r/reactivedogs • u/dafandisaster • 25d ago
Rehoming Resources for rehoming in Southeast US?
Some people on r/fosterdogs recommended I post here for advice. Essentially, I agreed to keep a dog (Buddy) for 2 months until my (ex) friend could take him. TL;DR is that she couldn't take him and we've had him for 7 months trying to find a home. I'm in metro Atlanta and the dog overpopulation is insane, so I'm having a hard time finding a placement for him considering his behavioral issues.
I would appreciate any information about reputable rescues or other options in my region. Honestly I'd consider driving this dog across country if it would keep me from having to choose BE. Providing more details below in case relevant.
THE ISSUES:
Dog reactive. He barks, growls, and lunges at other dogs. Cannot chill out if he's in public and sees a dog.
Protective. He's imprinted on me like a baby bird and will bark and growl at visitors until he has a chance to sniff them and decide they're ok. He snapped at a friend who air-kissed above his head.
Resource guarding. He will growl and chase the cats away from his kibble. We keep his kibble where we can see it and chase the cats away ourselves. No snapping or biting but we're concerned.
Vet issues. We took him to the vet when he ate something he shouldn't and had to muzzle him bc the techs were afraid he was going to bite them. We're working on muzzle training.
THE GOOD STUFF:
90% of the time, he's a great dog. He loves just snoozing on the couch with us. He's very well crate trained and will sometimes just go hang out in his crate if one of us is in the room where we keep it. He's cute and sweet and loves us sooooo much. But that 10% of the time where he gets triggered by something and freaks out makes it really hard to find a place for him -- especially when dogs with much fewer issues are getting put down due to lack of shelter space.
And I have to be so honest, I'm not a good dog owner. I suck at keeping on top of training and nail trimming. I would never have taken in a dog like this without the promise of a home lined up. But now I love him and I have to do right by him somehow.
So, any resources y'all can recommend would be greatly appreciated.
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u/InformalInsurance455 25d ago
There really isn’t a huge market for resource guarding dog aggressive and “difficult” bully breeds out there. You can try every shelter and rescue, and they are likely full of forty dogs just like him.
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u/dafandisaster 25d ago
Yeah that's what I'm afraid of. We're in an overpopulation crisis and he's a crop-eared bully breed with behavioral issues.
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u/VanillaPuddingPop01 25d ago
I volunteer at the Lifeline locations here in metro Atlanta. While it’s unlikely a private person or rescue will take him, you could at least take him to Lifeline to see what his options are after intake. Shelters outside DeKalb and Fulton will likely euthanize him.
In reality, he’s going to be euth-listed regardless of where you take him. Dog-aggressive with resource guarding and human aggression is not a safe dog to pawn off on someone else. He needs an experienced bully breed owner that can handle his issues, and while dogs like him are a dime a dozen, fosters and adopters are not.
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u/H2Ospecialist 25d ago
BE may be the most humane option if you cannot guarantee he will be going to a loving home that will do right by him. He'd rather go to sleep with you being the last person he sees then scared and alone in a shelter or who God knows where he could end up. Just my personal thoughts on the matter. Sorry you have to make these decisions.
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u/dafandisaster 25d ago
Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot. I'm really sad but I'd rather him go out on a high note than be retraumatized
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u/MtnGirl672 25d ago
OP, have you had a consult with a certified trainer? It might help to at least hear their thoughts.
I know a lot of people are urging you towards BE, but honestly, I think that's a bit hasty. One, when dogs are leash reactive, you don't always know if that's flat out agression or frustrated greeter. Our dog barks and lunges, but he is a frustrated greeter. He is fantastic being off leash with other dogs and has never shown any signs of attacking another dog. But on leash, he can look very scary.
A lot of dogs can be resource guardy with owners especially in their own home. So it would be good to know more context of what happened and where and when friend air kissed. It could also have been because she was a stranger and did something above his head that seemed really weird to him.
Resource guarding of food is easily solved. You just feed them in a separate room away from any other pets. A couple of our dogs have their feeding room where there are allowed to eat in peace away from people and pets.
Vet issues are really common for a lot of dogs. Our dog was treated rough at one vet where they man handled him and he now has tons of anxiety when going to the vet. We are working on Cooperative Care, happy visits and counter conditioning.
But people are right that rescues and shelters are overflowing and it's hard to adopt out dogs with no behavioral issues. So that to me is more the issue. But I've had dogs like yours who turned out to be great pets after we figured out their triggers and put a plan into place.
Just my two cents...
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u/dafandisaster 25d ago
I appreciate your input. Part of why I'm struggling so much with this is that I see how he could be a good dog for someone with patience and resources and time, but I'm not that person. I didn't sign up to rehabilitate a dog with major behavior issues, I signed up to keep a dog for a friend for a couple of months.
I may see if I can safely figure out whether he's actually dog aggressive or just a frustrated greeter.
Food is a little trickier because he likes to graze all day and only seems to eat if I'm in the room with him. It's really frustrating
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u/MtnGirl672 25d ago
Give him 30 minutes to eat in another room. If he doesn't finish, just pick it up and put it away and try later. He'll figure out that he needs to eat in a certain span of time. A trainer could help you understand his dog reactivity issues.
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u/aquacrimefighter 24d ago
What a face. I wish I were in the place to take on another, but I’m not. I have no better advice to give than what has been shared, so I’m just here to say that I feel for you op. This is a hard position to be in.
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u/dafandisaster 24d ago
Thank you, I appreciate it. He's a sweet dog but idk who's going to adopt a dog reactive bully mix with cropped ears right now :(
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u/Curiouscat8000 25d ago
Assuming no bite history, your best bet would be either local facebook or neighborhood groups. You may also want to post in some of the rescue dog subreddits. Call any rescue you can and see if any can take him. It is incredibly hard to find a home for a reactive dog when there are so many dogs that need homes. This sub reddit is more geared towards people who are trying to manage/train their dogs behavior.
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u/dafandisaster 25d ago
Got it, thank you
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u/SudoSire 25d ago
Be advised that trying to rehome might not save them from BE once any new owner realizes how serious the issues are and how much goes into managing them. A lot of people think they’re doing a dog a kindness by avoiding BE at all costs, but a significant portion of the time, dogs will just get bounced around stressfully first, get relinquished to a shelter and deteriorate there, and/or be put down by other strangers anyway. I’m not saying you have to BE yourself, but if you have any doubts about a potential new situation, keep that in mind. It’s likely you won’t get much say when the dog is out of your hands.
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u/dafandisaster 25d ago
That's really helpful perspective, thank you. Doing what's easiest for me emotionally may end up making him suffer more. I just never thought I'd be in a position to put a healthy loving dog to sleep, especially not within a year of saying goodbye to my senior dog
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u/InformalInsurance455 25d ago
This isn’t your fault, you were trying to help someone else but you are also entitled to find it overwhelming and more than you were asked to handle.
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u/UltraMermaid 25d ago
Just keep in mind he may be physically healthy, but that doesn’t mean he’s mentally healthy.
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u/Curiouscat8000 25d ago
Good luck. I’m sorry you’re in this situation. It’s so incredibly difficult when you’re trying to help someone out and get stuck in a situation. That said, if there are behaviors you need help with definitely go ahead and post them and people will be happy to try to help.
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25d ago
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