please offer advice...what would you do? want to get rid of dog :(

[simplegirl]

We've had Buddy, a chihuahua for four years. He WAS the baby until DS was born. So he was very spoiled and not rightly trained :blush. The adjustment was very rough on Buddy. To me and DH he's become downright annoying. He barks all the time. We can't even leave our front door open because he just stays there and barks...and we're getting ready to move into a house with a glass front door :/ Now DS #2's birth is approaching and we feel the neglet to Buddy will be even worse. We're getting ready to move and bringing a baby into the family. We're wondering if we decided to get rid of Buddy if that would be TOO many things transitioning for DS #1, he's 2 1/2. DS loves Buddy although Buddy doesn't like him. And the biggie that made me even come here to post was that last night, Buddy was under DS's feet at the dinner table. DS was playing and accidentally kicked Buddy, who in return bit him on the foot. It didn't break skin but it's still bruised with teeth marks this morning :( He hasn't harmed DS before...could this be the beginning? And another thing (sorry about all the layers), I posted about this months ago when we were considering getting rid of him. We found a great home and everything, then I bawled my eyes out and just couldn't go through with it. I don't want to keep doing this rollercoaster...I just want to do what's best for my family!!!

[2ds1dd]

We were in similar situations with our Greyhound just after Ben was born. Amy is now 4 /12 and we are done having babies so we just got our first dog in a bit over 6 years.

Rescue agencies tend to be very open to families who are giving up their pets for family reasons. We had no issues this time around and they even said they wished more families were like us and realized their pet needed a new home rather than have everyone be miserable or send the pet to the pound.

You can even check the AKC website and see if there is a breed-specific rescue near you! =) Or you can call your local PetsMart and ask which rescue agency has shows at their store.


*HUGS*

[SouthPaw]

He barks all the time. We can't even leave our front door open because he just stays there and barks...and we're getting ready to move into a house with a glass front door

This behavior CAN be easily fixed with a little training and time put in.


Now DS #2's birth is approaching and we feel the neglet to Buddy will be even worse.

If you really believe you can not take care of your dog properly, it may be time for him to go to someone who will :hugheart


DS was playing and accidentally kicked Buddy, who in return bit him on the foot. It didn't break skin but it's still bruised with teeth marks this morning

Ok, this shows three things -

1) Your dog is normal - it is normal for an animal to respond to an attack with defensive behavior
2) Your dog has learned bite inhibition - a dog that *wants* to bite and break skin, will
3) Your dog needs a desensitization program to raise his normal level of reactivity to stress. Any dog will bite, but if it takes little provocation, it is important that you take steps to raise that bite threshold to a level that is very unlikely to occur.


Now the important question you want to ask yourself - knowing that you *could* train Buddy to live a normal, non-annoying, happy doggy life with you - are you able to? Do you have the time and money to invest in his training? Are you prepared to manage the behavior by confinement and other proactive measures while you train, in order to stop the bad habits?

I have both re-trained and re-homed animals so either option is *completely* acceptable. What I would not consider a good solution though is allowing him to live in a home where he stressed out, he is stressing you out, and he could potentially harm your little one, given the current level of his reaction to stressors. If I can give you any futher information to help you make your decision please ask! For more specific information on how to re-train, check out the dog training sticky. :hug2

[churchpunkmom]

Have you tried doing any training with him? It's never too late to train a dog. :)

You might get a couple books, one about his breed and one on basic training. Also, you might consider getting him to a behavior class.

[simplegirl]

I do believe that dogs are trainable. Before becoming pregnant I was listening to the Dog Whisperers CDs and watching some episodes my sister taped. I felt that we could do this. We invested in some training materials. Then when I got pregnant, it was enough to take care of myself and DS to get through a day :blush. I hate that it's come to this, but now with me being due and moving all within the next month, then after that us all adjusting to the new family structure, I just don't see myself getting around to training Buddy for another year. I *know* it won't be done with all that's going on in the next few months. I feel sorry for my dog, and thinking about giving him away makes me sad. I think in the next few years things would be fine, but it is worth my dog being miserable for now? :( Thanks all for responding!! :hug2

[Mother of Sons]

We had to give up our dog too. We couldn't get her trained for anything (she would go outside, pee, then come back inside and pee) and she got into EVERYTHING. My husband hated her and spent every night complaining about her. With so sick, I just couldn't do it anymore. I AGONIZED about it but finally surrendered her to a rescue group. I bawled my eyes out too and the kids still hassle me about it but I was relieved to have one less stress. I would like to have a dog but because of giving her up, I don't think I could ever get another one.

[simplegirl]

I would like to have a dog but because of giving her up, I don't think I could ever get another one.


I wonder about this too. :hugheart

[Amber]

Making the choice to rehome a pet or not is very difficult :hug2. I think what it comes down to is if you think that you are able to do the training that needs to be done for everyone to be happy, and healthy in the family.

Having to rehome a pet who isn't getting along in the family doesn't make to a bad pet owner...actually, I think that makes you a responsible pet owner. It takes courage, and a real heart for an animal to be able to look at it an say, "I can't give you what you need right now, but I will find someone who can". It doesn't mean that you should never own another dog...down the road a few years, when things at home are more stable, little ones are a little older, and you have a little more free time to work with a dog you might find that it is the right time to add a dog to the family.

[2ds1dd]

Having to rehome a pet who isn't getting along in the family doesn't make to a bad pet owner...actually, I think that makes you a responsible pet owner. It takes courage, and a real heart for an animal to be able to look at it an say, "I can't give you what you need right now, but I will find someone who can". It doesn't mean that you should never own another dog...down the road a few years, when things at home are more stable, little ones are a little older, and you have a little more free time to work with a dog you might find that it is the right time to add a dog to the family.


Perfectly said! And almost verbatum what the rescue org said to me ... They want people who takes commitments seriously {ie. agreeing to return the dog to the rescue if you can no longer care for the dog}. We had ZERO issues adopting Samantha, it's been 4 months and not even a home visit! {ie. They trusted us.}

For right now however you need to look at your entire human-family picture and ask if this pet fits into the framework? If not, then yes the right step would be to contact an agency. If you think you can train the dog then perhaps taking some puppy/dog classes might help.