I have a rescue dog and I am unsure of his breed. While searching the internet, I came across this post: http://www.forum.breedia.com/threads/calling-lurcher-people.12792/#post-171134 and thought it looked more like Niko than any other mixes I have seen. Any input would be appreciated!
I was going to say Staff cross @Kitkat_ is an active member here so hopefully she will spot this and comment. What kind of character does Niko have? Whatever his mix, he is a lovely looking dog
Hello Metro congratulations on your new dog . I too would say there is some Staff in the mix . Niko looks a lovely little chap and he is clearly quite at home with you
As per his personality: Niko was abused and abandoned as far as I could tell; he showed many signs of being abused and I was told he was abandoned by those who I adopted him from. At first, he was very shy, afraid of almost everything, but couldn't have been happier to have someone feed him. He was terrified of being in his crate, which I tried time and time again to get him to go in by using treats, feeding him there, and so on -- but he never wanted to go in. He always wanted to sleep on the bed with me. I started not allowing him on the bed, and he slowly started moving towards his crate. However, some way or another, he's now always sleeping on the bed with me and won't go in his crate He loves to play tug, be chased, and wrestle. He is excellent around humans, and loves cuddling up next to people. He likes dogs, too, but he's less inclined to play with dogs at the dog park (most are male and bigger than him) -- though he's clearly happy to be out there with them. He seems to enjoy playing with the female dogs and puppies that visit. As you can see in the pictures, he also loves his cat friend at home. Attributal: 41 lbs Probably around 2 ft tall, at a maximum He runs pretty fast, faster than my previous lab and hound did. Also, he's sick right now, and I can't get him to drink water unless I give him it throug ha syringe. I am going to go buy a turkey baster if he doesn't start drinking by tomorrow, but I'd prefer for him to drink out of a bowl. I've tried skim milk in his water, ice in his water, even chicken broth. He just wont drink out of anything but a syringe or my hands. Any tips?
Looks like he's found a great home with you Re him being off water, have you checked his mouth? He might have cut his tongue if he's taking water with a syringe but not drinking out of a bowl. (I guess the bowl is nice and clean? Dogs can be fussy! )
I did clean the bowl! He has diarrhea and doesn't want to drink much. I'm just going to try out the turkey baster.
He looks like a staffie cross to me too, that last photo is typical staffie. Regarding the water, just be careful you don't put too much at a time in as you'll cause him to gag. Is he still eating? What is he eating? Having just had a very sick dog that I couldn't persuade to drink anything, I found by giving her wet foods and mixing water in with it to make it even wetter she got enough fluids into her. Is he still weeing as normal? Hope he feels better soon.
He is a great looking dog, and I agree with the others that some sort of staffie cross is most likely. Worrying that he doesn't want to drink normally - hope he's OK soon. And I'm glad he's found a good home with you after his previous experiences.
He seems to be doing well with the baster. It's slow, but it's not as slow as this 10mL syringe I had been using I've been feeding him chicken and rice, both completely bland. He loves it. Normally he eats variants of Blue Buffalo dog food, which I had been buying for him when the vet told me he might be a dutch shepherd mix...and I read that they usually have allergies to wheat/other grains. It's expensive for a college student, but it's kept him healthy looking and I love the ingredients! It worries me too. I've been taking him to the dog park, and he wears himself out there. Oddly enough, he'll drink from the community bowl that is out there. Yet, still, he won't drink from any bowls I place in locations outside of the house that we visit when I take him to the bathroom. I'm not too familiar with what a Lurcher is.
I wonder whether your tap water has additives that he doesn't like? I think Lurchers are mainly in Great Britain and Ireland. Basically they're a cross between a sighthound (eg greyhound, saluki, deerhound) and a working dog like a collie or perhaps terrier. Very popular with poachers! Fast and cunning! I had one (though I'm not a poacher I hasten to add!) - they are wonderful dogs.
Lovely dog and I can definitely see Staffie in him. What does your vet say about his diarrhoea and not wanting to drink?
I've tried tap and filtered, he doesn't want to drink either from his bowl. They didn't find any parasites from fecal tests, but wanted to do xray testing on him. That service seemed over-priced, so I opt'd out of it to give him more time. His stool is getting more firm, but he still won't drink. He's also stopped vomiting, so that is good!
I agree with Trouble about making his food fairly moist, though some dogs don't like it too sloppy. Don't know what your weather is like, but you could try catching some rainwater for him, or looking for a natural source of springwater. Some dogs like to lick ice cubes too.
Could it be the container? What's the communal water bowl made of? and what's his water bowl at home made of? My lot if given the opportunity prefer to drink out of the pond rather than their water bowl or bucket.
Mine are the same - far prefer water from the river or a puddle than their nice clean bowls! I am very careful to make sure it's thoroughly rinsed after washing, in case there's any trace of detergent left. And I've noticed that although we have more than one water bowl (I've three dogs) they seem to favour one over the others. It's really good news that Niko has stopped vomiting - sounds as if he's on the mend.
I've tried multiple types of bowls, and I make sure they are clean. He still won't drink from them. PUG? That'd be something else He threw up a bit of bile before having breakfast, and he still has to drink through the turkey baster. He has more energy though. I'm going to give him a couple more days and see if he is getting better before taking him to the vet again.
