Dog experts: will this puppy be traumatized? How to help?

[Laurie4b]

Ds's girlfriend got a beagle pup some weeks ago. The puppy is adored, pampered, with humans 24/7. Slept in the bed. Not crate trained.

 

A little over a week ago, the pup was chomping on a stick. Another adult in GF's home put hand in the pup's mouth to retrieve stick and got chomped on, too. Worried about rabies (teeth penetrated the skin) , he went to the doctor, who refused to give shots because there was no risk of rabies. However, he had to report the bite. Animal control picked up the pup (who was due for his first rabies vaccine the next day) and took him to the pound, where he had to stay for 10 days. It's just an inflexible rule, even though the pup is an indoor pup and someone takes him outside when he needs to go, so he wasn't in contact with other nonvaccinated animals.

 

How much will this traumatize the little guy? (He is so sweet. She brings him to our house with her when she comes over and we have "puppysat" while she was at work.) Will he just bounce back or are there things that could be done to help him?

 

I don't know how many weeks old he is--he was ironically scheduled for his first rabies shot the day after he was taken to the pound. I don't know when that is typically scheduled.

[dancer67]

I highly doubt the dog will be traumatized. But my question is why did this dog NOT have a rabies shot yet? Pups are vaccinated for rabies around 8-12 weeks old. Even if the dog does not go outside unattended, there are instances where a dog can break out of their leash and come in contact with rabid animals. This happened with our dog. A raccoon came into the yard, and I had my dog on a leash. I knew he was going to start barking and try to go after him. He must of mistook my signal and thought I was scared. He wriggled out of his collar and took off after the raccoon. I was trying to protect him, but he was trying to protect me. So things like that can happen. No animal should be without a rabies shot. The beagle also needs to be taught not to bite or "play bite", when taking a toy away. But I am sure after his return home, he might act a little strange at first, but he will be fine after a day or two when he gets back on his routine.

[Mama Geek]

The dog will only be traumatized if the people around him make it an issue and considering how you are describing the people they may very well make it an issue. It might take a couple of days for the dog to settle down, but long term it shouldn't be a problem.

[Mergath]

He'll be fine. While he didn't get to sleep in a human bed and get snuggled 24/7, it's not as if the pound was taking him out and beating him at hourly intervals, you know? He was probably a bit bored, but not traumatized.

[Barbara H]

Love dogs, but they aren't the same as people and they don't think the same way. They don't have a category for "why have I been forsaken what are the people thinking about me?" They are much more in the moment than that As a human we'd feel a huge distinction between being kept at the pound and being kept at a kennel patronized by uppermiddle class dog owners. I don't know that for dogs the distinction is particularly different. At both it is noisy with lots of dogs barking, but at both they will get food, be safe from the elements, be free from beating or mean treatment, and be allowed to relieve themselves.

 

My guess is that the dog will be a bit out of sync and maybe barky for a day or two, but he'll get over it.

[Laurie4b]

I highly doubt the dog will be traumatized. But my question is why did this dog NOT have a rabies shot yet? Pups are vaccinated for rabies around 8-12 weeks old. Even if the dog does not go outside unattended, there are instances where a dog can break out of their leash and come in contact with rabid animals. This happened with our dog. A raccoon came into the yard, and I had my dog on a leash. I knew he was going to start barking and try to go after him. He must of mistook my signal and thought I was scared. He wriggled out of his collar and took off after the raccoon. I was trying to protect him, but he was trying to protect me. So things like that can happen. No animal should be without a rabies shot. The beagle also needs to be taught not to bite or "play bite", when taking a toy away. But I am sure after his return home, he might act a little strange at first, but he will be fine after a day or two when he gets back on his routine.

 

 

The question about why he was not vaccinated was answered in my OP. He is a young puppy and was due for his first vaccination the next day. That's why he was without a rabies shot.

[WiseOwlKnits]

Puppies usually get their rabies shot at 16 weeks. The puppies we are currently fostering are 7.5 weeks old and won't get their rabies shots till they go to their new homes (they get to go next week after they are spayed) because they'll still be too young.

 

Research shows that waiting till 18 weeks for a rabies shot makes it considerably more effective. 95% of dogs are covered by the shot when first given at 18 weeks, 60% when first given at 16 weeks, and a dismal 40% when first given at 9 weeks.

 

I would think the puppy will recover fine. It wouldn't be any different than if they went out of town and boarded the puppy for 10 days. I'm so happy they got the puppy back. I would be very worried though about this giving the dog a "record" if something should happen again. Dogs who have a repeat history of biting are generally euthanized - at least around where I live.