Responsible dog ownership ?

A work colleague has always been to dog shelter to acquire her dogs.
A couple of years ago, it was a black and tan sharpei that she took home (initially thinking it was a girlie until she was told that Zoe might not be a suitable name - she called him Enzo).
Enzo was forgotten in a metal cage/run without food nor water when owners moved house.

Enzo is a dominant male so whilst out for a walk around the block, she has to straddle over him frantically holding onto his collar when he sees other dogs as she has the strength of a sparrow.
I told her that a bit of work with a harness or halti might help but she just replies that the shelter forbids you to go to dog training as you are supposed to know how to train them yourself

Enzo is petrified of the car so when she takes him to the vet, she has to shove him in there.
Vet waiting room of course is fun, and then he gets a biscuit once home again.
She doesn't go anywhere else in the car as she has trouble holding him in public with his simple leather collar.
I suggested positive association work with treats by asking him to jump in the car at home but she just shrugged her shoulders saying it wouldn’t help (or too much work, we read between the lines  )

Enzo’s mealtimes are the best. His favourite is spaghetti bolognese or pasta with meatballs, all home cooked (my colleague eats the other half of meal served).  
I suggested that this might not be the best way to feed him but she just replied that he had a very bad start in life, he’s making up for it now.

So yes, she may have taken in an unwanted dog from the shelter and he may be leading the life of a king as he does and eats what he wants, but is that really a good thing ?

I'm afraid I don't think much of the rescue that thought she'd be a good match for a shar pei. I would completely ignore any stupid edict from them about training - or is that just an excuse? However, he might not be the best candidate for classes, it sounds like she needs one to one at least to start off with.

It's a hard one, when we have hard to home dogs in you do sometimes think that any home would be better than staying in kennels, but especially with dogs like Enzo ultimately the long term wellbeing of the dog and safety of all have to come first.

As for spaghetti and meatballs... But I suppose it's better than cake!

Oh, Lord.

The trouble is, YOU know it's wrong & WE know it's wrong, and we can all see the future pitfalls. But if your colleague can't (or won't) see it, you can't really do much more than drop hints.

Is Enzo friendly with people? If so, could you offer to do a bit of training with him, or do they live too far away?

She lives about an hour from me, we live in opposite directions with workplace in the middle.

He’s supposed to be extremely people friendly (at least she has that).
She bought him more cushions and blankets this weekend so she does care for him

But I think that the good intention of rehoming an unwanted soul is far outweighed by the importance of the responsibility of looking after an animal correctly. I’m not convinced by her setup, or else I lost the plot a long time ago.
Left over chnese food and strawberry icecream just isn’t my idea of dog-compatible treats, let alone stable diet.
She’s had dogs for decades so clearly has much more experience than me ...

Oh, and it was RSPCA equivalent that she got him from.
If you can get past the dragon at the reception without running in the opposite direction, it seems relatively easy to adopt.
Another friend showed me photos of her dog when she got her from same place - totally emaciated even though she’d been there a few weeks.

If only Danaher standards were even closely met here

Have to agree. A shar'pei is not a dog for the feint hearted and inexperienced/unwilling to be strict dog owner. They are a guard dog after all.

As liz said i don't think much of the rescue that paired her with him, id be hard pushed to take on a shar'pei myself and i have had years of experience with various breeds of dogs (inc shars)

She clearly has the mind that spoiling him in a human manner is the best way to show her love, not thinking that as a DOG he needs to be treated like a dog. And the very best thing for a dog is to be treated like a dog.

Try telling her that her food choices and lack of training is actually making him really anxious, which is why he acts how he does. If he was handled right, he would not have these issues.

As (loathe to say his name) ceaser said: he rehabilitates dogs, he trains owners.

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen ,,,,,,,

I'm confused as to why any shelter would forbid an owner to take them for proper training, if the purpose is to help teach the dog to be less aggresive and better behaved... And the owner to have better understanding and control?

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I have absolutely no idea ...
Maybe they are afraid that people will want to train aggression but those people certainly aren’t going to attend a local canine club.

I think my colleague just understands what she wants to and just wants another being in the house, end of.

When we discussed training to jump into the car, she told me that he’d probably just cock his leg inside. I old her to put one of his blankets on the seats so he has familiar scent and would be more welcoming for him. There was that blank moment before she shrugged her shoulders and changed subject

Sounds like someone who is just stuck in her ways and has nothing else going on so the dog and its quirks is her life. My friend has a horse exactly the same, and no matter what i tell her it falls on deaf ears and no trainer is "right" despite the fact each and every one has told her that the horse is dangerous and she wont come out of this well..no that trainer was a bad one. didnt know a thing etc.

until they either hit rock bottom and realize a change is needed (as in not having that animal anymore) or the animal dies i doubt there is much that can be done.

I fear every day for my friends life with her horse and cant fathom how she can live her life in such a stressed state every single day for a horse no matter how much she loves him - its like an abusive relationship they are afraid to leave. I have a dream that one day the horse will be gone (for whatever reason..dies of old age and natural causes if thats how it goes) and she gets a nice calm one and has a good life. Ill be a good friend all the while, still telling her my honest opinion but also supporting her because you cant force someone to do something..and when it all goes wrong ill be there to pick up the pieces.

An accident waiting to happen

lexii wrote:Sounds like someone who is just stuck in her ways and has nothing else going on so the dog and its quirks is her life.

Yeah, I think this pretty much sums up the situation.
I do think it’s sad for her as much as Enzo, I just hope they stay safe.

By my nagging and suggestions, friend might just be starting to reconsider
She takes Enzo on a 10 minute walk around the village square morning and evening. Otherwise he has access to her large garden but the walk is to “change scenery”, even though the walk has 2 variables : clockwize or anticlockwise

Friend said she’d love to be able to take Enzo along the canal as there are really nice walks.
I told her that Enzo was probably never socialized and that his aggression is probably more fear and anxiety of other dogs. I suggested she try to find a local canine group and ask for individual evaluation to work to the objective of taking him for walks elsewhere. She thinks it’s a nice idea, next step is to get her to execute

Well hopefully it happens! When it "clicks" she may turn her whole way of thinking around. Very very few dogs are agressive because its just in them..there is nearly always a reason. Find the reason, find the trigger, you can work on the cause.