Jump to content

Our dog needs to go to a GREAT home


Parrothead

Recommended Posts

Our dog, Havana, needs a new home. I have spoken of our issues before, and that we were going to wait and see with her, but Matt (hubby) and I have come to the heartbreaking conclusion that she needs to go to a family or person that can work with her.

She was adopted by us as a "preteen"--a pup over 16 weeks, we think. We adopted her from the County pound. We also think she was abused, because since day one she has cowered when we discipline her for any reason.

We have followed much of the training laid out in "Dogs For Dummies" and we also utilize Cesar Milan's dominance training, but nothing seems to be working and she simply does not know who the boss is in this house--aka "The Pack Leader". She thinks, for the most part, it is she. Other times she is very submissive, but one thing is for sure--she is STARVED for attention. We give her as much as we can--in fact, probably more than we ever thought we could--but she needs to WORK. She needs to play, she needs a yard, and someone who will take the time to help her. We have had her for two years, and most of that time, living with her has been a struggle, a constant challenge.

She is VERY good with our toddler and we have never seen any sign of aggression with her at all, in fact we've seen some amazing displays of tolerance. Having said that, and the main reason why we have decided to find her a new home--she bit Matt. Matt was attempting to put her in a submissive state on her side after a discipline issue and she bit him on the hand (quite deeply in one part). We think this goes back to the pack leader/respect issue, and that she was acting out of fear.

At this point, Matt wants very little to do with her, and poor Havana is sulking around the house trying to find a way to mend this fence. We both agree it cannot be mended on our end and that someone else, someone that will love her and give her the attention she craves so badly--will take her and fill her true potential as a great dog, because it is definitely there.

She is a lab/shepherd mix, all black with hyperpigmentation on her tongue. She weighs about 40 pounds. She loves her nylabones, her bed, all of her squeaky toys, and going for walks and fetching. She LOVES the beach. She knows basic commands: sit, come, lay down, stay (though sometimes that's subjective). She requires lots of affection and playtime, in fact we have commented often that she'd be great at flyball or agility if someone trained her, because she is very smart.

If you feel you could fill this role as Havana's new parent, please call me at 281-221-2885.

144fd8af6896fe.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

To find out what the difference is, read both of them :D;)

We found a home for Charlotte. She will be going to a neighbor friend at the end of the month. We are keeping Stewart and Pickles, which is funny, that's the pair with we started our marriage, and I guess we should have stuck with what works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm. Sort of.

I mentioned in the older thread that we may have to find another home for Havana, but that we'd give it another shot before resorting to that.

We resolved the issue with Stewart (one of the cats), at least for now. The other cat (Charlotte) I mentioned in the older thread is a rescue, and we have found her a new home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm. Sort of.

I mentioned in the older thread that we may have to find another home for Havana, but that we'd give it another shot before resorting to that.

We resolved the issue with Stewart (one of the cats), at least for now. The other cat (Charlotte) I mentioned in the older thread is a rescue, and we have found her a new home.

I lost track, so how many pets do you have??? :lol:

180px-Simpsons_CrazyCatLady.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't believe this classified ad! Are you going to give your kid away next? Grow up and be a responsible pet owner.

Dream

Wow. Thanks, I appreciate the effort you've made trying to make me feel worse than I already do. Jerk.

Or should I say, jerks to both of you?

A responsible pet owner is one who can realistically come to the conclusion that their pet and they are not a good fit, and so instead of dumping them on the side of the road or taking them to a kill shelter, they try to find good homes for them.

I had my schnauzer 16 years, through two strokes and a cat through kidney disease who died at age 8. I think I'm a damn responsible pet owner, so Dream, kindly stick it, honey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

:( We gave Havana another reprieve, this one lasting 7 months. She has bitten again, this time, a dog belonging to my in-laws, and that cost us $1K to fix all the holes on the dog's body.

If you still think I am a horrible pet owner, then please, care enough to take her--because if we don't find her a great home, my husband is taking her to a shelter. If you can't take her, then spare me the rhetoric.

Again, she needs lots of love, lots of playtime, and preferably a one-or two-person family. She does fine with cats. She loves the dog park. She has never had problems with dogs there--the incident happened at our house over a piece of dropped food. I'm just glad my daughter was a few feet away and not right in the middle of it.

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:( We gave Havana another reprieve, this one lasting 7 months. She has bitten again, this time, a dog belonging to my in-laws, and that cost us $1K to fix all the holes on the dog's body.

If you still think I am a horrible pet owner, then please, care enough to take her--because if we don't find her a great home, my husband is taking her to a shelter. If you can't take her, then spare me the rhetoric.

Again, she needs lots of love, lots of playtime, and preferably a one-or two-person family. She does fine with cats. She loves the dog park. She has never had problems with dogs there--the incident happened at our house over a piece of dropped food. I'm just glad my daughter was a few feet away and not right in the middle of it.

Thanks.

what a terrible situation to be in. Have you looked at no kill shelter solutions in the

houston area? here is one i found with a google search. no kill shelter If it has come to this perhaps this is the best solution for you. You would probably feel better if she was given to a place where they do behavior analysis and place her in a family that suites her needs rather than give her to someone who you don't know or someone who you would worry about burdening with her difficulties. good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No kill shelters do not guarantee anything. If they can't place the animal, they will simply move it to another facility that isn't no kill.

Have you tried any training for the dog? What were the circumstances surrounding the bites? Animals cannot be looked down upon for reacting on instinct.

My dog has bitten, but she was antagonized to do so. So it is hardly her fault.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cute dog... If Michael Vick calls and expresses any interest, take your dog and run.

PArrot...Take the dog to STAAR. Basically its Katy Freeway and Weewonkin. She is an INCREDIBLE woman and we have adopted through her. You may be "put off" by the situation that she lives in, but she is all about the animals. The dog will be loved, feed and kept until adopted or death. You can contibute etc.........

I think your current situation may be a reason for your dog is "acting out." A new home or situation that is more dog focused may allow the animal to be what they are suppposed to be. The Border Collie we adopted through them is G O L D. A incredible, Katrina animal with quirks. I am a strong believer of WORKING the herding breeds daily, which your dog is part, and it makes a huge difference.

http://www.staarnet.org/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Just an update: STAAR would not take her, unfortunately. They did recommend three places: SMART, Friends for Life, and Scout's Honor.

Anyone know anything about these places?

With another baby on the way, I don't want to take any chances. She is just not the dog for us. I agree, Katie, she needs to be worked, and we cannot do it. We adopted her as a very young puppy from the county shelter, so there was no real way for us to know what she was, she was just small and sweet and black all over with these cute purple spots on her tongue. I will be sticking to breeders from now on--if we ever get another dog. Sad, isn't it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i feel for you parrothead. i'm on my second rescued weimeraner. the first one, zane, was a fear biter. unfortunately, he never grew out of it. i had to keep him away from children and small pets. he could never be around alot of activity. at any moment, he would simply chomp on someone moving quickly near him. it worked for me because i was alone at the time and had a big back yard. it was a real pain when i had company with kids.

i know a couple dog trainers who might have info. if i come across anything, i'll get back to you. hang in there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our most recent rescue dog we got through a group in The Woodlands as a 2 year old. He has all sorts of problems: biting, jumping in aggression to bite, peeing on furniture for domination establishment etc. He is so sweet to us, but a real pain in the butt to have when people come over. I call him "Lawsuit waiting to Happen."

Take in mind this all really started after the move with all the workers all over the house and all the new kids coming in the house. The Woodlands was so routine and no one new ever came over. Here its a new face daily. So its probably stress.

We are going to work with Jim Burwell for a few sessions. If it doesn't work (he claims he can fix it) he goes back to the rescue group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What would be involved if I were to take this dog? Does it get along well with other dogs (I have one dog, female). My dog is primarily an inside dog. She plays outside but lives inside.

Is this dog house trained? Inside or outside dog?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey gwilson, sorry it took me so long to get back here. I'm going to lay it out as honestly as I can. You need to know all of Havana's issues up front before you even consider taking her.

Havana does fine at dog parks and around other dogs in general (in fact, she LOVES the dog park). We are afraid it is more of a "territorial" issue with food than anything else. Today, Phoebe had her lunch in her hand and was near Havana, and Havana tried to take the food from her with a growl. It frightened both Matt and I so much we put her in her crate the rest of the afternoon--something we have never done. Havana has free reign of the house, except at night and when we are away for at least a few hours. She is very good with her crate. We say, "Okay, Havana, get in your house," and she does right away.

She barks when she is overly excited, whether that be out of happiness or stress (someone at the door). She rarely obeys the command to be quiet. She likes to have the last word(s). :lol: We have to get "mad" at her and actually raise our voices to get her to stop sometimes. It's been a source of frustration. She does "whine"...but not incessantly.

She is good with strangers--women much better than men. She almost acts like she doesn't trust my judgment and has to take over the situation if a strange man enters the house. She gets a little hyper and has been known to jump on people, and has also done something strange with just ONE of our neighbors--every time she comes over, she greets Havana all excitedly and Havana pees on the floor in submission. It's sooooo frickin' annoying...but like I said, she has only done it with our one neighbor. She has done it when Matt loses his mind and yells at her but that was a looong time ago and he learned his lesson.

She is OKAY on a leash. She needs training with it. She does not "run away", in fact, she is really good OFF the leash, actually. The biggest mistake we made was buying the flexi-2 leash. She will pull if you take her on a "walk". If she sees another dog, the best thing to do is walk the other way. She will not take her focus off the other dog no matter what you say to her. That being said, you say "Go Potty" and she will. She's really good about that. She is primarily an inside dog as we live in a condo and she cannot be outside, we wouldn't do that anyway even if we had a yard.

Now, here's the good things about Havana:

She "smiles". It's so funny.

She LOVES to play, all the time--she loves tug-of-war. Oh man! She also loves to "zoom" all around the house like a racehorse in these 30-second bursts. It's hysterical.

She is careful around Phoebe, and always has been--but the food--that changes her. We have been putting her in her crate when we feed Feebs.

She has some good manners.

She knows "sit", "stay" (well, almost...), "lay down", and of course, "Where's your toy?"

She loves the challenge of getting treats out of her Kong.

She is completely potty trained...has had a couple of accidents, but was our fault, not hers.

She is affectionate and loves affection in return.

She is a bit sensitive--which is good as well as not-so-good LOL.

She wags her tail a LOT! Happy girl, for the most part!! She'd be a lot happier if she had a yard and someone to play with more often than we can.

That's all I can think of right now. This is very hard for us. I have always felt like my animals were my babies. What I found out after having a real baby is they are animals, period, no matter how much we dress them up or parade them around or pretend they're not. They're animals, and sometimes people make mistakes when choosing one. We admit our mistake and don't want Havana to pay for that. We want her to be loved, and hugged often, and played with, and to be the happiest dog in the world.

Not too much to ask, eh?

-_-

Thanks for reading!!

post-403-1188147429.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...