Letting my dog go

[sfindependent]

I've had a series of unfortunate events recently that has led me to come to the conclusion that he has to go.

 

A little background: Got him a few years back, maybe two. I can't remember. It was a decision that me and my ex made. Drove him home the day we saw him at the pound. I've always wanted a dog, and this was him. Me and the ex split up a few weeks later, but i kept him. No, its not in the hopes that we would get back together. I love this dog.

 

A couple of years later, I was talking to my neighbor and a small black cocker spaniel walked up to us. Scared, she hid under a parked car and no amount of coaxing helped get her out from underneath. Rocky was the hero. Got her out and into our backyard. They both lived happily for a year or so until one day.....

 

My dad brought home TWO... MALE... Chihuahuas.

 

Yappy, shaky, chihuahuas. Male. Chihuahaus.

 

This started a whole pee fest at home. They were establishing dominance.

 

The thing was, Rocky is a 50+lbs Cattle Dog. chihuahua never stood a chance. He killed the little dog.

 

I didnt want to give him up so i decided to move out. Now, I needed to move out anyway but this kind of jump started the whole thing. I was going to take my dogs no matter what.

 

So me, Sasha and Rocky found a place. This lady i moved in to, had two yorkies. Tiny, male yorkies. Now, being the good guy I am, I told her about Rocky's colorful past. She said, "go ahead and let him out the back yard. My dogs can have the front." From then on, Rocky lived in the freedom of a fairly large back yard.

 

Fast forward even further. Superbowl Sunday.

 

I was laying in bed watching the game when I hear this "Bark! Bark!" I thought "where's my dog?" I rush to the backyard and find Rocky, standing over the 13 year old Yorkie with blood on both of them. rocky again, killed the other dog. It was in his backyard and the poor, blind yorkie probably never saw him coming.

 

Now, I'm looking into giving him up and having difficulty with it. Both in finding a new owner and for me letting him go. I hate to give him to a shelter... no way. I just hope I find the right person to give him up to.

[sfindependent]

.. and to all of you who would say to put him down. try hearing "put your kid down coz he misbehaved".

 

He's great around people. Ive taken him to a nursing home to do pet therapy. its just small dogs that peeve him off. And dog parks? He does great too.

 

If you're going to tell me to put him down don't bother replying. I don't need to hear that.

[DN]

Why not keep him strictly away from small dogs?

 

If that is difficult at all times try a muzzle when necessary.

[Ac143]

Yup if you know he's not good around little doggies - keep him away or have him wear a muzzle when he's out. DONT move in with someone that has a little dog!

 

I cant understand you having a hard time with this, I would too, my dogs are my babies.

[hers]

I had heard about how he killed your parents' dog. I'm so sorry that he did it again to another dog. I can understand about not putting him down. I coudln't bring myself to do that.

 

Do not take him to a shelter--we all know what happens there. Definitely look into a rescue for him or give him away on the condition that he goes to a home with NO other animals and that you can visit him sometimes (one, to see him, but two, to ensure he's remaining in a good home). Have them sign a contract with you and get it notorized. THat way you'll know that he can remain in a good home where he won't be near any other dogs.

[sfindependent]

I want to. its actually one of my options is to keep him still. I've been looking for another apartment to live in.

 

Thanks for the reply. My two options are: Keep him and move to a different apartment... and give him to this lady who does australian cattle dog rehoming. its for a 375 dollar fee.

 

only thing keeping me from moving out is rent and deposit.

 

i'd love to keep him. I'm going to place him in a foster home tonight, to "ease" the tension at home with my land lady. that way I'd have bought enough time to pursue my options.

[hers]

how is your landlady taking it?

[High5girl]

Sorry to hear about this. How sad it must be for you and the other person who lost their dog. I wish I could offer some advice on how to keep your dog, but I can't. Not unless you can watch over your dog at all times and keep it out of his territory and away from smaller dogs.

 

All I can suggest is that when finding the perfect owner for Rocky is to let them know his past and that he may not play well with other/smaller dogs. Hopefully, they won't give up on him if an accident occurs.

 

I had to get rid of a dog several years back. It was heart breaking and told the ppl who were supposed to take her that if she ever had a problem with my dog, not to send her to the shelter. Instead give her back to me so I could find a different home. Needless to say, she attacked me and was removed from my house instantly. She was later put down due to attacking again while in quarantine. (The dog was abused b4 I took over ownership and I hadn't known that right away)

May I suggest a cattle dog rescue place for Rocky? I don't know if your state has one of those. In my state, we have those. Boxer rescue, german shepard rescue...ie, ie...

There the dogs go somewhere where they aren't put down and they screen the potential owners very well. Sometimes the dogs are put into foster homes until the right owner is found.

They aren't put down either. I think they may ask for a donation while dropping the animal off.

 

Good luck with this tough decision. Hope it works out for you.

[sfindependent]

Yup if you know he's not good around little doggies - keep him away or have him wear a muzzle when he's out. DONT move in with someone that has a little dog!

 

I cant understand you having a hard time with this, I would too, my dogs are my babies.

 

he was never around small dogs this time. The dog wandered in my backyard. It just so happened that it was my landlady's dog that did. We did have a prior discussion about my dogs' history. so she knows and has said we'll split the house. Rocky gets the backyard, she gets the front.

 

Its hard on me, yeah. I mean, wouldn't anyone be if you were placed in a situation where your dog killed another dog... wouldnt you be stressed at least? the legal issue, the fact that your dog can get put down, the moral dilemma...Its not really a walk in the park for anyone like "Oh yeah, my dog killed another dog... woopty doo". you know what i mean?

 

I apoligize in advance for that remark it might come off as being a bith testy.... and another thing... is that is it worth keeping him? the liability issue alone... u know? But i cant discount that i do care for the sucker. as one of my friends said "this is the longest relationship you've had"...

[sfindependent]

this is the best option for me.

 

I've found a lady who will take care of him, but i have to raise 375 before i can even offer him up, since there's vet bills, meds and a placement fee.

i'm hoping this will work. The improtant thing right now is to remove him from my house. After that, i think i'd have a better time thinking about my options.

 

i know a lot of people wouldnt like this, and believe me i hate it as well... that i give him to a rescue.

[hers]

My dog has aggression issues with other dogs. I can't take her to parks. She doesn't bite or anything like that, but she's a vocal dog and tries to establish dominance physically, so people think she's trying to fight. I always get scared, b/c of the liability issue alone.

 

Once,I was in a park letting her run around (public park, not a dog park) and she was chasing her tennis ball, adn this guy lets his dog off leash to go chase after the ball too, without talking to me about it first, and my dog attacked his dog b/c of it. He went nuts on me, telling me I shoudln't allow my dog off leash and even wanted my info in case he had to take his dog to the vet. It's scary, and techinically I was in the wrong b/c my dog went after his dog, but still, he shoudln't have let his dog meet a dog without the owner near it or without talking to the owner first. They're not like kids. They need to be introduced before they can make friends.

 

it's scary. I am so sorry you're having to go through this.

[sfindependent]

thanks. I know, its hard. especially when there is that "unspoken trust" among other dog owners that their dogs will be ok with YOUR dog as well. But some people act ignorantly and not consider to take precautions to make sure both parties are safe. It is under their thought that "oh my dog is awesome"... yeah.

 

what did you do?

[BeStrongBeHappy]

i had a dog that i knew hated other small dogs, so i made sure that she never got close enough to one to injure it.

 

you could solve this by giving the dog away, or not moving into a house where there are small dogs that he might have access to when you're not around.

 

what i did with my dog was make sure she was obediance trained, and i never took her outside unless she was on a leash. If someone with a small dog approached, i put her into a sit and very firmly told the other dog owner to control their dog because the size difference might mean their dog might get hurt if there was a dust-up between them. Most people will then give you a wide berth because they don't want their dog injured.

 

So even if the other person tries to downplay the chances of a problem, you already know what your dog is capable of, and don't need to mince words, but make it very clear you are serious and not kidding and don't believe in their (false) reassurances.

 

If the person was stupid enough to ignore my warning and let their little dog run at us, i'd scoop the little dog up in my arms becuase my dog would never attack me while i was holding the little dog. She saw little dogs as prey, and once the alpha dog (me) had the prey, she wouldn't try to take it. I'd then hand the little dog back to the owner and say for your own sake don't put that dog down there or i won't be responsible if my dog injures it.

 

Most states have laws where BOTH owners have to be in control of their dog, so if you are being responsible and the other owner is not, they take their own risks.

 

Also, if you leave the dog outside in a fenced yard, you have to make sure there is no way the dog can get out, and no way other dogs can get in. You need a padlock on the gate, and a fence high enough the dog can't jump, and rocks/concrete around the edges so they can't dig out or in.

 

But if you genuinely feel you can't control your dog, or don't want to put in the effort to do so (or can't find a suitable living situation), then i'd try to place it somewhere out in the country or with someone who has a suitable situation for the dog.

[crosstownTraffic]

Bogswagen.. i'm not going to look thru ALL the threads. but as soon as you said the word cattle dog and then Australian cattle dog... been there done that sweetie.

 

My dog before last was half australian blue tick heeler.. or cattle dog.. and YES, he ALSO killed LOTS of animals.. He was GREAT with our two cats... and wonderful, simply wondeful with people.

OTHER animals I could never trust him with.. we would have stray cats come into our yard.. however they never left alive.. he once attacked this goat that was in someone's yard.. umm.. got into fights, even with female dogs even though he wasn't nuetered...he and his dog friend next door once got into someone's rabbit hutch and they killed a number of rabbits in there.. The county even deemed him a vicious dog after the rabbit attack!

Well, he ALSO was attacked quite a few times as a puppy.. by larger dogs.. big german shepherds, pit bulls, so.. I guess he just decided to be an aggressive dog to protect himself.

 

well, I have heard the cattle dogs are known for this.. they are pretty territorial, even though they seem to be really sweet gentle dogs.. but... like I say.. I wouldn't trust them around other dogs, unless they grew up with them.

Yeah. make SURE you get him a home without other pets... especially smaller, weaker ones..

I'm sorry you are going thru this.. but just know alot of owners of aussie cattle dogs go thru the same thing!

Does he run around in circles? Hardly bark at all? That was my dog...he was a kool dog, but he liked to kill things. Once he even killed a mongoose.. and they are super fast animals.. and didn't even bother to eat it.. just killled it for sport!

some animals are just like this....

[DN]

My daughter recently got a puppy - it's now about three months old. My other daughter's full grown dog doesn't deal with puppies very well, although he is fine with other big, adult dogs, and was growling and making it clear he didn't like the puppy near him. So they keep them apart.

 

Later when the puppy, a bull mastiff, is approaching and maybe exceeding the older dog in size the chances are that they will get on well and can be brought together.

[sfindependent]

Thanks for all your replies. I've taken Rocky to a foster home, one whom I've worked with several times to put Rocky there while I'm in transition. Hopefully, it would buy me some time to get a bit of a good direction where I want to go with him.

 

Dogs are so intuitive. As I was driving to the foster's house, he just sat in the front seat of the car, licking my hand. It made me so sad to think I'd be giving him away.

 

Gargh. I wish I was in a better situation in life to be able to take care of the dumb dog.

[jengh]

Oh you did take him to the foster place? Aww, poor Rocky Can you visit him whenever you want?

 

Text me and tell me what happened. I'm heading to the mall to spend my hard earned refund.

 

You're at work early. Damn.