Rehoming....

ORIGINAL: ColleenC

I think the best advice is to keep an open mind.  Like I said in the other topic, Colton was a demon compared to Rose.  Rose is my velcro dog as many have put it.  Colton is the most independent stubborn Russell I have ever met!  I wanted to send him back many times, but I kept with it, and he adjusted very well to apartment life.  He has even learned not to mess with the rabbits anymore!  And that is a major accomplishment for a Russell!  Give him some time, and if you must rehome him, then so be it.  Just don't give up yet!

 
Thank you for the encouragement! I've thought of you and Colton more than a few times. I keep trying to tell myself that if he turned out to be a good dog then Cinnabun could to. It's really easy to get discouraged though. But I'm trying to make this work!!!

"She has 16 brood bitches."
 
Last time we chatted about picking a breeder, you said you were going to wait and find a GOOD breeder...what changed? That is TOO MANY dogs...period. This really shocked me...how sad for the dogs. NO ONE has enough time to dote on 16 broodbitches...or 3-4 litters of puppies....and I am sure she keeps a fair amount of stud dogs as well? Unreal....I'd have run from a breeder like this...
 
Oh well...

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Tamara - How are things today? Any better?

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lol--you should have heard the sounds Sally used to make in her crate.  I'm sure the neighbors thought I was skinning her alive.
 
Anyhoo, glad things are going a bit better....

Luvntzus,
 
I wanted to say that it takes alot of guts to stick it out on the board, and with this puppy.  I am proud that you've gone this far and I know that even if Cinnabun isn't quite what you expected, you are doing what you can.  I hate to sound like an echo, but I know that you can do this too. 
 
Most of the time I may sound a bit callous, but I do actually care a great deal.  I know how happy you are with your Gingerbread and even though you will never be able to duplicate that relationship with Cinnabun, I think you'll grow to appreciate him and his idiosyncrasies.

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus
Hi Caprice, thanks for asking! [] Things are a little better. Although, just when he was being good in his puppy pen, he decided to start the whining and bratty stuff again. Ahhh well. I'm trying to hang in there and at this point I think the chances of us giving him up are very, very small.

 
How is he doing at night?  Daisy has been so good, but for some reason last night she cried the whole night!!!!!  I hope that Cinnabun is letting you sleep a bit!

Tamara how's it going today?
DON'T DO IT!! Trust me on this one. I cried for two weeks when I got Trixie, I thought I ruined everybody's life including Trixie's.
She turned out to be a blessing from God, I mean it I have never encountered anybody, any species like this dog. She truly a gift.
Granted she was 7, she wasn't house trained, but not crazy. My breeder was on the phone and emailing everyday after I got both of my dogs. Your breeder is most likely a puppy mill, 16 brood bitches couldn't even be accommodated in a home, not counting the studs, and  puppies. Just give it the two weeks.

To meet and interact with both my dogs now, I think people would be shocked to hear that I'd seriously given thought to rehoming both of them after first getting them. But I stuck it out. There were tears, there were some panic attacks. We made it through, mostly due to my husband being so totally unflappable that the things that would send me off the deep end he'd just kind of shrug and go, "oh well."
 
For me it's like this: I often don't think I'm good enough to care for these dogs. These beautiful living creatures are counting on me and I'm not living up to what I think they need. I have very high standards, for myself and for others--but mostly for myself. If I can't solve a problem my dog is having, I feel like a failure and I feel like there's got to be a jillion people out there who would not fail my dog like I've done.
 
So, I completely understand how awful dealing with a problem dog can be, and how tempting rehoming can be when you feel like you're failing your dog. I'm so glad you're sticking it out. Now, it shocks me to think that I might not have my dogs in my life. But with Conrad, who has seperation anxiety, there were about 4 months where every single day I would ask myself why I couldn't seem to help this dog, and that surely there must be someone out there who can. But for all of my feelings of failure, I always felt the ultimate failure would be giving up. That finally was the one step I couldn't take.
 
I'm really glad you're sticking it out. You certainly aren't the only dog lover who's thought about rehoming. I think we've all had that moment at one time or another.

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ORIGINAL: caprice

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus
Hi Caprice, thanks for asking! [] Things are a little better. Although, just when he was being good in his puppy pen, he decided to start the whining and bratty stuff again. Ahhh well. I'm trying to hang in there and at this point I think the chances of us giving him up are very, very small.

How is he doing at night?  Daisy has been so good, but for some reason last night she cried the whole night!!!!!  I hope that Cinnabun is letting you sleep a bit!

Sorry to hear that Daisy cried all last night. I guess some setbacks are normal... Hope you get a better night's sleep tonight! []

Cinnabun was awful the first night, I keep his crate right next to the bed, so my husband and I slept with earplugs. [] The second night he was a little better and now he's doing MUCH better. He wakes me up about twice a night with quiet whimpering. I take him to his puppy area, he does his little business and then I take him back to bed. So I'm happy that part is going well!
 
Edited to add: I have something else GOOD to say about Cinnabun. He uses his puppy pads by himself at least 90% of the time!! AND he's not a "doody" eater like Gingerbread was. [] 

Don't feel bad for posting your feelings. That's what this board is here for! I think you're like me. I have immediate, passionate reactions to things. I can definitely see how you'd be overwhelmed by bringing home a "terror" puppy and I think in your position I would've posted the same things. But hopefully talking it through with all the "dog people" on the board made you feel better. It sounds like Cinnabun has a chance of fitting into your family and that's great!
 
Keep us posted (pictures??) on the progress. And use all the great resources on the board to help make the transition easier. People will forget the "emotional" posts, but the advice you will get is indispensible.

ORIGINAL: debv53

Tamara how's it going today?
DON'T DO IT!! Trust me on this one. I cried for two weeks when I got Trixie, I thought I ruined everybody's life including Trixie's.
She turned out to be a blessing from God, I mean it I have never encountered anybody, any species like this dog. She truly a gift.
Granted she was 7, she wasn't house trained, but not crazy. My breeder was on the phone and emailing everyday after I got both of my dogs. Your breeder is most likely a puppy mill, 16 brood bitches couldn't even be accommodated in a home, not counting the studs, and  puppies. Just give it the two weeks.

 
Thank you for the encouragement and for sharing your experience with Trixie. It's been a huge help!!! []

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus
Cinnabun was awful the first night, I keep his crate right next to the bed, so my husband and I slept with earplugs. [] The second night he was a little better and now he's doing MUCH better. He wakes me up about twice a night with quiet whimpering. I take him to his puppy area, he does his little business and then I take him back to bed. So I'm happy that part is going well!

 
I remember the puppy stage! Ahhhh!! It seemed to take months before Loki would sleep through the night quietly. I felt like a new mom. Every day I'd drag myself into work and say "the baby was up all night crying!" So it sounds like Cinnabun is already doing better than Loki did. []