American Dingo

[menzies]

AKA Carolina Dog.

Anyone on here ever own one or does now? Or know one at a family member of neighbors?

Interested in overall thoughts of "seaworthlyness!"

We have just welcomed this young lady into our home for a week's sleepover.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Dog

We lost our last boat dog two years ago and now it's time to introduce another to the lifestyle. We will make the final decision after the week.

 

[GFC]

IMHO just about any dog can do OK on a boat, as long as they can swim. That sounds like a stoopid comment but we were adopted by a black lab that can't swim a bit.

Go figure.

 

[menzies]

IMHO just about any dog can do OK on a boat, as long as they can swim. That sounds like a stoopid comment but we were adopted by a black lab that can't swim a bit.

Go figure.

I tend to agree, see at this link for our black lab mix:

Grace – The World’s Best Boat Dog | AtAnchor.com

However we do tend to meet lots of other people and dogs while cruising. Our real concern is compatibility on the sand bars and beaches. Especially with the wild dog DNA.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Yup. ANY dog you get with your lifestyle will have to be well socialized. VERY well socialized.

So, what's her story? Rescue? From a breeder? Age?

Might be worthwhile taking her to a fenced dog park and keep a very close eye on her and her interactions with other dogs.

 

[HopCar]

She’s a beauty.

 

[FF]

NOW is the time , get some astroturf and teach her to use it as the toilet spot.

 

[Larry M]

She looks like a smart pup and a nice size. How’s she doing in your tender?

 

[menzies]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Yup. ANY dog you get with your lifestyle will have to be well socialized. VERY well socialized.

So, what's her story? Rescue? From a breeder? Age?

Might be worthwhile taking her to a fenced dog park and keep a very close eye on her and her interactions with other dogs.

We have five or six neighbors with dogs that we are going to introduce her too while on the leashes and see where we go. On her first walk last night she did growl at an approaching dog, though that dog barked first. Still.

She is a rescue, belonged to a young woman who kept her untied on the unfenced back porch and let her roam wherever in a industrial down town neighborhood (by the football stadium).

Woman's parents finally persuaded her to give her up.

We had told the three main rescue places here our needs; short haired (will be constantly getting wet), female (less marking) and young, so can be trained to be on the boat.

She is "less than two," but by her behavior I'm thinking around one.

 

[menzies]

NOW is the time , get some astroturf and teach her to use it as the toilet spot.

Yep, that's why we wanted young. No more pounding ashore in heavy weather!

 

[menzies]

She looks like a smart pup and a nice size. How’s she doing in your tender?

Just got her late yesterday afternoon. We are going to leave it until tomorrow for a run through the lagoon in the big RIB. If that works out we will take a run to the Fort George sandbars on Friday. Need to stay away from the weekend. Our neighbor did offer the loan of a PFD but we need to buy one today as even if we don't keep her we are getting a pooch eventually.

If the weather is OK on Monday we will take her out on Sonas and see how she does there. She did go on board yesterday and seemed fine - but we didn't run the engines etc.

If we need more time to decide I'm sure the rescue place will extend the week.

As you would expect, right now she is very confused.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. How long was she in rescue and was she "fostered" in a home or kept in a kennel/pound atmosphere? Any other information on her history other than she was free to roam about? Does she have any training/ (stay, sit, lie down, no/off and most importantly, come)?



We're currently enjoying our 3rd rescue in 25 years, Leon (the ??? of unknown parentage and history). Leon's 2 predecessors (Rufus and Cruiser) had spent a fair amount of time in limbo, with foster moms so THEY were able to give us a quite accurate description of temperaments AND had some training (leash). Both were fairly quick to fit into our lifestyle BUT we've had Leon for a bit over a year now and it's only in the last 2 or 3 months that he's really loosened up and come into his own. I've read that it may take upwards of a year for a rescue to feel comfortable with his/her new pack and that was the case with Leon.


MOST critical question is: What is that cuties name?


Edit: NONE of the three were/are the least bit interested in swimming but Rufus loved boating, Cruiser-not very much and Leon is fine and doesn't really seem to care.


Edit, edit: I'm assuming she's been spayed...

 

[menzies]

New rescue, last Saturday. Obviously never fostered, the rescue place has a friendly farm/kennel facility that took her until yesterday.

She does know sit and paw, ah ah for no, not much else.

She did very well in the crate last night, was a bit rambunctious on the leash this morning, but we don't think she has ever been leashed much before.

The bad - she met three dogs this morning and got very reactive. All were on leashes. One of the owners (German Shepherd) gave us the name of her trainer as she had similar issues. We have already put a call in. If this can't be resolved it isn't going to work.

The rescue place has the chip and spaying ready but we came along before it was done. If we decide to keep her they will cover it at a vets near us which offers them discounts.

Her rescue name is Bella. First the decision as to her staying then we will see if that name remains. She is also our third rescue.

 

[firehoser75]

Good luck with her Menzies. She is cute.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Ah, Bella... Hmmm....Yup. going to have to work on that aggression thing. It's been my experience that most, if not all, aggressive behavior is fear based and given all the new changes that she is experiencing, it can't be too comfortable for her so she's acting out of her understandable fear.


Also been my experience that leashed dogs react differently than non leashed ones BUT given the reactions she appears to have toward other dogs, my former suggestion of a dog park will not work, at this time.


Is she treat/food oriented? Treats, as you well know are a good training tool. Lots of pets and cuddling help, as well.



Before you write her off, perhaps a meeting with a trainer AND and an extended stay with you are in order. A week is such a very short time for a dog to adjust. Particularly a puppy. It might also be a good idea to hold off on the boat rides for a bit depending on how she reacts to water. Maybe waterside walks for the time being?



She IS a good looking dog. Quite alert and that suggests to me, intelligence.

 

[GFC]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Ah, Bella... Hmmm....Yup. going to have to work on that aggression thing. It's been my experience that most, if not all, aggressive behavior is fear based and given all the new changes that she is experiencing, it can't be too comfortable for her so she's acting out of her understandable fear.

Mr. RTF is spot on with his assessment of the growling at other dogs stemming from fear on Bella's part. Our dog that adopted us last June showed some signs of that and I found that by petting him and reassuring him as other dogs approached he got over it.

One thing to be aware of and watch for is that dogs will try to assert their dominance with other dogs. They do this by putting their head/neck over the back/shoulders of the other dog. Bella, being on the short side, would be vulnerable to this. When I have Sailor on the leash and approach other dogs I watch for that and will caution the other dog owner that if their dog exhibits that behavior he/she should pull the dog away immediately before a fight starts.

Good luck with Bella and I hope she works out for you. Here's our boy at his first time on the boat and first time hearing the engines. He's beyond all that now.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. One thing Mr. GFC posted caused me to remember MY leash rule. I never allow leashes to become entangled. It really disturbs both dogs and we all know what that leads to.

 

[menzies]

Day three update.

The walk on the second day went much better. She is no longer pulling and the one dog we passed she wanted to go over but didn't bark or growl.

We spoke to the vet and took her to a recommended trainer to meet. Both say she can easily be trained to socialization. However the trainer said that he can definitely train her to ignore other dogs, but no one can train a dog to be friendly and want to play with other dogs if that it not in their DNA. He is not saying this is the case with Bella but wants to set our expectations. We would be fine with that if that it what it needs to be, but we would rather she was happy to play.

We took her on the RIB for a lagoon ride last night and she didn't want to board, and was shaking at the start but fine as we progressed. Walked down to the dock today to take her on the RIB to the sandbar and she jumped right on, ready to go.

It was a bumpy ride lots of wakes etc. But when we got to the empty sandbar and got the anchor down she jumped right into shoulder height water, ran around like a looney, stayed with us, came when called, and had no problem wading through water. Hasn't swam yet though.

So looking good so far. She gets to ride the big boat Monday or Tuesday weather permitting. So that is the next test.

BTW, we had the Blue Angels fly by today as well!

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Thanks very much for the progress report. Looking good Lucy! I can see the prey drive. American Dingo, I guess. She IS a good looking dog.

 

[BruceK]

I`ve had some 6 rescues. Mainly German Shepherds. We were involved with GSD obedience, I even qualified as an instructor. You never know for sure what they`ve been through but I believe they do know when they`ve been rescued into a good place.
Pups need both human and other dog association. Her behavior with other dogs may reflect lack of dog association. She will want to please you and hopefully that will include improved behavior with other dogs as she gets some training.She might be trying to impress her new family by protecting you from other dogs she sees as threats.
Sounds like she will fit in very well. Congratulations.
PS. The "Carolina Dingo" on Wikipedia looks very like the Australian dingo. Give them an outside kennel and they will stand on the roof rather than inside it.

 

[menzies]

Bruce, we will make the final decision on Tuesday, but leaning towards keeping.

We are going to do this: https://www.businessinsider.com/embark-dog-dna-test-review

A little bit for the DNA which will be interesting but mostly for the health.

It will be interesting to see how accurate he rescue center was plus what percentage of Pit she has.

 

[BruceK]

Bruce, we will make the final decision on Tuesday, but leaning towards keeping.

We are going to do this: https://www.businessinsider.com/embark-dog-dna-test-review

A little bit for the DNA which will be interesting but mostly for the health.

It will be interesting to see how accurate he rescue center was plus what percentage of Pit she has.

I could see there was something else in her background. One other thing, I saw she has a check chain collar,there is a choking risk if the dog catches the collar on a fixed object. Someone in the Club actually had a dog die that way, I`d suggest only putting it on for walks when it`s used it as a control.

 

[menzies]

I could see there was something else in her background. One other thing, I saw she has a check chain collar,there is a choking risk if the dog catches the collar on a fixed object. Someone in the Club actually had a dog die that way, I`d suggest only putting it on for walks when it`s used it as a control.

Rescue center believes Carolina Dog and Jack Russel Terrier.

Trainer basically said that if she is a multi-generational mix she probably has a number of breeds in her, with the mating pair obviously the dominant.

She will only have the harness leashed once better trained. When she arrived they had two leashes on her. We asked why. They said since they didn't have her for long they didn't know if she was able to throw her collar or her harness - or both, so doubled up.

We were glad she had both on that first walk!

So both on walks for now. She probably will always have a collar on as she needs to have her license and ID.

 

[chefH2Os]

We have a pair of Carolina dogs, the best dogs we've ever owned.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. c. Welcome aboard and woof woof.

Mr. m. Well, there ya go. I'd be curious to hear how the DNA testing went/goes. I don't think that even with DNA testing you will be able to definitively find out her breed and rescue people and vets can only give their best guess.
The accuracy of DNA is limited by the data base and IF the Carolina dog is one of the rarer breeds the test won't have much to base results on.
That being said, it really doesn't matter if she's a dog you can enjoy AND who enjoys you.

We've got a rescue that was described as a Redbone Coonhound. His predecessor was a Redbone and I love the breed so that's what I sought out. I should have known from his appearance but I'd put BIG $$ on the fact he has little to no Redbone ancestry. Turns out he's a great dog. Doesn't bark much, doesn't bay or bawl, really doesn't use his nose in a hound-like manner, so-so prey drive and in the running for the laziest dog we've ever had (good thing).

I've asked dozens upon dozens of dog owners and vets what breed he might be and no-one has ever said Redbone. I get a fair number of Rhodesian Ridgeback and Vizsla guesses. I thought for a while he had some Catahoula Leopard Dog in him and I'm still leaning that way.

I think it's much more fun to speculate than to spend the $180 for testing.

 

[menzies]

We have a pair of Carolina dogs, the best dogs we've ever owned.

Pretty dogs. They are now starting to be accepted into Kennel Clubs too.

 

[menzies]

Greetings,
Mr. c. Welcome aboard and woof woof.

Mr. m. Well, there ya go. I'd be curious to hear how the DNA testing went/goes. I don't think that even with DNA testing you will be able to definitively find out her breed and rescue people and vets can only give their best guess.
The accuracy of DNA is limited by the data base and IF the Carolina dog is one of the rarer breeds the test won't have much to base results on.
That being said, it really doesn't matter if she's a dog you can enjoy AND who enjoys you.

We've got a rescue that was described as a Redbone Coonhound. His predecessor was a Redbone and I love the breed so that's what I sought out. I should have known from his appearance but I'd put BIG $$ on the fact he has little to no Redbone ancestry. Turns out he's a great dog. Doesn't bark much, doesn't bay or bawl, really doesn't use his nose in a hound-like manner, so-so prey drive and in the running for the laziest dog we've ever had (good thing).

I've asked dozens upon dozens of dog owners and vets what breed he might be and no-one has ever said Redbone. I get a fair number of Rhodesian Ridgeback and Vizsla guesses. I thought for a while he had some Catahoula Leopard Dog in him and I'm still leaning that way.

I think it's much more fun to speculate than to spend the $180 for testing.

See the list of breeds in their FAQs.

https://embarkvet.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Also: " Embark is a research partner of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and we have a permanent Scientific Advisory Board. Embark is committed to working with the best veterinarians and dog researchers in the world."

So it should be interesting, especially the health report.

We did the swab today and sent it off.

However I agree, it really doesn't matter, so far she is turning out to be a great dog. The spritz bottle is starting to resolve her reaction to other dogs too!

We also have a trainer that the rescue place uses coming for a three hour session tomorrow morning.

 

[Simi 60]

Looks like a Phu Quoc ridgeback

 

[menzies]

The training session went well this morning. We have retired the spray bottles.

She now walks with a slip leash. We walked past a couple of dogs this evening and while she was interested kept walking, no barking or pulling.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Sound like you've got a new dawg! Heartiest congratulations.