kamz

Thanks guys. We know it is the right decision, but didn't know til today when we saw another behaviouralist with Annie and baby Alex, and no Rusty. It was awful with Rusty because he somehow just knew, even before we got into the car he was shaking. Broke our hearts to be honest. We gave him heaps of treats for drops and simple obedience stuff ect when he got there to try and get that poor tail up in the air and wagging again. Thankfully he knew the staff (the perks of being rehomed for the third time ) and was actually happy to see the adoption staff. Goodbye Rusty. When we find another dog in the distant future, we will look for a dog with a temperment just like yours. Probably a naughty beagle too :)

Well, final decision made. We returned Rusty to the shelter we got him from this afternoon - along with a crate, his expensive bed, a truckload of toys, two dog calming collars, and quite a few other bits and bobs. We both shed many tears (though husband will deny this). We will miss his happy wagging tail, just happy exploring everyday, and overjoyed to see us. And we have learnt invaluable lessons about 'how to choose a dog' for the day in the very distant future when Annie crosses the rainbow bridge. What happened? We got Annie all packed up this morning and took her down to pearcedale RSPCA. One of the wonderful team at RSPCA Burwood had arranged for us to speak to their head of the behavioural department about rehoming Annie, but also, about our reason for rehoming Annie. Huw and I agreed that if they felt Annie would be ok around Alex, that we would keep Annie. They assured us they weren't concerned about her around Alex - or rather, that they were, but only in the context of a second dog and food. So, at that point we realised we had the decision we could live with. Annie is home with us, and we are working on doing lots of positive reinforcement around Alex with Annie so hopefully she will come to love him as much as we do. This was a very hard decision for both of us, but we are relieved the tension and stress of two dogs living together that don't get along has passed. Annie has confirmed she has learnt a trick or two from Rusty by raiding the bin (only a banana skin, thankfully) when Huw wasnt looking. She is now curled up asleep in her crate, door open, having reconciled herself to the fact that willing me to give her treats by staring at me isn't going to work all the time.

No such luck unfortunately

Everyone have their fingers x for Annie. Its a long shot, but there is a remote shot an amazing home may come up for her. A retired gentle vet on acreage. He offered to take her before, when we first got her, his colleague will contact him to see if there is any chance he would take her now. I daren't hope too much for fear of it not coming true.

This is probably a silly question, but I am not sure why everyone is convinced she wont pass the temperment test?

Thanks for the ideas thistle, I am quite happy to try every rescue under the sun if need be. We can return her to pets haven (and have already contacted them), but I am trying to avoid that if I can (she would have to go into their shelter). Yes I did mean second chance animal rescue. I'm guessing maybe their is an influx of dogs over autumn/winter..

It just seems so - extreme - to euthanase her? She is still a very young dog.....

Jules does dave rehome dogs?

And I wanted to add, we asked the shelter to do a general assessment on Annie a few weeks prior to the snapping, and they felt she was quite rehomeable (even with the snapping). We Have tried getting her into -herd2home -working dog rehab - australian kelpie rescue -second chance dog rescue - Working breed rehab - awdri (All full:()

Hey guys. This has been a very hard decision for us, and we have decided to keep Rusty for a number of reasons. We actually sat down and did a pros/cons list for both dogs and 'what was stopping us rehoming' each dog. I wont bored you with these lists, but afterwards there were far more pros for rusty, and far more serious negatives for Annie. The factors stopping us rehoming Annie were all negative emotions. The factor stopping us rehoming Rusty was that we really liked him - and he had never ever shown signs of aggression (and was great with our pet pigeon, and baby). The factors stopping us rehoming Annie were all based around fear. Fear of what would happen to her, and fear that by abandoning her, we might cause her death. Unfortunately for Annie, the second she kept snapping around Alex (we were right next to her when it happened) and the fact there was no warning, meant that we HAD to rehome her. Despite all our baby prep and ongoing work, getting trainers in ect, Annie is not comfortable with the baby around. While Rusty cops the brunt of it now, how will she cope with an crawling toddler? The fact we were right there, inches from Annie and our baby when she snapped, shows how important a stable temperment is around babies. It isn't just supervision - kids can get pretty badly damaged right in front of you. And sadly for Annie, despite a whole year of hard work, her temperment is still unpredictable in this environment. I don't have any doubt that she could be a fantastic dog in the right home. But we aren't that home anymore I, and the behavioural team at the shelter think she is very rehomeable to a home with no other dogs and no kids. I want her to have that chance if she can. I believe she could succeed in that environment with prepared owners. Perse, thanks for your kind words. This has not been an easy decision, but even the behavioural team at the shelter believes it is the right one for us and both dogs. Snook, I have wondered that same question, as to whether it would be kinder to have her euthanased. However, Annie loves people. There is every chance she will bond to another couple or person in time. Her default mode with new people is appeasement, so as long as she passes the behavioural assessment she should be very attractive to a new home.

UPDATE: An unexpected ending... Well, things have turned out rather differently than intended. Rusty the beagle came back to us from our parents as they left the back gate open one too many times while I was in hospital, so I asked him to return Rusty to us. We then intended to surrender Rusty, and came so far as to taking him to the shelter and signing the paperwork. The shelter happened to be full, so they asked us to take him back for the weekend so he wouldnt have to stay in quarantine. My parents persuaded us not to give him up yet, so both dogs went off to kennels for a week when we came home with the baby. When the dogs came back, Annie and Rusty were best friends. Annie was the happiest I had ever seen her, having been running around with other dogs for four hours a day at kennels. Things went so well that we decided to keep both dogs, and went back to the behavioural team for consultation and advice. They remarked on how much more co fident and outgoing Annie was, and on how well they were interacting. And then... One day my mother came over to see baby Alex. Annie came over and in between mum and I, and in front of the baby. Rusty came over to say hi too. Annie snapped and lashed out at Rusty, less than 1/2 a metre from the baby. We sent both dogs to bed (with neutral voice). I was frightened when Annie lashed out at Rusty, and I think Annie picked up on that. On walks Annie began to snarl and lunge towards another dog continously (we kept walking) and peed when she saw a small child. We decided, after this occurred a second time (no grandmother present), that unfortunately Annie is simply too sensitive and unstable to be around a little baby, or a toddler, in years to come. So we are trying hard to rehome her, I have tried to get her into numerous rescues with no success. I was hoping to get her into a rescue where she would go direct from foster to a new home, as I think the shelter environment would frighten her. Zero success. The plan at this stage is to discuss further with the rescue we got her from and see whether they would be ok if we took her to the rspca, as the rescues foster carers are all full atm. The rspca uses foster carers for their more behaviourally challenged dogs, and hopefully as the behavioural team is familiar with Annie at the rspca this would happen for her. If anyone has any great ideas on rehoming it would be muchly appreciated!