Rehoming Our Dog

[kirsty79]

Hi All,

I was wondering if Dolers could offer me some valuable advice.

My partner and I have had Eric for 5 months now. We got him from a shelter where he had gone to from death row at the pound. Unfortunately no temp testing or any behavioural research was done with him and he has turned out to be rather different to what was described to us and we are finding it very difficult to cope. We both adore him, he is an absolute sweetheart (albeit a little needy!)

Eric was described as a 12 month old rotti cross who would be happy with just a bone and his own back yard to call home. We weren’t looking for a low maintenance dog but had to take into consideration that my partner and I both work full time. We also have another dog, Pickles, who we wanted some company for. We were fully prepared to be exercising on a daily basis and making the new dog a very large part of our lives.

Eric is approx. 12 months old but the similarities end there from his description! We are fairly sure he has a working breed in him along with rotti, he is like the energizer bunny – he is just a big black beautiful bundle of energy, he has severe separation anxiety / behavioural issues which means he has destroyed furniture, our fences, our back door, plants, escaped the back yard, and got up to numerous other antics.

We walk him every day for at least 40 mins and whenever we go out we provide him with several stimulating homemade toys. Both he and Pickles are inside dogs whenever we are home in the evenings, at night and at the weekends.

He recently has developed a lick granuloma which we are hugely concerned has developed from boredom or a behavioural issue. He has been wearing a cone for over 2 months because he simply would not leave it alone. Finally after a period of treatment with cortisone tablets and antibiotics it seems to have cleared.

Anyway, my partner now has a new job which requires him to travel away 4 full days every week. I have also suffered an injury to my Achilles which means I am no longer able to exercise the dogs. With my partner being in a brand new job (and having to take a pay cut) we simply can’t afford a dog walker to come in 4 times a week. We have no friends or family that could walk him whilst my partner is away. Even when he is walked Eric still gets up to mischief including digging holes and chewing holes in the fence. When my partner is away I literally dread coming home to see what damage Eric has done, because I know there will always be something.

We keep coming back to the same conversation – that Eric really wasn’t the right suit for us. It is heartbreaking but I don’t feel we can offer him the home and attention he deserves. It sounds like such a cliché. But if I am completely honest, he has had more of a negative effect on our lives than a positive and it feels like we finally need to make a decision instead of the two of us muddling through, going from week to week, arguing over what to do.

I desperately want to do what is right for Eric, and if we surrender or rehome him he deserves the time and effort to find him exactly the right forever home.

So, how can we go about this? What is going to be best for Eric? Is the RSPCA the best option? or a no kill shelter instead? Should we try and rehome ourselves? Or is there a Doler that can perhaps assist?

Thank you so much for your thoughts – I am at my wits end.

[chuckandsteve]

Back to the group you got him from is always first option.

Where are you located? Might help people with suggestions

[Guest donatella]

This post is a bit like de ja vu? Have you posted and had problems with Eric before?

[minimax]

This post is a bit like de ja vu? Have you posted and had problems with Eric before?

Yep, they had issues when they first got him http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/233958-updated-he-has-got-worse/

Seems like they've put so much effort into him though, trying to make him work.

I hope you find someone to take him, my first suggestion would be to call the place where you got him from.

[kirsty79]

Back to the group you got him from is always first option.

Where are you located? Might help people with suggestions

We got him from a shelter an eight hour drive (round trip) north from us. I'm reluctant to take him back there because they made the error rehoming him to us in the first place with fully checking his needs, personality etc. Whats to stop them not bothering to search for a more suitable home again.

We are just south of Brisbane

[kirsty79]

This post is a bit like de ja vu? Have you posted and had problems with Eric before?

Yep

We have tried so hard - we have exhausted everything possible with financial restrictions

[kirsty79]

This post is a bit like de ja vu? Have you posted and had problems with Eric before?

Yep, they had issues when they first got him http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/233958-updated-he-has-got-worse/

Seems like they've put so much effort into him though, trying to make him work.

I hope you find someone to take him, my first suggestion would be to call the place where you got him from.

Thank you Minimax.

I made the shelter owner aware of the issues. She has said she would take him back. I then tried suggestions from Dolers which improved things slightly, I emailed the shelter owner saying I would keep her posted but never heard anything back.

[minimax]

This post is a bit like de ja vu? Have you posted and had problems with Eric before?

Yep, they had issues when they first got him http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/233958-updated-he-has-got-worse/

Seems like they've put so much effort into him though, trying to make him work.

I hope you find someone to take him, my first suggestion would be to call the place where you got him from.

Thank you Minimax.

I made the shelter owner aware of the issues. She has said she would take him back. I then tried suggestions from Dolers which improved things slightly, I emailed the shelter owner saying I would keep her posted but never heard anything back.

It sounds like they really dont care about him (or you), which is sad :/

I hope you find someone/somewhere that can help, it's not my area of expertise but I'm sure some others will have some helpful suggestions.

[megan_]

I think you have a number of options. If Eric was my dog, I'd either try to rehome him myself or PTS. It will be hard given his issues, and you'd need to be 100% upfront with someone, he might suit a home that had someone there full-time. You really need to think about whether he is rehomable. I'd be getting a qualified behaviourist to make that assessment, including getting advice on what sort of home would suit Eric. Then have another think about whether you can meet Eric's needs.

If he is rehomable, I'd make sure I found someone myself. I'd advertise on PetRescue (a rescue group could put his ad up). If I couldn't find the right home for him, hard as it may be, I'd PTS.

What I wouldn't do:

* Send my dog to the RSPCA. Don't know where you are, but in Vic this is basically the pound. Chances are Eric would be PTS there, alone in a strange place. I could never do this to a dog, I'd rather take them to the vet myself and hold them while they slipped away.

* Personally, I wouldn't ever take my dogs to a no-kill shelter either. I'm sure there are some nice ones around, but again, I wouldn't want my dog warehoused for an extended period of time. If he has genuine separation anxiety, a shelter could be hell-on-earth for him.

There are people who will tell you a dog is for life. I believe this most of the time. However, a pet should add value to your life, not take it away. Sure, there are always hard times, but you shouldn't have to dread coming home to your dog.

[kirsty79]

I think you have a number of options. If Eric was my dog, I'd either try to rehome him myself or PTS. It will be hard given his issues, and you'd need to be 100% upfront with someone, he might suit a home that had someone there full-time. You really need to think about whether he is rehomable. I'd be getting a qualified behaviourist to make that assessment, including getting advice on what sort of home would suit Eric. Then have another think about whether you can meet Eric's needs.

If he is rehomable, I'd make sure I found someone myself. I'd advertise on PetRescue (a rescue group could put his ad up). If I couldn't find the right home for him, hard as it may be, I'd PTS.

What I wouldn't do:

* Send my dog to the RSPCA. Don't know where you are, but in Vic this is basically the pound. Chances are Eric would be PTS there, alone in a strange place. I could never do this to a dog, I'd rather take them to the vet myself and hold them while they slipped away.

* Personally, I wouldn't ever take my dogs to a no-kill shelter either. I'm sure there are some nice ones around, but again, I wouldn't want my dog warehoused for an extended period of time. If he has genuine separation anxiety, a shelter could be hell-on-earth for him.

There are people who will tell you a dog is for life. I believe this most of the time. However, a pet should add value to your life, not take it away. Sure, there are always hard times, but you shouldn't have to dread coming home to your dog.

Hi Megan,

Thank you so much for your reply.

In my opinion, I think Eric is definitely rehomable - just to someone who can meet his needs better. We have already discussed that we would be 100% upfront with someone if we rehomed him ourselves - I wouldn't want someone else (or Eric for that matter)to go through the stress we have. When we are home there are no issues at all - he is extremely well behaved. He is also incredibly loving and surprisingly gentle for such a big boofer (although he does have his boisterous moments) He loves all people and all dogs and is a real smoocher. If I had to name his perfect home - it would be to someone who is either home full time, on acreage, has another dog / dogs and has time to exercise him for probably a good couple of hours every day.

I too was reluctant on the idea of taking him back to a shelter or the RSPCA - he has already been through enough.

I'm familiar with Pet Rescue - would I just be able to approach a rescue group via that way?

[megan_]

Back to the group you got him from is always first option.

Where are you located? Might help people with suggestions

But this group rehomed a dog with no temp test and misled (either deliberately or by accident) the new owner re: the dogs needs. I would never return a dog to a group like this. Things might work out fine but there is a high risk that the dog would go back on the rehoming merry-go-round.

[Guest donatella]

Kirsty I definitely think you should try rehoming yourself first as you seem to know the most about Eric and where he would be best suited. If you passed him onto a rescue group all the issues you initially faced may happen all over again onto someone else which isn't ideal for the adoptee or Eric.

Be honest in your ad and particular with the sort of applicants you want to weed out anyone unsuitable and go from there. Sounds like he has lots of love to give and you are more then capable of judging a suitable home for him.

[Guest Ams]

In fairness to the shelter you got him from, he may not have displayed these behaviours in the shelter. A dog with severe separation anxiety, (OP's description) that digs out, eats fences, destroys your house and has lick granuloma issues with high energy needs is more than likely going to ping pong from place to place.

With deference to the OP, how do you know no behavioural assessment was done? Remember the adage of 1 dog, 10 homes, 10 different behaviours?

You say you emailed the owner of the shelter and said you would keep her posted but you haven't heard back, have you kept her posted? She has said she will take the dog back which is the responsible thing to do.

f his behaviour is as you say then either return him to where you got him (most shelters adoption applications state you agree to do this anyway) or pts yourself. A severely anxious dog is not a happy dog. .

[ninahartland]

Kirsty....he sounds like a gorgeous boofer and like you say is 100% rehomeable to the right home ie....someone home most of day, has other dogs for company and lives on acreage (sounds like me but I cant take another sadly )

Am happy to put him up on PR for you if you send me some pics and write a profile for [email protected] :)

[kirsty79]

In fairness to the shelter you got him from, he may not have displayed these behaviours in the shelter. A dog with severe separation anxiety, (OP's description) that digs out, eats fences, destroys your house and has lick granuloma issues with high energy needs is more than likely going to ping pong from place to place.

With deference to the OP, how do you know no behavioural assessment was done? Remember the adage of 1 dog, 10 homes, 10 different behaviours?

You say you emailed the owner of the shelter and said you would keep her posted but you haven't heard back, have you kept her posted? She has said she will take the dog back which is the responsible thing to do.

f his behaviour is as you say then either return him to where you got him (most shelters adoption applications state you agree to do this anyway) or pts yourself. A severely anxious dog is not a happy dog. .

Hi Ams,

The shelter owner did state he displayed no signs of this kind of behaviour whilst with her and I understand they are two completely different environments. However, it was only the day before we went and met Eric that she firstly "discovered" he wasn't desexed and she openly admited she had not tested him around other dogs or kids yet. I really don't think she did any kind of checks. I have previously had two dogs from shelters without any issues and I guess it was me being naive that meant it did not occur to me that we would have any severe problems. I trusted that a shelter would not be rehoming dogs with such issues. (lesson learnt).

I kept her posted for approx a month, the best suggestion she came up with was to build him a kennel so he had a smaller place to retreat to if stressed. I emailed her asking for further advice but received nothing.

I understand an anxious dog is not a happy one, but surely if we can find a home where he has company full time and the stimulation he needs, he will not be anxious or stressed or bored? I don't want to PTS without trying my hardest for him.

[mita]

Kirsty, what Ams has said about the nature of separation anxiety is right. As the dog's behaviour leads an owner to rehome, then the dog's anxiety gets worse as it ping pongs from home to home.

We had a sheltie with severe separation anxiety....she'd rip the sunroom to pieces. A vet behaviorist at UQ gave us guidelines to follow. Fortunately the sheltie responded well.....to my amazement. But different dogs would respond differently.....so I'm not criticizing your efforts in any way.

Ams is also right that separation anxiety does not show up in shelters.....because it comes when a dog finally has an owner. As the UQ behaviorist vet explained to me, the dog then goes overboard in bonding with the owner and is desperate to keep him/her with it. The crux of the remedial program was to wean the dog off this 'wanting/needing to control the owner's presence'.

I notice you're in Q'ld. The behaviorists/trainers at the RSPCA Qld have a Behaviour Helpline that you can phone to talk over problems. I used it some time back and found the person attentive and helpful. Best of all, their starting point was the fact that you love your dog....so were genuinely trying to do the best for it. And she didn't come over as holier than you or bossy. She shared with me that she was presently working on a problem with her own pet....like any other pet owner has to do. I have the phone number somewhere, so will find it and PM it to you.

Edited August 14, 2012 by mita

[kirsty79]

Kirsty....he sounds like a gorgeous boofer and like you say is 100% rehomeable to the right home ie....someone home most of day, has other dogs for company and lives on acreage (sounds like me but I cant take another sadly )

Am happy to put him up on PR for you if you send me some pics and write a profile for [email protected] :)

Hi Nina,

Thank you for your reply. Have PM'd you.

Kirsty

[mita]

When the notice is put up on Pet Rescue, I'd assume it will disclose the information that this doggie has shown severe separation anxiety.

Interestingly, I was home 'most of the time' with our Sheltie. Which raised her anxiety, in the times when I wasn't with her.

The UQ vet's remedial program was based on the fact that a dog must....and can....learn to spend time comfortably on its own.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Pet Rescue website has some good instructions on how to rehome your dog yourself.

http://www.petrescue.com.au/rehoming_your_pet/

The first page asks do you really have to... the next pages address how you go about it.

The main trick would be finding your ideal new owner - ie if they live on acreage (and you're sure your herding dog won't chase stock without permission - rotties are herders too) then you're going to need a way to alert people who live in the country...

[sas]

The seperation anxiety can be worked on and this seems to be the root problem? If you'd like to e-mail me at [email protected] I can send you a program to work with.

In the dogs current mind frame I don't believe the dog is suitable for rehoming - let's be blunt....who wants a dog like that.

A dog with seperation anxiety is still going to have issues with someone who is home most of the time - people still have to leave the house and the dog is still going to freak out yes?

Edited August 14, 2012 by sas