[Closed] rehoming a rehomed dog...

Could you ask the person you got the dog from to take it back?

Is she just settling in, trying to find / establish her place within the pack?

At a complete loss as what to do, waiting to hear back from Battersea dogs home I suspect it’ll be the same reply.

lockdown puppy breeders should be regulated, far too many strange crosses its become dangerous.

Having recently adopted a dog too, I've seen the various sides of the rehoming places and some of the comments on the owner's forums as well. Kennels and rescue centres are loathe to take back anything that's got a history of attacking as they're almost impossible to then re-home again - it has to be stated on the dog's history or they run the risk of confidently assuring an adopter that all is well then the dog rips the neighbour's cat to pieces.

There's a whole load of unscrupulous, unregistered fly-by-night places out there, dogs with limited / no history or backstory coupled with people who have no idea how to take care of them. The whole area is a nightmare. Lots of rescue places seem to operate solely on Facebook as well (or if they do have a website it's really amateur). I appreciate FB is good as a forum but less so as a business

Tried a dog behaviourist?

johndoh

Could you ask the person you got the dog from to take it back?

What the ones who were prepared to give away a dog they paid £3grand for??

If it helps.... we re-homed a 43kg Akita/Rotweiller last year. He was completely placid at home, you could wrestle him, comb him with a wire brush, take his food off him, take toys from his mouth. He seemed fine with me at the shelter, but then I'm 100% a dog person, every dog likes me, even dogs that hate everyone seem to like me.

But he couldn't deal with anyone else outside the house and would go absolutely mental even if we pre-arranged it and loaded them up with treats. In the end he had to go back to the shelter.

Wood Green (based in Godmanchester) where we got him from were brilliant. They have a very blame-free attitude to taking the dogs in, because it's better to re-home the dog somewhere appropriate rather than not get some important details from the previous owner or discourage them in the first place. Give them a try.

They also offer good support, it might be something that you can work on given the right advice.

There's only one thing to do with a dog that properly bites children. Get it to the vet.

Speak to this lot - RR dog rescue - they have great experience working with, and rehoming problem dogs plus they are terrier aware.

A dog offloaded onto you has repeatedly bitten you, attacked your other dog, terrorised your cat, your kids are scared. You have no need to feel guilty about putting down - if the dog charities are saying it...

What the ones who were prepared to give away a dog they paid £3grand for??

There is that I admit 😂

If the dog was fine when it arrives with you has something happened to kick off this behaviour? Seems odd he was fine at first but has turned into a vicious attack dog since the rehoming. You'd have thought there would have been issues straight away.

Why was she rehomed to you in the first place?

If you've decided that "she has to go" then as uncomfortable as it may be, I can only see one place that a bitey dog is going to go to if you move her on. You're unlikely to be able to palm off a problem dog onto being someone else's problem, three grand or no.

If you don't want to countenance the final solution then I suspect you're gonna have to accept responsibility for finding alternatives. There's a TV show which is the dog equivalent of Supernanny where they do just this so it's likely possible to calm her down rather than put her down, but you're into the realms of trainers, therapists, legwork, expense.

Put it down if you don't want to deal with it. Don't pass on a dog that bites.

If you don't want to do it let someone else put it down for you.

Am hearing far too many tales like this these days. Lockdown has a lot to answer for.

To be very harsh, do you want the dog to be put down now or after it grows bigger and stronger and bites someone (again)?

Awful situation.

You didn't say in your post whether you'd had the dog checked by your vet - if not, that might be an idea - eliminate any possible physical cause - e.g. a hidden injury that is very painful to touch.

They may also know about trusted local behaviourists who could advise (and by that I mean anything from explaining what's going on in the dog's head and how things can reasonably be turned round, to, well, giving you more peace of mind with what actions you take).

I'll just add that two weeks is not very long, it takes a dog a while to settle in and find it's space in a new environment. There's a strong chance that it's struggling to do that, so it's frightened, so it's bitey. Fear aggression is the term, and it's really common with rehomed dogs.

There's a school of thought that says for the first three weeks you have a rescue dog you should do nothing with it other than give it a 'safe' spot that no-one goes near (like a cage or a bed in a corner), feed it regularly, let it out to go to the loo, and give it attention only if it comes up to you. This gives the dog time to work out it's new home and the people in it.

I speak from experience; we had a rescue that seemed great at first but quite quickly started barking at everyone and everything, and even had a go at my mum (didn't bite, but jumped up at her, aggressively barking). It was a really stressful, upsetting time, and we eventually handed it back to the place we got it from, but looking back now we got it wrong from the start and simply did too much, too soon. We'd had a dog before and treated the new one like the old one; immediately started trying to get it to sit to be fed, had quite a few people round to the house in the first week, started training classes after about three weeks, took it camping after about a month, tried a dog behaviourist when it started playing up (who, separately, was effing terrible and made the situation worse) etc etc. The poor dog didn't know what the f___ was going on and just wound itself up into an angry little ball. We should have just let it be for a while to let it settle in and know that it was safe before doing anything else.

This might be the case with yours, admittedly, it might not, but I thought I'd offer it as a different perspective.

Most dogs react through fear, it takes time to discourage this reaction from them.

I speak as someone with a dog that has refused to let the last 2 men I've invited over to the house in. She is fine with many people, but 2 friends have been denied access by a growling snarling creature who most people know as a well trained loveable dog. She saw our neighbours and friends 3 year old yesterday and sat while he stroked her.

We are seeking some professional help as she is a rescue, was abondoned for a little while, is highly connected to me and gets stressed if she is away from humans for too long , as in was with another calmer dog in a separate utility room saturday night, but bent her crate out of shape trying to get out, eventually escaped it, but then relaxed in the room she was in. She is also sick and has been on steroids for 8 months. She's had a tough start, has cost me more than anything other than a house has and still I seem to find love for her.

Getting a dog has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do, I regret it, but I'm not prepared to give up on it either. Obviously taking one on from someone else and having it turn is hard on you too OP.

We have learned a lot of mistakes we have been making from Dog:impossible on Disney+ recently, some of that is working ok for us.

Am hearing far too many tales like this these days.

Indeed, although not unfitgeezer, that's a difficult situation he's clearly doing his best for.

My missis sent a message to a woman she's in touch with on social media with some suggestions about how to help an older puppy that's starting to struggle a bit. She's making great strides with our young lad giving it all the time and effort necessary. The answer in reply was 'oh I'm far too busy for that!' Clearly purchased as an Insta-worthy fashion accessory.

both said it maybe best to have her put down, we don’t feel comfortable with this at all we feel guilty enough as it is.

I wouldn't feel guilty, it sounds like a little shit and will always attack without provocation.

I wouldn’t feel guilty, it sounds like a little shit and will always attack without provocation.

I think it sounds like a dog that's had very little basic training and socialisation that's been taken out of its initial home, put into a new one with other pets and people and is struggling to cope and/or trying to work out where it fits in the house hierarchy. It normally takes a couple of months for a dog to feel at home somewhere and that's assuming it's fairly sterile to begin with (no other pets etc).

I also think the OP is in a very difficult situation - the breeder certainly won't want it back, the people who bought it originally don't want it, rescue places are (a) snowed under anyway and (b) unlikely to want a dog with a history of attacks and vets don't like putting down an otherwise healthy dog.

I think it sounds like a dog that’s had very little basic training and socialisation that’s been taken out of its initial home, put into a new one with other pets and people and is struggling to cope and/or trying to work out where it fits in the house hierarchy.

Yup

You'll have no chance of getting her into a normal re-homing centre but something like this organisation may be able to help:
https://birkett-smith.org.uk/
As someone said, two weeks is no time at all and it might just be a matter of working with a behaviourist. A vet check would help rule out any physical pain too which could possibly - although doesn't sound likely - be causing her to react.
Obviously you need to keep everyone safe, including her. You could try muzzle training her and crate training her. Behaviourist should be able to help you there.
Not easy whatever you decide to do but whatever it is, just be sure not to listen to Flaperon.

I wouldn’t feel guilty, it sounds like a little shit and will always attack without provocation.

No it sounds like another 3k fashion accessory that's been ignored from the get go and has been left untrained in any way. (sorry to be harsh, but hey !)

If they won't take the time to deal with it and are passing it around then it would be better put down.

As I said, too many stories blah blah blah.

Thanks for all your replies.

IHN
Full Member
I’ll just add that two weeks is not very long

we've had her since beginning of April

brads
Free Member
I wouldn’t feel guilty, it sounds like a little shit and will always attack without provocation.

No it sounds like another 3k fashion accessory that’s been ignored from the get go and has been left untrained in any way. (sorry to be harsh, but hey !)

If they won’t take the time to deal with it and are passing it around then it would be better put down.

As I said, too many stories blah blah blah.

You sound like the perfect candidate for her !

Woodgreen rehoming are going to get back to me but unlikely to take her, they were brutally honest and said there wont be many places that will take her.
There are quite a few small charities that take dogs however some are just as bad as the horrid breeders.

She was fully checked by our long term vet - absolutely fine.

Anyone want a dog ??!?! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

we’ve had her since beginning of April

How old is she now?

9 months

You've had her since April with no problems until the last couple of weeks? Ask the vet to try to exclude a medical cause. She could have an underlying condition which is triggering this extreme change in behaviour.

The alternative seems to be having her destroyed, so it's worth a go. No shelter will take on an animal which is so unsuited to a normal, domestic environment.

You sound like the perfect candidate for her !

I'm sorry for being harsh but it's true. So many dogs bought as social media posts that it was bound to lead to thousands in the position you are now.

The worst thing for these dogs is the invented names. They are simple crossbreeds / mongrels but that doesn't sell.

I hope someone takes it with the intention of putting lots of work into it, but if I had a problem dog that bit I would not be passing it on at all. I'd be taking responsibility for my choices and putting it down.

I'd also be making the original owner pay for it.

Might make folk think twice in future.

we’ve had her since beginning of April

Ah, sorry, I misread, you've had her since April and she's started with the biting in the last two weeks? Sounds like three possible causes:

1) Something happened about two weeks ago
2) The 'new place/people' stress has been building since April, and is now manifesting itself strongly (sounds like what happened with ours, same kind of timeframe)
3) Her 'true' nature is very aggressive

The last one is the least likely, but has the most obvious solution... The first two seem the most likely, but would need time and patience to overcome. I guess only you know if you have those. You could try starting from first principles again (like I said, just leaving her be as much as possible), or it's the nuclear option.

9 months

and

She could have an underlying condition which is triggering this extreme change in behaviour.

Doggy puberty. She's becoming a teenager with all the associated hormonal changes.
You've got the worst of all worlds - a "fashion accessory" dog that's had limited initial training and socialisation (and that is not really designed for training anyway) that's been placed into a new, unfamiliar environment, and who has then immediately started what can basically be described as her teenage years.

My mate once rehomed a dog in similar circumstances. Someone had rehomed it, "couldn't settle" with it so back to the RSPCA. My mate took it on but it was mental and eventually bit him badly enough it required a hospital trip. Back to the RSPCA it went. Few weeks later he was chatting to a guy at a bus stop who had a bandaged arm. Turns out the previous week he'd rehomed the same dog from the RSPCA...

What a poor dog.

Starts life in a puppy farm

Gets sold to a COVidiot who thinks spending £3k on a dog during a lockdown is in any way sensible

COVidiot cant cope with the dog. We dont know if its lack of knowledge. An issue with the dog or something as basic as not the right environment for a puppy

COVidiot passes dog onto another family who i feel really sorry for but there must be some pretty big signals when you put all of the above together with

New house/family
Cat
Dog
Children (With attention dissorders)

Holy shit it sounds like a perfect storm.

That young dog needs a strong hand with a mature handler who will give it the space, attention and love it needs in the correct environment. Or just kill it and move on 🙁

Has the dog been spayed ?

@fossy. At 9mo I'd suspect not but may well be coming into first season. And yes, that could explain a lot.

To the op, horrid situation. So you feel your could ride it out another few weeks to see if things settle back down? If so I'd try it but really stamp down on any biting and remember to reward good behaviour - positive reinforcement really does work.

If not then options are limited but ask around. I know a few people who may take on a challenging dog and you may well come across one with a bit of digging.

I don't know weather the coming into season could be an issue. We couldn't get our cat done until she was around 9 months but she was acting mad when she came into season - pestering the two male cats and twerking a lot - the lads had been done and weren't appreciative of the attention - fair bit of hissing and growling. First time we'd had a cat in season - not sure if that would affect the dog ?

Worst stealth advert ever.

But seriously, could you cut out the middleman and informally re-home the pup with someone else who doesn't have existing pets or kids?

Worth a try, I'd have thought.

I had no idea what the hell a Pomterrier is so just googled it. Cute little things aren't they? I'd have thought a dog behaviourist should be able to sort the problems...

Spaying can help calm she-dogs (I'm not going to tempt the swear filter) as it shifts their hormone balance towards testosterone which gives them more confidence so they stop perceiving everything as a threat. But it's not as big a shift as for boys.

The opposite is often true of boys though, apparently, Teddy (the rotty/akita cross) was much better (if a bit of handful) before he was done by the shelter. The resulting lack of confidence just turned everything/everyone into a threat that he had to shout at.

What a poor dog

...............................

That young dog needs a strong hand with a mature handler who will give it the space, attention and love it needs in the correct environment. Or just kill it and move on 🙁

Not the most helpful post, if you can't say anything nice and all that.

You almost had me, right up until Davey said it was cute and I went to Google pics

Cute is not a term I'd use.

Whats your problem thisisnotaspoon?

Was my comment anything other than objective. Stating facts and having sympathy for the current custodian of the dog? Call it what you like but its killing the dog. I would suggest 50% of posters on here have suggested the same.

That young dog needs a strong hand with a mature handler who will give it the space, attention and love it needs in the correct environment Strikes me as a pretty helpful comment.

Anyone else reading this and having flashbacks to Blade Trinity...