Torn About Rehoming

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deegee
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 11:13 pm

Torn About Rehoming

Post by deegee »

Hello everyone! I'm just looking for some unbiased opinions on a dilemma I'm having. I've thought about it so much myself over the last year or so that I need a fresh take on things.

My dog Duke is an 8 year old Husky/Golden mix, with all of the fun quirks that come with combining those two personalities (eager to please...on his own time). He is intelligent to the point where the house has to be Duke proofed (no trash/recycling accessible, no food on the counters or tables) and the only way to really wear him out is to take him for a nice long walk and immediately follow it with 15 minutes of training or some kind of brain work. I don't mind it, because I've had no problems doing it for the last year. I recently had the opportunity to take two internships (totaling 6 months) so I was away from home and my parents method of "dealing" with Duke is to let him spend a lot of time outside...on a 30 ft lead because he can jump their 6 foot fence. No walks, no training, no car trips.

Now, I've been offered a great fellowship and I would be allowed to bring him with me, but I'm worried about the potential of running into a situation again where I need to leave him with my parents (if I start grad school after the 2 year fellowship, or go somewhere else where he can't follow). I'm torn on if it is cruel to keep him, with the possibility of putting him back in this situation the next time mine changes...or if it is cruel to re-home him at his age, even if it is to someone who can guarantee a more stable environment for him for the rest of his years. I am also his third owner (the first gave him away around 1 year old because of his size, the second around 2 because of his behavior and the 3rd also around two because of limited space).

I have three dogs, but Duke was intended to be the family dog. The agreement between my parents and I when we got him was that he would stay with them when I started college and the other two would go with me. He quickly proved that he's too much for them. Because of this, I had him the majority of the time I was in college (always at the sacrifice of having my oldest dog with me because she is so low maintenance). I feel like that's caused some underlying resentment of the situation because I was put in a situation where I chose my two, and have been responsible for them with no problem, but I have had to sacrifice one of my two for the sake of keeping Duke in the best environment for his personality. That's definitely influencing my perception of this situation.

I realize that's a lot of information, without a lot of information, but I tried to keep it short enough to get the situation across. Any advice/thoughts/things to consider would be greatly appreciated!
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Torn About Rehoming

Post by Nettle »

How about finding day care for him near where you will be living/studying? You could negotiate a good rate as a long-term customer.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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KathleneDewberry
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:02 am
Location: Louisville, KY, USA

Re: Torn About Rehoming

Post by KathleneDewberry »

Day care is actually a good idea.
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