What is the best way to find a new home for a dog?

[jrmasm]

I was not trying to defend myself, I was agreeing with her.

Thanks to everyone who has given me advise. I will take it all in and go through the options.

To those who have no children but choose to judge me, you will NEVER understand it. Never. You love dogs and I get that. How you cannot understand me wanting to protect my CHILDREN, I will never get. Until you have kids and are in the position of protecting them, you have no right to judge.

Kristine

Based on what you have said on this thread, I truly believe you and your husband are busy juggling 2 jobs and 2 kids. I think your dog is not getting the attention and exercise that he needs.

I think, based on what you have said, that this situation is easily changed.

For the record, I have 2 children.

 

[monkeybug]

I don't think anyone has an issue here with the OP if she is successful in find a home for the dog. That is the ideal situation. It's what happens if she does not.

I think if you read through some of the posts (which I don't blame you if you don't ) there are a few posters that feel re homing the dog is cruel because he has been a part of the family for so long, and that the OP doesn't deserve to ever own a pet again because she is considering it.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't think anyone has an issue here with the OP if she is successful in find a home for the dog. That is the ideal situation. It's what happens if she does not.

At least 2 people (I've lost track) have stated very clearly that for her to get rid of her dog means she should NEVER own a pet (not a dog--ANY pet) ever again.

 

[amg35]

I think if you read through some of the posts (which I don't blame you if you don't ) there are a few posters that feel re homing the dog is cruel because he has been a part of the family for so long, and that the OP doesn't deserve to ever own a pet again because she is considering it.

It IS cruel when it is a problem that can be fixed with proper training, but I don't feel like going thru all of this again, so good luck OP.

 

[jrmasm]

I think if you read through some of the posts (which I don't blame you if you don't ) there are a few posters that feel re homing the dog is cruel because he has been a part of the family for so long, and that the OP doesn't deserve to ever own a pet again because she is considering it.

I do. Especially for convenience. Nothing the OP has said has shown me that is not the case.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I really don't have a problem with this OP rehoming this dog. Obviously she doesn't want to put any more effort or money into fixing his problem. She shouldn't have a dog if this is the way she feels. My big, HUGE problem is that if they can't rehome, the dog will be put down. This is not a proven vicious animal, it's a 9 year family member that has developed some problems that need to be fixed. No, I'm not saying that proving by letting the dog maul a child is right, but I also feel the OP has an obligation to this dog who has given his best years to her to find the best alternative. If there is no more testing, retraining that the OP feels she can do, she should keep the dog away (not shunned) from the kids until a new home is found. No matter how long it takes. Dogs are not disposable!

And yes, I have two boys. My older dog is not an aggressive dog, but he did nip at my DS10. Wasn't his fault. He was sleeping on the floor and DS jumped off our 4 poster bed (he didn't know the dog was down there) on top of him. He had an ear infection, too, so the combination of surprise and pain made him bite. His own reaction scared himself! DS suffered a very small scratch, and the dog is still with us. Both he and DS learned a lesson that day.

 

[connorlevismom]

Let me ask you this: Why did you get a dog in the first place if you were planning on having kids before the dog's life would be over? Why didn't you research good family dog breeds when making this decision? Sorry, but it seems cruel to me to have your dog suffer because of your poor planning/decisions. This stuff happens far too often and makes me sick!

We got a dog because we both love dogs and have owned them all of our lives. We never thought we wanted kids, either of us. We thought we would live out our lives as DINKS and be happy. A couple years into it, we realized that we wanted kids.

I agree with you.

As long as the dog can successfully be re-homed, I see no problem with this. As others have stated, there are many older people that would like an older dog.

The problem is that the OP has not had any luck with a rescue group. The next step then is a shelter, where it will most likely be euthanized, or euthanisia at their vet. Those two options, I'm not fond of unless the dog is a "lost cause" and I don't think this dog is even close.

Let me be clear. In my first post I said I CANNOT take him to a shelter. I said that my DH said he would rather put him to sleep that make him go into a shelter. NEITHER of these things we would do. He was just saying that if we put him to sleep at least he would know what had happened to him where as if we took him to a shelter, he would always wonder. But neither of these things is an option for us, ever. I was asking for advice on how else to find a pet a good home. Does that make sense?

Well there it is. If you wanted to take the dog for training, then it most likely wouldn't get to the point of biting.

Yes, I'm sure you did all the training and nothing helped, and someone else will come in with a story how training didn't help someone they know who had a dog who started snapping.

How much money do you think I should be shelling out for this, seriously. I am on a budget as most of america is at the moment. My kids comes first. If you did not read my post about how much kids cost, take a look. It is not cheap. So what happens if I spend all this money and training (again) and it does not work? Then what?

Kristine

 

[amg35]

At least 2 people (I've lost track) have stated very clearly that for her to get rid of her dog means she should NEVER own a pet (not a dog--ANY pet) ever again.

One more!

Nope, you shouldn't own a pet if you don't want to have to deal with the issues that come with it. Nothing so far is showing this dog to be a dog who can't be trained. Nothing. OP just doesn't want to spend the money anymore.
Fine, her choice, but she should not get another animal if she doesn't realize animals cost money.

 

[DisneyKT]

Well OP you really don't want this dog anymore. I hope you don't put the dog down. Please take the time and post on petfinder or ask around to other vets for help in finding a home. Oh and it cost money to put a dog down too.

 

[SundaeAfternoon]

It is me or did most posters miss the part where she has a SIX YEAR OLD?????

The dog was fine for 6 years after a kid entered the picture.

The behavior in this dog changed BEFORE her new baby was even born.

I didn't miss it, and that has no relevance to my questions.

I don't know much about Springer Spaniels (I was bitten by a Cocker Spaniel when I was little) but if they can get aggressive and are biters, perhaps they aren't the best kind of dog to get if you are planning on having children. Again, do your research! There are plenty of breeds that wouldn't have been a problem.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I do. Especially for convenience. Nothing the OP has said has shown me that is not the case.

She has stated it is an ongoing problem that they worked to resolved.

Where do we cross the line from "convenience" to necessity?

 

[DisneyKT]

One more!

Nope, you shouldn't own a pet if you don't want to have to deal with the issues that come with it. Nothing so far is showing this dog to be a dog who can't be trained. Nothing. OP just doesn't want to spend the money anymore.
Fine, her choice, but she should not get another animal if she doesn't realize animals cost money.

Agree all animals cost money. Even betta fish. If you are going to own a pet people need to understand this.

 

[amg35]

She has stated it is an ongoing problem that they worked to resolved.

Where do we cross the line from "convenience" to necessity?

I just wonder how much work went into resolving it. How long did the dog for go for training since this problem started, and what did the trainer say?

 

[SundaeAfternoon]

Well OP you really don't want this dog anymore. I hope you don't put the dog down. Please take the time and post on petfinder or ask around to other vets for help in finding a home. Oh and it cost money to put a dog down too.

Thank you!

I had a coworker that once told me they had their perfectly healthy golden retriever put down because he "had a barking problem." It is completely disturbing and wrong to put a dog down for anything other than his/her health.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

One more!

Nope, you shouldn't own a pet if you don't want to have to deal with the issues that come with it. Nothing so far is showing this dog to be a dog who can't be trained. Nothing.

Yeah, b/c we're all there in her living room.

The opinion you maintain is extremely irrational.

 

[connorlevismom]

I was afraid you wouldn't find my link in the chaos.

i did find it, thank you.

It is me or did most posters miss the part where she has a SIX YEAR OLD?????

The dog was fine for 6 years after a kid entered the picture.

The behavior in this dog changed BEFORE her new baby was even born.

I'm not saying she shouldn't work with the dog--but she is being villanized unnecessarily.

And yes--telling someone she shouldn't own any pet is wrong when they have committed no abuse or neglect. She isn't Michael Vick!

Thank you. Yes, this dog was fine when our first child was born and getting through his crawling phases. And the dogs behavior did start before the new baby came. Probably about a year or so ago.

Kristine

 

[monkeybug]

One more!

Nope, you shouldn't own a pet if you don't want to have to deal with the issues that come with it. Nothing so far is showing this dog to be a dog who can't be trained. Nothing. OP just doesn't want to spend the money anymore.
Fine, her choice, but she should not get another animal if she doesn't realize animals cost money.

I hope for your sake if your ever sick, forced to move, find yourself with no income, or in a situation where you feel a pet is a danger to someone you love, that people will have more compassion for your plight, than you seem to have for others.
There are plenty of very valid reasons to re-home a pet. I'm not going to judge if the OP's dog can be trained or not. I can't make that call from my living room, having never met the dog or the family. I can tell you that as a dog and child lover, I think it's extremely irresponsible (to both pet and child) to keep an animal that you feel poses a legitimate threat. Especially with a small infant that both can't be trained (yet) and is completely defenseless.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I just wonder how much work went into resolving it. How long did the dog for go for training since this problem started, and what did the trainer say?

Don't know.

It does have me curious.

But much easier to not ask those questions and just infer that she is a horrible person.

 

[amg35]

I hope for your sake if your ever sick, forced to move, find yourself with no income, or in a situation where you feel a pet is a danger to someone you love, that people will have more compassion for your plight, than you seem to have for others.
There are plenty of very valid reasons to re-home a pet. I'm not going to judge if the OP's dog can be trained or not. I can't make that call from my living room, having never met the dog or the family. I can tell you that as a dog and child lover, I think it's extremely irresponsible (to both pet and child) to keep an animal that you feel poses a legitimate threat. Especially with a small infant that both can't be trained (yet) and is completely defenseless.

Nothing you stated above is the case here. So please don't over-dramatize the situation by saying I have no compassion, that's ridiculous.

I've helped re-home animals before, I know why some people have to do it.

And I've also seen plenty of people just get rid of the animals without really trying to fix things and it makes me sad.

 

[amg35]

Don't know.

It does have me curious.

But much easier to not ask those questions and just infer that she is a horrible person.

pardon? She gave a general answer, I wanted specifics.