Help and Advice needed please

[DaisyDuke]

Hi all, Right this might become long but i'll try and keep as short and sweet as possible.
Ok, my brother works as a game keeper on an estate and has just recently bought a gorgeous black lab. He is kept in the kennel and goes to work with my brother when he can, now the problem...
The head keeper has wait for it.... 10 dogs!!! (all of which he NEVER works-strange for a game keeper) anyway he was having a party at his house at the weekend with LOADS of people coming over so he asked if he could kennel one of his dogs with my brothers labs. Of course my bro said there was no problem. I then went up to see my bro and saw the dog in the kennel.. I could not believe it, it was sooo skinny, looks like it hasnt eaten for weeks at least(

) I walked towards it to stroke it through the bars and it cowers away from me

(im not a tall person!) I was so shocked by the state of said dog I asked my brother if the keeper would sell it. (He said keeper has already said he wont) I just cant stand animals suffering. I would quite happily pay up to £300 for this dog and feed it and look after it just so I know its not suffering any more! I dont want to phone the RSPCA as I dont want my bro to get into trouble as its kennelled at his flat which he rents from estate owners.So Where do I stand?? Any advice greatly appreciated. Especially from CALA who I know has lots of experience in this field!!

Cookies and smarties if you got this far, thanks for reading!!

 

[Ollie2creampuff]

Hi Daisy Duke

There could be a number of reasons why this dog is skinny and behaving so in the kennels. Ideally if you could find out if the dog is currently under veterinary treatment at the moment for a condition that could lead to this weight loss, this would be my first course of action.

Weight loss in dogs falls into roughly 5 categories
1) Not eating enough of a good quality diet.
2) Burning off more calories than you are consuming.
3) A systemic, internal problem with your kidneys, liver or intestines which means that you are not able to process your food properly.
4) Certain behavioural problems can also contribute to weight loss.
5) Older dogs can sometimes find it hard to keep weight and condition on also...

It does sound as though the dog is quite fearful in the kennels, there should be little reason for this if the dog has been kennelled all of its life and the other dogs (i presume the other 9 were fine???).

It is important in situations like these that we don't make rash judgments. I know that you will want to protect your brother and you would be able to do so by making an annonymous call to the RSPCA - if you were at a party then it could have any number of people there who called them, so don't worry. But initially try to find out through your brother whether he has noticed the dog receiving any medications or going to the vets so as to avoid offending people (trust me it has happened in the past). But at the end of the day if this is a case of cruelty, well done for plucking up the courage to do something about it!

Good luck hun x

 

[DaisyDuke]

Thanks for your lovely reply and advice!!

Ok, I know the dog is not on any medication and just a bit worried as the man who's dog it is,is very unreliable, sometimes dogs go unfed and he rarely cleans out the kennels!
Also (think my previous post didnt make much sense)! The party was at dog owners house and he'd taken dog to brothers flat (quite obviously so no-one at the party saw it?!) Just also worried that someone walking past will see the dog and report my brother as he's 'looking after it at the min'?! Just glad that while my bro is looking after her she'll get properly looked after.

 

[milor]

do you know what condition the other dogs are in ? - if they are in a similar state then I'm afraid I would report it as it would almost certainly point to neglect and these dogs will be suffering- the RSPCA never say who has reported any ill treatment so your brother need not be worried about his job.

If it is only this dog who is thin and fearful it could be due to a number of reasons - perhaps he is the bottom of the pack and is being bullied away from his food by the other dogs - why not offer to havng on to him for a while if you can and see if he improves.

 

[Oneofthepack]

Why is it only this particular dog the keeper wanted to kennel with your brothers dog, do you know? It could be that the dog is unwell and needs extra care and that's why he wanted it kenneled there. If there's no proper explanation for it's condition then the RSPCA should really be contacted even though it's awkward. They won't tell the head keeper who phoned so it shouldn't drop your brother in it.