Rehoming my puppy - I'm nervous

[GoodbyeDoggy]

I'm going to meet a potential new owner of my puppy tomorrow but I'm so nervous and my mind has gone blank on what to ask.

She sounds great on paper, self employed and works from home a lot, no children, very eager to meet puppy. He's a very high energy dog though and I'm worried that I won't know if she'll be able to handle him. How will I know? Any ideas on what I should be asking?

Sorry to sound a bit judgy here but do you mean a puppy that you got and have decided not to keep?

Why have you decided not to keep the puppy op?

I think we need to know a bit more like why you are rehoming. Age of dog? Breed? How did you make contact with this person?

Are a rescue helping you do this? I have no idea how you would know that someone has a genuine interest in the dog and knows what they are taking on but maybe some input from people who do it regularly would help. If you are on Facebook do you belong to any breed specific pages? They often have members that work with rescue groups and they might be able to help.

Check what experience she has with dogs, what training she will do, whether she understands his exercise requirements, what she has in place for working/ holidays etc, whether she has a vet yet. Whether she understands reward based training, is prepared for bills, will she Insure him/ groom him. Where will he live/ sleep, would she be prepared to use a behaviourist is necessary?
Does she plan to work him or breed from him
I think that covers quite a lot of it!

What has happened to lead to this op?

Backstory:
Dh bought me a surprise puppy. I've never had a dog before and he gave me a beagle X cocker. We have 2 young children, one with special needs and one toddler. I'm a SAHM but was in the process of becoming a child minder, all thought of that had to go when puppy came. I've tried my best but he is too much for me, I struggle to control him when I have the children with me which is all of the time really. We're all quite miserable and I have no idea how I would ever get back to work with a puppy that doesn't like to be left long and childcare to pay for.

I am rehoming him responsibly, he doesn't even have to go in to kennels with the bluecross rehoming scheme. I just don't want him to go to the wrong person. Even though I am rehoming him I am very fond of him and just want what's best for him.

If you got the pup from a breeder they should be your first port of call if something has gone wrong.
They will probably take the pup back and rehome themselves.
I hope there isn't some sad story behind this .

Are you rehoming puppy because you can't cope with it?
How can you judge somebody's suitability if you got it so wrong yourself?

Will the breeder not take it back and re-home for you?

Thanks taptonaria27 that's helpful.
She seems very keen on getting him off lead but I've never managed to do this myself. This is what worries me most.

The breeder doesn't want to know. From what I gather he got him from a puppy farm. Don't worry, dh will never do anything so stupid again. I'm not able to let go of my anger towards him over this, he's definitely learnt his lesson!

Cross post
Go back to the breeder.
Surprise puppy indeed, sorry but what an idiot.
Sorry op, I can't stand people doing that .
My wee rescue dog was someone's surprise too.

I would generally agree that if the puppy came from a reputable breeder then the best thing to do would be to return it to them. However, the breeder clearly wasn't responsible enough to get it right absolutely daft for them to give it to someone who buys a 'surprise' puppy, so I wouldn't exactly have much faith that this dog would have its best interests taken care of.

Puppy farm
Right I'm off before I say something horrible

I know it's horrible to rehome a pet but I'm at a loss of what else I can do. I'm out of my depth with him and can't put the attention he needs on him when my children need it too. I didn't put myself in the situation I had it put on me and now I just want the puppy to be happy. I'm just not sure what I should be looking for.

Have the Blue Cross had an input in to the prospective new owner?

Was this the pup that your DH was bringing home on Xmas eve or something similar?

What I would say is don't make a decision there and then. Tell her right from the get go that you will be going away to put everything right in your mind before telling her your decision.

I know it's not the same but I was "interviewed" for a puppy. They had more buyers than puppies so waited until they had interviewed everybody before making a decision.
If it's the right person for the dog, they'll understand.

Good luck with finding him a lovely, suitable home.

So what is your dh doing to sort this out?

Rather than slate you for something clearly not of your making, I would say go with gut instinct first and foremost - see how she seems with your dog. I'd also find out if she's had dogs before as a high maintenance puppy may not be the best for a first time dog owner and you certainly want this next home to be the forever home.

A sensible owner with experience will not rush to get a puppy off the lead until they are sure of it - we did ours at first in safe recall classes in dog training. At the very least first recalls need to be somewhere secure like a fenced enclosed field. We had a rescue dog whom the fosterer thought would never be reliable off lead and we've achieved it - but we started slowly, with recall work at home. We then waited until it was very quiet out and tried having her on a long lead which we let loose/ dropped for short times until she was reliable. This might be something to explore with her. Just letting a brand new puppy off lead immediately is a recipe for disaster.

Make sure she's planning to neuter and not breed. Find out what kind of garden she has, is it secure, fenced? What will she do if she has to go elsewhere for work? If she's away for a whole day? Does she have back up support?

Think of all the things you want for your puppy - and find out if she's going to be that person. Have the Blue Cross vetted her at all?

I would go through a reputable rescue tbh. For your own peace of mind and the puppy's welfare.

I rehomed our puppy (a golden retriever)- he wasn't a surprise but he was just too big for us and we couldn't give him what he needed. We went to the breeder but they weren't interested so went to the G R rescue-is there a beagle rescue or spaniel rescue that you can contact? They sent out a lady and she found him a foster home after a few weeks, then the foster home decided to adopt him. It was truly one of the saddest days of my life the day he went, but I trusted them to find him a good home.

OP i really dont think youre the right person to be assessing new new owners. Its such an important thing i think you should ask for professional help for that. Breed rescue or local fosterers may offer vetting services. Or even reputable breeders might be able to find an owner for him. They will know people in the market for dogs.

I'm not sure why you're getting flamed OP as it's not your fault and you sound like you're doing all you can.

Are you rehoming him through the Blue Cross?

The rescue centre have vetted her to make sure she lives where she says she does, got a letter off her local vet etc. They try to stay impartial and let me decide for myself.

She's only had one dog before but I'm not sure what breed, that's one thing to check. Hopefully I'll get the right feeling off her and be able to go with my gut.

I feel so guilty though! I'm so ashamed to tell anyone. Dh has done bugger all to help train the dog or find him a new home. I can't even go in to that side of things because I'm still so angry with him I'll never shut up!