Need advice concerning a dog (UPDATE)

[Kaitee and Orwell]

First off, I would like to apologize for the content of this thread because I am aware that it might make some people's head hurt given the amount of responsible dog owners on this site. It certainly makes mine hurt, which is why I am asking for advice. 

Now, a little background:

My boyfriend lives with some roommates (a long term couple) that I have known since elementary school, and my boyfriend made friends with them when he moved up here in high school. This perhaps makes things more complicated for me because I like these people, but what they are doing regarding their dog infuriates me. In May, the boyfriend of the couple texted me about the possibility of purchasing a Mini Australian Shepherd. I was apprehensive about it initially because he has gained a lot of weight since high school, and Mini Aussies are high energy dogs. He assured me that he would exercise the dog, and that he had one all throughout his childhood, so he knew what he was getting into. He also works from home. Given what he said, I thought that this dog would be good for him to have and suggested that he do it since he had told me that he had been thinking about it for a long time. Lo and behold, they bring home an 8 week old Mini Aussie puppy that same day.

Now, I have to say that this is a very sweet puppy. However, they have not done any training, and it shows. This 7 month old puppy is not potty trained yet. He goes on potty pads in the bonus room of the rental house, so he understands the concept of those. His owners only pick up and change the potty pads maybe once a day. To say the least, it absolutely stinks in that room, and my boyfriend and I have to walk past it every day in order to get to my boyfriend's room. Half the time, we have to tell them that they should clean the potty pads. For some reason, even though their room is also close to the bonus room and they keep their door open, they fail to realize that it does in fact stink. We honestly do not know how they can bear it. My Boa constrictor is in that room and it has gotten to the point where I don't really want to handle her because it means going into that room for slightly more than a minute. My boyfriend and I both know that we could have the dog potty trained within about 2 days at this point: take potty pads outside, and done. However, the dogs owners seem to have little inclination to make this transition. Why? Because they play video games excessively and refuse to get up and put in a little effort to potty train the dog. They also do not monitor his behavior at all, and he has ripped through some dry wall already in the brand new house. They also let him take anything he wants to rip up. This worries me because of possible obstructions, and they know the story of Orwell, but they seem unfazed by it. All in all, they basically put food out, and let the dog do whatever it pleases while paying little attention to him at all. And no, they do not take him out for walks. The girlfriend maybe takes him out twice a week for a walk.

We have tried having conversations with them about the potty situation because that is the most troubling for my boyfriend and his coworker that live in the house and we are tempted to take care of it ourselves, though we realize that this dog is not our responsibility. We have not been harsh about it because we are not confrontational people and the boyfriend has a rather strong personality. In short, we are trying to maintain the peace, but it is becoming difficult. To me, the way they treat their dog is just short of neglect and it makes me feel bad for the pup. What perhaps really bothers us is that while not as smart as we both know Orwell is, he really wants to please and is less stubborn which would make training him all the more easier. Training this dog would be an absolute cakewalk for me, which honestly makes me want to steal him, but I know I can't do that. 

In the beginning, I gave them a bunch of advice on how to train their dog, but they haven't done any of it. I thought that they would be good dog owners, but I guess I was mistaken and now feel bad for giving my affirmation. I now won't suggest yes or no to anyone my age. I honestly don't think that half of us at 23 years old are mature enough to be responsible for a dog. I, however, had to get Orwell because long story short, I was not doing well mentally without a dog. 

So, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about how to motivate them to be more involved in their dogs life and development? Like I said, the boyfriend of the couple has a strong personality and telling him that what he is doing is wrong probably won't go over so well. If things get even worse, I am inclined to call animal control to report neglect. I don't know if I can persuade them to find another home for the dog because they are emotionally attached at this point. If it eventually comes to that, I will find another home for the dog because I'm afraid that they will just post on Craigslist or something of the sort and he could become dog fight bait. 

I'm just really worried and am in desperate need of advice and consolation, though I don't know if anything will work. It'd be great if anyone could share a story of a similar situation and what they did to take action. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I can see that some people have looked at this but maybe did not have time to answer or even any suggestions for you--this is a horrible situation and I am sure many dogs are in this same boat--people that are too glued to their screens to care about the dog--it is too bad they did not get a cat--this would all be normal for a cat!

I can see how you are in trouble here, but if it were me, I would take over the task of walking the dog whenever you are there (bet they would not care) and cleaning up the puppy pads--doing some training while on the walks would be good too--I DO NOT think you will change these people, so just helping the dog as much as you can would be my response. They will not be good dog owners ever, unfortunately and seem to have made a big mistake getting a dog. 

Another thought would be to put a garbage can with a sealing lid into the bonus room so that you can put stuff in there without having to go too far--hey, just thought of something else--I use a big plastic kiddie pool to train my pups (i raise labradoodles) to go potty in the pool until they go home to their families at 8 weeks old--I put a kitty litter called Yesterday's news in the pool or another one called So Phresh--they jump right in and go after just a few weeks of training--you put pads on the bottom of the pool with a little litter on the pads at first and then gradually eliminate the pads. This would help a good deal with the smell--you have a litter scoop and you put the waste into a garbage can and scoop up some of the wet litter--and voila! Less smell! This would not cost you much and would improve the situation for you--but walking the dog and training the dog would help as well.

[Stella]

Ugh, I think you are in a really difficult situation. This poor dog is being neglected and is probably bored out of his mind. But, in the eyes of any authorities he has adequate food and shelter, which is pretty much all they look at when viewing neglect cases. So, I guess you have three options

1) Do nothing, keep the peace and be nice to the dog whenever you visit.

2) Try to sit them down and have a chat, don't be confrontational but explain how much the puppy toilet odour is bothering everyone else in the house, suggest that they get some treat toys or brain games (Nina Ottoson games are awesome) for the dog to entertain him which should stop him chewing on the house, daily walks would also help to stop him chewing on the house etc etc. This way you are presenting problems and suggesting ways that can help with these problems, rather than coming right out and saying they are bad dog owners!

3) Make him your surrogate dog and walk and train him when you are there. This sucks in a way because the dog isn't your responsibility, but it would improve his quality of life. You could start by teaching him something fun, some kind of trick that they would find cool. Then you could use this to lead into suggestion #2.... Wow, he's so smart, he learns really quickly, he's so easy to train blah blah blah, I bet you could house train this dog / leash train this dog (anything else you want to slip in there) really easily, would you like me to help you to teach him?

If you really want to rock the boat, there is also option 4) point out that they are neglecting the dog, that their house stinks, that he isn't being mentally or physically stimulated, that they are lazy and that the dog needs to be rehomed which you will do for them!! This option is only good if your boyfriend wants to move out and you are willing to give up your friendship for the sake of the dog.

[Rebecca, Kandy & Murphy]

I don't think I could stand to watch this with any dog.  Sadly, I agree with Ginny -- these people aren't going to change.  And telling them what they are doing is wrong is just going to make them angry.  Assuming you are willing to take the time and effort to help the dog, I think I would say something along the lines of "I love Fido and would love to have some time with him.  Would it be OK for me to take him for walks?" and then do training and such on the walks.  Bonus if you can get him to go potty while walking so room smells less bad. 

If I were the landlord I would be furious at destruction and odor, so they are likely to face some decisions soon without you having to intervene -- assuming this is a rental.

Obviously this isn't your responsibility and you shouldn't have to do this, but realistically I don't know what else you can do without horribly complicating everyone's living situations.

[Stella]

I just saw that you said the house is rented? You could call the landlord about the destruction of the house by the dog, and the odour and pollution it is causing. Animal pee is very unhealthy for a house - causes rot and mould, and can also cause lung issues in people. This would be a way or forcing the issue because the landlord will likely demand that the dog goes, or they go

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Thank you for the suggestions and support. I do actually spend a good amount of time with the pup, though I haven't taken him for a walk. In the beginning I did actually teach him some of the things that Orwell knows like high five and shake. I also taught him come during one of his fear stages. For some reason a couple weeks after they brought him home, he was afraid to be in the kitchen of their apartment at the time. 

I will start taking him for walks, and my boyfriend lets him out whenever he is home and sees the, "I'm thinking about going potty," body language. I just really don't want to seem like I'm stepping on toes because I think I come off as a know it all when it comes to dogs since I've studied them ever since I was a little kid. As silly as it sounds, I'm afraid that they will think that I believe they are doing an inadequate job. 

I realized that I forgot to add, which is all the more infuriating, that the boyfriend recently took off about 3 months from work on "medical leave" for "depression." He out and out told my boyfriend that he went to a doctor and faked it to get a note. As angry as we were at him for doing this, we thought, "Hey, now he really will have all the time in the world for the dog." No. That was not the case even in the slightest.

When this year's lease is up, my boyfriend will be leaving of his own accord (perhaps with his coworker) if things do not get better, which we're not holding our breath for at this moment in time. 

Stella, the landlord option is a brilliant idea. I will use that as a last resort. I honestly had not thought about that, even though I know that soiling a house is not good for it at all. 

And yes, in hind sight, the thought, "They should have gotten a cat," has crossed my mind more than once. Apparently, according to my boyfriend, the girlfriend of the couple did not want to get a dog. I did not know this at the time and would have advised differently if given this information. To her credit, she is the one who pays the most attention to the dog, and she loves him, and the dog is the most attached to her out of the two.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

And, Kaitee, I would make sure to offer to re-home the dog for them.  if it is a purebreed - and you said it was, there is most likely a breed rescue that would LOVE to re-home him.

[Stella]

If he came from a decent breeder, they might want to take him back?

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I don't know the breeder they got him from or if they got any papers for him. If I was a breeder, I would definitely take him back, though. Then again, I would have an extensive questionnaire before handing the puppy over for any amount of money.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I feel pretty certain that no reputable Australian Shepherd breeder would have sold a puppy to this living situation. :(

[Kaitee and Orwell]

This is my feeling as well.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Most reputable breeders have that in their contract.  That would be the first place to start, if you can get them to give him up. Past that, a breed rescue - making sure they are reputable and not just selling or hoarding dogs.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

That was definitely the plan. I don't trust them to rehome him.