Considering rehoming my dog

[Smirna]

I had a lovely small dog for many years. Cuddly, friendly, placid. Sadly she died. It left a hole in my life so I got a new puppy. Same breed, same breeder.

New dog is horrible. She’s a year old and still chewing things all the time. Still peeing and pooping in the house sometimes, she just isn’t getting the message about going outside. She’s very barky and constantly barks for attention. If I’m eating she barks beside the table. She wants to play all the time and barks at me to join in. If I ignore her she starts clawing at me. I do play for a bit but she hassles me constantly. I end up locking her out of the room so I can work or watch tv. When I come home she leaps around and runs in circles, she won’t cuddle me or let me pick her up. If someone is eating she’s in their face trying to snatch food. Kids are always crying because she’s taken their food. Even if we’ve just been for a 30 minute walk she’s still bouncing around and playing when we get home, she won’t lie down.

Basically we are not a match in terms of energy levels. My previous dog was ideal, two short walks a day and a bit of playing with toys, then she lay down. So I purposely got the same low energy breed, but this dog is not low energy. I’m considering rehoming to someone who wants a more high energy dog. I feel awful about it but I just don’t have the energy or time to play with the dog the amount she wants.

Puppies are hard work. All puppies.

This dog could end up just like your older dog if you put the time and effort in.

If you decide to rehome, don't get another puppy as the same thing will happen.

Speak to the breeder as they may want to take the dog back

Sorry for the loss of your first dog. Re the pup: Can you scatter feed in the garden or give him a frozen kong/ licky mat to keep him busy for longer and wear him out. Keep him away from your eating space when you’re eating so he doesn’t get a chance to steal food?

FFS you should have got your old dog stuffed then so it could sit there and do nothing. No 2 dogs are the same. Your dog is not "horrible". You have a very normal little puppy who has not been trained because you could not be bothered. Rehome the poor little mite.

Poor little dog. Contact the breeder and ask them to take her back and they will find her a suitable home where she will be loved. She knows that you don't love or even like her. Also, don't try and sell her on on Freeads or similar - she deserves better.

I get where you are coming from. A friend got a second dog, same breed at the first one (still around) but it has a completely different personality and energy level.

People like dogs for the personality but like people, you will get on better with some of them than others. Either commit to trying to address the situation or let it go. Don't let the situation fester.

Just sounds like an untrained dog really, 1 still seems really young in some breeds. Our 1 yo sounds exactly the same, we correct his behaviour (well more positive reinforcement) and work on mental enrichment. Basically ensuring enough sleep, playing, exercise, mental games, rest time. Figuring out what he wants has really helped us, if he's chewing or clawing/digging we find a chew toy, or a tug toy or something. If that doesn't help then we try some of the other options.

Also him wanting food when we're eating is an issue, the fact he is human size doesn't help as he can reach everywhere however we give snuffle mats, lickimats (well until he ate them all) bones, kongs or something else to keep him occupied, even if they run out whilst we are still eating he is now used to not taking our food. We also use treats to give him if he is sat nicely not approaching us (positive reinforcement again) to try to encourage the behaviours we want.

He is now just over 12 months and is improving all the time but it has been constant hard work and training. We have a long way to go.

@Smirna your dog is still very young. I’m wondering if you have rose-tinted glasses on looking back at the time you had with your old dog. Perhaps you have forgotten how hard it was when your old dog was a puppy. If you put the training in, you should see the results in about a year when your dog starts to calm down.

All animals have different temperaments. If it is not a good match and getting to the point you are considering this, then you should rehome. I dont think you are lazy or wrong, you clearly did ok with your other dog who came from the same place. Think you just got into a bad match.

Return your untrained dog to its breeder. Don't rehome to a random someone else.

She sounds under-trained, under-exercised, under-stimulated and bored.

What breed is she?
How much exercise does she get?
How long is she left alone each day?
What training have you done with her?

Most of what you describe is easily fixed with proper boundaries and basic training.

She won't toilet in the house if she's let out regularly and if she's been properly trained from puppyhood to go outside.

She wouldn't be able to steal food if you used a crate or babygate to separate her from you while you're eating.

She wouldn't jump up and claw at you if she was adequately exercised and stimulated and trained to settle in the house.

If you don't feel like you can give her the time she needs then it may be best to find her a better home, but she's not a horrible dog - she just needs to be trained!

You lock her out so you can watch TV? Lovely. Please re-home her so that she can be loved as she deserves.

You didn't buy a clone of your old dog yet, foolishly, this is what you seemed to expect.

No you don't. You didn't give birth to the puppy. It was there before you got involved, and at most it's comparable to being a foster parent. If it works out for you fine, otherwise pass it on to someone who is more suited.

Challenging behaviour is common in adolescent dogs, consistent training is the only way to change these behaviours. I have an extremely high energy almost 2 year old who was hard work from 6 months, we worked hard on settling in the house, teaching 'leave' and 'place' and did enrichment activities with him. He is now the most chilled out boy at home, I never thought he would be but there is light at the end of the tunnel if you are prepared to put the work in. If not, you should rehome her and give her a chance of a home with someone who will take the time to train her and care for her.

Why did you get a puppy. Half an hour walk is nothing. She needs off lead running around to wear her out. She's bored and it's not her fault it's yours.

It's not

Please don’t use the word “horrible” for a dog - that’s so unfair! Clearly you are overwhelmed by this dog and in the circumstances you should rehome - do you really want another dog ?

This sounds like a normal dog.

Yes please rehome to a reputable rescue and do not get another dog.

All of those issues could be solved with more exercise and training.

Op doesn’t sound like she has spent any time training the puppy to behave properly.
Doing this early on is so important
exercise and training are so important.

She’s a puppy , you cannot expect her to behave in the same way as an older dog would and if she’s badly trained and not house trained then that is down to you - they don’t train themselves.

I treat the new dog the same as I treated my previous dog her entire life. Morning walk before work, evening walk after work, let out in the garden regularly, and play with toys for a bit at lunchtime and in the evening. I’ve always worked from home due to my disability so I am there during the day, but the dog needs to let me work, she can’t be barking and clawing at me. Often I have to put her out of the room so I can work.

I purposely chose the same small breed as I had before, and my previous dog was satisfied with a 30 minute walk then would lie down while I worked. But new dog is still yapping and clawing me for attention even after her walk. And don’t say a small dog needs to be walked for more than 1hr a day, that’s ridiculous and nobody has that amount of time to invest.

I never trained my previous dog not to bark - she just didn’t bark. I didn’t train her not to climb on people and snatch food - she just didn’t. Because the breed is supposed to be quiet and placid and easy going, not yappy, doesn’t need a lot of walking, and that’s why I chose it. But new dog is none of those things. She has the energy of a collie or something, not a small lap dog. This is the 4th dog of this breed that I’ve had and I haven’t had this problem with any of the others.

do you really want another dog ?
I want a nice placid dog like my previous dog. Who goes for a 30 minute walk then lies down beside me while I work. I haven’t trained this dog any differently from the 3 previous dogs, she just isn’t getting the message.

What breed do you have ?

It sounds like you were incredibly lucky with your previous dog.

This one is going to need time, energy and training. If that's not something you can offer, then rehoking sooner rather than later is the best option.

Why get a puppy when you’re working full time? Madness.