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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Feeling like a horrible pet owner!
My DH and I have come to a decision that we are going to have to give our puppy Cuco away. When we got him we thought that we would have plenty of time to spend with him but we don't because of work. He's such a sweet boy and I really don't want to see him go. He needs a home that will be able to give him lots of love and attention. He's a lpsa opsa shitzu mix (I know I spelled the name wrong). He's 7 months old and is such a little lover. If you are intrested in giving him a new home you can let me know on here or send me an email at charlesswinburne@yahoo.com. I don't know how to post pictures but I can email or text you one.
Re: Feeling like a horrible pet owner!
this
At least she's making an effort to find a good & loving home for the little guy instead of dumping him off somewhere, taking him to a shelter, or keeping him out of guilt and havinghim in an environment where he is not given enough attention & exercise. Sometimes you think things will work out and they don't. The important thing is you try to remedy the situation responsibly and in the best way possible.
OP, I'm sorry I can't take him and I hope you are able to find a wonderful home for him.
It is usually VERY HARD to rehome a pet, and yeah, sorry to be harsh, but it is pretty much the worst thing you can do as a pet owner. Have you have totally exhausted all your options for keeping him? Have you considered hiring a dog walker to check in on him during the day and give him a little exercise? What about doggie day care a couple days a week? I assume you "bought" your dog, from a store or a "backyard breeder" type who either breeds dogs to make a few bucks or accidentally let their dog get knocked up... otherwise the place you adopted your dog from, or a reputable breeder, would probably take the pet back (some rescues require you to bring the dog back to the rescue if you ever cannot keep the dog).
I understand where you are probably coming from. When you work all day, and the dog is (hopefully) inside your house in a crate, sometimes it feels like you're neglecting them. But if you prioritize your mornings/evenings and if you love your pet, then the times you are home you are probably providing a lot of love and attention. Is it really as bad as you're making it out to be?
Ultimately, if your mind is made up, please do not stop until you find the right home. And I hope you do not bring another pet into your home for a long time, if ever again, when you are SURE you can hold up your end of the deal.
Consider the following, and make sure that you would rather rehome your dog than make it work: Your dog will probably be VERY sad and will have a hard time adjusting to his new life. What if the new family isn't prepared for this? Are you willing to take the dog back if it doesn't work out and try all over again? (My mother in law is trying to help a friend that took in a dog because a family was moving and didn't want to take him along... then she found out her son was very allergic and now he needs ANOTHER new home... it's so traumatic to the pet! They've been looking for a new home for him for MONTHS and have not been successful yet.)
If there are behavior problems that are leading you to this conclusion, remember that they probably won't go away in a new home, and depending on the new family, that could land him in a backyard to swelter in the summer and freeze in the winter, or in a shelter already full of homeless animals, or worse. If you need help with behavior issues, let us know and maybe we can offer some ideas for training.
Our country has a serious pet overpopulation problem, and it is because of this concept that pets are property that can be sold/traded/abandoned/etc. Taking in a pet is a long term commitment, like a child. They can be ill behaved, get sick, cost a lot of money, demand your time and attention, but that is no excuse to give up on them. In my family, giving up on our dogs is simply not an option. I hope you reconsider, because I hate to think about heartbroken pups who don't understand why their family isn't around anymore.
Sorry, I should have said "one of the worst things you can do" - obviously complete neglect or abuse would be worse.
she could've made the effort 5 months ago when she bought him to think about the responsibilities of getting a pet......i hope it works out for the little guy.
I agree with this. If you had a baby instead of a puppy, would you give the baby up because you had hectic work schedules, or would you find a sitter/daycare option? You wouldn't just give a baby up because they take more time than you think they will, right? So why would you do that to a dog?
All of this, especially the highlighted parts.
I have 3 dogs and a 1 cat/ I work all day, but I do make it home for lunch. Then after work, my boyfriend and I do a work out, which sometimes lasts an hour and other times it lasts a couple of hours. Then we eat dinner. I have very little free time.
With that said, I wake my_ass up earlier to take them to the beach/long walk and then go on another long walk in the evening.They go on a total of 4-5 walks a day because I MAKE time for them. If you care about the dog, you will make time for him. It isn't fair to him to get rid of him because you don't make the time. So sad.
They see us rollin'...they be hatin'.
Something I read yesterday...
I rescued your dog today. The one you dumped at the shelter. The one you had for years and no longer wanted around. I rescued your dog today. Do you know that he?s lost weight? Do you know that he?s scared and confused and has lost all faith? I rescued your dog today. He had fleas and a cold. But don?t worry, you?ve unburdened your load. I rescued your dog today. Were you... having a baby or movin...g away? Did you suddenly develop allergies? Or another reason he couldn?t stay? I rescued your dog today. He doesn?t play or eat much. He?s very depressed now. But he will learn again to trust. I rescued your dog today. And here he will stay with us FOREVER and have a warm bed on which to lay. I rescued your dog today. I will give him all that he could need-patience, love, security and understanding. Hopefully he will forget your selfish deed -Author UnknownLots of people work full time and have pets - what specifically is the issue? Is he getting into things due to lack of attention/exercise? That can be remedied.
Or do you just feel guilty because it feels like you are away from him for a long time? DH and I work a lot of hours, and don't spend a TON of time with our dog, and she's just fine. She mostly just sleeps or hangs out on the back porch during the day. We play with her in the evening when we get home, take her on walks when we can, and take her to my parents house a few times a month to play with other dogs. She's just fine.
Just curious as to what hours you work, and what specifically is the issue, since lots of working people have pets.
I'm not sure what your work situation is, but trust me...when I was working outside the home, I am 99% sure my DH + my schedule was way more hectic/worse than yours. Unless you regularly work from 8-midnight, like we did.
We each came home for a long lunch once a week and hired a sitter (www.dogwalkerhouston.com) twice or three times a day when we couldn't. We also paid our neighbors to come play with our TWO dogs. We love our dogs so we made it work.
Thank you for rescuing your sweet pup, halfpint! But what a sad story... she must have been so confused, until she could settle in with you.
I am glad you found her! Unfortunately, stories such as this are few and far between, especially in this area. Last year alone, the Houston Humane Society euthanized over 10,000 dogs (over HALF of the animals that were turned into the shelter). SMH. Such a shame.
Also agree to Borksi, being returned over and over is extremely stressful on a pup.
A pet is a lifetime commitment.
They see us rollin'...they be hatin'.
Well you are a horrible pet owner.DH and I each work two jobs and do just fine with ours; we wake up early to get him good walks, take him to daycare, set up playdates, arrange for dog walkers when we're gone, etc. It's not rocket science, we knew when we got him I would graduate and get a job. We knew sometimes we would go on vacation or out of town, might have kids, etc. etc. I wouldn't have gotten the dog if I didn't know we could take care of him regardless.
Stop being lazy, act like an adult who is responsible for another living thing.
Just to give you a little more info here you go. I'm on contract with work so I technically only have to be there from 7:30-3:30. I do have to leave the house at 7 to make it to work on time. I'm a kindergarten teacher so I work WAY past 3:30 because there is just way to much to do. I normally stay really late on Friday's depending on how much I've got done during the week for the following week. Lately our admin have been coming down on us which is causing more stress and longer hours at work just to prepair. At the start of the year I was able to get out of work at a decent hour but now not so much. My DH leaves the house at 5:30 and then gets home whenever depending on traffic, school, or normal errands he has to get done (he's working 6 days a week).
I feel guilty because I have to lock him in the kennel from 7 to whenever one of us gets home (last night it was till 7:45). I've but a blanket and towel in the kennel just in case he has an accident. He has had accidents in the kennel and then he ends up sitting in it all day. I feel like that is just wrong as a pet owner (we have another dog that isn't kenneled up because she never has accidents). I do walk them in the morning and then in the evening when I get home or DH does. I've literally walked him and then 10 minutes after we get home he ends up going potty in the house. I don't know if part of the problem is that he hasn't been fixed and this is why this is happening. This is the first time I've owned dogs before so I really don't know. I did check to see how much it would be to get him fixed but at this time there is no way we can fork out the money because my DH is more than likely going to be laid off tomorrow.
The other part of us trying to give him a new home is because of our other dog. When we were originally thinking about getting him I slowly introduced him into the house. At first the dogs were really getting along but now not so much. Our other dog is being very territorial (I know this is probably normal). I'm having to break up fights on a nightly basis. She also won't really allow him to get near the food bowl unless I distract her from the area. She also doesn't like the fact that he wants to be near us. She's really jealous! I think she is honestly loosing weight because of him being in the house (she has always been our little baby).
We haven't had him for 7 months! We have had him for maybe 2 months almost. We got him from someone in the neighborhood because they had to give him away because they were moving out of their rental house and into a new place were they couldn't bring him.
I guess I'm just at a loss of what to do!
His previous owners really tick me off. WTH?! It also makes me even sadder that you want to rehome him again. That would be 3 houses in his 7 months?
7 months is waaaay too young to be expected to hold it that long. I don't even ask R who is almost 5 years to hold it that long(although he has on a rare occasion)
I work super long hours and DH works longer than me. Can you look into hiring a dog walker to come by mid day for him?
Feed the dogs separately even if that mean in different rooms at the same time. Get the book called MINE! by Patricia McConnell. It's about resource guarding which it sounds like your other dog does.
Google NILIF(Nothing in life is free) that should also help.
Yes, fixing is always a good idea.
Do you have a HS kid in the neighborhood you'd trust? They could be pretty cheap.
Cool! I'll see if I can find it on my ereader and if not I'll look on Amazon.
Honestly I have no idea! We mainly have little kids that live right by us. I guess I could ask on our neighborhood's FB page.
I'm thiking a teenager or even a SAHM/SAHW would walk him for you for $5-10 per day. I would do that for a friend or neighbor.
Our male dog peed on stuff in the house when he was a puppy until we fixed him. Before I was a SAHM we had to feed our dogs (a male and a female) separately.
I am going to be neutral and be on both sides of the fence.
1. I had a puppy (Bichon Frise) they are a breed that needs tons of attention. I was working and owned a business, and DH was working fulltime an hour away from the home.
We hired a dogsitter/walker, and he went to doggy daycare some days. We also got a fence shaped in an octagon with mats inside of it for him to have more room. We put his kennel in the cages area too. (toys and water as well). We did not leave food, he only ate at his 3 meal times, to limit pooping all over the closed off area.
2. Well my son started to get more complications and we were having to put him in the overnight kennels or ask my parents to keep him. So we decided to give him to my parents. He loves them, he gets full range of the home, spoiled constantly, and he is SUPER happy. He did not like being left alone.
So rehoming can work, and also getting dog walkers can work.
Many blessings! Hope it works out.
your updates shed *a lot* of light on your situation. sorry if it seemed like you were being flamed.
sucks about your dh's job :-.....but sounds like he won't be out of work long?? while he's home, he can work with the puppy. it'll help tremendously to have him there with the pup even for the short stint (hopefully) that he's out of work. when he does go back to work, look into hiring a neighborhood kid/hs student for $5 a day to walk the dog(s) - or even just take them in the backyard and play for 15 min.
star had *great* suggestions for the training and getting the dogs to get along. sometimes it can take months of consitency to get dogs to get along.
as far as fixing him, look into SNAP. it's a low cost spay/neuter. if they're too full, there are several low cost clinics in the houston area. it should only be about $40 to get him neutered. it will help tremendously.
i hope you're able to keep him! he just needs some consistency at this point - if you rehome him, he will need to have a very experienced and patient owner to overcome his confusion/anxiety/trust. you may also want to try the pets board - they usually have a ton of good information/help