i have to find my dog a new home :(

[charleepeters]

I posted on here a while ago about my dog Kiera i couldnt stop her chewing, i treid all your suggestions and after months of trying to get her to behave i have given up. i came home to day after her being left for only an hour or two to find my sofa in shreads and all her food all over the floor she has eaten everything in the kitchen she could, sauce bottle ect and i cant deal with it anymore. I have rung round animal rescue centers and ther all full and i dont want to advertiser her in the local paper as i would have to tell them she chews and no wants a chewey dog.

please dont have a go at me you lot as im really upset about this as i try so hard with her and have been trying with her for ages, i rescued her from a couple a while ago i think they misstreated her but she just seems in trainable, i cant afford a class for her, i spend time with her and shes not left alone hardly ever and wehn she is she has loads of toy and food and water and its only ever for 2 hours at the most. i dont know what to do with her i cant keep her and no one will take her

[Easy]

Charlee-

How old is she, how big is she, and where in the country are you?

[charleepeters]

shes just a year lod, shes a pure bred collie so shes not huge i am in west sussex

[sparklymieow]

Misdee had the same problem with her collie, apparently if a collie isn't trained properally in the first few months of life, they are very hard to get trained. Misdee's dog went through a few houses but nooone could train her, but she is now living on farm
Doesn't help you, I know, but at least you will know why.

[charleepeters]

thanks sparkly i love her shes really friendly and shes sits and stays ect but we got her when she was about 7 months and she hadnt been trained and shed been ignored. ds loves her but i just cant keep having my house wrecked all the time!

[sparklymieow]

what about phoning a farm and seeing if they need a sheep dog??

[charleepeters]

thats an idea i suppose i jsut know if i advertiser her in the friday add i will have to tell them she chews and no one will want her if i dont tell them i will get irate people ringing me shouting that there house has been destroyed!

[ScrewballMuppet]

Have had to make the decision too and gave my dog up. This was years ago. I know you said you have tried everything just wondered if you tried putting her in one of those dog cages while you were out. They come in all different sizes. I know it doesn't sound nice but it worked a treat for my friend. A pair of worn socks by the door used to work for my dog. Sorry if you've already heard this advice. Its heartbreaking giving your dog away and I still think about him 6 years on.
Hope things workout for you whatever decision you make.
I must say that I can still say now that I made the right choice. I had a collie and we moved so much due to partners job that wed either be living in a built up area or in the country in a house or flat and it was too much for our dog. He couldn't hack living in built up areas after living in the country, he'd launch himself at cars and was always escaping no matter what we did.
He is now living on a farm with dh friend(know its a cliche but he is and it was the best for him as e had no idea how to deal with him despite seeking help and attending training. Excuse the babbling.

[Iklboo]

That explains a lot. Collies get bored really easily - they're like small children. Don't suppose you could put her in a kennel outside when you go out or in a non-wreckable room? We've got a whippet/greyhound cross who gets upset when she's left in the house alone. We cleared out a spare room and blocked the landing with a baby gate so she's got a bit of a walking space, plus her own room with bed, spare duvet, pillows etc. She's not left alone long - mainly when we go shopping etc - and (touch wood) she's fine

[charleepeters]

she came with a cage that she used to sleep in but she howls the place down when we try to put her in it and we live in an upstairs flat and cant have that! she has lots of excersise as we still have a huge garden that she runs around and we walk her. but sdhe hated the cage and howled all night.

[charleepeters]

she can jump our baby gate easily, and we cant really have a non wreckable room as we only have 2 bedrooms and ones ds's and the others ours, ive tried putting everything out of her reach but shes really clever and can climb if not she chews the door frames, radiators, sofas,beds ect nothing works

[ScrewballMuppet]

I wish there was some wonderful advice that I could give you that would solve the problem but I don't know any. Whatever decision you make will be right for yourself and family whether its keeping or giving away.
Big hugs
You must of been absolutely livid at the sight of the destruction.

[charleepeters]

i was its just so frustrating as ive tried so hard, ive pretty much resigned myself to the fact of shes got to go, i now have the problem of finding where, all our local rescue centers are full i dont know who will take her.

[Newbarnsleygirl]

CP, We have a Beagle who is 4 and still chews. He has really bad seperation anxiety and only does it when we're out.

We have a cage for him which he always goes in. We moved in to this house in August last year and decided to try him without the cage and for the first 2 months he was fine, until one day we came home and he had ripped our brand new leather sofa, ripped his sheets to bits, food everywhere. He had even scratched that badly on the walls that the plaster had come out and had gone down to the steel support.



Daft question but have you got a cage for her?
We are taking Oliver to a behaviour specialist as our pet insurance covers it and see if it works.

[charleepeters]

we have a huge cage she just barks for hours and goes mad we cant afford a trainig class and our pet insurence doesnt cover it shes deffanlt going as ahes just gone at got one of dp's trainers and chewed it in front of me, i know she wants attention and i give her loads but unless shes being petted 24 hours a day she chews. i just dont know where will take her!

[ScrewballMuppet]

Hope they werent expensive trainers!
Have you asked the rescue centres for advice in finding a new home.

[charleepeters]

i rang them up and they jusr recomoended each other but there all full, i cant advertise her i dont know what else i can do!

[ggglimpopo]

Message withdrawn

[Iklboo]

This sounds awful I know, but they sell muzzles for dogs that are soft & flexible and don't chafe. Vets use them when they're treating biters and you can use them for chewers as long as they're not left on for too long. They can still drink while wearing them, but not chew. They aren't expensive and might help?

[ScrewballMuppet]

What about spreading the word to anyone you meet, theres always someone who knows someone who's looking for a dog.
Why don't you want to advertise? I've seen ads for dogs at the vets

[charleepeters]

weve tried all sorts of muzzles and she either rips them off or can still chew with them on she also tend to get nasty if we muzzle her she growls ect. collie rescue say they can find a home but can take months as they dont have kennels and nobody wants a dog that chews. im pretty stuck

[charleepeters]

i woukd adveryise her but whos gonna want a dog that chews???

[ScrewballMuppet]

You sound pretty much at the end of your tether.
I would try and put it out my head for the day (easy for me to say) go to bed and come back to the problem tomorrow when you haven't just come in and seen your home in bits. Not saying that will solve everything but trying to come with a solution when your emotions are running high may be fruitless.
The best ideas come when were not thinking about the problem.

[charleepeters]

well its a new day and though she hasnt chewed anything becasue weve been in dp adn i have decided she deffantly needs more time and space than we can give her so if anyone has a big house and room for a loving slightly chewy dog let me know!

[horseshoe]

Hi,

How has she been over the weekend Charleepeters??

How is she with children and other dogs???

My sister has a collie already and she could be looking for a companion.

[charleepeters]

thanks for your help everyone, we found Kiera a new home today she has gone to a Border Collie Sanctuary to be picked up tomorrow morning to go to Devon to be a farm/sheep dog, im happy she deserves the space and time she'll be a star!