Massive regrets about adopting our dog...

[Mindfulraisin]

I know a lot of you will judge me for this, but I am hoping at least some will have some advice... Sorry it's a long story.
We adopted a rescue dog from abroad - a local family was giving her up, they said it was because they had sudden sickness in the family and couldn't give her the attention, the rescue organisation that brought her to the UK said it was they were unwilling to put in the time to train her. They said she just had normal "puppy" issues and just needs training.
Her story is - she was found at about 3 months old on her own, brought to the UK to a foster and adopted by that family. Stayed with them for a month then we took her about 10 days ago. We visited her and loved her - she is a beautiful pup, friendly and sweet, and unfortunately any concerns I had when I met her I ignored - I just wanted another dog after I lost my old one few months ago.
Unfortunately as soon as we brought her home we realised we cannot manage her. She has masses of energy, she is not aggressive but extremely nippy. You can't put a lead on her, or a harness, or lift her paws to wipe etc. She is also getting quite big, I swear she grew since we took her in! We have a 5 year old, and it's just not a suitable dog for us - my daughter got bitten on the bum once - it was in play and not out of aggression, and it didn't pierce her skin just left two indentations.
The rescue place has advertised her for rehoming, but are calling us irresponsible, and telling us to "just grow up", that she's just a puppy that needs work. They have not seen this dog in 6 weeks, so not sure how can they know the issues. They still say on the ad that she is small in size! Whilst we appreciate we made a stupid decision, we feel she really needs to go, for everyone's sanity. I feel like the rescue place should be held responsible here too, as she should not have been rehomed with us - the young child and we also both work, albeit my other half from home. Which is another issue, as she howls when left alone and until we started using a crate she was thrashing the place. We can't bond with a dog that is either nipping us or howling...
She would suit somebody who is at home most of the time to play and train her. There is a local man who wanted to adopt her from us, but the rescue place turned him down and said they didn't feel he was the right match. He is about 70, retired and lives alone. They offered him a different dog, very similar to ours just a little older so not sure what the issue is. How can they say he was not right but decided that we are?
Trouble is the contract I signed says if we don't want or can't keep the dog we have to offer it back to the organisation to be rehomed, or to the kennels where they would wait to be rehomed (we would have to pay for that). I would hate to do that as I think kennels would be an awful place for her, but not sure what else we can do?! My partner wants to contact the Blue Cross...

Yup, it is incredibly irresponsible on so many levels.

I’m normally sympathetic to OPs but I’m sick of hearing about people who adopted a dog but don’t have the time to deal with its behaviour. I know so many people who have done this. Appalling behaviour. Just sounds like you CBA to be honest.

Am I reading correctly that this puppy was imported at 3 months old?

The rabies vaccine (part of the requirements for importing) can only be administered at 12 weeks, then they have to wait 21 days post vaccine before they can travel, to ensure the pup wasn't already infected.

Therefore all pups arriving in the UK from abroad (including ROI) would be just shy of 4 months, at the very least, when they can travel.

The maths ain't mathing & this raises serious questions about the rescue this puppy came from.

The description of your dog sounds very like mine when I first took him on and the reasons are very similar to their reasons for rehoming (he's also an ex street dog and was young). My view on it is while the behaviours are very trainable, ultimately he is a much higher energy dog than they were prepared for and by deciding it wasn't right for them he ended up with me who is a single adult household with all the time to spend on training/exercising my dog. People make mistakes and not every dog is suited for every family and I think you did the right thing to come to this decision quickly - I would just make sure you are very careful about whether you are prepared to take on a young dog at all or whether you'd be better rescuing something older/steadier or not having a dog at all before doing a similar thing with another dog

Ive only ever had one dog many years ago i soon came to after a week i was not a dog person at all.
He was a nice dog but he didnt sleep at night all i could smell was dog dog hair everywhere and he was short haired it cost me more weekly.
Getting up in the mornings i like to get tea wake up not get out of bed deal with dog.
Then i soon realised i couldnt get up and go when i wanted it was like having a child.
Picking up poop put me right off but i kept up with everything until i found a good home for him.
After a month searching i found someone that would have him a farmer in the village where i lived at the time.
Ive never had a pet since lesson learned.

Many people complain about uk rescues being too strict. It sounds like they have just cause. You knew your circumstances and still decided you should get a puppy. I think you have been quite irresponsible here. You need to return the puppy and you really shouldn't get a dog until your circumstances have changed.

Don't do that, the agency have already said no so you can't go against their decision.
It doesn't sound like a great match but I can see why the rescue is getting upset because they've presumably gone through a whole process with you & now they have to find another suitable home. Sadly the dog pay's the price because she'll be a hot potato having a failed placement before.
Maybe if you work with a trainer & your dog things will improve, not sure if giving up at this stage is a great example to set

Shame for the dog thank the lord it wasn't a child

Exactly just. The rescue and background rescue story sound risky as hell. Heaven knows what dogs and potential illnesses they are importing with a sob story.

op it's not your best decision but I suspect the rescue have glossed over a lot here and you are now picking up the mess.

Puppies are hard work and it sounds like yours is very much a typical high energy one.
I wish people would actually do their research about dogs before taking them on. I see it time and time again, with dogs being passed on and their early lives disrupted because of human ignorance. Sorry OP, but this situation frustrates me so much.

Find a new home for this poor animal and do not ever get another dog.

Big dog is she? How big?

I own a giant breed one, 65kgs in weight. That big?

Puppies are a nightmare. You didn't do your research. Wtf did you expect??

She says the puppy was found at three months old, not that it was imported at that age.

Ignore the judgy people.

A couple years ago I got a rescue dog and it started to get aggressive with my daughter, went for her a couple times and tried to eat my cat. The rescue I got him for only had him a week before they rehomed him to me, they never did a proper home check and the dog had not been vetted properly. I came on here for advice and was told by a few lovely MNetters that I was an awful person for giving him up even though my kids were petrified and my lovely cat had moved out. I called the rescue after the dog went for my dd for the 2nd time and they refused to take him back, luckily the RSPCA took him. I don’t feel bad, I feel angry that the rescue placed a dog with a family not knowing what he was really like and then refused to help when it all went wrong. They apologised a few days after and offered me a puppy from a litter they had just got in. I refused and we haven’t homed a dog since as my dd is now scared of dogs.

Do what’s best for your family, obviously your kids and your own sanity comes before a dog.

Then the OP themselves needs to properly clarify this, because you may not find it alarming, but I've lived in countries where rabies is endemic & it's a nasty disease, so if a rescue isn't following correct protocol this needs reporting as a matter of public safety.

Puppies are so hard, but they teeth, and generally they settle. A lot depends on the breed. My lab x shepherd was more of a street forrager than a nipper, but did destroy every single toy we gave him, and any books or plants he could get if home alone. I have a friend with a pomski who is 2 and still a bitey nightmare. Routine, exercise, crate training, and I found getting the big hollow dog bones and freezing wet dog food into them gave them something to focus on. Kong does some great treat dispensing dog toys for distraction. The vet who neutered ours also pulled a few puppy teeth during the op (we didnt ask for this), but after the last of the puppy teeth went, he got much better. It is an adjustment, and i'm not sure i'd ever want another puppy, but once you're on the other side, it's great.

very true.
But he did get a good home.

Probably thought she could carry him around in her handbag

I'm taking the OP at face value - she says the dog was found on the streets at three months old - I'm not sure why you're assuming it was then imported illegally without the appropriate vaccinations

Of course the rescue should be following the correct protocol re. rabies but there's absolutely no evidence that that hasn't happened, so it seems like a bit of an odd thing to latch on to.

I think you’re getting an unfair bashing because the foreign rescue dogs do seem to be a much different dog to deal with than the labs, spaniels, lurcher crosses I’ve had. The dogs have also been born into a pack and then are frequently rehomed as single dogs and they’d probably be happier as part of a 2 or 3 dog household. It’s much easier to train a puppy (or the puppy learns quickly) if there’s a couple of older dogs who know what they are doing.
If you are buying a puppy you pick a breed that is most likely to suit your lifestyle. Unfortunately with rescues some will literally dump the dog on you and run.

This issue for you is they are either going to charge you for kennelling or make you wait until they find someone else (unlikely) to take the dog from you. So you will probably have to make the best of it.

OP - if you want to work with this very probably, confused and stressed puppy, you would be well advised to seek the help of a decent behaviourist. Lots of behaviourists will offer puppy advise sessions, and they will be able to ascertain whether the behaviour is 'normal' puppy behaviour or will require more work. You would be amazed how quickly things can improve with the right guidance. Good luck. www.apbc.org.uk

the rescue organisation that brought her to the UK said it was they were unwilling to put in the time to train her. They said she just had normal "puppy" issues and just needs training

The puppy has normal puppy issues, you knew this to be the case before taking her, were told that the puppy needed training, as all puppies do, I don't see how you can blame the rescue ?
What breed is she ?

And this is why rescues are overflowing...

Don’t give her to a 70 year old for god sake. 🤦🏼‍♀️

This is why so many rescues won’t rehome to a home with children and get slated for it!
Puppies bite, puppies challenge. Throw a child into the mix and it just doesn’t work. The puppy turns into a teenager/gets older and nobody wants it then.

Puppies need training, they need people to be
around to do this.
The rescue should provide full back up, but you signed the contract agreeing no back up was needed.

I don’t think you should get another dog either, not until your child is much older and one of the adults doesn’t work and has the time needed to give a puppy. You clearly don’t have the time now which is fine, but not fair on a dog.

This is an ex-feral street dog that was imported over to the UK during its' most vital socialisation period.

It's highly unlikely that her behaviour is "normal".