Some reasons that you might be considering giving up your dog include family member allergies, living arrangement restrictions, aggressive dog behavior, or not having enough time to give the dog the attention it needs.
If a family member has allergies, consider allergy medications. Try to talk to your landlord about making special allowances for your pet. Perhaps you could offer to pay an extra pet deposit. If your pet is destructive, think about taking the dog to obedience training. As you have already built the connection with the dog, you might have a better chance to succeed than any potential new owner. If the behaviors issues get resolved as a result, the dog will be able to remain with you. Or consider putting the dog in a crate while you’re gone during the day as long as it is only for a few hours at a time. If you don’t have enough time to spend with your dog, consider taking it to doggie daycare during the day. Or ask some of your friends or relatives to help out with watching the dog while you’re at work. You could also consider hiring a dog sitter. If you no longer have financial means to keep the dog, try to contact your local Humane Society or another group or non-profit organization that provide support for dog owners. You may be able to get dog food and veterinary care at no cost or low cost.
Tell your children or other family members that you don’t want to get rid of the dog, but that there is no other option. Let them express how they feel and talk about the situation with them. Try saying something like, “You know how much we all love Fido, but, unfortunately, we are going to have to give him away. The new landlord doesn’t allow pets and there is no way for us to move to another place. I know this is a sad thing, but we will find Fido a good home where he can be happy. ”
Make sure they have the time to dedicate to a pet and enough room for the dog in their home. You could also ask your veterinarian for recommendations. They might know of someone who would be interested in adopting your dog.
You may want to avoid advertising online (unless it is a private post that only your friends and acquaintances can see) because there are many scams and people who want to adopt dogs for fighting, re-selling, or other unfortunate reasons. You want to avoid these kinds of inquiries.
For example, if you know your dog is not very good with children, you’ll want to inform the potential adopters about this fact and make sure they don’t have any small children in their home. Be sure to ask if new owners have enough time to walk, train, and care for the dog. If they don’t, look for some other owners. Remember that you are responsible for finding a good home for your dog.
Be sure to bring all of your dog’s possessions with you to its new home. This includes things like old toys, food dishes, dog bed, leash, and any bags of food you may have.
If you have a purebred dog, contact a non-profit rescue for the specific breed. They are usually well-equipped to assess your dog and have good connections with local rescue partners to find a new home for it. The shelter environment can be very stressful for a dog. However, if your situation is very urgent, or if the dog is dangerous, this may be your best option. Many animal shelters are kill shelters, which means that they euthanize animals who are not adopted after a certain amount of time. You don’t want that to happen to your family pet, so make sure you inquire about the shelter’s euthanization policies before you hand over your dog. You only want to give your dog to a no-kill shelter.
Spending quality time with the dog before it goes will give everyone a chance to say goodbye and to feel a little bit better about the situation. But be careful not to go too overboard with this process. If you are too overly emotional, the dog may sense something is wrong and feel anxious and upset.
Until the dog leaves for its new home, it is still part of your family. Treat the dog with love and kindness even if it is hard for you to do because you are sad it is leaving.
Let the dog take its treats, toys, dog bed, and any other possessions you bought the dog to its new home so that it will make the transition a bit easier on your pup.
You may also want to consider going to counseling or seeking the help of a grief support group if the pain seems unmanageable or if it lasts a long time.
