Rehoming A Chow Chow

[peibe]

I apologise sharpei rescue, i missed the bit in your post where you said "give them their wings". That too would be my first choice given the circumstances, but not many people think that way on this forum and would be horrified at the thought of euthansia as an option. Didnt expect to see it in your post so missed it! :D

Edited to say - good luck with the birth of your baby, enjoy your birth and enjoy your new little bundle, such a special time.

Thanks

I can say though that I think the dog should be given a chance with the baby

Under a controlled environment

Chow and pei are very pack family orientated and if introduced correctly should accept the baby as an extension of their pack

The more nervous you are about the whole experience the more nervous your dog will become as they sense how you feel

[Whipitgood]

Yes maybe the dog should be given a chance, supervised. A friend of mine had awful trouble with her Bully x Heeler snapping at and towards her baby when it was on the floor on its play mat. Purely fear related. After some intensive behavioural therapy from a behaviourist, which they continued every day at home - the dog is now absolutely fine and the baby is now a toddler who throws the ball for him, which he loves!

Every dog is individual and professional help would be a good step if euth wasnt an option straight away.

[peibe]

My girlfriend has a 4 month old baby and her dog (a Shar Pei) dislikes kids

They were very nervous about how he would cope with the baby as he too was a solely inside dog

Well he loves "his baby" he sleeps infront of her cradle, when she cries he cries, when people other than her and her OH hold the baby he lays near them and checks them

Just because a dog does not like children does not mean it will not like "their" owners children

[goldchow]

I have only just found this thread with Christmas and all and I have to agree with SharPeiRescue on this.

I have had many chow rescues through here, most finish up staying because they come in at eight years or more with various behaviour issues, mainly because they have not been afforded the proper care and socialization this breed MUST have, and finding the 'right' home with someone who is familliar enough with this breed to take on a chow who already has issues is impossible. I would also consider rehoming a 'fear biter' as irresponsible.

It would also be interesting to know who and what sort of training this chow has had. This breed should never be trained by anyone other than their owner on the end of the lead, under the supervision if necessary, of a trainer who is aware of and accepts that this is not a breed well accepting of normal obedience training and who is prepared to make allowances accordingly.

Its extremely cruel to rehome a chow at this age without at least giving it a chance to adjust to the new addition. Possibly a rethink/look at the way this chow is being cared for because I find it amazing that it is a fear biter. Chows are normally naturally protective of their family, and despite what some say, they are usually excellent with well behaved, supervised children, and I do feel there has to be something amiss in his environment or perhaps he's possibly been allowed to assume an Alpha position in the family to have this behavioural issue.

Chows will very quickly take over the household if allowed, and firm, fair and consistent discipline is an absolute must as one would a child. They need to know where their place is as a loved part of the family with one or more adults as recognised pack leaders. Relegating the Chow to outside is only going to make matters worse.

Chows do not respond to the normal training methods and at this age it would be pointless, any changes have to come from within his family.

Also agree with SharPeiRescue that if this family feel they cannot deal with the Chows behaviour and a new baby, and an experienced Chow home cannot be found, it would be kinder to give him his wings than to attempt to rehome him at this late stage with this problem. This breed does not relocate well. The bond the Chow develops with his family is very strong and often, once broken he never bonds with anyone again no matter how great his new home is, which is why it is so very important that those purchasing the lovely cuddly teddy bear chow puppy need to be prepared to devote the next 15 years of their lives providing the proper care for this breed.

Edited December 26, 2009 by goldchow

[bondichowchow]

Thank you everyone for all the advise and I will PM Gold Chow directly. I was very new to this forum and had no idea I had all these replies in my previous post. I thought I would get an email notification when someone replies to the post but I guess I wasn't able to set this up. I only received a PM saying I should post my problem in the General Discussions page so I did that this month after coming home from overseas. I posted a new, more detailed account of my problem this January and just found all the replies from there that also pointed out this stream of messages... I wish I found this earlier...

We are seeing an animal behaviour specialist early Feb to see if we could work out a programme. Our last resort and we are preparing for this is to send him overseas to a family home where my aunt and a caretaker lives. They are two strong-willed women who have a big yard and lots of love to give. My aunt knows my dog and vice versa. They are able to care for him and my mother who is very familiar with this dog also will be visiting regularly. This was my last resort since I was trying to avoid having the dog travel half a day on a plane-- although he has done this before when we moved to Australia.

This issue is really difficult for me and is breaking my heart. My husband and I are reading a lot on integrating dogs with children and trying to make a sound decision. I have also been told that there is someone looking to rescue a Chow in a previous post.. will investigate this but... I know that the only home that can work out is with an adult with no other dogs or children who has a yard and familiar with the breed-- i know this was always a slim chance but I needed to consider all options available. It's a shame because although this dog is uneasy with children and other dogs, he has always been a great companion at home.

Regarding previous training he's had, I was involved in those training sessions outside the house and also with a trainer coming into our home to fix problems that may be causing his behaviour. He has been easy to control on a lead but we always have to muzzle him in case another dog or child comes near.

Thank you again for all the valuable emails and we will be making our final decision on February.

[Jed]

I hope you will take the advice given, and get a trainer/behaviourist who is experienced with the breed. They are very different from other breeds, and need to be treated accordingly.

I know this is not a chow, but the dog may well accept the baby as part of the pack. I had a middle aged boxer, who had absolutely no experience with children when my first baby arrived. She was a very protective dog, and very much "my" dog, although she had no temperament issues. Without any special preparation, she accepted the baby as part of "her family" and there were never any problems. She accepted the baby as she accepted me, anything the baby did was all good, and she accepted the child as a toddler and a child.

Accept the help the chow breeders have offered, they are the ones who can offer relevant help.

[Falgall]

Remember to consider how your female Chow will react to the loss of her companion. She will fret! She is used to another dog and you will be tied up with the baby and she will be confused by all the change. If you have the overseas option wouldnt it be worthwhile to see how he goes with the baby (with prep as suggested earlier) to benefit both your Chow Chows?

[bondichowchow]

Thanks... taking all comments on board. We're scheduled to see a dog behaviorist to see if we can work out a programme.