I want to start out by saying, I will never judge anyone for having to rehome a dog. If you are here because you are wondering if you should rehome your dog, please feel comfortable knowing you are in the right place.
Sh** happens. Life changes, people get new jobs, get sick, pass away, dogs develop health or behavior issues. When adopting a rescue dog there are never guarantees. Heck, life is never a guarantee!
This site has loads of helpful information that could help you through some health and behavior issues. If there is anything I can do to help you through this hard time, please feel free to contact me.
Rehoming a Dog Guilt
If you are unsure if rehoming your dog is the right choice, you may be feeling guilty that you cannot take care of her anymore. Or that you made a bad decision on adopting him in the first place. I can’t take away that guilt, but you can help yourself and the dog by doing some research before giving your dog away.
As hard as it may be to understand from the perspective of an outsider, sometimes a situation arises when you need to rehome your dog. As a volunteer for a local rescue, I see owner surrendered dogs all of the time.
In fact, our very first foster dog was a 10-year-old black lab, Silla, that was surrendered by her family. I admit I was confused as to why anyone would let such a sweet lab go. I didn’t know the family, but I do know they didn’t make the choice to rehome their dog lightly.
From what I do know, they lived on a farm and adopted two new herding breed dogs. The two new dogs did not get along with Silla and fights broke out. They felt that giving Silla a quiet home to retire in was in her best interest. Again, I am not here to judge. Did they feel guilty? I’m not sure, but I can only imagine how difficult that decision was for them.
Rehoming a Dog Tips
So, let’s start by ensuring you are making the right decision to rehome your dog. Why have you decided you need to give your dog away?
Rehoming a Dog Because of Life Circumstances:
- I have become too sick to take care of my dog.
If your situation is temporary, can you find a friend or family member to help by taking your dog in for a few months until you get back on your feet? - I can no longer afford my dog because of job loss.
Same as above, see if someone will help you and your dog out until you find a new job. - I am moving to an apartment that does not allow dogs.
Find an apartment that does allow dogs. I’m sorry but this is one that you do have control over. I know sometimes it can be hard, but there are plenty of landlords that do allow dogs. - We just realized my child is allergic to dogs.
Are you certain it is the dog your kids are allergic too? Have you tried bathing your dog? Brushing him more often? Keeping the dog out of the areas your child sleeps and plays? - We just had a new baby and no longer have time for a dog.
A baby may keep you busy, but it has been proven that kids who grow up with a dog are healthier. Children that grow up with a dog learn responsibility and compassion for animals. You will make time for both baby and dog. Many activities you can do with your dog and child… go for walks or play ball in the backyard together. - I cannot afford my dogs health care, because of an illness or injury.
Talk to your vet about payment options or look into Care Credit. I understand the thought of spending hundreds or thousands on your dog is daunting… trust me I do, I’ve been there. And sometimes we have to make tough decisions, but there are options out there, you just need to find them. - I got a new job and no longer have time for a dog.
Consider doggy-daycare or a dog walker. You did make a commitment to your dog when you first adopted him. Do your best to make it work.
Rehoming a Dog Because of Behavior Issues:
- My dog has bitten a child.
I understand it is really scary if your rescue dog has bitten your child. This should never be taken lightly. But please look at the situation with a clear mind. Read Why Do Family Dogs Bite and make your decision from there. - My dog has bitten another dog.
If you adopted a new dog and he isn’t getting along with your other dog, then take a few steps back and start over. Read The Best Way to Introduce a Second Dog and see if you can fix the relationship. - My dog has severe separation anxiety and has destroyed our house.
What have you tried to help your dog with his anxiety? Please read Solutions for Separation Anxiety to see if there are steps you can take before giving up on him. - I just adopted this dog and he isn’t what I expected.
How long have you had the dog? Have you given her enough time to adjust? Did you know that it could take up to 3 months for a rescue dog to feel completely comfortable in her new home? If you are certain you adopted the wrong dog, talk the rescue or shelter you got the dog from. Many times, they will take the dog back if it just isn’t a good fit.
An important note about rehoming a dog that has bitten a child or dog. Please disclose this information before giving your dog away. No matter how desperate you are, do not allow another child to be bitten. Do you really want another family to go through what you have?
Where Can I Give My Dog Away
If you are certain rehoming your dog is the right decision, where and how should you give your dog away?
No matter which option you choose, it’s important to be honest about all your dog’s issues and health concerns. Finding someone that is prepared to take care of all of your dog’s quirks, big or small, is important… or else he will just end up being returned to you or worse, euthanized.
Option 1: Contact the Rescue You Originally Adopted Your Dog From
If you adopted your dog from a shelter or rescue, start by asking them about taking the dog back. The rescue I volunteer for actually requires their adopters to surrender the dog back to them if needed at any time.
Some rescues will even post your dog on their website and let you keep him until you find a good home.
Option 2: Turn to Friends and Family for Help
I recommend you start by asking friends and family, even co-workers if they would be willing to take in your dog. This way you know the dog will be well taken care of.
Option 3: Post on Social Media
Posting a photo and your dog’s story on Facebook could be a great way to get the word out he needs a new home. I understand you may be afraid of being judged by your peers, but you’d be surprised how fast you could rehome a dog using social media.
Option 4: Ask Your Veterinarian
Your vet may have adoption resources you could turn to, or maybe even know someone looking to adopt a new dog.
Option 5: Rehoming a Dog on Adopt-a-Pet Website
Adopt-a-Pet is a well-known online adoption website, and they have a rehoming listing service too! Adopt a pet makes it easy to list by simply filling out the form online and uploading pictures. Rehome at Adopt-a-Pet also has a ton of resources for you to try and keep your dog!
Option 6: Rehoming a Dog on Craigslist
I love Craigslist, I use it to buy and sell everything from toys to furniture. But when it comes to dogs, it can be sketchy. Some very bad people lurk on the social selling site.
Let’s face it, we’ve all heard the horror stories of people getting scammed out of their houses, kidnapped or shot over a computer. And dogs being bought for reasons I’d rather not think of… bad reasons… for fighting and bait dogs.
There are also stories of puppy mills posting on Craigslist, so again, please do your research before buying or selling on this platform.
Now that I scared you, I have to admit something… we adopted our yellow lab Bear from Craigslist. Yup, that’s right we adopted an 18-month-old pure breed English Yellow Lab on Craigslist! We got lucky, the family rehoming him got lucky.
Bear grew much larger than the family thought he would… at a whopping 97 lbs, he was too big to live in a small trailer home with no yard. Plus, Bears’ previous owner was aging, had bad knees and couldn’t walk him. He was bursting at the seams with built up energy and was not a happy dog.
She realized this and came to the difficult conclusion that they needed to rehome Bear. She cried as we packed Bear’s belongings into our car, so I knew she cared very much for him and I am sure she felt guilty for letting him go.
A happy ending can happen, but you need to do your homework. Ask a lot of questions and meet the family before agreeing they can adopt your dog. Ask for a rehoming fee to ensure the new family is serious.
Option 7: Contact Your Local Humane Society or Shelter
I’d say this should be your last resort. Dogs become very stressed when dropped off at a shelter. A shelter can be a scary place for any animal. And you have no idea how long he could end up staying there.
Call ahead and find out the shelters process of surrendering a dog. DO NOT just drop a dog off at the back door! Please no matter how desperate you are, this is not the right way to handle rehoming a dog.
The more information the shelter has about your dog before rehoming, the less stress for the dog, and the better chance he has for being readopted.
Please make sure you find a no-kill shelter. Unless your dog is truly aggressive, and you’ve tried everything… does he really deserve to be euthanized?
Over to you… please share your story in the comments below. I created the Rescue Dogs 101 community so we can support each other in times of need. It could help someone else in the same situation. You may be feeling alone right now, having to rehome your dog is not an easy decision, but please take comfort in knowing you are not alone! I am here for you.
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Have you considered whether you need to rehome your pet straight away? Sometimes looking at short-term options like boarding kennels or friends and family can give you the time you need to get you back on your feet.
I have a sweet natured 13 month old lab/staffy cross retriever for the past 3 months.I got her 3 months after my 16 year old lab died. She has come from a family that never harmed her but did neglect her in terms of socialising her in the world, taking her for walks, going in the car etc. She did live with another dog and a cat however. I was unaware at the time how limited her life had been until we had her home for a while. She and I have attached well.
I have needed to have a 1-1 trainer to teach her to walk calmly on a lead…..I put in many hours a day and week …..there is some gradual improvement. I have always had a dog and never had to do training so it has been very new for me and i have embraced it but am now exhausted by it all . She needs to always be on lead as she is still a puppy and very big and very excitable – jumping on people and lunging at dogs….she won’t hurt the dogs at all and once she reaches them she doesn’t jump on them until they show a willingness to play, however it scares other dogs and their owners. I feel that this behaviour is part of her nature/character and don’t feel that hopeful of it changing…which means always having her on a lead when out?
We have a holiday house in the bush that we go to regularly. There are no fences and it is on a main road. We have been unable to take our dog as she has such a strong sense of smell and will just race off after the scent. I have never experienced a dog like that. I don’t want her to be on a lead all the time or in an enclosure at our holiday place, yet putting her in a kennel or getting others to look after her regularly feels wrong and I don’t think it will help with all the training I am doing with her. I haven’t gone away much since having her at all, but this doesn’t feel sustainable to me. We are thinking re-homing her now and although it feels right I still have some confusion and sadness.
I feel I should give her more time but then I feel like I just can’t do it anymore.
Hi Nicole, I don’t have the right answer for you, but I urge you to go with your gut feeling on this. I think you need to answer two questions for yourself: Do you think she will have a better life with another family? Do you feel your well-being will suffer from keeping her. I know it may not be black and white, so maybe write down all the pros and cons before you decide.
I adore my rescue pup (lab/shepherd/boxer and more mix). We adopted her from a shelter at 12 weeks and she’s almost one now. She had a ton of issues, including fear and aggression toward men, children, and dogs. Now she’s fine with everything but men, and though she’s great with most dogs, she’s attacked our elderly smaller dog multiple times. We have done training and behavior modification and the professionals and the vet agreed she needed medication, so we’re trying that now. She will go after our other dog and one of our two cats with no warning, no context we can spot. The other cat she is fine with. We’re confused. Her bouts of aggression are unpredictable and since she has injured our older dog, we have to keep them completely separate (not easy in a small house). We do have a lot of property she gets to romp around and we take lots of trips to the dog park. She loves to go boating and swimming with us, even rides the ATV trails with us. She would be our ideal dog if we could trust her or predict her behavior. We can’t. We sometimes think we can and tragically prove ourselves wrong. She’s only been on the meds 2 weeks but seems to be getting worse (3 unprovoked aggressions in one week, usually it’s two, maybe three a month). I love her. I want to keep her but wonder if I’m doing a disservice to her. She might be better in a home with another larger dog or no other animals. She’s energetic and goofy and I think our situation might be setting her up to fail (she’s also gone after our chickens and now cannot be unsupervised outside with them). We plan on getting turkey and goats next spring and I have worked so hard to control and redirect her prey drive with some improvement but no real success. It breaks my heart to think of our home without her, of feeling like I’m giving up on such a sweet pup with so much potential, but the time I keep giving for improvement keeps ticking away and I keep resetting the clock, often to the detriment of my other pets and now I fear, maybe to my rescue dog’s detriment as well. I’m going to give the medicine 8 weeks before I decide for sure, but if she continues to get worse or stays the same, is this a situation where rehoming might be best? Right now I feel like I’ve failed her, failed all my animals and I’m reaching out for advice from an outside perspective.
I feel your pain, really I do! It’s a tough call and one that you will need to weigh all the pros and cons of rehoming her to decide what is best for her and your family. We recently added a new puppy to our family this summer and are having to keep our one dog, Ginger, separated from the puppy. It’s not easy, but also it’s necessary.
I am seriously considering returning my 7-month-old frenchton puppy to his breeder. He is a sweet, good boy, but he has had health problems since the day I brought him home. During his first month with me he had unrelenting diarrhea from coccidia and giardia. In order to stop the diarrhea he has to be on expensive special food, and I suspect will need it for the rest of his life. As soon as i got the diarrhea stopped it became evident that he had breathing problems and he has had to have two surgeries to correct that. Unfortunately he still snores very loudly which I know is something that this breed is prone to but I did not realize how much snoring would bother me. I have terrible insomnia and the snoring has made it much worse. Just recently he came up lame after a vigorous play session and I found out today that he has mildly luxating patellas. He probably won’t need surgery, but it could cause chronic problems for the rest of his life. Then tonight I saw that he had redness between his paw pads, I suspect yeast and I anticipating another chronic problem. These things would be stressful for anyone, but I just spent three years taking care of my mom while she was treated for pancreatic cancer, during that time I also had cancer, and my dog Sydney got cancer for the third time and died after surgery. My mom died in August of 2019. I really hoped to not have to take care of any sick loved ones for a while and these constant problems with my puppy are triggering depression and anxiety. I feel like all this interaction with a medical system is really bad for me and my mental health. But it also breaks my heart to think of giving him up, he and my other dog get along great, he is wonderfully behaved and sweet and adorable. And I love having a second dog, but I feel like if I can’t make it work with him and have to re-home him then I shouldn’t risk getting another dog. In the past I have bad luck with my dogs and their health but I have always stuck it out and provided them with all the care they needed, but at this time in my life, when I am trying to recover from so much medical trauma, I just don’t know if I can do it again and I wonder what else will go wrong. I have had so much recent loss and it breaks my heart to think of losing my pup, but the constant worry is making me miserable.
I’m so sorry to hear this Kathy. The fact that you got this dog from a breeder is even worse. This breeder should not be breeding dogs if he is as sick as you describe. So sad! I wish you the best whatever you decide.
We have a cocker spaniel we have had since he was 12 weeks old. We are a busy household with 4 children and thought an energetic breed would be great in a house with lots going on.
The dog however really struggles with his behaviour when everyone is in the house, he just wants to play however he is still play mouthing and the barking is just constant. We have attended puppy classes and follow the guidance and research out there however it just doesn’t make a difference.
When there is only myself or my husband in the house he’s brilliant.
The moment we are outside the house no matter how much we work with him he is a nightmare. Barking and lunging for dogs to play with him, a lot of dogs don’t like him in their face to play and have gone for him a couple of times. But he doesn’t learn, gets straight back up and doesn’t it again. I worry he’ll get hurt. His recall is non existent and for that reason can’t go off the lead, he has bolted out of the house a few times and it takes us ages to get him back! He is getting more confident when he gets out as well and running further afield! I worry he’ll get knocked over on busy road!
I’m answering my own doubts here! Although I’m devastated and feel like I’ve let him down I feel he needs a quieter house for him to get all the attention. We have to re home but I am devastated.
I’m so sorry Helen. Whatever you decide I am sure it will be the best for you and the dog. Not to change your mind one way or the other, but 12 weeks is still very young. We have an almost 6 month old puppy right now and I can tell you there are times I am ready to scream. They are learning and testing the boundaries so much at this age. But it sounds like your puppy may thrive in a quieter environment.
I recently rescued a 7 month old puppy and have been experiencing some issues particularly due to isolation anxiety and fear aggression. She hurt herself the first time I left her alone for an hour so now I am afraid to do that. She also has snapped at children and will growl and bark when they’re around. I also live in a condo in the city and she just can’t seem to get comfortable inside or outside. Even as I’m typing this late at night she was barking as one of my neighbors walked by and they started saying quiet which just riled her up even more. The only time I’ve seen her truly at ease is in the suburbs. I had two behavior specialists come in and they both said this is not the right place for her and she will never be as social as I’d like and she belongs in a rural setting. The rescue said they’d take her back but I’m feeling guilty about it. Do you think this is the right decision?
It sounds like you’ve answered your own question. I know you feel guilty, but you need to do what’s best for the puppy. Is it fair for her to live a live where she isn’t happy or always stressed?
I just took a job that will require me to travel 80% of the time. I know it’s not feasible to give my dog the attention he deserves when I may only be home on the weekend but I am really struggling with letting him go.
Just had to re-home my Akita. He was a great dog just not right for our household.
It broke my heart and I’m still trying to be ok with the situation but it was choice I had to make.
So sorry Lucy. Time does heal and knowing you made the right choice for you and the dog.
A few years ago I rescued 2 part border collie puppies abandoned in our neighborhood. I only wanted to foster but my husband decided we would keep them. We are an older couple and they are just too much for me. I want to rehome them through a BC rescue. I can’t help but feel terribly guilty even though I never wanted to keep them permanently to begin with.
My husband recently passed away and I’m having to surrender 4 dogs to the dumb friends league. They are the only no kill shelter I could find. I hate having to part with them, but my husband was the only income and these are very large breeds. I feel like I’m dishonoring him by letting them go, but without him properly caring for them is impossible for me. I want to do what’s best for them, but I’m having trouble letting go. How do i get over this guilt? Will they truly be ok, or will I regret this forever?
I am so sorry for your loss Brittany. I am sure you didn’t make the decision lightly and did what is best for the dogs and yourself. I am sure the shelter will find great homes for them. Maybe they can give you updates so you can have peace of mind knowing they are happy.