HELP - at the end of my tether with our dog, should I rehome.

[Totters123]

We have had our 7 year old dog for around six years now she's a rescue street dog from Cyprus and she has always shown scavenger like behaviour with food. Shes a mixed breed - mostly hunting dogs like Viszla, Beagle and Spaniel. She was generally well behaved, with the odd exception, until recently when she started to show extreme behaviour around food.

In the last year she has been obsessive about food including constantly jumping at the sides, stealing food, opening cupboards to get food, eating/ripping up anything with any kind of human traces on it (underwear, snotty tissues, tampons, pads, its disgusting) she has figured out how to open all of our bins, including a Tommee Tippee nappy bin (how did she open this?!?!) and pulls out dirty nappies and tears them up. Some days I come downstairs and shes managed to get up onto our seating area and pull things off the kitchen table. She is really good with our children and other kids, in that she is very gentle, tolerant and has never shown any aggression BUT she does snatch food out of their hands if they arent looking.

Behaviour wise - we have done lots of training with her since she was a puppy, we take ownership of a dog very seriously and she has never displayed any aggression towards people - she can be a little territorial of other dogs if they come near our kids or if she is eating/has food. As a result we dont take her to places we know will trigger her, like pub, cafes etc, as she would get territorial and bark at other dogs if they came in. Out on walks she is fine and plays with other dogs, her recall has always been solid. She is generally quite nervous of new people and wouldnt approach anyone she doesnt know.

However - today I was out with my son, who is only two months old, and her and suddenly I saw her walk straight up to a childs picnic and takes food from them - literally out of their hands. I was quite far from her and thankfully someone watched the buggy so I could run around like a lunatic, apologising and trying to get her back. I couldnt believe how bold she was, I was sobbing by the end. It was also scary as I had to leave my son to deal with her, I managed to get her back but I was mortified. When I say she has NEVER done this before - I mean it! She is normally far too shy to approach anyone she doesnt know.

We have had her checked by the vets (worming, all the usual stuff done) and they suggested she may have Cushings disease - which is an overactive adrenal gland that produces a high cortisol level causing excessive hunger and thirst. Long story short they weren't able to officially diagnose her because of many blood tests gone wrong, but they started her on medication a month ago. I havent seen any improvement in behaviour at all.

I cant believe I am thinking of rehoming her and I dont even think my husband would let us do it - but I dont enjoy any aspect of having her at the moment. As I am on mat leave and my husband travelling a lot for work, she generally falls to me to look after, and I am at my wits end with her. I am also tired from having a newborn and I know I should probably give it more time and training, but her behaviour isnt just embarrassing its also dangerous. For instance if she scents food on the street (e.g. someones thrown some food next to a bin) she yanks so hard on the lead she almost made our buggy tip the other day pulling under it. She also knocked the babies bassinet trying to get at a tiny crumb of food underneath it, he was fine but it shook him. I also feel like she may need a home that can give her that time and attention, as although she gets a daily long walk and some attention here, she probably needs more.

I dont know what to do - I feel like I either need a break from her (short term foster?!) or she needs to be rehomed somewhere that can deal with her issues.

TLDR; we have a 5 yr old and two month old. Our dogs behaviour has become unmanageable in that she is constantly stealing or seeking out food. This may be down to an illness but its hard to tell and the behaviour is overwhelming. I want to rehome her but unsure if its a knee jerk reaction.

What does that have to do with my post?

Has her change in behaviour coincided with your new baby?

If your vets fucked up the blood tests surely they should offer to redo them.
I would insist on it tbh, you can't get rid of your dog because she's potentially unwell, she's not snapping at the children, you should get some baby proof contraptions for the cupboards and be more vigilant about what you have out she can get.

Whilst you sort out more investigations from the vets get someone to walk her once a day for a long long walk, alone.

I have a food thief dog. I’ve never sobbed when it’s been embarrassing. Your life has changed and this is now not for you. You’ve agreed to medicate the dog without a diagnosis and you’re sobbing at a misdemeanour (where no one got hurt). It’s ok to say it’s not for you. The dog deserves a life with someone who will go the distance, and you deserve peace of mind. It’s ok, no judgement here.

Your post was judgemental. Unfairly so I thought, for the reasons mentioned.

have you Googled Cushings in a dog ?

I feel sorry for this dog, not a goid start to their life. No idea what to do other than keep on a lead for walks specially in these coming months when there'll be picnics, ice cream around

I think you are probably just very tired, stressed, hormonal, busy and lonely - in that your husband isn’t in the trenches with you most of the time.

Your reaction to quite mild dog deviancy is extreme. Presumably due to other stressors you’re currently experiencing.

Your dog isn’t doing anything that should cause you to contemplate rehoming it. It’s annoying. It’s time consuming. But it’s manageable and you can manage it. You’re just reacting to the emotional stresses currently. With some time I would imagine you will feel a bit shocked you considered rehoming.

Lots of dogs scavenge. I had a scavenger myself and picnic season was tough. London parks are heaving in the summer. Just alleviate the issue with a muzzle or long lead. Lots of dogs are muzzled for scavenging reasons - some dogs eat poo. That would be worse!

I walk mine entirely on lead after a man threatened to stab my dog last year - for being in the vicinity of his child. Not touching. Not barking. Not scaring. For being, in his opinion, too close. So… no off lead dog walks for mine after that! I now rent dog fields and can recommend some if you’re interested.

Is the dog “clearly unwell” 🤔

Maybe it’s just not so frightened of little kids as it lives with them? So it is willing to risk stealing food from them.

Around the house your dog should be monitored whilst your child eats at the table. As with all dogs and young children. It’s annoying but it doesn’t take long and sitting together is nice anyway.

With regards to bins etc there are obviously solutions to dog proof bins.

Is your dog left alone downstairs for the entire night? Do you think they are adequately stimulated or could they be being a bit overlooked due to the changes in your household? It all counts. It all needs to be considered.

It is likely that some simple adaptions will make things much more manageable for you. I would definitely start with a muzzle.

“Nonplussed” in the UK means extremely shocked/surprised/confused.

Just rehome the dog if you want to, it’s not your duty to step up and house this animal if you don’t want to. Unless you bred it I guess? But I wouldn’t listen to the dog nutters making you feel bad for rehoming, you have to do what’s best for your family

As this is a change in behaviour, I'd go back to vets to get a diagnosis or rule it out, one way or another. I'd also consider a behaviourist to see if they could suggest anything that may be impacting the dog.

In the meantime, there are some things that you could do: make sure all food items are away from the dogs reach; stairgates so that dog cannot access bins (or get locks for bins, or put rubbish straight out into wheelie bin); harness with front attachment so when dog pulls it turns them around (perfect-fit-dog-harness.com). Basically, it's up to the owners to manage the issue until meds/training address it.

Go to your vets
ask for a referral
get a proper diagnosis
cushings medication isn’t something you just try without a diagnosis ( not saying that’s on you btw)
are her motions solid ? No chronic diarrhoea?

1. She’s your loyal family dog you’ve had for years and she’s reliant on you to help her. Would you like to be turfed out if you got poorly or your behaviour changed? You’re her family, try harder and for much, much longer.

2. keep her on a lead for her own benefit.

Muzzle train and use a basket muzzle when you’re out, keep pushing with the vet to rule out any medical issues or get a second opinion and contact a qualified behaviourist for support. There is a lot you can do before you need to consider re homing.

These behaviours are all potentially manageable if you put the right management in place.

Id start by making sure she can’t steal anything or get into cupboards etc. Buy child locks etc if you need to. Ditto the bins either put the bin in the cupboard or simply get into the habit of taking rubbish straight outside to the dustbin. If there’s nothing there for her to steal then the behaviour will reduce.
When you or the children are eating she needs to be somewhere else and not able to take food out of the children’s hands. Crate her or put her behind a baby gate.
when she is off lead she should be muzzled - not just to stop her stealing picnics but also her eating anything else that she may come across.
give the medication time to work. What’s her weight like? I would be tempted to increase the volume of her feed by adding in low calorie things like veg. Bone broth is excellent for dogs too.
I would also get her something like an antler to chew on to give her an outlet.
The final thing I would try to do is make sure you’re giving her as much positive attention as possible. Dogs can be a bit like children can be in terms of any attention is better than none. I can imagine that you have quite a busy household with small children needing attention. So I wonder if she’s feeling a bit lacking in the attention department and has clocked that these behaviours work to get her that attention. So perhaps try to spend a bit of time with her and see if it helps.

This. Im a former welfare worker and you are really clutching at straws thinking someone will rehome her. There nothing wrong with admitting you are finding it hard to cope, but IMHE issues around food can escalate to general aggression and I would be extremely careful with her around the children. This is sadly, a very common issue with foreign rescues.

I understand that this sort of thing can drive an owner to distraction, but it can be managed and become much less stressful as a result. Now you know that any bin will be raided, food will be taken from worktops and picnics will be mugged, it’s up to you to ensure sge doesn’t have access to these things. It is unusual for this to become an issue suddenly in middle age, but many dogs, including my Weimaraner hunt food like they are never fed! My bins (one rubbish, one recycling) are kept in the kitchen cupboards under the kitchen sinks. This involved me buying ones to fit. We can’t leave food on worktops. If anyone drops a tissue, it’s torn up, not just by her, but by whichever of my 3 dogs get there first (my other two are Toy Poodles so they can’t reach most things). I don’t have a problem with them raiding people’s food when we’re out, but I had an incident of it years ago with a Standard Poodle. She stole a boys sandwich left by his coat whilst he was playing football. Moments after, she went back and took his packet of Quavers 😳 Her sister was a bin raider, so we already had them in cupboards long before we got our Weimaraner. All of this is a long way of saying that, although your dog may be a bit OTT with this behaviour at the moment, it isn’t unusual for dogs and it’s not a good reason to rehome. It’s a reason to make changes in your management. If the scavenging before a repeated issue on walks, you can either keep her on her lead, or use a good quality muzzle, with a scavenger guard (e.g. a Baskaville).

So, basically your dog isn’t getting the nutrients or sustenance or something she needs and has become a thief.

You can’t afford her anymore (you mention costs several times).

You don’t enjoy having her.

So you’re going to rehome?!

Why did you get a dog if you’re going to get rid of it when the going gets tough?!

Sorry, but having a child and being the sole carer of that child and dogs IS hard. Any idiot knows that - it’s one of the main reasons I don’t sell to people planning children or with young children. I should know, I’ve done it, and held down a job and run a small business. Do you know what? I never thought ‘well the dogs have exhibited this undesirable characteristic, I’m gonna get rid of them.’ Why? Because I’m a responsible, decent, owner.

Put some damn effort in and give your head a wobble. £1500 is nothing for a beloved family pet you’ve had for years

£1500 is a lot of money for a lot of people 😟

No, it isn’t. I have had multiple foreign and UK rescues and I spent years volunteering for a charity that rehomes foreign dogs in the UK, as well as volunteering for uk rescues. Food aggression is no more prevalent in foreign dogs than it is in UK dogs, in my experience of thousands of dogs.

Having a dog should be fun and give you companionship, yes, there will be more difficult times but it sounds like this dog is a pita, I would definitely give her away.

Have you had her tested for giardia? It’s a tough one to get rid of even with regular worming. We had to worm everyday with panache for 2 weeks, have a week break then repeat. It caused all sorts of scavenging & food stealing when my dog had it & she still does it but to a lesser extent now.

I doubt op will be back after the few extremely unhelpful /arsey comments. I'm not one to support people giving their pets up for rehoming but ffs, op is dealing with extremely stressful behaviour from the dog, has spent nearly 2k on tests, tried medication etc etc and she still gets the boot stuck in on here when asking for help, it's a shame.

My dog once ran up and snatched a sandwich out of a picnickers hand. Never been allowed off the lead near people with food again.

it reads very much like you don’t want your poor dog now you’ve got a baby.

Honestly no pet regardless of what anyone says is worth damaging your mental health over. You sound like you’ve got a lot going on with a newborn and your husband working away, it’s fine to say to you can’t do this . You only get one life and there will be things that bring you stress you won’t be able to control . This is not one of them.

If everyone thought like you, the dog would be passed from home to home and become increasingly insecure and troubled. That is just morally wrong. If you take on an animal, you take on responsibility for it. You don’t think it’s “a pain in the arse, so I’ll give it away”. You take steps to address the problem.