we adopted a senior dog

[Levi the Leopard]

..or should I say he adopted us?

On April 2nd a big, black stray dog approached us as we had a picnic lunch on the front lawn. He was an old guy, calm and gentle so we let him hang around us. I have 2 little boys so usually I keep any strays (and people's loose dogs that crap everywhere) at bay.
We gave him some water and he politely sat to the side while we ate. We spent the next hour or 2 playing with him in the front yard while I checked online lost/found ads since he didn't have a collar.
He was chunky, so I knew he wasn't a stray for long but he was filthy!

My 6 year old had soccer practice and we ride our bikes the mile or 2 to the field. He totally followed us there! He seemed so content in our company. I even got compliments on what a well behaved off leash dog we had. Haha. They were shocked when I told them he followed us!
We decided to keep him with us and try to find his owners. We posted a "found" ad and planned to call animal control the following day to scan for a micro chip.

The next morning we got a call from his owners after they saw my ad. They are an older couple and live in our neighborhood, only 8 houses away!
We met up with them that night and learned his story...

His name is Muttley because he's a mutt. He's 11 years old and they've had him since he was a puppy. He grew up with their 3 kids who are all grown and out of the house now. The dad worked at a shop and took him to work everyday.
Recently, the dad got a new job and Muttley couldn't go to work with him anymore. He was kept in the side yard/converted dog kennel all day everyday and started digging out to escape.
We had fallen in love with this dog and since we were neighbors, it was said that we could still walk him. They gave us permission to take him whenever we wanted.
It started off with just daily walks, then spending the whole day with us, then occasional sleepovers....Lol (don't worry the owners knew!)

Fast forward, the owners want us to keep him! They see how much we love him AND how much Muttley loves being part of our family.

We had planned to get a family dog this winter. We were on a wait list with a breeder for a rough collie puppy. But it looks like our family dog came early!

We love him so much. I know he will enjoy his golden years with us! ...and we hope his golden years stretch out a bit

My leopard tortoise has the backyard and Muttley lives in the house with us with supervised potty breaks. When we leave the house (and he can't come with us) he's either in the garage or he goes to his 1st owners side yard/kennel. Which by the way has been improved to prevent more escapes!
Eventually we will put a side yard fence up so the dog can be kept separate from the tort when we are gone.

Here are some photos!





Ok, practically every photo with him has my kids in it, too! Let me do some editing and then I'll post more pics

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Just a few more..







We think he has lab and cattle dog...who knows what else!

He's very obedient, calm, gentle, loving and the best family dog we could have asked for!

He's going to be with the other owners while we vacation next week... How cool is that?

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Great story!

 

[4jean]

This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing!!!!

 

[leigti]

That is a great story. He needed a more active home. I can't believe how much he looks like my dog. My dog is half Springer half lab and is 13 years old. I hope your dog has many more good years with you.

 

[stojanovski92113]

Awwww...that's stuff I like to read!! Congrats on your new family member

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Yes, they do look similar!

We weighed Muttley yesterday at Petsmart. He's exactly 75lbs. He was overweight when we met him and has finally slimmed down to an ideal body shape.

We treated him for fleas and ticks (didn't have fleas but had 6 ticks), have been treating a few hot spots and went on a shopping spree for toys and accessories!

I think the coolest part of this story is his transition to a new home. It's gotta be better on the dog than the typical rehoming.

 

[wellington]

I am so happy for all of you. I think it's great the family seen how much this dog still needed activity in his life, that they couldn't give and let him live out his golden years still active, not just a couch potato. I hope only the best for him and your family and long enjoyable years. He is a ,cutie..

 

[Levi the Leopard]

@leigti is your senior dog the one fed raw? When did you switch him? Do you feed the prepared/ground raw meals or make them yourself with cuts from a butcher?

Muttley is almost out of his kibble and I really want to switch him over. I've raw fed 2 great Danes but they were switched as pups. The thought of switching an old man makes me nervous.
I've always purchased meat from a butcher and have a freezer in the garage. I'm looking for support from other raw feeders that have switched old dogs. Especially since I worry he won't take to it readily.

I tried to sign up with a raw forum but I can't figure it out...Lol.. So I'm just reading all I can find for now and figured I'd ask here.

 

[leigti]

@leigti is your senior dog the one fed raw? When did you switch him? Do you feed the prepared/ground raw meals or make them yourself with cuts from a butcher?

Muttley is almost out of his kibble and I really want to switch him over. I've raw fed 2 great Danes but they were switched as pups. The thought of switching an old man makes me nervous.
I've always purchased meat from a butcher and have a freezer in the garage. I'm looking for support from other raw feeders that have switched old dogs. Especially since I worry he won't take to it readily.

I tried to sign up with a raw forum but I can't figure it out...Lol.. So I'm just reading all I can find for now and figured I'd ask here.

I can't remember exactly when I switched. I think she was around seven at the time. I switched because a dog trainer friend of mine suggested that I try it. Another friend also wanted to try it. The dog trainer has been feeding her dog raw for about two years and was very happy with it. I started out buying a commercial brand that was available locally. A new store opened up and carried a few other brands. So I would switch between them. About three years ago I started making a majority of it myself. I felt that I had learned enough to do it right and, quite frankly, I couldn't afford to keep buying the premade stuff all the time. I usually just buy meat at the grocery store. But I have gotten some organ meet from a person who was butchering a steer and also some elk meat from a hunter. I have also gotten lamb meat and bones from a person who raises them. Lamb leg and rib bones are pretty much completely edible. I have ordered 50 pound boxes of chicken backs from the butcher, as well as chicken necks.
I pretty much just switched my dog over night. I know some people just about had a heart attack at that statement but oh well I never slowly transition and my dog from different brands of dry food either. Never had any issues. Some people feed dry for one meal and raw for another for a while. Don't mix dry and raw in the same meal. I have heard from several sources that they digest at different rates and can cause issues. It's usually not hard to get dogs to eat raw meat, I bet your dog will transition pretty well to it. My dog has tolerated whatever I have given her. My friend has fed rock to two different dogs and both of them threw up if they ate A meal of only Rob beef. Of course they were labs and they probably just ate too fast and threw up. Either way she has to mix the beef with chicken and turkey etc. so it's not as rich. I think green tripe is wonderful for dogs. It has the perfect calcium phosphorus ratio. I buy it into or 5 pound chubs but I also buy it in what I call toast form, frozen slices. That stuff reeks like an outhouse but dogs seem to love it.

 

[leigti]

I used to just chop up the meet. But now I grind it most of the time because I also feed my cats raw. The dog still gets meaty bones, she absolutely loves duck necks.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Agreed, my switches were always cold turkey. Kibble one day, fast the next, raw after that.
It's been about 4 years since my last Dane and 1 year since the cat (raw fed for a time). So, although I'm a little rusty on raw feeding, I'm sure it'll come back like a bicycle as I get into it. Right? Lol

My main concern is the age difference and how that will affect him.
The Danes were put on raw at 8 weeks of age. Muttley is 11 years old.
The Danes took to raw immediately. Started with chicken backs, then quarters and so on. No problems with them ever recognizing it as food. Except for whole fish. Never got them eating that..
Muttley was only ever fed the kibble. No real food at all. Not even "people food" I say that mockingly. Since being with us, I've started inducing cooked foods to him with his kibble. Yogurts, eggs, cooked meats, various scraps, etc and it took him some time to identify that stuff as food! What if he won't take to raw right away? I'll be in new territory then!

Glad to hear your dog adjusted easily.

I hope Muttley does too!

 

[leigti]

It will come back quickly. It's nice to hear about people who have done it long term with good results. Raw meat will probably be excepted quicker than cooked. I feed my cats wrong also. That transition took a while my dog will eat the canned sardines but when I gave her a whole one all she did was play with it all day. At least I gave it to her outside. She throw it up in the air and go chase it and throw it up again and go chase it. I finally just threw it away. My dog is only 50 pounds so I never did the chicken quarters. And now I do think she's too old to risk it. I grind up chicken wings and turkey wings and Cornish game hens. She still does well with lamb bones and duck next though. My dog is only 50 pounds, I couldn't imagine feeding a great Dane a raw diet. I'd probably have to get another job. I do know a person locally who feeds her Irish wolfhounds raw. Sometimes she just hands each one of them a whole chicken.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Hah I saw the same thing with the fish. Tossing it in the air and playing lol

Whole chickens were common. Made it easy

How much in weight are you feeding your 50lb dog? Muttley is 75lbs so I think I'll start with 1.5lbs a day.

 

[leigti]

My dog eats around a pound a day. It's kind of strange to me that her appetite has actually increased a Little overall the last year or so. Although some days she doesn't eat much other days she eats more.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Well, I bought the first round of chicken today. I'm going to fast him tomorrow and start the new diet on Tuesday.

I'll post pictures of him tomorrow he's getting groomed! Hopefully they can succeed in fully cleaning him. 11 years as an outside shop dog really pack on the layers of yucky!

 

[leigti]

Well, the more pictures I see of him the more he looks like my dog. What kind of dog is he? Do they know what he has it in him? The way he's chewing on that bone I think he's going to take to raw just fine. Can't wait for updates.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

They have no clue what he is. He was a mutt pup in a mutt litter from mutt parents LOL

I see traits of lab and border collie. Possibly another herding dog like a heeler but honestly, it's just guesses.
This guy is burly with a thick coat. I'm used to Dane coat so this has been an adjustment. I use an undercoat rake on him daily (usually more than once) and I vacuum the whole house every day. But I vacuumed everyday before the dog...that's just me.. I can't imagine the hair that would collect if I wasn't doing that!

He has some patches of hair loss, dandruff and suffered from bad hot spots. I treated him and he's healed but I sure can't wait to see what raw does for his coat and skin.

 

[leigti]

A spoonful of cottage cheese daily will shine him up quick. His freckles make me think there could be pointer or Springer or possibly some sort of healer. And of course lab yeah, just wait till he blows that double coat a couple times a year. I could build a whole new dog with the black dustbunnies floating around my house sometimes.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Dropped him off for his bath!



I stayed for a while to watch and talk to the groomer. I had researched for a good groomer months ago when we got onto a waiting list for a rough collie.

Can't wait to pick him up and see if her tricks succeed in de-stinking him