogs would be too much, my girlfriend is at home and she also helps out.

Thing is, in my group of mates there are 2/3 people who have said they will take her home and look after her and train her right but he won't allow it he wants to keep her and claim he does a good job with her but in reality it's the exact oppisite and her behaviour and health is evident of this, my heart does break for her but I just cannot do any more than I am doing right now, as for money for food no he won't and he even takes most of my food for the week for my husky without buying his own. When he does buy food its a can or two hardly ever a big bag.

kildara

Ring the SPCA. He is neglecting his dog.
He wont know who rang as you say some of your friends know about this situation so it could have been any of them, or even the neighbours complaining about the dog barking etc.
It is very unfair on the dog, so something needs to be done. She is only, what, two years old? So still young enough to be trained and socialised.

Has he got a license? Report him for that too. Surely with all the unwanted attention from various authorities he will gladly give the dog to the first person who offers a home.

Whilst I somewhat agree with the previous posters who say you should take care of the dog yourself, he should be responsible for the welfare of his dog or get rid of it (to one someone who will care for her).

He sounds like a real twat.

Best of luck with it.

Blueprint

Throw him out! He sounds like a nightmare of a housemate so you'd be better off with someone else and with any luck he won't find anywhere that accepts dogs and will give that poor dog a chance of a decent life with someone else.

ghost_ie

Give him an ultimatum - either the dog goes or he does. Use the fact that he takes the food for your dog to feed to his as a reason. With luck he'll give the dog to one of your friends who will have the time and knowledge to care for her properly.