Rehoming a Dog

Thought I'd post on here for advice if anyone has gone about rehoming a dog? Who to contact etc?

We have a 3 year old male German Sheppard and he is absolutely a family pet and loved by all. We have two issues 1) he snapped at my 9 year old daughter twice and b) is very reactive to other dogs when out for walks. He gets on great with our Westie and he's just reactive to dogs he's doesn't know. Issue 1) could be that he was the single survivor of his litter.

We went to a behaviourist and her recommendation is that we rehome him to a house without children or at least young children (mine are 9, 7 & 5). It could be that he's trying to discover his status within our family/pack but we can't take the risk that he might bite a child. He's great around adults and our kids love him but we have to segregate them - I came down the other morning and the kids had him in the kitchen playing and the big dopey idiot was loving it

To say we'll be devastated letting him go (kids are begging us not to) and will be very selective around where he goes etc.

So where we go from here..... We're looking for genuine contacts in the dog/GSD community. It's hard to know who you are contacting from websites/online etc.

There is a German Shepherd Rescue UK: https://www.germanshepherdrescue.co.uk/

Might be worth contacting them for advice / their Irish counterpart?

Really gutted for you.

I'd be lost without our nine month old pup.

Have you thought about re-homing your kids?

If the GSD Rescue cant help please find a good shelter that doesn't euthanize. The shelter will find him a good home. I am a trustee at Newcastle Dog and Cat shelter and they have no problem finding homes for GSD`s they also have behaviour specialists.

Davel said:

Have you thought about re-homing your kids?

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Yes, on a daily basis....

Davel said:

Really gutted for you.

I'd be lost without our nine month old pup.

Have you thought about re-homing your kids?

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Wish I'd done that 20 years ago

Me too

I had a gsd for 10 years. When Ben was a pup he was a shithead, barking and pulling all the time. I got him neutered, which I felt pretty bad about but he calmed down.
When he turned 4 he became a lot more laid back, it was like he had just matured.
Try and persevere for another while, rehoming dogs here is a nightmare, you just don't know where he will end up. If you do decide to rehome, don't use donedeal or he could end up chained outside a caravan or worse. If all else fails give the breeder a shout, he may take him back.
Good luck with it.

neiljitsu said:

I had a gsd for 10 years. When Ben was a pup he was a shithead, barking and pulling all the time. I got him neutered, which I felt pretty bad about but he calmed down.
When he turned 4 he became a lot more laid back, it was like he had just matured.
Try and persevere for another while, rehoming dogs here is a nightmare, you just don't know where he will end up. If you do decide to rehome, don't use donedeal or he could end up chained outside a caravan or worse. If all else fails give the breeder a shout, he may take him back.
Good luck with it.

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Thanks for that. No way I'd be using Donedeal or anything public like that. Not going back to the breeder as it's an immediate family member (who actually wants him back). I'm not entirely satisfied the breeder has the right reasons for wanting the dog and the living conditions wouldn't be acceptable (ie. live in a cage and only used for breeding). We have since fallen out over this issue.

Neutering was absolutely a consideration and something we almost did. The behaviourist said absolutely not as his reactiveness on the lead is most likely anxiety based and neutering him would make the condition worse (ie. take any testosterone away).

Gonna send you a PM...