Serious help needed

Rank, I think it may actually be in the dog's best interest to be rehomed, particularly if you are the only one willing & able to do the exercising with her. You are a busy person, and well you should be - it's an important time for you, finishing school and either going on to college or a job... I think it's good for those things to be your focus right now. Are you planning on leaving home next year or soon after that? It can be hard to find an apartment that allows dogs, and virtually no college dorms do. You may want to think about finding someone to take your dog to a more suitable home, ideally someone who will let you visit and play with her often. I'm sure that would be very hard to do - but it must be equally hard for you to take care of your needs and this highly active dog's needs right now.

I've just walked her for an hour and a half and played heaps of ball with her. The only thing I'm worried about is that she runs of a lot and I'm scared she won't come back when I call her. She did today but only just barely. And I don't know if she will run at another dog if she sees one.

Here's a picture of her:



P.S
I'd like her to be in the house a lot more but she molts very badly and my mother hates the hair. Any suggestions?

My pup is a "parkaholic".  If he doesn't get to the dog park at LEAST a few times a week he starts to go bonkers.  We walk him twice a day and he has an outside area to play in, but he is a ROMPER.  He just needs to tear it up and run like nuts and jump all over other dogs.  He just needs this.  So, I'm not sure if there is a dog park near you, but that might be the trick.  If you are a student bring some reading material with you. 

So how was she after her walk and playtime?

She was good but she still dug a hole today. I took her 3 times. And she never comes back when I call her...Oh well she is tired now which is the main thing.

You have to teach her to come back when you call.  And if she won't come back when you call, get a long drag line kind of thing so she can still run a bit but not take off on you.  You can get pretty cheap clothesline from a hardware store, cut off about 50 feet, and tie one end to her leash, then clip on her and put a loop or knots in the other end for you to hold onto or step on when needed.

Digging is pretty typically a sign of boredom.
 
On the not coming, she has to be TAUGHT to come.  Never call her to you for anything negative, and never call her unless you can ENFORCE the command.  So even if you have to put her on a 50 foot drag line, be able to "reel her in" when you call.  And then give her a jackpot of treats so that coming isn't the end of play, its a GOOD thing.

Okay I thought I'd fill you guys in
 
She's going. We have to sell her now. She is just too much. Digging everything after 3 walks a day for 2 hours and last night she bit someone on the mouth for no reason very aggressively. She has been trained so it's not because of lack of discipline it's just her and we can't change the dog she is. So we are putting her in the papers next week. I'll miss her. But we are getting a new dog. Any suggestions on breeds?
 
P.S
I don't want anyone to look at me bad as if I'm a dog abandoner or anything like that. She was sooo hard to look after and we just couldn't cope. If we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we wouldn't have gotten that breed. We obviously didn't know how this breed works.
 

I'm sorry things didn't work out. I hope you can find her a good home. Please don't GIVE her away, because people who fight dogs will use other dogs to bait them (and let them kill the dog). Or other people sell them to medical research labs and that's horrible, too.

Don't get another dog yet! Hang around here, read the training sections, get to learn what you need to do to keep from having another sad experience! Your dog was not trained, I'm going to have to disagree with you. It takes time to train a dog, months. It doesn't happen in one or two weeks...

There are lots of good dog training videos and books. Mic made you a great offer, take him up on it! Books by Patricia McConnell are good, you can start there. []

But we are getting a new dog. Any suggestions on breeds?

 
Dogs are not disposable - think very carefully before you get another one, lest it meet the same fate as this one.  Don't get a terrier - they are the likeliest breeds to dig.  And, for gosh sake, if you aren't going to take the dog to classes, don't bother to get any dog until you can do that.  To tell you the truth, I would not adopt a dog out to you, given your lack of commitment to this dog.  Jeano is right.  Your dog was not trained, and you didn't give her any alternatives that made sense to her in terms of the digging problem.  If you want perfect, then get a stuffed dog.  They don't dig, or bark, or pee on the rug.
 

Jean and Anne, thank you.  I've been sitting on my hands on this one.  I agree with absolutely everything BOTH ladies said.  And, honestly, I can't think of a single breed that's gonna fit in with your lifestyles.  Perhpas a cat would be better for your family.  They require much less attention and maintainance.

I second the stuffed dog.  There are absolutely NO dogs out there that are just "plug and play."  They all require alot of work, what you put into them is what you get out of them.  Without a strong family commitment no family should have a pet.

I thought I knew what I was getting into when I was getting a puppy.  HA!  I lost sleep, got scarred up, lost the respect of my cat, and I'm still looking for a flip-flop that disappeared 3 months ago (just one though, I still have the other.)

I agree with everyone else....what happens if you can't cope with the next one, too?  Shelters are full of dogs that were dumped because their owners "couldn't cope".  If nobody adopts them, at some shelters they are killed because there are too many animals and not enough space.  It's just not fair to a dog to bring it into your home if you do not have the time to care for it.  I too cannot think of any dog breeds that require as little care as your family seems able to provide.
 
I'm sorry - but if you want a dog I suggest you wait until you are old enough to have one of your own, and you have done research into the responsibilities of dog ownership.
 
Kate

She's going. We have to sell her now. She is just too much. Digging everything after 3 walks a day for 2 hours and last night she bit someone on the mouth for no reason very aggressively. She has been trained so it's not because of lack of discipline it's just her and we can't change the dog she is.

 
She's inconvienent, you mean. She digs because she's being left outside away from her pack.... why? Becuase she sheds, hasn't been trained (training is a life-time task... it can be grown into, but also grown out of if it's not made a part of the dogs routine. I don't think you've trained her in a week, anyway), and yet needs more excersize that few seem willing to give (a 2hr walk is nothing, she needs something more along the lines of a 2 hr run). I'm curious about the bite? My dog, at 18 months, still nips me in greeting and during play... and I've spent countless hours trying to teach her bite inhibition. That doesn't make her aggressive, it makes her a dog. Is this type of thing what happened?
 
A dog shouldn't really go to a household that feels the animal as inferior. That's how this poor girl is being treated, and that's how the next one will be treated. Don't get a dog, and I can't recommend a cat either. While they are "lower maintainence" they aren't something you can trade in for a newer model either.
 
I got my dog in my senior year in HS as well (March before last). Was it a mistake? Yes, but when I got her, I knew in my heart, that she was a lifetime commitment (of course, this is something my parents taught me with the dogs we grew up with). She'd been difficult toward the end of my first sem. in college and midway through my second sem.... especially when my aunt just passed away, I had to go to classes all week, and work the weekends (so I could afford to feed her), be emotionally and physically exhasted only to have her pleading to take her for a walk in freezing temperatures.. she pleaded in dog language... by tearing things up, pacing, being hyperactive... you name it, she probably did it. Did I get really upset? You bet I did. I cried more than once because I was so overwhelmed, but the thought never crossed my mind of giving her up. Especially since I knew she'd spend months in the shelter and probably not be adopted because she's shy around strange people and required a lot of attention. I could never do that to her. I could also never live with myself if I sent her off to a home where she'd be mistreated.
 
I got through it though. I am right now being rewarded with a dog that's maturing into adulthood and becoming more calm (and, btw, 10months-14months was my hell period because she had the MOST energy I'd ever seen.. coincidently during a stressful period during college, work, and the after effects of my aunt passing away). Right now, she hasn't gotten a walk in a couple days (91 degrees is too hot for a malamute, and last night I walked for 3 hrs for the Relay for Life), but she's sleeping right behind my chair.
 
 
Finally, there are two things that got me through that time. This forum being one, and what I consider to be a godsend, the book Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson being the other. I take that back, My parents were also very supportive. They loaned me money when she chewed an albuterol inhaler that required a $700 vet visit and 2 nights of extremely poor sleep.
 
 
 
 
 

If you do not have time for a dog don't get one.  Your mom doesn't like fur well...all dogs have fur.  Good luck on getting a dog that will be perfect and not do anything wrong.  If you want a great dog then you have to spend time training and playing with them!
 
  Dogs love unconditionally...too bad a lot of humans cannot learn that!