Why did they get rid of her?

[houseatlas]

We've had our dog for seven months now and she is a total angel. She is our first dog outside of family pets and we couldn't ask for a better companion, she is well-behaved, affectionate and just a total joy to have around. However, we got her under slightly shady circumstances and I can't stop wondering why her previous owners got rid of her, and hoped somebody here might have some insight?

In general, we refer to her as a rescue dog although technically we found her on Gumtree. She was listed at £50 and due to her breed (saluki x greyhound) and location we were very concerned that she would be put into the wrong hands so we quickly went to visit her. The house she was in was nice enough, her old owners seemed fine, and she was clearly not neglected. The strange thing, though, is that they had two other dogs who they weren't getting rid of. We fell in love with her the moment we met her, and spent the weekend quizzing her previous owners trying to understand why they didn't want her anymore. They were keeping an intact male saluki and a jack russell x chihuahua. They had rescued her from a farmer who used to use her for hunting and then discarded her when she was no use anymore. We know she definitely came from a farmer as this was what was on her microchip when we went in to change it. Her old family said that they were getting rid of her because she was too affectionate/needy which we found very suspicious. They'd had her four years. For the record, she DOES think she's a lapdog but if you ask her to get down off the sofa or bed she will. She isn't pushy at all.

Anyway - we took her on expecting her to have health issues or maybe behavioural issues that the previous owners weren't disclosing but our vets found nothing wrong with her. She'd been spayed many years ago, had good teeth and was slightly overweight but otherwise healthy. I can't get out of my mind, though, the suspicion/worry that maybe there is something 'wrong' with her that we haven't encountered yet... am I just being silly? Realistically her previous owners were just daft/not handling having three dogs, right? We are just glad she is healthy and happy now (she's learned how to play with toys since coming to live with us) and would do anything for her but I hope I'm not missing something big that's silently affecting her.

Picture for tax.

She is absolutely gorgeous!

I work in a sort of rescue environment and some dogs are completely different in a different environment. Your home and family are likely to be completely different from her previous owners, and the smallest things can absolutely change a dog’s behaviour.

I’ve also got a rescue Saluki x. His previous owners said he chewed all of their belongings when left alone, but I sometimes leave him 3/4 hours and he does nothing. However, the majority of the time he isn’t left alone whereas they used to leave him all day every day.

Either that, or maybe something that seemed a big deal to them means little to you? Mine’s previous owners hated the fact he couldn’t be let off lead due to previously being used for hunting (yes he’s had a fair few homes!), Whereas we have a place locally that is fully fenced so can let him off there, and otherwise can stick to lead walking, so for me I’m not bothered about his TOTAL lack of recall

Some people are weird and own pets, look after them fine, but also just get rid of them at the drop of a hat...

I have an acquaintance who sold on two dogs because she decided she wanted a different breed after 7 years, rescues report people handing in dogs because they redecorated and the dog didn’t match the new furniture...

I once saw a gumtree ad offering a dog in exchange for an X-box...

Are you anywhere near Lincolnshire / the Fens? That's prime hare coursing territory (flat land is best for it) and greyhounds / salukis are considered the best breeds for it. Perhaps she got too old to win at hare coursing?

Mind you, people get rid of dogs for ridiculous reasons - PestDog was at one point the only dog rehomed from a family with three dogs as they'd bought him but "didn't have time to train him" (god knows what they expected when they bought a puppy). That was swiftly followed up by an owner who moved out of her flat and left him behind. Not everyone is as responsible with their dog ownership as those in the Doghouse.

After 7 months I think you'd have noticed any significant health or behavioural problems by now.

Maybe they'd just got the male saluki and once he was found to be ok (for whatever it is they want them for) they were getting rid of her.

I wouldn't spend any time wondering given they were not forthcoming so their reasons were probably something that you wouldn't rehome for.

So glad she and you are both happy together

She's beautiful!

If you found her on Gumtree I would assume she was stolen, but you say you’ve had her chip updated? Mind you there’s loads of chip companies that don’t always interact with each other. I’m glad she’s found a loving sensible home though.

Some dog owners are just twunts! That's it in a nutshell. I'm so glad your dog has, eventally, found a loving family. She is one of the lucky ones.

We took on a friend of a friends dog knowing little about him. He is a wonderful dog. He is house trained, well behaved, intelligent and affectionate. We haven't had to actively train him in anyway. Apart from him not knowing the command "lie down". He learnef that in about five minutes!
We heard recently from his original owner that he was a nightmare for them and completely untrainable,
They did use to leave him alone for long periods though.
In our house hold the dog is rarely left alone for more than a few hours.
I hope it's the same situation with your dog, and you just suit each other.

She's beautiful. Don't worry about it, they weren't a good match, for whatever reason, and she's fallen on her feet.

Is she ok being left on her own? perhaps that was the issue? or not getting on with the other 2 dogs?
or just having 3 dogs was too expensive?

I have wondered the same thing about my parents' rescue dog. They got her when she was one and somebody had clearly gone to the trouble of house training her, teaching recall, saying please, and socialisation with children and other pets. But she was found as a stray with no microchip. To me, she seems perfect (no problems after three years) but I wonder why her previous owners let her go/didn't try to get her back.

constantinople I can think of loads of reasons why lovely dogs end up being rehomed, some understandable, some unbelievable, but can think of no reason at all why anyone would turn a dog out rather than contacting a rehoming centre. Poor dog.

They may have wanted her for breeding? If they thought she was not spayed when they got her? The fact that they have an intact male of a similar breed makes me think this.

My dog is a rescue. When we got him someone had clearly put lots of effort into him. He knew all his commands, was fully housetrained. Didn't chew or destroy anything. Could easily be left alone. All in all the perfect dog. Outside of the home though he is totally different. He is reactive with other dogs. Hates bikes, buses, people running, skateboards, black bags to name but a few. He enjoys a ruck so much that he has memorized every house that contains a dog on our usual walk and he literally twitches with anticipation when we approach. He is a nightmare! (But I still love him to pieces and have had him 9 years now)

Yours is beautiful. Do the breed in general have health problems perhaps?