Am I a bad person for returning a dog to the animal shelter?

tobothehobo

My girlfriend was now contacted by the owner of the sanctuary who insisted that the dog would not be put down. I'm so confused about what to do now.

screamer

tobothehobo wrote: »

My girlfriend was now contacted by the owner of the sanctuary who insisted that the dog would not be put down. I'm so confused about what to do now.

Take it back while the takings good. The amount of work youll need to put into that dog to normalize him will be unreal. A snapper can turn into a biter quickly. There are much more placid types of breed than a collie or collie cross ( worst
cross possible imho)

Riverireland

tobothehobo wrote: »

My girlfriend was now contacted by the owner of the sanctuary who insisted that the dog would not be put down. I'm so confused about what to do now.

Any chance you could pm me the name of the shelter. There are sooo many of them out there and from some pictures I've seen im surprised the ispca aren't all over them.

Cherry Blossom

tobothehobo wrote: »

My girlfriend was now contacted by the owner of the sanctuary who insisted that the dog would not be put down. I'm so confused about what to do now.

'Some' rescue people can be a little extreme in their methods and ideas OP. It could be that the man you spoke to first may have been trying to guilt-trip you into keeping the dog. I don't know now it's just a theory but I would seek clarification as to why you were told the dog would be put down in the first place. Overzealous volunteer overstepping the mark?

tobothehobo

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

'Some' rescue people can be a little extreme in their methods and ideas OP. It could be that the man you spoke to first may have been trying to guilt-trip you into keeping the dog. I don't know now it's just a theory but I would seek clarification as to why you were told the dog would be put down in the first place. Overzealous volunteer overstepping the mark?

I'm going to go to them after work and clarify what the hell is going on. If I'm satisfied the dog won't be harmed than I will hand him in. I've got a knot in my stomach thinking about it. I really hope he finds the right home.

AryaStark

tobothehobo wrote: »

We have been training him. Rewarding good behaviour and using a water bottle squrt to punish bad behaviour. He was not completely house trained and we were standing in the rain with him outside last night until he went to the toilet to reward him. He has responded well to training and honestly isn't doing anything that any pup of 8months wouldn't do. We have made our mind up to return him and have been in contact with the shelter and will be in contact today again. The lady there had no issue with it.
I can't state enough there is nothing wrong with the dog and in the right home he would thrive.
All the blame lies with us and our lack of foresight. I won't just leave him sit there while he is with us I will engage him and exercise him.

I might be wrong here but I hate it when you say that you are punishing bad behaviour by squirting water in his face ... it sounds horrible and he would not really understand what you are doing to him. My dog would have a heart attach if somebody did that to her!
Is that meant to be some kind of training technique? Sounds wrong to me.

tobothehobo

It's done I brought him back. I had a good long chat with the owner of the shelter and she said they never put a healthy dog down. It's the single hardest thing I've ever had to do. I'm not ashamed to say I cried the whole way there and back and I'm still crying posting this. I think I did what's best for max but just feel terrible.

screamer

tobothehobo wrote: »

It's done I brought him back. I had a good long chat with the owner of the shelter and she said they never put a healthy dog down. It's the single hardest thing I've ever had to do. I'm not ashamed to say I cried the whole way there and back and I'm still crying posting this. I think I did what's best for max but just feel terrible.

Don't you did the right thing and have him a chance to find a forever home. So many people just surrender their dog to the pound where they can be PTS immediately. You've done the best thing you could in time you'll see that.

Hooked

I'm just up. Our Dogs need to be walked at 7am. Dogs, plural.

Adding number 2 was not easy for the first few weeks. But, we had the separate crates, sectioned garden and most important - my wife works from home.

I, take lunch 2-3 pm and return home every day.

My point? Training a second, much more excited, mischievous, husky - would have been IMPOSSIBLE if we were doing it under your circumstances.

You're not a bad person OP!!! And you did the right thing! Trust me, we had the feeling we made a bad decision 2 years ago BUT we had the environment, jobs and time to make it work.

You didn't.

tobothehobo

I'd like to thank all of you for your advice on this and for the most part kind words. It was a heart breaking thing that I had to do. I felt and do still feel like I failed the dog but think I gave him a chance at a happier life in the long term. I have certainly learned a lesson from all this and will never put any animal or myself through a fiasco like the past few days again. I'll continue to love cherish and spoil the 6 year dog we have until our time with him comes to an end.
After that I will definitely have to put serious thought into ever getting another dog again.

Cherry Blossom

Plenty of people work and have a dog OP. For a lot of people one dog is all they can handle in their circumstances. This particular dog just wasn't the right match for your family that's all. I have two, I work, they are out in their run approximately 4 hours a day when I'm not home and 4 hours in the house with my mum. My dogs get walked twice a day, they sleep in my room. Most people have their dogs sleep in a room on their own 8 hours a day and no one ever says it's not okay to do that, what's the difference? The dog is still alone for 8 hours wether your at work or in bed. There are ways of making arrangements to suit your circumstances but having the right dog for you is vital.