# Should I Keep Trying or Rehome?



## Texas.girl

Someone dumped Sweet Pea out on the HWY near a country store last April. We were praying for a dog so we took her home. Well, it is very clear to us why she was dumped. She is a loveable dog and has a great play drive and is high energy. Thankfully she has not hurt any of our animals but loves the chase. We use to let her run free for exercise until she figured out how to get under the goat fence. She really enjoys chasing the goats. We use to have her in the dog kennel but she figured out how to get out. So we started tying her up. Well, after she chewed through several leases we got a plastic coated metal lead to tie her up. Well, this morning she was chasing the goats after having chewed through that plastic coated metal lead. I have been trying to train her but we are still working on sit. Last week I started looking for a trainer who also boards as I am very rural. I have found one trainer an hour away who charges $300 a week. I have a lead on another trainer who is an hour away in a different direction but have not made contact yet. I am just starting to wonder if it is worth putting more money into her (already spent over $200 getting her spayed, etc.). I have goats, chickens, and 2 cats who love to tease her. I am willing to spend the money to get her trained if there is hope of her becoming a good guard dog (she does bark a lot which is good if people on foot from Mexico are trespassing on their way up north). It would be nice to have a dog we can let be free and keep predators (both animal and human) away. We love her as she is so sweet, but she needs to be trained. I would hate to plunk hundreds of dollars into getting her trained and still have to rehome her. You who have more experience with dogs and livestock, how much hope do you think there is for Sweet Pea? Should I spend the money to get her some training or start looking for a nice family with a good back yard and lots of kids to play with her and let them do the obedience training?


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## ksalvagno

Sounds like she needs a lot of exercise. I wonder if obstacle training would help her. I know Caesar Milan always pushes making sure they have a lot of exercise.


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## afptl

*Lots of stress here!*

I think you should rehome her. The reason being it is her nature to chase and she probably has a strong predator bent. Meaning some day you are going to come home and find your chickens dead and your goats killed. It's just a matter of time. (I have raised Labs since 1987 and lost lots of chickens trying to "train" it out of them.) You can't leave her unsupervised outside. It's just the way it is.

It's a lot of stress the make sure she is contained and she has a lot of energy to try to dig out, or challenge fences.

$300 is a lot of money to spend on training when groceries are expensive, etc.

It's hard to pound a square peg in a round hole. That's what you are trying to do with her. Training only goes so far.

Get a dog that won't kill your livestock.


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## NyGoatMom

Use a chain instead...with larger links.

ETA: If you are tying her at times you can't watch her is what I meant. Why not use a chain she can't chew through?


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## Texas.girl

I like Ceasar Milan too. I have noticed when we are able to exercise her she doesn't jump on me when I go out to feed her. Exercise is a major key, but all last week it rained and I live on a dirt road that gets flooded when we get a lot of rain. Dog won't mind but I don't.


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## ogfabby

I'm against keeping a dog on a chain. It frustrates them and unless you are really willing to spend time with her, it's not fair to her. Dogs are pack animals. If you aren't willing to become part of her pack and insist on keeping her in solitary confinement on a chain, rehome her and find a dog better suited to your needs. It's not worth the risk to your livestock. More than likely, the behavior will resume if you don't continue to keep her stimulated.


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## nchen7

I don't like that prey drive. my dogs have high prey drive for small things (chickens, cats, etc), and they've killed them occasionally. the big guy has chased our buckling once when he was really small, but not anymore. all it takes is one slip up from an animal, and they're probably dead. then the dog gets blood thirsty, and your issue gets exasperated.

you have to decide what works for you. our big dog gets tied up when we're not home b/c he likes to hop the fence and terrorize the neighbourhood (only when my bf is gone), but he has a long lead and he really only hangs out on the patio with or without the leash on. our smaller dog gets to run free, but she has no intentions of escaping, and she keeps him company.

good luck with your decision.


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## OakHollowRanch

We had a very similar situation in mid-January. We found a 6 month old female puppy chasing cattle in a field near my house. My sister called her over, and she jumped right in the car. The first month we had her, she was still very timid and didn't give our chickens a second look. She met our other two dogs, and they got along beautifully. It was like a dream come true! Finally, we were able to locate her old owners who said she did not have a fence and was always running away. She said she was bred to be a pig hunting dog and was a Jagdt terrior/ Argentine Dogo mix. Apparently they assumed she had been killed and didn't bother to contact the animal shelter, or call our # that was on all the found dog signs. We decided to keep her. We had her spayed and vaccinated when she was about 7 months, and began to really start reinforcing basic training. She was SO smart, and loved learning. However, slowly but surely, she started to become more destructive and aggressive. One day, she saw my dad trying to catch a chicken in the yard, and she never went back. She began chasing the chickens and fought with our two original dogs at every corner. I was so worried that my small chihuahua would eventually be killed. I tried training, monitoring them constantly, and jogging with her daily. She was anxious, unhappy, and out of control. By the end of March, she had started chasing our goats along the fence and barking at them obsessively. With new baby goats along the way, I knew that she would kill them eventually. On Easter morning, we decided to call her old owners. To our relief, her old owners offered to take her before we even said anything. She said her friend who owned a large hunting resort near us had wanted her since the day she was born, but had been waiting until she moved into her newly built house. I said my goodbyes and cried quite a bit. I felt like I had failed her, but it was just not going to work out. Keeping her apart from our two other dogs, our goats, and our chickens was just not possible. She is now being trained to do what she was bred to do; hunt wild pigs. I would NEVER have taken her to a shelter or somewhere she would not be cared for. She now lives out her days here, http://www.redbankhunting.com/ and we are all better off for it.


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## toth boer goats

Re-homing would be a good idea, she loves the chase and it may become a bad outcome later, when she starts to nip at the goats drawing blood.


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## Texas.girl

We well see what happens.

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/grd/3959821379.html


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## ThreeHavens

Posting her on petfinder may also be a good option. :hug: I would personally not offer her free, just because there are some shady characters out there who will talk the talk but not walk the walk.


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## nchen7

Texas.girl said:


> We well see what happens.
> 
> http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/grd/3959821379.html


awesome ad!

maybe you could ask some of your local animal rescue groups to help find a new home for her as well? Expand the network and they can help vet prospective homes?


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## Texas.girl

ThreeHavens said:


> Posting her on petfinder may also be a good option. :hug: I would personally not offer her free, just because there are some shady characters out there who will talk the talk but not walk the walk.


I took your advice and changed the ending to expecting a donation to cover some of my vet expenses. I also added 2 more pics of her. She is a 55 pound lap dog so now there is a pic showing that part of her personality. She will make someone a great dog, but that person needs to not have other animals unless they are indoor pets.

The shelters around here are pretty full and I live far from them, so that probably is not a very good option, but I will post on petfinder and any other lead I am given. I know the right home for her is out there. I forgot to include she likes to chew--ate a cell phone, hay hooks (wooden part), pool net, and several other items.


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## nchen7

nono, not give to them the dog, but I've seen on petfinder some animal rescue groups (not shelters, like those independent groups) will post on behalf of someone on petfinder and on their website....


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## ThreeHavens

petfinder is a place where anyone can post a dog up for adoption, I believe.


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## NyGoatMom

Very nice ad! Hope she finds the right place!


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## Texas.girl

Just registered for pet finder but cannot figure out how to post her for adoption. Seems only shelters can list. At least there is a way to search but I am not finding any way to actually list her.


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## nchen7

yea....search for animal rescue groups near you, and ask them to post on your behalf. I think you can only post a pet for adoption if you're a registered charity.


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## toth boer goats

Very nice ad indeed, good luck


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## Texas.girl

FYI--Craigslist deleted my ad. Pet sales are prohibited was in red letters when I clicked on the link. I am so frustrated. Craigslist won't let me advertise, petfinder won't let me advertise. Shelters are overflowing and killing pets at record rates. What am I suppose to do?


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## NyGoatMom

What? That's crazy....I bought my Pom from an ad on Cl??


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## LamanchaAcres

What section did you post her under?


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## nchen7

old school paper ads around town?


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## Sylvie

I see pets up for ADOPTION on Craigslist...with a re-homing fee.


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## Texas.girl

I am really baffled. The link said no pets for sale, but I only asked for a donation to help cover my vet expenses, which I do not think is unreasonable. I didn't specify an amount, just a donation. Who is that selling a pet? Maybe I will repost in a few days and just reword that sentence a little bit and see if that works.

She was posted under Farm & Garden by owner. Didn't see anything else that was appropriate.

As for petfinders. The only shelter listed near me is a county kill shelter and their page made it clear you better come pick up an animal that interests you asap. That shelter is an hour away from me. the town has other shelters though, but none were listed on the site. I might have to take a friend to the doctor next Wed. and if I do I will visit the non-profit shelters and talk to them. Maybe they know of another place I can advertise.


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## LamanchaAcres

Try posting under pets under community i think. I see alot of pet advertisments there.


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## Brink4

There are programs where you donate your dog to a prison and they train them to become companion type dogs. Also check into seeing eye dogs. I know people who has done this so it's worth a shot.


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## Texas.girl

LamanchaAcres said:


> Try posting under pets under community i think. I see alot of pet advertisments there.


When I was posting there was no pets area to post on. I looked. I just went over and looked at the home page and see pets under community. But neither community or pets was available on the page where you select where to post on the day I was posting. I spent a lot of time looking and was frustrated. I just was looking again trying to figure out why I was deleted, it just doesn't make since to me. I am one of those people who try really hard to obey the rules. Well, I saw a suggestion by someone staying wait 48 hours before reposting. So I will do that.



Brink4 said:


> There are programs where you donate your dog to a prison and they train them to become companion type dogs. Also check into seeing eye dogs. I know people who has done this so it's worth a shot.


I know this dog would not pass seeing eye dog training or maybe not companion training. She does have a high play drive, way to high. I have seen programs on training dogs for service jobs and most fail. One dog failed because the dog kept chasing squirrels, not a good trait for a seeing eye dog. My dog loves chasing. She goes ballistic when the barn cats walk by out of her reach and I know they are doing it on purpose. She really enjoys chasing the goats. She keeps a good distance from them and shows no signs of actually wanting to catch one, she just loves chasing them.


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## Brink4

Texas.girl said:


> When I was posting there was no pets area to post on. I looked. I just went over and looked at the home page and see pets under community. But neither community or pets was available on the page where you select where to post on the day I was posting. I spent a lot of time looking and was frustrated. I just was looking again trying to figure out why I was deleted, it just doesn't make since to me. I am one of those people who try really hard to obey the rules. Well, I saw a suggestion by someone staying wait 48 hours before reposting. So I will do that.
> 
> I know this dog would not pass seeing eye dog training or maybe not companion training. She does have a high play drive, way to high. I have seen programs on training dogs for service jobs and most fail. One dog failed because the dog kept chasing squirrels, not a good trait for a seeing eye dog. My dog loves chasing. She goes ballistic when the barn cats walk by out of her reach and I know they are doing it on purpose. She really enjoys chasing the goats. She keeps a good distance from them and shows no signs of actually wanting to catch one, she just loves chasing them.


What about an agility dog for a local 4H child. They work on obedience and agility? Call your local extension office and see if there are canine clubs. Just a suggestion...it would also depend on how the dog interacts with a child or teen. Best of luck.


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## peachpatch143

I had the same issue with Craig's list when I posted my sons ferrets, I just kept reporting lol I don't know why it red flags me bc tons of people advertise there for pets!!


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## Texas.girl

4H is pretty much into livestock around here and nothing else. I have been to the county fair--sheep, goats, and rabbits. That was it. I live in meat goat country. Only around 2000 humans in the entire county. And when you go west the population numbers plummet. There are school dist. around here that have less then 200 students and cover huge areas. One school dist. to the east of me, Divide, has less then 10 students total--K through 8th grade. High school kids have to go to a different school dist. So when I say I am rural, I am not joking.


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## afptl

Just keep reposting it on Craigslist. You are allowed on Craigslist to find homes for dogs and charge a rehoming fee. There is a group of people out there with nothing to do but flag stuff and look for dogs to flag. They think it a game to find pets to flag. I have read their comments on the craigslist blog so that is how I found that out.

Also try Hoobly.com and ebayclassifieds.com Both free.


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## StaceyRosado

Facebook and ask friends to share. 

yes it takes someone actually flagging it to get it removed. CL doesnt monitor adds or delete them unless someone actually flags the add.


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## Texas.girl

I did post on facebook as I have a lot of city friends from when I lived in the city who might know someone looking for a high energy friendly dog. I am going to repost on craigslist tomorrow afternoon/evening.


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## LadySecret

Hope you find a good home for your dog!


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## nchen7

that sucks! hopefully you'll find a feasible solution soon!!!


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## CAjerseychick

SO, just getting to this part of the Forum ( I can tell I am going to like this)-- how did it turn out?
I am guessing you rehomed her?
It is really tough to have animals and dogs that dont get along as they should with them....

For the future though: 

I know this might sound silly, but we put a mini tire (like from a lawn tractor ) on a chain on our dog WHEN WE CAUGHT HER CHASING-- make sure you catch her in the act-- the tire sure slows em down (and keeps them getting thru fences) plus leave it on for a day or 2 they hate it and learn that they chase (make sure you say NO) that they get the tire, on a sweet dog like that should be an effective detterrent.....


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## Texas.girl

CAjerseychick said:


> I know this might sound silly, but we put a mini tire (like from a lawn tractor ) on a chain on our dog WHEN WE CAUGHT HER CHASING-- make sure you catch her in the act-- the tire sure slows em down (and keeps them getting thru fences) plus leave it on for a day or 2 they hate it and learn that they chase (make sure you say NO) that they get the tire, on a sweet dog like that should be an effective detterrent.....


I love that idea. If Sweet Pea was still here I would chain her to a tire. That way she could still get around but not under that fence to chase the goats.

So here is what happened. A 21 year old son of a friend had to put his life long pal down. Poor dog was pretty ill at age 13. The son was so distraught his father and I actually had to drive 130 miles to San Antonio, pick up the dog and take him to my vet, who confirmed the problem that was wrong with the dog was an issue that qualifies for putting down the dog. So we did and buried him on my land. Well, a few days later the son asked if he could borrow Sweet Pea. He said he just needed a dog. So now Sweet Pea is living in San Antonio. BTW, this 21 year old son is carrying for his half brother and sister as their mother is in the Army and deployed to Korea. There are also a bunch of other children around. So Sweet Pea has lots of children to play with.

I am so glad I paid to have Sweet Pea micro-chipped when I had her spayed. Since Sweet Pea loves to chase goats, she may enjoy chasing cars too and I can imagine her some day getting lost. She will come back to us but she does enjoy running. Since she is basically with family, if she does ever get lost the micro-chip will lead the finder to me. And I know how to get hold of the 21 year old son.


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## CAjerseychick

OK great ending - thanx for updating us I hate be left hanging! Yes keep in mind that old tire trick! yay am so glad Sweet pea got a nice home, you did right by her!


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## Scottyhorse

Yay, glad she found a home  !


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## ksalvagno

Glad you were able to find a place for her. Maybe they will like her so much that they will keep her.


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## Texas.girl

Sweet Pea has a forever home, I am sure of it. My friend's son had a heart that gets attached easily. Enough weeks have passed by now that if there was going to be a major issue it would have occurred.


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