Wanting to rehome my dog but feeling extreme guilt and sadness

[tyleryhwh]

About two years ago, my wife and I bought an 8 week old Australian Shepherd, which after a while I realize may have come from a puppy mill. We knew from the get go that this dog was neuroligally not ok. Marley was very reactive towards other dogs on walks and was a very frustrated greeter and having guests over is just stress inducing for everyone. Marley is easily excitable, and very difficult to live with especially with two kids under 4 living alone n the household.

Over the past two years we have tried a lot of training, granted with some success. I’ve taken her to behavioural training and also have done my own training including Karen Overall and Control Unleashed. It still gives me anxiety to walk her and in general to live with her. Don’t get me wrong, we love her with all our heart and we have shared great moments with her.

At one point we almost rehomed her but we backed out last minute. Now we are thinking about it again, because it’s not easy to live with her. However, I’m faced with a lot of guilt and also sadness thinking about life with out her.

Please share advice
Thank you!

 

[bea_lovesjesus]

@tyleryhwh Why do you think she is brain damaged? Lots of dogs exhibit the behaviours you listed.

 

[obadimu]

@tyleryhwh Is it the all excitement based (not aggressive)? What’s the hardest part for you to manage?
Rehoming when something is not the right fit is not the worst thing in the world, especially if you can do so safely and believe the dog would also benefit. But depending on the situation, there may be things you can do to make life easier on your family and the dog without having to resort to rehoming. You mention guests and walks. Can you reduce walks? Why are you so anxious about walks? Is she a bite risk? Are you separating her for guests? Does she nip or knock over the kids in the household?

Having a reactive dog is stressful, not everyone has the resources and mental energy for it. But that also means it might take considerable effort to find an actually more suitable home as well.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@tyleryhwh What’s your dog actually doing? Besides being worked up when guests are over? Is your dog aggressive to other dogs, or overly sociable/energetic/rude to other dogs? Reactive seems to mean different things.

Aussies can be a lot. They are high energy, they need to be focused, and they’re excitable for sure.