To Give Up a Dog
To give up a dog, after having taken the decision to keep one, is a failure.
It is an unhappy experience for you, but an even worse experience for your
dog.
Your dog was taken away from his own kind (from the puppies in the
litter where he was born)
and had to adapt himself at a young age to
substitute people as his companions instead of (or as well as) other dogs.
Your dog did not choose you.
You chose him.
For whatever reason outside of his control, you have now decided to part
with him.
Perhaps you have found it difficult to understand your dog well
enough to make it possible to train him,
either to be clean in the house, or
to be under your reasonable control so that he does not cause other people
to complain of the nuisance he causes them.
If so, this is your fault, not his.
There are simple ways to train a dog, but it takes time and trouble.
It is
certainly worth it because it is so rewarding to be able to communicate with
an animal.
Dogs are eager and anxious to please, if only people will learn
how to understand them.
It is important to consult either the breeder of the puppy or a dog training
class
as soon as any difficulty arises so that steps to overcome the problem
can be taken at an early age.
It is also useful to join a charity for dog
owners, as well as visit dog shows
and read as much as possible so as to
increase your interest in, and knowledge of dogs.
Of course, all this may be
too late for you by now --
but is there time for you to reconsider?
Your dog may have developed problems which will make it very difficult for
him to be re-homed,
unless with a family or individual with exceptional
patience and understanding.
There are not enough good homes to go round.
Surely it is up to you to find the extra patience needed now,
because
already the dog has grown up with you and is familiar with your home
surroundings.
Call outside help for training. Contact your vet or animal
welfare organization for help,
but please don't part with your dog unless
every effort has been made towards overcoming the problems.
THE MAJORITY OF DOGS DO NOT LIVE TO SEE THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY.
They have to be destroyed when they become too much of a problem to re-home.
Of course, there are sometimes outside difficulties beyond our control, which make it suddenly impossible to keep a dog any longer, but even then it may be possible to arrange for a dog to be re-homed without the need to use the overcrowded dog's homes.
YOUR DOG IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY FROM THE MOMENT YOU DECIDE TO OWN HIM,
FOR THE WHOLE OF HIS LIFE.