Not feeling good

Syman

Not feeling good about myself at the moment. the rescue dog we took on a couple of weeks ago ( a 13 month old male collie/Lab cross) is going back to the rescue centre.

Whilst most of the time he is a calm easy going sort of dog, he can also be unpredictalbe. when out for a walk he will be fine for a while then go all doolally jumping up, biting the lead (and me or whoever is walking, including DD and DW) also when coming across other dogs he ignores the dog and jumps up at the owner

I know we have not had him long, but i live and work in a school, IF he were to get out and bite a child (and it would only be from excitement, not aggression) i would not forgive myself.

I know we have not had him long, and maybe we are giving up a little too quickly, but the risk is there.

As i said, I feel awful, I also feel like i have failed my boy in not giving him the good home he deserves, though he will make someone a good pet.

that's it. thankyou for listening.

nonnatus

Hmmm, That IS quite a short time to have made up your mind about him, especially if he's not ALWAYS a nightmare.
He's a teenage dog after all, with all the teenage problems that brings!! He probably acts up because of something that happened to him before he met you and re-training / re-programming his mind will take at least six weeks. You had the right intentions to begin with - could you not try for an extra month? Keep him on lead / harnessed when out and about so you're not so frightened that he will attack a child?

I feel for you whatever you decide. It's a horrible position to be in for you AND the dog...

Zanandu

Syman,

We are in a similar situation with our dog- Shes not a rescue dog, we have had her from a puppy and she is now two. Shes been spayed. My husband has an illness and up until 5 months ago he was able to walk with me and Tinker but he gets too tired now so its just me and her and shes been playing up! She actually nipped a dog yesterday for no reason other than the dog came up to play. We are going to do two things. Get her a muzzle to wear out when with other dogs only. We also plan to take her to training. Think this is what may be useful for your dog?

Like Nonnatus said, two weeks is quite a short time to have a dog. I would give him a bit longer. I do agree about your worrying about him nipping children - hence a muzzle and harness like Nonnatus suggested would alievate that worry and would also show people that you are taking responsibity for your dog. Thats what we are going to do.

Good luck with whatever you do.

Better_Off_1983

It is a short time to give up on the dog to be honest. It sounds like the dog needs to be retrained, something that needs patience and time.

I have a year old dog as well.

When he is happy to see someone he is familar with he jumps up at them and charges and runs about. Then we have to distract him with a bone then he calms down.

I would never give him up because we took him on, knowing the responsibilities that come with having a dog. Luckily I work part time so he has plenty of interaction and 'out time' He is cage trained..he has learned a routine, he knows when he sees me in the morning, he is happy (does not jump on me) he knows he is going out to use the toilet and as soon as he gets back in, he will be fed... its all about routine... you learn theirs and we learn from them.

He jumps all over my partner and is boisterious, but we know that he has to get his excitement out and then within hours he is conked out because he has burnt himself out!

We walk him at night because he likes to sniff other people and get distracted during the day. He is a big breed and he does pull, so I stop and say "Stop" he then stops immediately. Also, I make a noise so that he knows not to pull and walk him with a short lead.

He is an exciteable dog! He is an American Bulldog. When people see him, they would assume he is vicious, but he likes to lick people to death and get loads of fuss from them! He loves kids. ( We do not have or want any) If he hears neighbours kids he goes up to them, cordoned off by a fence and the kids stroke him. If any of us lies on the floor, he will come over and sniff us to investigate and lick our ears. He is all over my bf- to the extent that he humps him! But I know that is his teenage years showing. My bf then shows dominance by mounting him..

Believe it or not, this is our first dog. People say your first dog should be a labrador or something like that. I have grown up with dogs, i.e my parents owned them ( German Shepherd and Parsons terrier )

He is not a nuisance, he does not bark, only if the door knocks. I hear dogs bark in the neighbourhood for the sake of it...usually for attention. Again, this is our first dog and we are proud that he is so well behaved and trained...

Better_Off_1983

I have just taken my dog out for a walk, luckily, there was no one around ( that is the only setting I can walk him in), I usually walk him at night, but dread doing it in the day because there are so many distractions and but he was as good as gold. A 45 minute walk! Again, he pulled a bit, but got him to walk alongside me and when he did, I praised and stroked him... then he kept by my side because he is condtioned to know that he will get praise if he stays by me.

Dogs are quite intelligent and quick learners. We got him as a puppy too so we could instill the rules in him from afresh.

Do keep us posted in what you decide to do.

He is conked out now!

Caroline_a

OP, my shepherd did that as a teenage dog. I stopped mostly by putting him on the lead as soon as he did it... It soon stopped! Have you taken your dog to training classes? You would find a lot of help and support if you did. You got a rescue boy which is great, but sometimes they need more training than one you have had from a pup.

Take him to training, it will benefit you all, and enable you to have a happy dog who behaves.

gettingready

OP - if you decide to take on another dog, pls get an older one.

What you are describing above is a typical teenager behaviour, if you can not cope with this, pls get an older dog that passed the teenager stage.

aliasojo

I think the OP is doing the right thing, I don't think he/she is the best person for this dog. Hopefully the dog will go to an owner who is more aware and realistic.

I also think he/she shouldn't entertain the idea of getting another (even an older one) as he/she obviously has no clue as to what caring for and training an animal involves and the unrealistic expectation with regards to timelines just proves this.

zaksmum

It's a shame you feel you have to give him up so soon.

My dog Jack was a total lunatic at that age. He'd be firmly on the lead but whenever he saw a neighbour he'd go crazy, leaping up and nearly flattening them, dragging me along in the process.

One poor lady has severe osteoporosis and was terrified of being knocked over by him...it was a nightmare.

But after a couple of months he just completely calmed down. I'd just stand still, say NO! and make him sit. He cottoned on in the end that I wasn't pleased with the jumping up.

Now people comment on how calm and laid back he is.

Some good firm training would surely improve your boy's behaviour, Syman.

Syman

aliasojo wrote: »

I also think he/she shouldn't entertain the idea of getting another (even an older one) as he/she obviously has no clue as to what caring for and training an animal involves and the unrealistic expectation with regards to timelines just proves this.

Thankyou for that, it is not about unrealistic expectations, we took the dog after being told theat the dog walked well on the lead and would come to call. We also knew some training would be required and having looked around our area, the next training course does not start for another two weeks.

However, it is not only about expectations of timescales, it is about risk management. As i said, i live within school grounds, with children from 4 to 11 running around. If (and it probably is not likely) if the dog gets out, something which i am sure has happened to many dog owners, or he manages to get away after jumping up and grabbing the lead, the possible outcome is not something I or indeed the school can tolerate.

So there are other factors to think about. The school has given me permission to get a dog, however, all of the above needs to be considered.

So, again i thankyou all for your comments, both useful and presumptuous.

aliasojo

Sorry OP, dress it up however you want, bottom line is you took an animal on and are giving up after 2 weeks.

All your points are 'ifs'. Some of these ifs wouldn't even be an if, if you were in control as it's owner. You've made a decision prematurely imo.

I'm not usually known for being harsh, but you've made no allowances for the animal, the change to it's routine, new owners, it's age, nothing. And whilst you might 'feel bad', it's nothing to how the animal will feel being dumped again.

I wish to god people would stop treating pet owning as a commodity to be picked up or let go if it doesn't suit. Pets involve effort. You clearly don't have the time or the inclination.

Apologies for not pampering you with a 'there, there, there' type of comment.