had a phone call today off a lady who left no name to say that a dog warden picked up a dog last week matching my eric's discription chinese shar pei and wearing the collar i described. unfortunately the lovely lady called after 5pm at which time the council is closed.

i now have two major issues. 1. if it is my dog why have the police not contacted them to see if they picked my dog up as they are supposed to as ive been reading everywhere. its been 8 days since he went missing they only keep them for 7 then move them on to god knows where.

2.i have been told that i will have to pay a hefty sum to get my dog out of the kennels, im on income support and bring into my home about £70 a week as a single parent, so at the joy of maybe finally finding my dog i may not even be able to bring him home.

can anyone tell me how much these people expect in total before i ring them tomorrow and scream down the phone.... oh and there is a 3. why havent the harlow essex dog wardens not reported my dog found on any web site like there supposed to i remember now why i hate the town i was born in so much!!!!

I hope it is your dog, but to answer your questions.....am not sure thePolice are under any obligation to contact you, and
I can see why you may have to pay pay kenneling fees too......... I suggest you stay calm, explain your situation and try and negotiate something with them perhaps??

Its been very stressfuyl for you, but try and take a step back esp if it gets your babe back ;)

Let us know how you get on

Hi charsrocks,

Totally agree with liberty :)  I really do hope that it IS your dog but try and chill out when speaking to them because if you take an argumentative stance you may just shoot yourself in the foot.  If you find yourself with a sum to pay which is outwith your abilities you will have a much better chance of reaching an agreement with the staff if you remain calm while ensuring they know how anxious you are to have your dog back.

Good luck, please let us know how things go.

Best wishes, Teri

I agree 100% on what the other two have said

Just a question out of my curiosity :D

How did you loose your dog ? :)

my friend who owned him before just let him bolt out the door and roam as he pleased and although i got him in the habit quite quickly of obeying me and staying close his absolutely rubbish on a lead but if we were somewhere quiet id let him off, basically he pushed his luck on occassion and this was one he decided to speed off in another direction i searched all day into early evening ive been worried sick, but also i have read the wardens are supposed to ring police to find out if a dog is reported missing and they havent as ive spoke to them today for any news and they had none.

Sorry if this sounds harsh,,,,,,,,,,,but if he was a runner/roamer was it really wise to let him off the lead ???
I hope you  get him back, and may I suggest the words*recall........and lead*  hope its taken in the way it was meant ;)

yes i know what you mean but this dog is one of a kind he either respects and listens or he doesnt and i let him off many times and he always done as he was told even by my son which was very unusual, this is first time he pulled this stunt. but if he is at the kennels he isnt coming off the lead for a long time he's going to hate it but hopefully a week in a kennel may have taught him a hard lesson!!

I suggest you put shar-pei and recall etc in the search  link,   it goes with the breed, perhaps brush up on how they are as a breed and you will understand him better

The 2 Shar Pei breeders that I've discussed the breed with don't let their dogs off the lead if they are not in a confined area and don't recommend that their pups are. :(

If he had a collar tag on then they should have phoned you to say they had him.  The Police are no longer responsible for lost and stray dogs.

If he had no form of ID then it would ahve been up to you to check with them to see if they ahd a dog matching his description.

In Bristol they charge £35 a day for dogs they pick up.

So if you don't pay, the dog goes to some shelter?

I hope you do manage to get him back safe and sound, I agree you must keep calm :)

If they are asking too much perhaps you could negotiate to pay so much a week, or perhaps a friend or relative will help you out as an emergency this time?

I agree, do read up on the breed and do a search on here and learn as much as you can about teaching recall generally :)

Good luck
Lindsay
x

hi, i work at a kennels that deals with stray dogs and firstly, the police no longer deal with stray dogs and secondly the only way the dog warden will contact you about your dog is if it has a tag on with your number or if it is microchipped. i understand your frustration at paying kennel fees but then someone has to pay people like me to look after your dog until it gets claimed!! p.s, hope it is your dog and you get him home soon

hi yes really shouldnt have put that out in the frame of mind i was in, give me half an hour and i see other side of issues, had a very nice chat to dog warden today and although i had to scrounge £100 to pay for getting him out they are being very helpful in the of me having no transport by taking me to kennels in morning and then bringing us home, and yes how on earth else would you get any wages especially when you do the job you do not knowing what temperement the dog has as the poor warden that had to deal with eric did fortunately he wasnt hurt but erics original owner used to beat him so he takes a while to trust men, cant wait to get him home.

I hope you get Eric home tomorrow. And please don't let him off again - they could have been scraping bits of him up off the road and you'd have never known what happened to him. I've owned shar-pei for years and no matter what their background, 99% of them are not trustworthy off the lead. And that includes the incredibly well trained shar-pei I used to do obedience and agility with. I'd get him a 3:8 flexilead if I were you so he can still have a little freedom, but not do a runner. They're about £20 but it's better than having to bail him out again or lose him for good.

hi

i do actually have that lead and short lead, and i had read up on this breed before i took him on but it didnt say much on walking, and also previous owner just repeated everything i read up on but like he was the only shar pei who had this type of personality.But he has been an absolute joy to me and has spent alot of time off the lead with me most of the time he will stand and wait for me if his a few yards ahead but for what i have been through the last nine days its got to happen the lead will have to stay on, only problem is training him to stop pulling he has had 5 homes (me being 5th) and none of them have trained him on the lead properly but then none of them have had him chipped either and i know he ran off alot more with them than he has with me. but getting him home has skint me out so going to take him to local RSPCA next week get it done as im on benefit, AND going to take him out tomorrow get him his nice shiny i.d tag. i never ever want to feel like that again and i appriciate all the advice and messages so much so that even though my boy has been located i will still visit regular maybe now i can pass on some advise!!

Great news that you're getting your boy back :D and good on you for getting him a tag and chipped too. If hes a 'demon puller' on the lead, perhaps consider getting a harness for him ........to save your poor arms ;)
I'm so pleased this has had a happy ending :)

Great news charsrocks,

Only one comment: don't get a harness, get a head collar, preferably a Dogmatic.  These are one of the dearest (at around £15.00 - sorry, this is just what you want to hear at the moment I bet) but pay for themselves in terms of comfort, durability and control. Haltis do the job but I got through three Haltis (@ £7+) with my rescue, traffic-phobic GSD (plastic clasps are fagile and the webbing rides up the dog's face) before switching and never regretted it.

Got a birthday coming up?!

Regards, Linda

 

birthday not for months yet, no one even offered to help me with money getting him out yet previous owners were quick to pick up phone and have go at me for not keeping them informed on his were abouts and how long he had been in kennels for no offer of cash though, supposed to be a friend too.
But his home now in a state though, lost alot of weight and you can see his seriously been stressed out in there his coat is coming off in chunks and his getting bald patches on his back legs, i got him some cod liver oil new brush a collar and an I.D TAG! and lots of lovely treats.

but i do have another question, when i spoke to warden today that picked him up he told me he went to police station that late afternoon and asked if anyone had reported a shar pei gone missing the officer on the desk told him no!!!
i reported it that same afternoon and called them couple days later to see if anyone had been in with any info they told me no!!

so i have unneceserely paid out a huge amount that i really couldnt afford my dog has been through hell and losing his hair at great speed stuck in a kennel for TEN days and i could of had him home that evening or next morning if police done there job properly, i havent called them yet because im fuming to much plus wanted to see what you all thought i should do first is there anything i can do about it or would i be fighting a lost cause???

It seems wrong that no-one informed you or looked into things more but TBH as he should always be wearing a collar and ID when out of the home I'm not sure you would have a leg to stand on :(   His breed name may not have meant anything to the Police officer spoken to for eg. or it may just have been following a shift change in the station and not everything yet up to speed.

At least you have him home and can get him back on track healthwise.  In a lot of respects you were very fortunate because some unscrupulous person could have found and kept him or sold him on elsewhere so although you are a substantial sum of money out of pocket, you at least got him back :)

regards, Teri

I agree with Teri, I don't think the Police would have much sympathy for you :( Just take as a lesson learnt and a happy ending too :)

yeah, thought you guys might say that,because its exactly what im thinking but i have to get it confirmed that what im thinking is ok and that im not letting people always get away with stuff or walk all over me if something can be done. i took him out for second time today, wearing his new chain and i.d tag, i did actually buy a shorter lead and my god the difference was unbelievable, he noticed it was different he kept turning round like what is this tightening round my neck!! the pulling got less forceful straight away, still got long way to go but the choke chain seems to have done the trick.

Hi again,

Personally I don't think a choke chain is the way to go :(  It does not "train" your dog - only you can do that - but it may damage his neck and at the very least prove uncomfortable.

Training is always best done on a positive and reward based level - use a broad flat leather collar or alternatively a half-check collar which cannot tighten beyond a comfortable size on your dog's neck.  Additionally, both are more suitable for attaching his ID tags ;)

As someone else suggested earlier (I think it's this thread ), it may be worth investing in a head collar if you are finding his pulling to be too difficult for you to manage.  Again, it is not a training device - merely an aide through which you can give yourself more confidence by being in fuller control.  What you need to aim for is gaining and retaining his attention when walking with you so that he walks calmy beside you and is not a battle of wills ;)  Stopping every time he pulls should, with patience, give him the message that you're not going anywhere until he remains beside you.  Lots of treats / tasty and smelly is best - to reward him randomly for getting things right and keep the focus of his interest on you :)

regards, Teri

Teri has made some very valid points, but choke/check chains do work well for some people, and their dogs  :) JMHO

its more swapping hands all the time, and arm stretched out but not being dragged down the road im quite strong for a girlie, the only time and generally he'll catch me unawares is when he spots another dog, the power his got in his body is phenomenal, this is where he needs to listen and wont, i managed to finally get him to leave cats alone but dogs no, if its a bitch he'll sniff then leave well alone another male and im in bother he will fight.

Hoping I won't get my wrists smacked here, but have you considered joining one of the Pei forums, for more specailised advice regarding your boy?

Apologies to admin if this post is againts the TOS

i sifted through all the shar pei issues on here last night took me about two hours but could relate to alot of stuff, and i learnt alot more too. but i will have a look round the net for more stuff on them i am thinking long term of sticking to the breed and maybe letting him become a daddy that way i can bring one up from scratch and learn about them as puppies too.

Don't even consider using him at stud until he's proved himself worthy of the role by achieving some show successes.

Did the Police write down the details when you reported him missign.  If so then I certainly would complain about them not contacting you when the Dog warden rang them.

So glad it was your boy and that you're able to get him back tomorrow :)   Please take Phoebe's advice re not letting him off lead - when experienced people in your breed give that type of info it's worth it's weight in gold never mind £20 :)

Good luck, Teri

Only skimmed these posts so sorry if I repeat something someone else has already said.

Firstly, glad you've got your dog back.  However, although annoying that the police didn't seem to pass on info re your dog it might be worth remembering that it is the law that dogs have an ID tag and they might feel compelled to remind you should you go in guns blazing ;)

Yes they took down his details and mine, and they were aware he was wearing a collar but no i.d tag, and i was also told when the report was picked up that one of them would have a drive round which i was disbelieving of anyway, but i said it was important i found him asap because obviously your sick with worry but also because of his wariness of men and its possible he could snap if someone tried to grab him.

get this though when he was located and council phoned me, and told me there were some issues with my dog the fact he was dangerous,(he did snap at the warden but didnt bite him or anyone else)which we would disscuss later as i was at work, i then got total bill for him being in kennel, and then obviously asked if i could set up payment plan, but he said he thought it was unlikely but he would ask his boss anyway. he then said to me if i could make the full payment it was very likely any issues with eric were very likely not to be brought up....what would that mean to any of you exactly?? i know i got out of paying a large fine i suppose but was that not in someway blackmail? i know he isnt a dangerous dog he has never mauled anyone and if he were dangerous i certainly wouldnt have him in my home with my son.

and to top it all he has a fresh new scar on top of his head, now this could of been a frightened old lady may have hit him away with a broom, or do i wonder if it was caused by dog warden or even worse still someone at kennels,now i know the latter may sound blown out of proportion but when we got to kennel they took twenty mins to open door when we were knocking, then procceeded to take another ten minutes to come out of the house to take me to my dog,these people did not tell me any info on if he'd been eating about his fur nothing, when i did get him outside i knew then he hadnt been taken out that morning as he had the longest wee ever!!

He just wanted to get out of there fast as he could and i myself just wanted to leave and get him home asap, and distress him.there were so many gorgeous dogs holed up there though, even a huskie, (one dog i have always really wanted)who has been in there for weeks apparently, who wouldnt want to claim back such a beautiful dog

If i was loaded and had a mansion i would of taken loads of them home, your so happy to be taking your dog home, but feel so sad that the others are stuck in there with no answer to there future

You have had a nasty experience of losing your dog which must have been traumatic and frightening.  I can understand how upset you are but you have no facts as to what happened to your dog or how he acquired the new scar, it might just have been self inflicted for all you know or was there before he was picked up.  I think as things stand you have to pay the fees and draw a line under the experience. 

Your dogs experience is everyone else's fault except yours!  :rolleyes:  YOU let him off the lead knowing his previous history is being a latch key dog and also knowing that you don't have enough control over him.  You know he's aggressive and chases after other dogs.  He might well have dashed off and attacked someone elses poor innocent dog getting an injury to his head, he could have stuck his head through something and hurt it.  ANYTHING could have happened but in your eyes only someone else has injured your dog deliberately.
You admit that he snapped at the dog warden and said he's got issues with men and then heap anger on the people that have had to put themselves at risk to care for him.  He doesn't know them and any dog can act out of normal character in such situations.
You're very lucky to have got your dog back but before you go anywhere with your guns blazing blaming other people take a good hard look at yourself.

er yes i thought this was a site for constructive advice not for critical abuse is that right??
firstly you dont know the first thing about me, me blame other people for my dogs behaviour?? NO! how long my dog was stuck in the kennel for was the issue if you bother to read properly, and obviously going through that kind of upset you have all sorts of things going through your head, and believe me i am someone who will blame herself and beat myself up for things so dont tell me im blaming everyone else, i stated a few thoughts about how my dog could of hurt his head, and yes the thought of him getting his head caught in something did cross my mind maybe i should of stated that just to keep you happy yes??!!

And when did i heap anger on the dog warden? im sorry was you there?? i am eternally grateful for what these people did and i am someone who is always concerned for other peoples welfare and i was very apologetic to these people, but if you want to come see me and my dog and see how much control i have  and dont have then feel free to judge, but how dare you judge me and tell me who i blame and who i dont, thats the whole point asking other peoples advice on here so you dont make mistakes not to be abused and judged by some small minded person who hasnt read any of the text properly or understood what that person may have been going through and may over react at the time.

so you :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:if you have nothing constructive to say then say nothing at all because we dont need people like you upsetting the situation more by being arrogant.

Can't see any references to grateful apologetic behaviour but you do state that you were going to phone them tomorrow and scream down the phone?  I'm sure they won't need you screaming your thanks!
You were quick to criticise your 'so called' friends for not offering to pay for your dog straying.  It's not down to them - it's your responsibility not theirs and I don't need to see you walking down the street with your arms stretching.  You said yourself that you are caught unawares with his phenomenal strength when he sees another dog.

no its not down to them, but then dont phone and have a go about a dog you dont own anymore and talk like you still do when you didnt even help look for him, i suggest you go away and annoy someone else love cause your an idiot who cant read properly, your not interesting and your membership here will be taken away, and you maybe should look at dates of texts considering what your talking about was 4-5 days ago,your not interesting and beginnig to get on my nerves.

Your post doesn't make any sense at all

I think everything that needed to be said has been said in this thread. As you are now resorting to personal insults to members whom are stating their opinion, I am closing this thread. Everyone is pleased that you got your dog back and in one peice. You are very lucky that the cost to reclaim your dog was only that amount and that you did not end up with a hefty fine. Your dog may have ended up biting someone or causing a RTA where many people were injured or worse. Count your lucky stars that it ended happily. Many people lose dogs and never see them again.