Do You Ever Think Your Dog Would Be Better Off...

[Saeleofu]

Nope. Gavroche is without a doubt my heart dog, and he is right where he belongs. My mom said he was miserable the 2 1/2 days I was gone to get Logan. He was bonded to me from day 1.

Logan, too, is right where he belongs. He's a completely different dog than Gavroche, but fits in so well. Granted I think Logan would have an easier time than Gavroche if he had to go to a new home, but he is a great fit.

 

[Kat09Tails]

I own one dog that would be best IMO in a single woman home, with no other pets, and not a lot of guests. He's a nerve bag, scared of the boogeymen that only exists in his mind, and although he's alright with just me that is literally the only type of home I think would suit him better. As such I have decided that when the day comes unless a home like this literally falls from the sky before then and I no longer can care for him he will be PTS.

Until then he eats, he sleeps, he cuddles, and is a fairly happy dog so long as my home is stable, quiet, and without a ton of new foot traffic. Just don't look at him directly, don't make loud noises, don't walk too quickly by him, and please don't pet him while he's on the rug or couch.

 

[corgipower]

I've thought it many times. Sometimes I've thought it enough to go through with rehoming the dog. Not every dog is right for me, and I'm not selfish enough to keep a dog that would be better off in a different environment.

 

[Gypsydals]

I don't think my home is the ideal home for Raja. But I also can't think of any that would be. I wouldn't inflict her on anyone I know. :lol-sign: And I don't think she'd be happy elsewhere. I just do the best I can and hope that's enough.

This except change Raja to Ivan. The saying here is, Ivan loves me, lives for me, can't live with out me and tolerates the other 3 humans here. Would he miss them if they where gone? NOPE

 

[Lolas Dad]

I already know I am the right owner for Lola. She knows this to and she knew it from the day she arrived here. Although I had my doubts about being the right person for her at first I am convinced of it now and have been since about 6 months after I adopted her.

She is a dog that went from having SA, bad habits, not being crate trained, not being socialized properly with other dogs and being to clingy to a dog that now is AKC CGC certified as well as being a registered therapy dog when she was slightly over one year old.

 

[Dekka]

See for me its not the training, its the bond and compatibility. Kaiden is very well trained, we work fairly well together. He has lots of letters after his name for agility, obedience and rally. However Kaiden loves all humans, he has gone home with friends for sleep overs and is very happy as long as there is a human.

Kat on the other hand really isn't all that well trained, but other humans are fairly irrelevant in her life, much like her mother. They like people well enough, but even family members get dissed lol. Kat and Dekka I am sure wouldn't be happier elsewhere... perhaps they could be just as happy, but not happier....

...unless they found a house where it was a wealthy single person who wanted to devote all their time to scritchies, rat chasing, agility and feeding lol.

 

[CaliTerp07]

I've had thoughts, sure. I think it's truly a sign how much we love our dogs that we want the very best for them.

When I first got Lucy, I thought I had made a horrible mistake. She had way too much energy for an apartment and two people who worked 9-5 (or in my case 9-midnight) jobs. I tried my darndest though to BECOME the perfect home for her. I put her in day care on days I knew I would be working late, took her across town to a park with lights each evening, enrolled her in agility, and finally we even moved--because apartment living was stressing her out with all the hustle and bustle of living on the ground floor of a busy complex.

Now, I think we've adapted our lives to be what she needs/wants pretty well. The only thing I think she'd like better is if there were kiddos around to play with her, but we befriended the family up the street who has 3 little boys, and they will play with her whenever we are on a walk and see them out in their yard.

We do our best. She loves us, and we love her, and we try our hardest to give her what she needs.

 

[BostonBanker]

Not really. I do think Meg is a dog who would do well in a lot of situations. I always joke that her dream is to live with a family who has a little girl. Meg would be all about the getting dressed up and playing Barbie. But like Dekka said, just because she could be just as happy elsewhere, I don't think she'd be happier.

I also think that another home would mean she didn't get all the work she has on her issues. Her issues were part of what would make her such an ideal pet; she was so shut down in most ways when I got her, and it took a lot of work to get her out of that. The shut down behavior is exactly what the Cesar Milan generation is looking for - she was to worried to do anything, so she just sat there doing nothing. My mom wanted to name her Fern, because she said Meg was like having a plant.

 

[StillandSilent]

I'm so glad to hear that others have felt the same way and I'm not a terrible mother. Argon is not unhappy here, he is actually content most of the time.

If a perfect home appeared, I would let him go, but I'm not dumb enough to think that people are clamoring for a 7 year old, epileptic, allergic, DR, plain, whippet mix.

So he'll stay with me, loved and content until it's time for him to cross the bridge. I was just thinking the other day how much I missed Grimm, and that really, he and I were much better suited for each other then Argon and I.

 

[Dogs6]

sometimes i wish that someone would materialize that really really truly wanted mushroom and would give him an excellent home, because i know i do not appreciate him as much as someone else might be able to, and he kind of gets lost in the shuffle around here.

That except change it too Taz. I know he is happy here. I know he loves me and I love him but ... he would probably be happier in a one dog home where someone had the time to dedicate to just him. It would break my heart but if a better home for him came along, I would probably let him go on the condition that he came back to me if it didn't work out.

 

[PWCorgi]

Yup.

I have rehomed a dog because she was having issues here and I was able to find a better home for her (I'm sure most of you remember Izzy). It sucked more than words can express, and had I been in the right situation I never ever would have let her go. Even now I have a hard time talking about it and still wonder if I did the right thing (even though I think I really did do the right thing for her, and I know she is happy now), there are some dog people who I got back in contact with after I got back from Minnesota and they even still think I have her When they ask I just tell them that the dogs are doing very well. I know they'd understand, but it just hurts to talk about.


With Frodo, I know there are places where he would be better off. There are trainers who are so much better at working with the issues he has than I am. I look at my trainer's dogs, who I know were much worse when she got them than Frodo is, and I see how adjusted and functional they are, and I do wonder what Frodo would be like if someone like her had ended up with him. But I think we do okay and I wouldn't give him up for the world.

 

[Bailey08]

Bailey and I are very closely bonded. Right now, I don't think that there's anyone else who he would be happier with.

That said, I do think he could be happy with someone else. There are people in my life who he loves (and who love him), and there are sisters who work at his daycare who he loves (and who love him). Maybe he'd rather have someone who was home more (I work a lot, hence the daycare). I don't know if anyone else can afford him, though. LOL.

 

[Doberluv]

Nope. My dogs and I fit together perfectly. They have a nice life right here where they are.

I do think it's a good thing to think along those lines though, what is best for a dog when there is a question. But I don't believe that everything has to be 100% perfect either, for a dog to be happy.

 

[ManicMicah]

I couldn't give my two up for the world, but they both are perfect matches for our lifestyle and personalities. If that weren't the case, then I would be open to the idea of re-homing, with some stipulations, of course.

 

[MandyPug]

Nope... Izzie and I are in love with each other. Plus I'm 99% sure that no one would put up with her sass like I do.

She wouldn' be happy at all with anyone else, she'd be devastated. She doesn't even like when I'm away.

 

[k9krazee]

Yes. Jack is almost 6 years old now and I have lived with him for 1/6th of his life (maybe it could all add up to 1/3 counting summer vacations). Some days I wish I would have never gotten him, as much as I love him, because he is unhappy the majority of the time. He's the most bonded with me because we do things together, and every time I leave he is heartbroken. I think if he lived with somebody else who spent some quality time with him he'd adjust quickly. I wouldn't give him to the average JQP because of his issues/bite history but there is probably someone out there that I could trust him with. My boyfriend's family have offered to take him, but I just don't feel comfortable with that. He can be managed fine at the house now, he just doesn't get the stimulation/fun/exercise that he needs. But I know it's all coming to an end. I have nine more months of school (until I'm done completely) and have a place lined up to go with him. So I'm thrilled about that.

Micki would be happy with an older person as an only dog. He would love to be let loose in a squirrel infested yard all day and cuddle with someone on the couch all evening. He wishes he was an only dog.

 

[RD]

Dogs are remarkably adaptable creatures, and imo most pet dogs can live in almost any environment if they are conditioned to it.

I think Eve could be happy with her breeder if anything happened to me, or if I had to give her up. In any other case, no. I don't care if I met a sheep farmer (her ideal home!)who wanted to buy her off of me. Her world is entwined with mine, and mine with hers. To separate us would shake loose my feeble grasp on sanity and reality, and completely crush what I believe she sees as her purpose. We are most comfortable when we're near one another. Still, that's not to say she could never live without me.

Eve's world is ideal with me because I'm in it, but I had a dog that just did not fit with me and my family. When I lived with my parents, we were a multi-dog household, and my 5 lb Papillon did his very best to incite fights with any dog larger than him. Because of this, he had to be crated or locked in a room away from the bigger guys. For a dog as energetic and mischevious as Ripley, I really felt like our situation wasn't adequate. We found a lady in Washington who was looking for a little dog, she had no other dogs and just wanted a little prince to spoil. I don't regret giving Ripley to her. He gets to live a fuller, safer life as the only dog in the household, and he has an owner who is equally dedicated to his health and happiness as I would've been.