What is the knidest way to rehome my beagle?

[Poppyscock]

We have to get rid of her but I dont want to sell her and just have her going to someone who might not take care of her.

What is the best way to do it?

[bella29]

Hecules - I do share your sentiments.

The only positive way I can see round this is that if the OP doesn't want to keep the dog, at least the dog has a chance of being rehomed to someone who does want it.

[Haribosmummy]

Poppyscock, I really don't think you realise how selfish and thoughtless that post makes you sound.

But, yes, it's not illegal to throw one dog out and then go and get another one. PLenty of people do it. Not sure why you'd be proud to admit it, but there you go.

And you can always make yourself feel better by blaming the dog . IMHO, there are very, very few bad dogs, but lots and lots of bad owners.

Sadly, the consequences are much worse for the dog, who may be destroyed, than the owner... Who is free to go buy another dog....

[Poppyscock]

I didnt write that because its true I said because you wanted me to be cruel and horrible, you've been implying it all thread.

Your not interested in me or my dog, Just your warped version of it and what cruelty you can read into the situation so you can come over all bleeding heart and dog saviour of the year

You want me to say I hate my dog and want to trade her in for another .. so I said it.

[lou031205]

Poppyscock, nobody wants you to be anything. All the posters have been doing is trying to help you to see that you may have misinterpreted the events and that a solution as drastic as rehoming is unnecessary.

My concern is that your puppy will be labelled an agressive dog for playing with her family.

It is quite normal to feel a shifting of priorities when you have your first child, and suddenly the dog who was everything to you is now second place to your child. But that is something to acknowledge and work through, and doesn't require the dog to be rehomed.

[Haribosmummy]

Lou - You have said what I wanted to say, but have summed it up much better than me.

I don't think Poppyscock dog is aggressive. Only Poppyscock knows if she feels that she can work through the issue, but I feel it's wrong to label the dog as aggressive when it's sent to a rescue centre, as it will seriously limit the chances of the dog being rehomed successfully, and may increase the chances of the dog being destroyed which seems totally needless and unfair on the dog

[HopeForTheBestExpectTheWorst]

Poppyscock, what a horrible situation for you to be in, you have my sympathies. Have you already made up your mind to rehome your beagle (as the title suggests), or would you be interested in finding a way of letting her stay?
I think this is really the crux of the matter.

If the former then as everyone has already mentioned, contact the dogs trust and see about getting her rehomed asap, but do make clear that your dog did not actually show any signs of agression - you are just no longer comfortable with having her around your dd.

If the latter (which I'm guessing is actually what you want - from what you've said, you really do like your dog v. much), then please do look into getting a dog specialist / behavourist to come and help. They could really put your mind at rest about what is probably completely normal canine behaviour.

For what it's worth, I have a 2yo ds and a 3yo parson russell terrier and because I never ever wanted to be in the position you feel you are in now, I have done everything I possibly could to ensure that the two of them have a good relationship and that I can trust my dog with my ds (and my ds with the dog!). This started with the way that our baby was introduced to the dog, continued throughout him learning to crawl and move around and is now at the stage where I encourage him to feed her so that she learns he has the same "ranking" as my dh and myself.

There are lots of things you can do, if you want to.

I wish you luck with making what is no doubt a very difficult decision.

[Poppyscock]

I would like help. If people believe my dog wasnt being aggrssive then I would appreciate it of they could take the time to explain why and what I can do in future to help all of us, including my dog.

I did ask someone on this thread to explain a bit more what they thought my dog was doing but instead they too joined the crowd to condem me a dog hater.

There is no way we could afford a dog behaviourist TBH

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

I do no6 6hink your dog was being agressive at all,
My parents have a labrador and my sister has a daschund, the dogs play with both of my DC's all the time, sometimes I can see the dogs teeth and we just say firmly "NO MOUTH" it has taught the dogs that we are happy for them to play with the boys ( we would not be able to keep them apart easily) but that they should not be licking or anything to do with their mouths.

IF you feel that your beagle was being aggressive as opposed to playing (only you know that) then you are right to rehome her/him, if you think she was playing then she can be trained.

I can see why you are anxious and obviously in a choice between your child and the dog the child will and should win every time.

[Poppyscock]

Thank you for understanding bythepowerofgreyskull.

On reflection I dont think she was being aggressive. The idea of rehiming was a knee jerk reaction to what I thought was a situation in which my dd had been in danger.

I am relieved I dont have to rehome her but a little anxious as wheter I am making the right descion, only time will tell.

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

I do think that keeping and eye on both of them will be a good thing, children very often don't know where a dogs boundaries are, if you see your little one really winding the dog up that is where you should encourage your little one to ALSO be gentle when playing.

Night for now.

[Poppyscock]

I do encourage nice play. DD knows what 'nicely' means when I think she is being a bit too rough. If I say give the dog (I dont say 'the dog' I use the dogs name) a cuddle she will rest her head on the dogs side and say 'Arrr'.

I never let her treat the dog roughly. I've taught her how to stroke using her hand and although at first she used to tap the dog she now knows how to stroke with the palm of her hand.

[Poppyscock]

I think the ideas of 'no mouth' and getting dd to feed the dog are really good positive ideas that I cant start to enforce straight away

[lulalullabye]

Poppysock, we paid £40 for a one off visit from a dog behaiviourist to sort our dog issues out and everything she suggested worked.

[JodieO]

I don't see why you're getting jumped on so much tbh, no dog would would mean more to me than my dcs. I don't care how many people say that a dog putting their teeth on a 15 month old's cheek isn't aggressive, it doesn't mean that the dog didn't mean it that way if the owner wasn't there. It could have been a warning, it could have been nothing. Is my 15 month old baby worth that risk? NO. Not imho.

Nothing to do with anything else other than that the dog had it's teeth on the baby. I mean, yes I understand loving pets but is any pet worth losing a child over? It's always people asking if the child did this or the child did that on these threads, if your dog is so volatile then why have one when you have young children at all? Doesn't make sense to me. No animal is worth more than any of my children to me.

[Haribosmummy]

JodieO... I don't think anyone is asking / telling / suggesting that a dog is ever worth more than your child.

What I thought Poppyscock was being selfish, immature and thoughtless about was the post in which she said that it was her 'right' to get rid of this dog if she so chose and to get another if she fancied it in the future.

THAT is what I thought was selfish.

Not the desire to protect your child.

I have said, repeatedly, I don't think the dog was being aggressive. I can't and won't be drawn on what the dog may or maynot have been doing because I wasn't there and I'm not an expert, but the fact that the dog came when called and there were no marks make me feel that the dog meant to intentional harm.

[Poppyscock]

And once again you pick up one sentance you can pick to bits and also a few insults.

I think this thread has reaveled the not very nice side of some posters so I will leave it there.

[bella29]

Poppyscock - I think that what has happened is that your original comments were misinterpreted. In your earlier postings it did sound very much as if you had made your mind up and didn't want to try to keep the dog.

Please understand that the Mnetters who pop up in this section care very deeply about animals. When it sounds like an animal may have done nothing wrong but is going to be rehomed, they will try to defend the animal.

I have been in your situation but with a dog who was genuinely aggressive (I''m not saying yours is or isn't) so I do completely understand your concern for your child.

It is very hard for us, reading your posts, to fully understand what the dog's motives were, although my guess is that it was just some play. Undesirable play, but play.

I would very strongly recommend you get a behaviourist in, and really do hope you get a happy ending.

Don't be too hard on the other posters - they mean well and, when you need advice, they are always there, very happy to help!

Best of luck x

[Haribosmummy]

Poppyscock - I fail to see who has been 'nasty' to you (unless you consider to be anyone who isn't agreeing with you totally)

I also fail to see why you asked for advice, cos you patently aren't interested in any 'advice' which doesn't concur with whatever you've already decided to do.

You will do what you feel is right.

[Poppyscock]

It doesnt surprise me that you fail to see who has been nasty Haribosmummy seeing as you are one of the main culprits.

Bella - animal lovers or not there is no justification for the way I have been treated on this thread

[bella29]

I'm not going to hang around on here because I think it has all escalated and tbh you seem too upset to listen to anyone very much at the moment.

I would be upset too - that was not meant as a 'nasty' comment.

If you do nothing else please look at this book - it is excellent at explaining dogs' body language and how they play.

here

What does come across is that you do not have the experience to really understand what your dog is doing - again, just a statement of fact, not being nasty.

In the meantime do not leave them alone - I raised 2 small dc's with several dogs and never left them alone together. I use stair gates so they can see each other and interact but not come to any harm.

Good luck & HTH

[Bubbaluv]

Wow - what a total lack of understanding has been shown to the OP here! Really agressive!
Surely if you feel you have better knowledge and insight into this sort of situation you can share your thoughts without attacking the OP for her very natural (over)reaction?
Yes, she probably misinterpreted the situation. That doesn't make her a bad dog-owner, it makes her a protective mother without enough information to make a balanced decision.
She has very clearly responded to the constructive advice that has been offered.

[Poppyscock]

Thanks Bubbaluv

[bella29]

You're welcome

[lou031205]

poppyscock I think, all else aside, that you have the right idea. Small tweaks to family life that reinforce your dog's position in the family.

I think we can sometimes be so close to our pets that we forget that they don't have the sophisticated thought processes that we do. So your dog can't distinguish your 15mo giving big hugs and cuddles with her head on him from him giving her a big cuddle with his face on hers.

Your DD will get the rules much quicker. So she can learn that she doesn't put her face near to him. Faces are so animated, and unpredictable. Hands only. Gentle play.

FWIW my parents had a German Shepherd dog when we were small children, and my little sister hit him hard over the head with a broom stick. He was so well trained that he didn't even growl. He did pull her down by her nappy to show his disgust though Most dogs, with the right training, can be great companions for small children. But they need to understand the rules, and the rules need to be consistent.

I know my Westie was hit by children alot in his former home. He can be head shy and gets quite scared. He is very tolerant of my children, but I find that children who visit and don't have experience of dogs tend to ignore warnings. I shut our dog in the kitchen, behind a stairgate, and a visiting child put her face to the gate. I said to come away and that the dog gets scared. I told her not to put her face near the dog. She still did, while her mum & I were stood next to her but distracted in conversation. Her sticking her hair through the gate to him was too much, and he nipped her. Fortunately just a minute cut on her lip.

Whose fault? Mine, and the mum's. I had done everything I thought necessary - put the dog in a quiet space to protect him, and told the child to get away from the gate. But we had got distracted and didn't see that the child hadn't followed my instructions. I now shut him upstairs in our room if children visit, to protect him. I am not putting down a dog because children can't respect his space and I am not willing to take the risk that a child will get hurt. I also know that whatever the cause, he would get the blame.

But my children have known as soon as they could touch a dog that we stroke with gentle hands, and leave him alone if he is sleeping.