Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This story makes me sick to my stomach. Your poor dog. Your roommate was definitely doing something bad to your dog when you weren't around. What a great way to thank you for your hospitality - abusing your dog! What a creep! Just another example of what my dear, old dad always told me, "No good deed goes unpunished." I don't know why it works this way, but it does. Kick your roommate to the curb and bring your dog home.
What a worthless ingrate this "friend" turned out to be. You share your home with him (and a kid to boot) and he acts like a jackass and hurts your dog?
Kudos to OP for sending the dog to your brother's until you kick out this loser. As for his kid, you don't owe him or his kid a home. You are not evicting him, as he never was there except as an invited guest. He's, uh, worn out his welcome and is uninvited.
So glad the OP knows how to handle the situation. I'm sure he'll be able to soothe the dog and maybe reverse whatever emotional damage has been caused.
I guess it's true that "you don't really know someone until you live with them."
Maybe the guy is substance abusing or something. It's just bizarre to, well, bite the hand that feeds you so generously.
What a worthless ingrate this "friend" turned out to be. You share your home with him (and a kid to boot) and he acts like a jackass and hurts your dog?
Kudos to OP for sending the dog to your brother's until you kick out this loser. As for his kid, you don't owe him or his kid a home. You are not evicting him, as he never was there except as an invited guest. He's, uh, worn out his welcome and is uninvited.
So glad the OP knows how to handle the situation. I'm sure he'll be able to soothe the dog and maybe reverse whatever emotional damage has been caused.
I guess it's true that "you don't really know someone until you live with them."
Maybe the guy is substance abusing or something. It's just bizarre to, well, bite the hand that feeds you so generously.
Not only is he a loser, but a sneaky loser too. And since he wanted the dog put down, he's also vindictive. Hopefully he doesn't act like such a fool with his child.
*Update* I asked the roomate to find a new place to live, which he did. Luckily that part went smooth. Just told the guy I don't feel comfortable with him being around my dog alone when I'm not home, and I don't feel comfortable with the dog being around his child since the dog has bitten him. The dog is doing fine, and she seems much happier now.
Agreed, an it doesn't sound like a lease of anykind was signed.
OP...please keep us posted on the outcome!
just a side note, leases generally offer more benefit to the landlord than to the tenant. most if not all places in the u.s. have de facto leases, tenants' rights that go into effect as soon as someone pays someone else rent. leases actually *limit* those rights most of the time. if you don't have a lease that states otherwise, then you generally have to go through a legal eviction process to get a tenant out for any reason.
i'm not clear on whether the OP rents or owns his house, but it sounds like that's beside the point now.
to the OP, i'm glad it worked out without too many hassles. it sounds obvious to me that he was hitting the dog more than he let on. i agree with other posters - if i saw someone hitting my dog, i'd find it hard to keep from hitting *them*!
I would agree with the others and say that kicking the roommate out was the first step. Even though the dog seems fine now, I would work with him on socialization and make sure he gets the idea that people are good and won't hurt him. You want him to have plenty of positive associations with people so he doesn't remember this negative one.
I adopted my dog at 4 months old and it was clear someone had already abused him, it is beyond me how anyone could abuse any animal let alone a puppy. Anyway Charlie has gotten a lot better since I've worked with him over the years, but he is still fearful of strangers. The more you work with your dog now, while he's young, the better. A trainer could probably help you with this.
They would have left a letter on your door if they had come to see you. Maybe the roommate (quite a grateful person, isn't he?) didn't really contact the county, but was just bluffing you.
If the roommate is a guy and the dog is not exposed to men on a regular basis, this could result in fear aggression toward men (or just general fear aggression). I would suggest being sure that you socialize this dog with known people/places to reinforce positive experiences. Fear aggression is a very huge problem, quite hard to fix once it's established. Good luck.
*Update* I asked the roomate to find a new place to live, which he did. Luckily that part went smooth. Just told the guy I don't feel comfortable with him being around my dog alone when I'm not home, and I don't feel comfortable with the dog being around his child since the dog has bitten him. The dog is doing fine, and she seems much happier now.
That's good news! I'm sure she is happier. I'm sure dogs sense people like your ex-roommate.
Location: Pittsburgh--Home of the 6 time Super Bowl Champions!
11,310 posts, read 12,372,237 times
Reputation: 4938
Quote:
Originally Posted by goatnstang
Cliffs: Roomate and dog don't seem to be getting along, I've seen the roomate hit the dog twice... now roomate has gotten bit and wants to cause a ruckus. Looking for opinions from experianced dog owners/trainers for thoughts of why a usually nice friendly dog would act differently toward this one guy, and end up snapping on him.
little back story about LoLo the pup. I adopted her from an animal rescue when she was about 9 weeks old. The rescue had told me she was found in a hole near a home on the indian reservation. Now she is almost a year old. I believe her to be some sort of doberman/ austrailian shepard mix, she's not a very large dog. I've givin her lots of love, attention, positive reinforcement. She's tore some stuff up, but she's a pup it happens sometimes, and when I catch her I simply tell her no, and redirect her attention.
I've had a roomate for the last couple months. This guy is/was a very good friend of mine for a very long time. We joined the military together and served overseas together. He was going through a divorce, lost his job, and needed a place to stay. So he got another lower paying job, and I let him move into a spare room in my house for very little rent, just what he could afford from week to week.He also has a 3 year old kid that he pretty much has full time.
At first LoLo and the roomate seemed to get along just great, LoLo also got along with the kid just fine. Over the course of the roomate being there LoLo has started to become much more timid around the roomate, and avoids the kid all together. When the roomate comes home from being out LoLo becomes very active submissive, and if I am home she will run straight to me and not leave my side when he is around.
Now I have personally witnessed the roomate hit the dog twice each time I yelled at the guy and told him thats not how you correct a dog. Its never ever ok to hit a dog. Doing so you are just asking to get bit. Now these are the only 2 times he will admit to.
A couple days ago the roomate got bit when I was not home. I was out having dinner with a friend. The roomate says the dog tried to get up on the counter and was sniffing at some food he made. He says he grabbed her and she bit him on the cheek causing him to have to get stitches. He has reported it to the county, and has expressed his desire to get the dog put down.
Thoughts??
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
This makes my blood boil. He would never have hit my dog TWICE! The first time he did it and he would have been lying on the curb with a bloody lip wondering what the H happened to him!
If he ever tells you he is going to report your dog for biting him--hit him with the fact that you are reporting him for animal cruelty which can carry some stiff penalties!
Like a few others said---glad you got rid of the POS!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
He would never have hit my dog TWICE! The first time he did it and he would have been lying on the curb with a bloody lip wondering what the H happened to him! 
