Know anyone who wants a dog?

[SuZuki10]

SHE GETS ONE MORE CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew my mom had a heart....somewhere.  :kiss:

[goat]

one of these days, I'm going to get a dog. Thats going to have to wait until I'm done with school, though. I know that I'm not capable of taking care of a dog until then.

Best of luck finding a home for her. I hope that you find a good home for her, but its sad to hear that you have to get rid of her.

[weaselnoze]

post pics please













best of luck amanda

[davipu]

mmmmmm real burritos.   can I have him?

[Phaedrus]

Why not try and make a compromise with the parents? Send the dog to Obedience school?

Reason with them, why let the dog go somewhere else and bite another child at all? A child could still get bit, but it just would not be THEIR responsibility. Point out that the dog could be taught and would be fine and wouldn't bite ANYONE. Not bite someone else on someone's else's watch. Everyone wins.

[Jace009gs]

was it a playful bite or a nip? I know my German Shepard, Bear, when he's all ralled up in a playful mood he likes to hold my arm in his mouth...It's not comfortable nor like sever pain just a way of him letting me know he won that round...Just like I can then back off and go in for another shot to see if I can win the next round. He's getting bigger tho (112lbs) so my chances of rolling him over are getting slim to none .U know what I mean?...to a kid this might seem like a "bite" :dunno: I will pass the word along to my parents who have been looking for another big breed dog.

[Blueknyt]

but today she got over excited and nipped some little girls butt who ran away from her

from working in a shelter i will say not all of them are dirty. yes they smell but then so do stables and pastures.  alot of shelters do good work, finding a home for a 6 year old lab is alittle tough but very doable. the problem is the nip.  someone that knows the dog might think is a playful nip, one who doesnt might see it as a near miss of something else.  I would go for training before giving up the animal.  and i will tell you why as someone who has been both sides of that fence.


This "animal" was picked as a member of the family and is like a child who must be taught right and wrong. this doesnt end with not stealing dinner from the table or pooping and piddling on the rug. this includes acceptable and unacceptable behavior among other NON-Family members.   haveing worked in a shelter for 4.5 years ive seen many a good animals come in for the wrong or unfair reasons. most of the time its not even the animals fault. Unfortunately alot of them are Euthanized do to age or overpopulance.  Do you give up your "child" if she/he kicks another in the shin?
No you dont, you teach them.  I wont argue that some animals/people are just wired wrong and must be Dealt with but you didnt provide much of a history to really tell that.

ask your parents and yourself this honestly, Can you in clear consience say she is unteachable and you hope another loving family can take this her and hope she doesnt bite anyone else? Can you give an Unteachable animal to another family that MIGHT BITE another little person? OR are you just passing the buck not wanting or arnt willing/able to put in the time/energy to teach this  animal who was picked to become a "FAMILY MEMBER"

i dont mean disrespect so understand why i put it the way i did. its meant to be a harsh question.  

During times when the shelter wasnt bursting at the seams with animals, we are able to keep some longer and work with them to make them sociable. ive had some animals come in that i worked with (mostly worked in bite section) and found them good homes. most biters ive had to work with were UNTRAINED animals. they didnt know any better.  Of all the animals ive worked with during that time, ive only been bitten once by a dog and it was a 10 year old female cocker spanial that was given up cause the family was moving to a no pets allowed condo comunity. when i asked why they were moving there when they didnt allow thier "family member" i got back a blank confused stare.   this animal was Euthanized as we could not in good concience pass on to anyone, a non-social animal (would not come around) that had a proven Bite record (my left hand).

For the record, in the 5 months it took my hand to completely heal, this animal was still alive in the care of 2 seperate rescue groups who tryed to retrain her. i personaly feel this animal was one of those with shorted wiring.

If the only reason they are getting rid of this spunky lab is that Single nip, then a good solid attempt a classes and real training is not out of a question to keep her in her loving home. IF however training has been faithfuly applied and  still she wishes to nip at running kids, can you really sit right with your heart of passing her to someone else to deal with posibly hurt?

ive been there, it really sucks
hate me if you like for all that, ive been there too.
ive been on both sides.
i hope things work out happily. good luck

[SuZuki10]

First, it was a little nip, b/c she thought the girl was playing.  There was just a little scratch.

Second, no, we've never taken her to an obedience school b/c she has never done anything like this.  I think she was just over-excited b/c I hadn't taken her for a walk yet since it had rained all morning.  

Lastly, I do not have a choice here.  Thank you for making me feel even worse...This is my parents' house, and they are afraid of losing their homeowners insurance if this should ever happen again.  Obedience school has been brought up, but what if it happens again anyway?  They are not budging.

So, before anyone else offers advice, please don't.  Offer a suggestions to a good place I can take her.  I have no other option right now but to find a good home.   I really appreciate the offer Jace, and I am looking forward to hearing back from you.

[Jace009gs]

bring some pics to Carlisle

[Jazzzzz]

We had to place one of our dogs due to a dominance issue with other dogs in the home that we could not correct through behavior modification training.  Neither my wife nor I were willing to live with two male dogs in the home who fought whenever we entered a room, forcing us to keep them separate at all times (shutting doors behind you whenever you left a room, etc.)

We lucked into finding a great home for him with one of my wife's co-workers.  Your search will likely be easier than ours, since you have a popular breed of easy-going dog. Obviously you are already asking everyone you know -- I'd also suggest looking for rescue organizations and no-kill shelters in your area.  Here are a couple of starting places:

http://www.labrescuetn.com/contact.htm
http://www.dogsaver.org/brookline/

I would still recommend obedience classes for the dog - one, perhaps they can help you with redirecting some of your lab's energy, making it easier to place her, and two it might help convince your parents to change their minds (outside shot, but you never know).

Good luck - I know saying goodbye to a pet is never easy.

[nisus1]

try posting pic on the ubiquitous http://newjersey.craigslist.org/.

if craigslist can't do it, nobody can.  Good luck.

[Blueknyt]

Thank you for making me feel even worse

it was meant to be a small barb, im sorry for that. alot of folks DONT feel bad enough.  granted i dont work there anymore old habits are hard to break, specialy when they are learned in very ugly ways. i still gnash my teeth over some of the excuses i hear for giving up some animals. or worse dump them off the side of the road.

If you look back i also said that while placing a 6 year old is tough, its still very DOable.

call your local shelters, they have LOTS of info and numbers to different rescue groups. most of these folks are volunteer workers who use their own homes to rehab the sick and injured or resocialize animals for adoption.

here is one located in NJ   http://www.grrinews.org/

if they cant do anything for you i am sure they know someone who can.

please, let us know the outcome.

[raylarrabee]

Glad I love YOU came around.  Now it's time to reward her decision with some work on your end and some work by your dog.

I highly recommend taking the "Basic" obediance class at your local Petsmart.  It is a good start--teaches YOU how to train your dog--on things like sit, stay, loose leash walking, etc.  You will be surprised how far some exercise and obediance training can go to change a dog's temperment.  I firmly believe in the saying "a tired dog is a good dog."

Your little lab needs a couple miles of walking EVERY day, and some basic obediance work EVERY day.  This is a total of like 45 minutes out of your day, but will make a gigantic difference in your dog's behavior.

Take the Basic class, do ALL your "homework," and then find an independent trainer to do some periodic touch-up work (on the dog AND you) every 3-4 months.

One last thing.  You will get all kinds of opinions on this, but I HIGHLY recommend finding a trainer who specializes in remote collar training.  We use it with our German Shepherd, and it is a godsend.  Our trainer does work with this school, and they have a list of trainers who specialize in remote collar training.  http://www.fredhassen.com/trainers.htm

good luck!

[Jazzzzz]

There are way too many guys out there who "specialize" in remote collar training in a manner that sensitizes the dog to the remote collar, meaning the dog only obeys off-lead when the collar is on.  Remote collars can be far to easily misused or abused by people who don't know what they're doing with them.

The big dog trainer here in my area does remote training to off-leash "proof" all of the dogs that go through his training program, and most of the graduates wind up as trigger-happy owners with twitchy dogs that only behave when there's a big black box hanging off their collar.

Remotes are a great tool in the right hands, but unfortunately they're too easily misused by beginners, especially since there's no real way to know if any given trainer has a clue as to what in the hell he's doing with them, assuming you've not spent any time working with dogs.

[raylarrabee]

remote collars are no more subject to misuse than a mechanical collar (chain, martingale, etc.), and do not subject your dog to the same potential for physical harm as misused mechanical equipment.  It is much more difficult to learn how to correctly use a mechanical collar than it is to correctly use a remote collar.  I guarantee you that there are exponentially more poeple out there misusing a lead and collar than there are misusing a remote collar.

Everybody I know that has bad things to say about them are people who have never worked with one.

Just like any training, if you do it right, practice it often enough, and use the time to bond with your dog, it WILL eventually work off-lead.  No matter what training method you use, it takes a long time and a LOT of practice to get bullet-proof results off-lead, especially in the face of distractions.  That said, just like anything out there, it is susceptible to misuse, and can cause you and your dog problems if you don't train properly.  

I do not think that any dog training is something that people should do without at least some guidance from a qualified, experienced trainer.  Whatever method you decide to use, find a good instructor, follow their advice, and you and your dog will live a happier, more fulfilling life together.

[raylarrabee]

Forgot one thing.  For what it's worth, that link I posted is to a list of trainers who have been through at minimum a week long hands-on class is how to train with remote collars.  That school trains police dogs, rescue dogs, etc.  

All I can personally attest to is that our trainer helps teach with them, and he is fantastic.  He loves dogs; respects responsible, loving owners; and his aim is to help his clients end up with a happy, healthy, safe dog.

In general, I think that dog owners who don't do at least some obedience work with their dogs are missing out on a great opportunity to get the most out of their relationship with their pets.  Obedieance work is a two-way street, and really strengthens the bond between owner and dog.  I'm not saying that everybody should train for stuff like agility trials and the like, just basic work.

Many fewer dogs would end up in shelters because of "behavioral problems"  if owners took more time to work with their dogs early and often.  With regular exercise, boundaries (through obediance work), and love, dogs can truly be "man's best friend."  Without any or all of those things, they can be a giant pain in the butt.

[nKhona]

SHE GETS ONE MORE CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew my mom had a heart....somewhere.

Glad to hear it!!

[Jazzzzz]

Everybody I know that has bad things to say about them are people who have never worked with one.

I work with a remote with my dogs.  They work well, and quickly, if you know what you're doing with them.  Unfortunately, I have seen more idiots than I can count, usually at Schutzhund trials, frying the shaZam! out of their dogs when the trial didn't go as planned.  Tell me, would you rather be yanked around by the neck a bit, or have someone put a shock collar on your neck, crank it to the max, and hold the button until the automatic cutoff triggers, then do it again?

I don't have anything against remotes, but I don't think the majority of trainers out there using them use them properly.  A one week training course doesn't really mean much to me, sorry.

[Roadstergal]

Yay!  I'm glad the dog's getting another chance.  A good dog is priceless.  And thanks for all the info, Blueknyt.

[raylarrabee]

A one week training course doesn't really mean much to me, sorry.

A 1 week course certainly isn't enough to go from "not a dog trainer" to "dog trainer qualified to teach remote collar."  If, on the other hand, you're already a good, qualified dog trainer, 1 week is definitely sufficient time to learn how to use a new training tool.  

Bad trainers are bad trainers are bad trainers.  It doesn't matter what tools they are working with.  Also, a lot of fault lies with owners, not the trainers.  Tons of people work with perfectly good trainers and then choose not to follow their advice and instructions.  Not sure why these people pay for professional advice and then think they know better, but it happens a lot.

No matter what methods they use, good owners are OK in my book and abusive/neglectful owners are not.  Same with trainers.