:'( Hello everyone. I'm so glad to have found this forum. And I know that as I type this, I'll be crying. We bought our black lab, Maximus, 2 months ago. He's such an awesome dog. Love him so much. He's very smart and seems to be catching up quickly to the training we're providing him. He lives with my husband, 10yo son and I. I'm currently 5 1/2 months pregnant which we knew about prior to getting Maximus. We recently returned from our two week vacation and my sister was able to house-sit/puppy-sit for us. I was getting so worried as to where I would leave Max and I was very grateful my sister was able to watch him. I made sure to talk to her about the do's and don'ts when it came to train Max. Upon our return, we have noticed that he has been acting out, but not by much. He's constantly jumping on people and has destroyed our hallway carpet. I know the whole jumping on people part can be easily fixed. And the carpet is no big deal since we have talked about changing it to tile. And he also developed an infection on his armpit area which he's taking antibiotics for it. My husband is thinking about wanting to re-home our puppy. We travel about 4 times a year. Not for an extensive time, but we do take long weekends to got to Tijuana, Mexico to visit my husband's family. At first, it wasn't a huge deal figuring it out who we would leave Max with, which would be my sister since she had offered to watch him whenever we were gone. But now I feel that I can't trust my sister watching him because it's obvious that Max wasn't very well taken care of. She allowed him to roam around the backyard without proper supervision and blocked our kitchen with a doggy gate so he had free access to our hallway (which leads to our backyard). She didn't pay attention to him, which then resulted in him being bored and, most likely, is the reason he destroyed our carpet. Since he wasn't properly supervised when he was in the backyard, he probably ate something that he shouldn't have that gave him an infection. According to what the vet said. Now I'm so saddened because we thought we had everything firgured out when we do go on our short vacations. I have looked into kennels, but they are way over our budget. Something we definitely wouldn't be able to afford. We don't have other family members/friends who would be willing to watch him while we're away. I'm get so emotional at the thought of finding him a new home. I can't find any other options. I have grown so attached to him and it just breaks my heart. And if we were to re-home him, we would definitely make sure he goes to a loving/caring family. Please give me some advice as to what we should do. And I apologize for the long post. I wanted to be as clear as possible. Thanks so much.
Re: Possibly re-homing puppy Hi there Sandra, So sorry this difficult situation is bringing you to the forum, but glad to see you here, anyways. You are definitely in a pickle, I can understand how difficult this all is. First of all, it is very difficult to properly look after a puppy, it's hard for those who are their "parents", never mind those who we ask to help when we are gone. I'm sure your sister meant well and did the best she could, but found it all too much and let some of the things slide. So understandable that you came back to a puppy who had been left to his own devices a little too much. So, one thing to think about is that as Max grows he will become easier to look after when you go away. When is your next planned trip? If it's not for another year, things will be much different in terms of his care. Even 6 months will make a bit difference. In the meantime, I would suggest kennels, although I do get the financial burden. Do you have any other puppy/dog owning friends which whom you could swap puppy-sitting duties with? You are certainly going to have a handful with a puppy and a new baby, you might need to have someone who would give you stress breaks from puppy care! There will likely be others with more ideas. Bottom line, though, you have to so what is best for your family and your puppy. Try to look at it objectively, even though it's hard (especially with pregnancy hormones ). Good luck with this, keep in touch and let us know how it's going! Lisa
Re: Possibly re-homing puppy Lisa, Thank you so much for your reply. I truly appreciate it. I know I can't fully blame my sister because she did do us the favor to watch him for two weeks at no cost. She refuses to let us pay her. We'll most likely go on a long weekend vacation during Christmas. I know he'll be much easier to care for as he gets older. I think a part of me feeling horrible about re-homing him is due to my hormones. We have had a lab/pit mix several years ago that we had to re-home because we had moved and couldn't take him with us. I felt bad for him, but was so happy when my husband came home saying that when he took him to the humane society, a woman saw Domino and wanted him. My husband didn't even get a chance to register him! But I feel so different with Maximus. And I feel that everyday that goes by is just going to be harder for me to let him go. We do have friends who have dogs, but we're not very close to them that we would feel comfortable asking them for help when we do go away. I will keep you guys updated with what we decide to do. It's very comforting being able to talk about this and not being judged.
Re: Possibly re-homing puppy Hello Sandra , I am so very sorry that you are facing this tough decision at a difficult time for you . Whilst I agree with what Lisa says , I wanted to add my own thoughts without judging you which is of no use and unfair . However , I tend to think that is you are both seriously thinking if rehoming, it would be better to do this now, whilst he is still young . It would be so easy for you to battle along , facing upset and financial burden and all the time, Maximus is getting more attached and so are you . I dont know where you are in the country, but the Blue Cross run a superb scheme called Home Direct , they assess the dog in its own home, advertise on their website but the dog stays at home until a suitable owner comes along . I really do feel for you and can sense your distress , but if it has to be the answer, then better sooner than later, for all your sakes , I wish you good luck .
Re: Possibly re-homing puppy Hi Kateincornwall I know it will be much easier to find him a home since he's still a young puppy. And it would be easier for him to adjust to a new home as well. I just feel that I would be a terrible person to do that to him. I guess I'm being super selfish and don't want to think that I'm just giving up on him and abandoning him. He deserves better than that. He's such a happy puppy and it's so hard to even think about re-homing him. :-[ I live in the US, California to be exact. I'm not sure if we have a Blue Cross that does that. But I will look into it. Thank you for your input.
Re: Possibly re-homing puppy Hi Sandra. This must be a really horrible time for you and a very difficult decision. I do have to agree with Kate in that it will be much easier and less stressful for Maximus if you rehome him sooner rather than later. Not on you though. I think if you come to that decision it will be hard on you whenever it is. If you decide to rehome him you are NOT a terrible person. Far from it you would be putting him first. His well being, happiness and future are obviously very important to you or you wouldn't be asking for advice. A baby will also have an effect. However puppies become dogs and they get easier. Some easier than others and some sooner than others. I don't know about travelling with animals in the US or Mexico but are you allowed to take Maximus with you to Mexico? Could you go to visit your husbands family for a shorter time so your sister doesn't have him for such a long time just until max is older and trained ? Is there anything you could alter about your yard and home that would make it easier for your sister to deal with max and for max to not get into trouble? Could you get your sister involved more in Max's training so she has more of an interest and more control when on her own with him? Just some ideas don't know if any help but remember you are not a terrible person whatever you decide you Take care
Re: Possibly re-homing puppy Welcome to the forum. You are going through a tough time, and having a baby in the family together with a puppy won't exactly be easy. But one thing I have found is that as your pup gets older, he will get easier to deal with. By the time Christmas comes around he'll be a completely different dog from now, and you may well find your difficulties over where he can stay while you are traveling, resolve themselves. If you do decide to re-home him, please consider keeping him on a fostering basis, until new owners can be found for him. That way you'll have more control over where he ends up. Without judging you at all, as I can see this is a really difficult time and you have to consider the needs of your whole family, I would say that you have a responsibility to this little chap, and you need to ensure he is in a loving, caring home - whether that is your home or someone else's. It's obvious you love him very much!!
