I had to rehome my female yesterday :(

9364 Views 121 Replies 52 Participants Last post by Kelly's Buddy, Nov 28, 2010

Scotty

Discussion Starter · Oct 24, 2010

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I rehomed my female shephard "Moxie" to a very nice couple that own another shepherd and wanted a companion for him. I REALLY hated to see Moxie go but she needed far more exercise than we could give her and it was causing behavior problems. The straw that broke the camels back was last week when Moxie and my other Shepherd Thello somehow got out of my fenced in backyard and chased some school children around, a little girl got a few scrathches on her leg and that scared me because I could have been sued or one of the dogs been put down had the scratch bled. I dodged a bullet on that incident and decided that Moxie had to find a better home. We all know how heartbreaking it is to lose a pet for any reason and even though Moxie will be happier at her new home I miss her. Since becoming a first time dog owner on Feb. 9 2009 I now have a deep hate for anyone who is cruel to animals and a deep love for shepherds and animals in general. Things are much better now with just my male in the house and no snarling and snapping going on, it's so quiet ! We are all lucky to have these animals in our lives.

Thanks for reading my story and enjoy your shepherds as much as I do,

Scott

See less See more

1 - 14 of 122 Posts

DJEtzel

· #12 · Oct 24, 2010

doggiedad said:
first time dog owner with 2 dogs snarling and snapping
at each other. i say you did something wrong in your training.
you left 2 dogs unattended in your yard and they got out.
that's one of the many reason i don't leave my dog unattended.
now that your dogs got out once they know how to do it. keep
an eye out on your dog. is your dog trained? you could teach
him not to leave the yard when the gate is open. you could teach
him boundaries so he doesn't leave your property.

i don't have that sentiment "oh, poor guy had to rehome his dog",
my feelings are you had to rehome your dog because you weren't
responsible enough for her welfare. on the other hand you did
the right thing by rehoming one. train, socialize and take care of the one you have. you can start by leaving your dog in the yard unattended.

I agree. I think most here do though, just trying not to cause problems...

Scotty said:
Well Doggiedad thanks for your input, I guess. I rehomed Moxie also because she was so high energy that having her cooped up in the house was starting to cause behavior problems and that's not fair to her. The solution would have been a LOT more exercise which is what her new place will provide her with.

As for the snarling and snapping issue : we got our female Moxie then 4 months later brought our male "Thello" into the picture and it took awhile for them to get along but Moxie would still pick on him causing skirmishes and since I have a 7 month old baby with the possibility of another baby on the horizon I decided that having two shepherds around two little kids is too much risk. Yes I could have done better but how much better?

You could have NOT gotten a dog (let alone two) that you could not take care of. If you can't exercise Moxie then what's Thello getting?

Yes, she was having behavioral problems because you weren't training or exercising her. That's what happens. It sounds like shepherds are not for you.

DJEtzel

· #15 · Oct 24, 2010

Scotty said:
Definitely a crappy situation that is now resolved. I learned a LOT, made mistakes and now know what to do better in the future. I will be periodically checking on Moxie and if she is being mistreated or neglected I'll take her back and do things right.

So if she has to come back to you you'll exercise her only then?

DJEtzel

· #28 · Oct 24, 2010

Wow, doesn't sound like either one of you need a dog.

Find a no-kill shelter and take her there, please. Sooner rather than later if you won't be taking care of her exercise needs and are risking her life by letting her escape and chase kids.

DJEtzel

· #30 · Oct 25, 2010

What is your definition of being so incredibly dominant?

DJEtzel

· #61 · Oct 25, 2010

Scotty said:
Thank you everyone, I felt very put down earlier in this thread by a certain truck driver / writer and that gives me a negative view of this mesageboard however that won't prevent me from doing the right thing for Moxie. I refuse to give her to anyone who won't take proper care of her and that's why I'm here. I appreciate the input I am getting here on her behalf. I think that a big part of being a responsible adult is admitting when you are overwhelmed and seeking help to correct it so that is what I am doing.

I have to add that my male shepherd is EXTREMELY ralaxed and seems to need nothing yet the polar opposite is Moxie who is very active and needs tons of attention that I am unable to give for her. I was really lucky that no one was hurt when they both got lose and I'm not going to risk it again. We'll see what happens but while I find a home for Moxie I will work on her behavior and dominance issues and maybe we can keep her !

Why can't you be proactive and watch the dogs like you should be doing and work to keep Moxie? I agree with the post below; it seems like you just want a dog that you don't need to do anything with- what's the point of having one at all?

Train her not to run out of the gate, fix the fence, supervise your dogs while they're outside. Train them both seperately, and actually exercise them. It's not that hard to wake up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later, and run the dog or play hardcore fetch in the backyard. There are also hundreds of ways to exercise them physically and mentally while inside. Your kid's sitting in the high chair eating breakfast? Grab some of her cheerios and work with Moxie on some training inside. I'm a college student with a part-time job and I can make it work with multiple pets. Having kids and another dog is not a valid excuse. Dogs take work, and I don't think this is something that can't be worked through rather than just giving up and taking the easy way out. You won't gain any respect in the dog world by doing that.

lish91883 said:
I was amazed when I started reading the thread and so many people applauded this person’s decision and respected them for making such a “tough” decision. When I read Doggiedad’s post I wanted to stand up and cheer.
It would be one thing if the OP had said that they had tried everything, including training & even more exercise, but it was just not working. Then re-homing would be more understandable & probably wouldn’t have received the snarly responses that it did (and deserved). It doesn’t sound like the decision was too “tough”, but the easiest way out with the least amount of work.

I agree completely. Rehoming a pet for no reason is not an applaudable move, imo. Had the OP come here saying, "help, I feel like rehoming my dog because she's causing this issue, that issue, and another, please tell me how to fix it", she would have met a lot more support than she did. We aren't being particularly negative, we're being realistic and honest.

Honestly though, I don't think you're in the position to own her and should rehome her to a rescue or shelter as soon as you can. You're doing her an unjustice keeping her if you aren't willing to work with her and give her what she needs.

See less See more

DJEtzel

· #75 · Oct 26, 2010

I can honestly say I haven't made a mistake with my dog yet.

DJEtzel

· #78 · Oct 26, 2010

selzer said:
That's because you do not have it yet.

Elaborate?

shannonrae said:
Then you are a commendable young man, whose example we should all follow.

Woman.

DJEtzel

· #81 · Oct 26, 2010

shannonrae said:
OOPs very sorry. . . .

Haha, no problem.

DJEtzel

· #82 · Oct 26, 2010

selzer said:
Sorry, I thought you were the individual who was on here gaining knowledge prior to purchasing their GSD puppy. I guess you are someone else.

Yeah... not me.

DJEtzel

· #85 · Oct 26, 2010

sagelfn said:
Hate to knock you off your high horse but you did purchase from a BYB. That counts as a mistake

I wouldn't call that a mistake. It hasn't affected him for the worse, and I was unaware of them being a byb when we got him. If that's a mistake, it's the best one I ever made.

Hate to knock you off your high horse, but your well-bred dog is no better than mine.

DJEtzel

· #87 · Oct 26, 2010

Ruthie said:
I love your youthful enthusiasm, but Frag is only a year old. It might be a little early to be boasting that.

Yep. Key word being "yet." Still accurate, as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully being optimistic helps.

DJEtzel

· #90 · Oct 26, 2010

sagelfn said:
Sage isn't well bred. I have no problem admitting his flaws or mine as a first time dog owner. While I've tried my best to do everything exactly right I'm inexperienced. I know I've made mistakes even if they weren't big ones. Even someone with years of experience probably makes a training mistake here and there. Nothing wrong with that. To say you've never made a mistake is simply untrue. Humans are not perfect. Being in denial of that simply puts you at risk for more mistakes and bigger ones.

Be that as it may or may not be, I've got something to prove here, and it makes me that much more determined not to mess up. I'm not in denial of messing up, I just don't think I have yet. There's no logical reason why that would make me make more mistakes. That's just euphamism at work. I can be in denial all I want and it will not increase my mistake making chances.

DJEtzel

· #91 · Oct 26, 2010

Ruthie said:
Yes, optimism is good.

But, my experience has been that you don't even know that you made the mistake until down the road. The more you learn, the more you realize that you screwed it up before. I am not saying that you are a screw up, but I would bet money that in 5 years you will look back and say, "Yep, I made mistakes with Frag that I won't make with my next dog."

Oh yes, I'm sure that will happen. There's already things I've found I would do differently, but not because I did it wrong to begin with; just easier ways to do things. I'm not being egotistical and I'm not doubting I'll make mistakes in the future. I'm just glad that I haven't yet.

DJEtzel

· #93 · Oct 26, 2010

Ruthie said:
Well... good for you. You are certainly a better dog owner than I.

I guess that explains why you aren't very patient with someone who has made mistakes. Maybe in a few years when you look back you will have more compassion for people like the OP and try to help him be a better dog owner rather than being a little harsh like you were with him.

That would make sense, and it's entirely possible.

1 - 14 of 122 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.