Our Pooch needs a new home

[DirtyFrank]

My wife and I hoped we would not have to do this but we are now forced to find a new home for our dog, Shasta. Our son is 14 months old now and although we could tell she was scared of the baby or unsure of him initially, we thought finally Shasta was growing accustomed to him being around. He's been able to pet her and pat her without incident but recently he fell over on her and she snapped at his face. With him getting older and us wanting to have more kids, we feel it's not safe to have Shasta around anymore.

She's a very healthy 8 year old Shepard Lab mix (a little over weight, 98lbs). All in all she's a great dog, very affectionate and makes my wife feel safe when I'm not around. She does assert herself as the dominant female around other dogs, especially when food is involved. Therefore I would not feel comfortable placing her in a home with other dogs unless the prospective owner has had experience with dominant females. As far as being around people, she's great, all of our neighbors love her. But obviously she should only be around older kids.

If anyone is interested, knows someone who would be interested or can point me in the direction on how else I could handle this, I would appreciate it. We adopted her from the SPCA in Jan '02 so we've had her a while and been through allot with her, she's a part of the family which makes this very hard but we think it's the right thing to do for our son.

Any help is appreciated. I'll keep an eye on this thread or b-mail me if you can help out

Thanks TFers

[27 sailfish]

Man - that is a tough thing to do but you can not chance your child getting bit.She looks like a good dog- hope you find her a good home.

[StepChild]

She sure is pretty!!!

Is she an indoor or outdoor dog??

[DRB]

I wouldn't want to fall over on her

[cath]

Sorry, have two crazy "girls" of our own..they are more than enough. If you can't find anyone through TF or other personal links, maybe you could place her through a rescue..they will foster at someone's home if possible..most likely better than SPCA/county conditions (no offense to anyone involved with SPCA or county shelters). There is a german shepard rescue if you do a search. We got our dogs from Animal Resource Foundation on Kent Island
Animal Resource Foundation, Inc.
61 Piney Narrows Road
Chester, MD 21619
(410) 643-8700
info@arfusa.org
Animal Resource Foundation

Mid-Atlantic (Maryland) German Shepard Rescure--has mixed listed: Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue

Good luck...it can be hard to find a home for an older dog.

[DirtyFrank]

Skip - bottom line this sucks, we feel like we've let her down. For the most part she's great around our son, he takes toys to her, feeds her treats, walks up to her and gets a lick or two. It's just when she's startled or doesn't want to be bothered, he's so small I guess she's trying to show her dominance. Both my wife and I can do anything to the dog and she'll just roll over for a scratch, no aggression at all.

Stepchild - yeah, everyone says that. She's an indoor dog

cath - thanks for the tips, I didn't realize shephard rescue placed mixes too. Like I said, we got her from the SPCA, we don't want her to end up back there. She will make a great companion for someone. When I used to work for a vet I knew first hand the less than ideal conditions at large shelters, it's just there are so many animals for those folks to take care of. A foster home or new home is the ideal solution.

[DBM]

i'm sorry to hear that as well, but your right with your decision. I have two friends who kids were bit in the face by their dogs. One of them needed substantial surgury. Neither dogs were agresive.

good luck, i know it's not easy, but keep in mind you're doing the right thing. We've got a chocolate lab that we love to death. I can imagine how dificult it would be to have to get rid of him.

DBM

[smells like fish]

I have 2 small children myself. Wish I could help. Good luck!

[mackaroni]

If it comes down to it you can check out any of the "no kill" shelters. After our bloodhound died (had her from pup to 15 yrs) we decided to start adopting older doggs that need a home rather than pups. It has worked well for us. They (as in your case) usually have good info on most of the dogs issues/habits etc.and if she is house trained.obedience trained should be able to find her a home w/the right situation. We have gotten all our adoption dogs from FRIENDS OF HOMELESS ANIMALS FOHA.ORG) in Loudon county va but they may have maryland location or may be similar outfits closer to you. They will not put a dog down and the turn key dogs get adopted pretty quick. I really sypathize w/you. Our Bloodhound was 7 years old when our first was born and my greates fear at the time was that he would be jealous or agressive toward our daughter. Turned out the opposite, he would come after me if I chased/spanked/or tickled the kids, very protective of them all .
Good luck