Radical Canines

This week I wanted to share a sometimes unpopular opinion: rehoming a dog doesn’t make it’s original owner a bad person. I used to believe and still do believe that dogs are a lifetime commitment. However my opinion on what that commitment looks like has definitely changed. When I was younger I thought that meant keeping the dog for its lifetime. Once they were with you, they never left AND if they did leave then you failed that dog and failed to honor the commitment you made when they joined your family. As I’ve learned more and experienced more in my short life, I have a different understanding of what that lifetime commitment means and that’s ok.

Now don’t get me wrong, to me there’s a big difference between dumping a dog at a shelter, rescue, or on the street and working to find a more appropriate situation. When a dog is dropped off at a shelter, it becomes the shelter’s job to deal with finding the home, adding more stress to an already stressed system with not enough resources, but when you rehome a dog, you are taking on the responsibility of screening homes, and finding a better situation for them.

Recently, someone told me when you get a dog, it’s a lifetime commitment. As soon as you get them they become a part of your family. The same as you wouldn’t get rid of your child, you shouldn’t get rid of your dog just because your situation changed. I have a few hangups with this statement. Yes, my dogs become a part of my family when I get them BUT they are not my children. Dogs are dogs, and treating them as humans would be a disservice to them. Dogs are wonderful, emotional, talented, loyal, loving animals and I like my dogs a lot more than I like most people most days. Yes, I make a lifetime commitment to my dogs to always do right by them and meet their needs to the very best of my ability. If my home was not the ideal situation for them and their quality of life was not the best, then I would not be honoring that commitment by keeping them. Sometimes rehoming a dog is the best and only way to honor your lifetime commitment to them.

When I was younger, my dog went back to his breeder. Our family did not have the knowledge and experience to manage him. He bit someone and the option was to go back to her or be put down. So he went back. Now, this is an extreme situation, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I hadn’t considering rehoming Rumor when I realized that he and Rugby would not get along. Fortunately, I live alone, so I alone have control over the managing of my household and keeping them safe. I opted to keep both Rumor and Rugby and live a life of management, baby gates, and muzzles. If that wasn’t the case, and I couldn’t keep them safe then the best thing I could do for either of them would have been to find them a better suited home. To keep them both, if I couldn’t manage would have been unbelievably selfish.

I also don’t think rehoming should be a first option in most situations, nor should it be a fall back plan when getting a dog. People should be doing their research of the breed or breeds that make up their dog. They should know their tendencies, hunting dogs will likely hunt, herding dogs will likely nip or bark, terriers will likely be tenacious, etc. because its what they’ve been bred to do for years! Expecting to have a herding dog who gets no physical or mental exercise and expecting to have it be a non issue is a big gamble to make upon getting a dog and ultimately setting everyone up for failure. Obviously there are differences in temperament, just look at Ryder, a cattle dog mix, but generally speaking he is an exception to the rule. Most herding dogs need a job of some kind and if you don’t provide it they will find one for themselves.

Sometimes you do your research and you get a dog and they just aren’t a good fit. Maybe they’re sound sensitive and live in a busy house, shutting down, being overwhelmed and just in a terrible emotional state a majority of their life. Maybe you got a new dog to compete with and your dog is an absolute mess traveling and being in these environments, so they’re miserable when you bring them along and include them in your life but leaving them home isn’t an option. Maybe you seek out professional help from trainers and you put in the work for months or years. Often training and exercise (both mental and physical) can make a difference in a dog’s behavior and emotional state. But not always. And what if it doesn’t improve or remedy the situation for your dog? What if you did your research and got a dog that should be to be a relatively low key companion but they live for action and have energy to spare? They want to go all the time, they need a job, and hiking, biking, and constant training of new behaviors isn’t something you can provide but someone else is looking for a new sport dog or an on the go all the time active companion? In either of these scenarios how is keeping the dog because you “must have them for their entire life” better than finding a more appropriate home? To me that lifetime commitment means meeting their needs even if that means they aren’t with you. I hate when I see people being shamed or judged for trying to do right by their dog.

Have you or do you know someone who has rehomed a dog or gotten a dog that was rehomed? Is the dog happier living a better life in a more appropriate situation?