GSD living under my back porch

[Mytical]

As to the licking of the hand maybe doggy is just seeing what you taste like . Nah that is a good sign. Hope you get him to come out for you soon.

[It shouldn't]

Isn't cat food too high in protein to be good for dog-kidneys? That's what I've always heard

I noticed that his poos were totally runny when he was eating the catfood. Now that I'm feeding him proper dog food I've been seeing proper turds laying around.

LAst night puppy showed how smart he really is.

I thought I was being slick. I bought some great smelling canned food and mixed it with the dry food and placed the bowl of it about 1 ft from the porch. Then I stood by quietly to see if he would come out.

First the nose appeared, then the face, then the neck got longer and longer. He sniffed the bowl, licked his chops then grabbed the bowl by the rim and dragged it under the porch to eat in peace and quiet.

While he's under the porch, he lets me stick my hand under there and sniffs and licks it. I can also scratch him behind the ears, as long as I don't try to make him/her come out.

[ThirdGenRetail]

What worries me is that a dog that terrified has probably been through some stuff. I've never met a domesticated animal that couldn't be coaxed with a kind word and a kitty treat unless it had a previous owner with his own special reservation in Hell.

It may also be that the dog, with how thin it's been described as, has been out and about in the 'wild' for a while, and it started to revert to a feral state. The most recent copy of Pet Tails, a local free pet magazine that's published every two months(Website here for those curious), had an article by a lady who was adopted by a mostly-feral cat(Apparently when a cat that's known the feral life purrs at you, it's a very big honor!) - With the fact the cat warmed up to her, she surmised that he'd once known the life of a house, but was abandoned, so not only turned feral but became distrustful of people. From the sounds of it, that's what's happened with the pup. It's known the life of a house, which is why it's not people or food aggressive, but it's been spending a while out in the 'wild', accounting for how skinny it is as well as shy.

On a related note, we've got the same thing going on right now, but with a cat. Strays seem to come up to me a bit readily, so our number of cats tends to... Well... FLUCTUATE. We do have a core 5, though, and my personal maximum is 6. Right now, we sit at 6, but Kitty(#6) is a cat we plan on finding a forever home. 5 is barely Mother's limit, as it were. So far, Kitty's been warming up to the dogs(And if he can stand Tucker, I think he'd be able to stand just about any dog), he's gotten pretty okay with the other 5(Or those he sees most often)... The idea is to get him as dog- and cat-friendly as we can before taking him to the SPCA, to increase his adoptability, since dog/cat friendly tends to = higher chance of adoption(On the other hand, if we were to find Sugar and Bruce a new home, they'd have to have no dogs, and if other cats, YOUNGER cats... Not that I want to give them up, since Sugar's the only cat that sleeps at my feet). He's benefited in putting on weight, too, since he was a bit bony when he first showed up.

And, for the record, our core 5 cats ARE sterile Kitty, sadly, is not, which is what creates a hinge for a local cat rescue taking him. Gonna save the money up and, since we'll need to take him to the vet for a checkup anyway, see about a neutering for him. Which shall be fun since he's not yet proven to be litter box trained or not...

It's very good of you, working on getting the pup to warm up to you like that. Maybe add some other treats into its food, like bits of cooked scrap meat(Try to find pieces without seasoning!). It's already warming up to you, a very good sign

[Andara Bledin]

We've got a stray male cat that we think was dumped recently that's been coming by our apartment to try to tell our cats through the window that he's claiming the territory outside our apartment.

After 2 days, he was just fine letting us touch and hold him. If he's still around a couple of weeks down the road, we plan to have him checked by the local vet and fixed if he isn't already.

^-.-^

[Solumina]

Soounds to me like someone got a cute little puppy and chucked him out when he got to big, poor thing. I'm happy that he managed to find you, his progress may seem slow but it is actually going along a lot quicker than I would have expected. Keep up the good work!

[Mytical]

Soounds to me like someone got a cute little puppy and chucked him out when he got to big, poor thing.

And if so, there is a super special place in the infernal pits reserved just for them. While this is a all too common thing, when 101 Dalmatians first aired (and reaired) it became a lot more common. Kids would scream for a puppy, lose interest, and the poor dogs were abandoned. If I say any more it would be fratching, so .. I am glad that the dog found you.

[Marmalady]

My kitty was a stray but was friendly right from the start, although for the first couple of weeks she tended to mostly stay in my bedroom, only coming out to eat and use the litter tray. Gradually though she extended her domain to the rest of the house.... I wonder if she was the pet of an elderly person who passed away, as rather than being distrustful of people at first, she seemed to panic a bit if she couldn't find me.

[It shouldn't]

Well, It's official!

It's a boy!!

He still won't come out, but I got a good look....... at parts

[Mikkel]

Pictures? Don't use flash, it might scare him.

[wolfie]

And if so, there is a super special place in the infernal pits reserved just for them. While this is a all too common thing, when 101 Dalmatians first aired (and reaired) it became a lot more common. Kids would scream for a puppy, lose interest, and the poor dogs were abandoned. If I say any more it would be fratching, so .. I am glad that the dog found you.

From what I've heard, responsible Dalmatian breeders refer to it as "that damn movie". Dalmatians are NOT a good breed for houses with kids - they're a very high-energy dog, originally bred as "coach dogs" - to run alongside a rich person's coach and deter the neighbourhood dogs from harassing the horses (since they're obviously already "claimed" by the dogs running alongside). As an aside, this is how dalmatians came to be associated with firemen - early fire engines were horse-drawn, and they needed to keep the neighbourhood dogs from harassing the horses, so they chose a dog breed suited to the purpose.

Also, dalmatians are susceptible to (recessive) inherited deafness. Deaf dogs and children don't mix - a dog surprised by a child is likely to bite.

[BookstoreEscapee]

There was a Dalmation that lived on the next street over from me when I was a kid. She was very sweet but liked to jump and she was huge, compared to me as a small child, at least. The family didn't let her out unsupervised, but whenever I knocked on the door (usually selling Girl Scout Cookies or helping my brother collect for his paper route) she jumped at the door and made me nervous.

[Kyree]

From what I've heard, responsible Dalmatian breeders refer to it as "that damn movie". Dalmatians are NOT a good breed for houses with kids - they're a very high-energy dog, originally bred as "coach dogs" - to run alongside a rich person's coach and deter the neighbourhood dogs from harassing the horses (since they're obviously already "claimed" by the dogs running alongside). As an aside, this is how dalmatians came to be associated with firemen - early fire engines were horse-drawn, and they needed to keep the neighbourhood dogs from harassing the horses, so they chose a dog breed suited to the purpose.

Also, dalmatians are susceptible to (recessive) inherited deafness. Deaf dogs and children don't mix - a dog surprised by a child is likely to bite.

On top of all that, they can be highly neurotic and aggressive if not handled/socialized properly. Yes, the same goes for all breeds, but this one (especially with the high amount of back yard breeding) is high up there on those charts.

OP, good job on being so patient! You're doing great, and I hope to see some pictures soon!

As for foods, are Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, Candidae, Wellness, Orijen, Natural Balance or Solid gold bad for him? They're generally better then Puppy Chow or Royal Canin.

[It shouldn't]

As for foods, are Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, Candidae, Wellness, Orijen, Natural Balance or Solid gold bad for him? They're generally better then Puppy Chow or Royal Canin.

Well, as per Draggar's recommendation I switched him to Adult 'large breed' dog food. The brand is "Dad's" (local Co.) I know it's not most nutritious out there, but it's all I can afford until Hubby gets his butt back to work.

Oh and he's still under the porch. But we're making progress. When I was out shoveling the drive this morning, he came out to cautiously sniff me up and down and let me pet him a bit, before a loud mufflered truck went by and spooked him back under there.

I'm stopping to pick up a collar for him tonight and next time he comes out I'm going to try to put it on him.

On a side note, the post office guy told me on Saturday that someone else in our tiny village has a German Shepard living under their porch, too.

[Mikkel]

I wonder if someone have dumped them both (or more) .

[Seshat]

Oh and he's still under the porch. But we're making progress. When I was out shoveling the drive this morning, he came out to cautiously sniff me up and down and let me pet him a bit, before a loud mufflered truck went by and spooked him back under there.

BIG yays!!!

I'm stopping to pick up a collar for him tonight and next time he comes out I'm going to try to put it on him.

Don't be too hasty with the collar. Consider getting a collar-engraving with your phone number, but otherwise it serves little purpose.

With the phone number, it means that if he spooks entirely away, someone who finds him can call you and you can try to get him to come back to you.

Otherwise, it achieves very little and might spook him away again.

On a side note, the post office guy told me on Saturday that someone else in our tiny village has a German Shepard living under their porch, too.

ARGH!