Thread: thinking of adopting a rescue dog

Originally Posted by discorevy

she needs time and probably a visit to a dog / human trainer

we had a trainer booked in for friday. the trainer said it would be ok to lock her inside.

Originally Posted by hodgo

When you go out leave a radio on a talk back show may be the best so she / he can hear human voices

yes, that was done.



i feel horrible and that ive made things worse for her. i surrender her this arvo. im tears. i'm not cut out for this.

i hate myself for what ive done.

Originally Posted by Eevo

i hate myself for what ive done.

Mate ... we have surrended two dogs now. Simply because we ended up with young children and I didn't trust the dogs not to snap at the toddlers.

You have to do what is right for you. I suggest getting a young puppy you socialise and look after. That way you know its history. I don't even want to think about how badly some of those rescue dogs have been treated in the past.

We could now do that as our kids are all older than 5years, so any puppy that is bought home should be ok. It's introducing new members of the family into the "home pack" that was the issue. And I simply didn't trust the dogs we had at the time to be ok around babies.

As I said above, I just can't bring myself to ever trust a dog that is easily "scared". They will bite/snap out of fright. (not because they are vicious). We had a fox terrior when we were kids that just turned up at our house (we assume it was dumped at the local tip). We trusted it so much, we locked it away if there was ever visitors at our house. It was perfectly fine with us. but trusted no-one, and you guarantee it would bit any kids that thought they could "play with the little dog".

seeya,
Shane L.

Nah, all you've done is tried to give a home to a rescue dog , it doesn't always work out, I wouldn't let it put you off , you just need maybe an older dog or a pup ( less than 3 months old) or at the least one that's more relaxed, she'll find the right owner . ask the shelter for one that has a relaxed demeanour, and get a trainer willing to come and appraise you and the dog before they give advice.
Re , working dogs , I've had them for nearly 40 years and as long as they have plenty physical and mental stimulus they will be great , they don't belong in a suburban back yard with nothing to do all day, of course they'll do what they can to destroy stuff it gives them something to do as well as the added bonus of getting attention, ( even the wrong sort is better than none in their eyes) they are incredibly smart creatures that can easily be driven nuts just the same as us in solitary confinement.
The worst thing is having to say goodbye , my last girl was unbelievable , she passed away over 5 years ago now and I still miss her bad every day even though I have another brilliant one sitting next to me as I write this.
You'll be right Eevo

You've done the right thing handing her back early rather than letting it drag out and making it more stressful for you and the dog. She sounded like a handful for a first time owner, so don't beat yourself up about it. You had a go, and that's awesome. Whether you decide to try another dog later or not, at least you'll know you gave it a shot. 👍

What Homestar said X2.

Good on you for having a go Eevo, and good on you for having the balls to take the tough decision when you realised it wasn't working. You are doing the best thing for the dog.

Don't let it put you off having another go though - just try to find a dog that is better suited to your circumstances.

Originally Posted by BMKal

What Homestar said X2.

Good on you for having a go Eevo, and good on you for having the balls to take the tough decision when you realised it wasn't working. You are doing the best thing for the dog.

Don't let it put you off having another go though - just try to find a dog that is better suited to your circumstances.

Exactly.
With the right dog you will be fine.

We have always bought dogs as pups,and pure bred.
We can then train them as we want,and we know what type of dog they will be,once grown up.
Just the way we have done it over the years
The pup shouldn't have any 'history',so we know exactly what we are getting.

Everyone is different, and many have re homes,and they are fantastic,or get older dogs.
Some people don't want the trouble of having a pup.

In fact i was talking to a guy yesterday who has been a dog handler with the correctional services dog squad for over 40yrs.He has an attack and a sniffer dog at all times,so as you can imagine has had many dogs,and knows a bit about them.
The best dog he ever had was an 18month old re homed German shorthaired pointer.He got her from the pound.
She was in service for 10yrs before being retired,a long time for any dog to be in service.

If you have another go,i hope it works out,dogs are wonderfull companions.

Originally Posted by scarry

....

If you have another go,i hope it works out,dogs are wonderfull companions.

They sure are

Cheers Rod