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  1. #1
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    New member - 2 chocolate brothers - trying to rehome one - :-(

    Howdy from south Texas! I've had chocolate labs most all of my life (parents or friends owned), and 3 years ago I was fortunate enough to get Radley Reese & Becker Bear (brothers), 2 beautiful chocolate labs. The sad thing is that we are going to have to rehome Becker (the smaller of the 2) due to a baby and Becker's hyperactivity. I don't take this lightly, and I have put this off for 2 years (our son is 2 years old now). More in that other thread. . .

    Radley is the much larger of the 2, and I call him my surfer bum dog. As long as I'm around, he will lie down right next to me. He weighs 85 lbs, but still views himself as my lap dog. He is just awesome with our toddler son, and the telltale story is that when out son sees Radley he gets a big smile and says 'WOW-WOW!!', versus with Becker, he hides behind us and starts whimpering. Nothing has ever happened between the two, but maybe he can just sense the difference? I don't know. He has been popped by his hyper tail once or twice, so maybe that's it. . .again, don't know.

    I know some will judge my rehoming now, but there is so much more to this, and I have agonized about this over & over. BUT, my 2 year old is the most important factor in this decision.

    Looking forward to hearing your posts, both positive and negative. I ask that you please don't judge me too much, as this is very, very hard. Tried posting a pic, but don't know how.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Abulafia's Avatar
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    Have your dogs been fully trained? And your son? It does not sound like he has been taught how to act around dogs.

    I'm sorry, but getting rid of a dog because your child has been "popped" by the dog's tail "once or twice" leaves me without anything positive to say. I kept looking for more, but you write clearly that "nothing has ever happened" save an accidental tail bump.

    I can say this. I feel very sorry for your dogs—both the soon-to-be discard, and his brother, who will now be stressed out due to the separation—and, frankly, your son. Getting rid of a family member because they are less than convenient is a life lesson you might want to consider carefully, as your son will certainly learn from it.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog arentspowell's Avatar
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    Have you talked to your breeder about rehoming?

    If that's not a possibility I would go through a rescue as they have the resources to properly vet a new home and ensure he doesn't get bounced around from home to home.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Abulafia's Avatar
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    Good idea. The breeder should certainly take the dog back rather than risk euthanasia at a shelter.

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    While I don't love the fact that you are re-homing a Lab for simply being a Lab, I don't know or understand your entire story, so I won't judge. It doesn't sound like the dog needs to go. You're not the first person to have a kid that doesn't love one of the dogs simply because the dog has jumped on the kid, scratched the kid on accident, hit the kid with his tail or stolen his toys. The kid cannot sense that the dog is evil or bad, it's just that the kid didn't like whatever happened, and you probably coddle the kid over the situation as a reaction. I'm assuming you supervise the dogs and the child and would know if something more happened? Kids grow up, and so do dogs, and things typically work themselves out. The dog is simply being a young Lab and the kid is just being a kid.

    The important thing is getting the dog into the right home. I'm guessing the breeder will not take the dog back as any decent breeder is highly unlikely to adopt siblings to a pet home. But, it doesn't hurt to ask, and I could be completely off base. I would suggest heading to a Lab rescue and seeing if they will take in an owner surrender OR if they have any approved adopters who might be interested in your dog. The vetting process for a rescue is going to be must more stringent than yours, so I'd lean on their process, if you are able.

    In my experience, the home a dog gets if placed by a responsible and reputable breed rescue is typically 100x better than the home the dog came from. Labs are very resilient and are not one-person dogs. Their ability to settle in to a new home is astounding. That said, splitting up the two dogs is likely to be hard on both dogs, but if the dog is unwanted, it'll be better off in the long run. The dog you keep, however, may have difficulties being an only dog. I worry more about dogs bouncing around as a result of a shelter than euthanization and I'd try to keep him out of that situation.

    Good luck.

  6. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Labradorks For This Useful Post:

    barry581 (11-01-2015), doubledip1 (11-03-2015), Tanya (11-01-2015)

  7. #6
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    I feel for you. Very hard decision to make and I'd definitely recommend sending the dog to a rescue, rather than trying to re-home yourself.

    Not sure where you are in Texas, but here are some rescues I found:

    Heart of Texas Lab Rescue
    Dallas / Fort Worth Labrador Retriever Rescue Club
    Southeast Texas Labrador Retriever Rescue
    Texas Sporting Breed Rescue | DFW Adopt a Labrador | Golden | Setter | Pointer
    Lone Star Labrador Retriever Rescue


    I'm truly sorry you have to make this decision, but do what's best for the dog. I'm sure that Becker will find an awesome forever home with the help of any of these rescue organizations.

  8. #7
    Senior Dog Abulafia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Labradorks View Post
    In my experience, the home a dog gets if placed by a responsible and reputable breed rescue is typically 100x better than the home the dog came from.
    Such a good point. At this point, the home does not want the Lab, so it's best to get the poor pup into a good and loving home.

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Abulafia View Post
    Have your dogs been fully trained? And your son? It does not sound like he has been taught how to act around dogs.

    I'm sorry, but getting rid of a dog because your child has been "popped" by the dog's tail "once or twice" leaves me without anything positive to say. I kept looking for more, but you write clearly that "nothing has ever happened" save an accidental tail bump.

    I can say this. I feel very sorry for your dogs—both the soon-to-be discard, and his brother, who will now be stressed out due to the separation—and, frankly, your son. Getting rid of a family member because they are less than convenient is a life lesson you might want to consider carefully, as your son will certainly learn from it.
    This is exactly the type of judgment I hoped to avoid. It's beyond difficult to summarize what has happened without people not wanting to reply to the thread based strictly on length. And here you go praying on what I clearly stated is an incredibly difficult, sensitive, and emotional situation. But herein lies the rub of the internet: you get to say in a post what you would not dare to say to my face.

    You are beyond rude. And don't say that you won't judge, because that's all your post was: judgment. I am sorry, but to take a shot at my son? What is wrong with you? Why do you automatically jump to castigation instead of comfort? Your post is horrendous on so many levels. You can't see from afar, and brevity was my goal. You obviously don't have children. And I, my dear, feel sorry for you, that you cannot relate. We tried for YEARS to have children. You don't know the pain and anguish that we suffered. And finally we were given our little angel of a son. So he is our world. I can't tell you how many business trips that I have been on and my wife calls to say 'We need to find Becker a proper home'. Labs (not dogs) have been a prominent part of my life for as long as I can remember. They are the only breed I know. I don't know how many labs you have raised and trained, but I have raised and trained 8 labs. I know the breed. I love the breed. But, as with humans, there are always going to be outliers and those that don't fit into the norm.

    Becker is a very sweet dog, but to date he has eaten 4 toads (followed by 4 days of nausea and vomiting), eaten 2 towels (crate bases to keep clawing volume to a minimum) followed by EXPLOSIVE fecal spray in all 4 directions followed by 2 vet bills for hundreds of dollars, eaten poop multiple times, sniffed and licked other dogs in inappropriate places causing multiple fights that his brother had to come finish, is beyond hyper (YES, I know the breed (particularly the field variety) can be hyper and that comes with the territory) and his tail has dented 2 aluminum trash cans, etc. etc. Since you might not understand how powerful that is, imagine that force being laid upon a 2 year old child. If you don't understand a 2 year old anatomy, they are beyond frail. They don't have the musculature or the density to absorb what we can. The slightest incident can send the child to the hospital (been there, done that, it is heart-wrenching). Becker also has no gentle mouth, whereas Radley has the best gentle mouth of any lab that I have ever raised. Our son can lay all over Radley and pull on Radley and Radley just licks him. Becker has bucked our son off causing a major bout of panic, fear, and pain, as well as whipping him multiple times with his tail. Becker also has some latent aggressiveness with small creatures (ala our son) that makes me very nervous. With adults he is awesome.

    Again, this is an incredibly difficult situation, so please think twice before judging. I have given Becker a fantastic house and love and fun. But he needs a farm or somewhere he can run and get into mischief.

    Quote Originally Posted by Labradorks View Post
    While I don't love the fact that you are re-homing a Lab for simply being a Lab, I don't know or understand your entire story, so I won't judge. It doesn't sound like the dog needs to go. You're not the first person to have a kid that doesn't love one of the dogs simply because the dog has jumped on the kid, scratched the kid on accident, hit the kid with his tail or stolen his toys. The kid cannot sense that the dog is evil or bad, it's just that the kid didn't like whatever happened, and you probably coddle the kid over the situation as a reaction. I'm assuming you supervise the dogs and the child and would know if something more happened? Kids grow up, and so do dogs, and things typically work themselves out. The dog is simply being a young Lab and the kid is just being a kid.

    The important thing is getting the dog into the right home. I'm guessing the breeder will not take the dog back as any decent breeder is highly unlikely to adopt siblings to a pet home. But, it doesn't hurt to ask, and I could be completely off base. I would suggest heading to a Lab rescue and seeing if they will take in an owner surrender OR if they have any approved adopters who might be interested in your dog. The vetting process for a rescue is going to be must more stringent than yours, so I'd lean on their process, if you are able.

    In my experience, the home a dog gets if placed by a responsible and reputable breed rescue is typically 100x better than the home the dog came from. Labs are very resilient and are not one-person dogs. Their ability to settle in to a new home is astounding. That said, splitting up the two dogs is likely to be hard on both dogs, but if the dog is unwanted, it'll be better off in the long run. The dog you keep, however, may have difficulties being an only dog. I worry more about dogs bouncing around as a result of a shelter than euthanization and I'd try to keep him out of that situation.

    Good luck.
    Again, judgment as to coddling. You don't know, so don't judge. Read my earlier response as to trying for years to have a child, and then please sympathize instead of judge. The breeder has been contacted, but unfortunately he is a government agent with a beyond-hectic schedule. I will still try him again.

    People seem to think that I am just going to rehome him to anyone or send him to a shelter. Uhh. . .what? This dog has a piece of my heart, and has been a part of our lives for 3 years. You don't take a champion bloodline lab and just send him out the front door with $5 and say 'good luck, buddy!' Becker MUST go to a good home. And I will make sure of that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Abulafia View Post
    Such a good point. At this point, the home does not want the Lab, so it's best to get the poor pup into a good and loving home.

  10. #9
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    do contact the breeder. any decent breeder will take their dog back and suitable screen homes before placing them.

    Are the boys used to be separated? Have they gone on separate walks or separate outings? How are they when they are not together? If not I fear you may end up with some major issues. If they have, awesome.

    rescue if you find one that takes owner surrenders is a great option. it is VERY hard to successfully place a dog. Many dogs rehomed (to well meaning people) end up being bounced around a few times. Everyone means well and may be great people but often bite off more than they can chew. Rescues have experience and a system to help reduce that (though, do screen the rescue, they are NOT all equal, some are good, some are not).

    If you do place him yourself make sure to ask lots of questions about their routine and what would cause them to rehome him. Make sure they have adaquate daily exercise plans and will work on training. meet EVERYONE that lives in the household and ensure everyone is on board. "good people" doesn't always mean "right home for the dog".

    it's clear you are past wanting to seek out professional help (a trainer, proofing, management).
    Last edited by Tanya; 11-03-2015 at 08:30 AM.

  11. #10
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Our son can lay all over Radley and pull on Radley and Radley just licks him. Becker has bucked our son off causing a major bout of panic, fear, and pain, as well as whipping him multiple times with his tail. Becker also has some latent aggressiveness with small creatures (ala our son) that makes me very nervous. With adults he is awesome.
    Don't let your son do this. HE could hurt the dogs. Then he could get hurt. Don't let your child do now what could endanger him and the dog later when he is bigger. I am going to go ahead and guess Becker is awesone with adults because they don't threaten him in the same way your child does. Radley might be seeming to put up with this now but, watch the video, see any similarities?

    Stop The 77

    I agree with Tanya, it sounds like you are beyond wanting to bring in professional help but you intend to keep Radley and I'm reading some things that concern me for the safety of both remaining dog and child down the road.

    For Radley and your son's sake the following link is one I hope you will check out. Doggone Safe is dedicated to safe dog/child interactions and has a world wide following.

    Doggone Safe - Home
    Hidden Content

    Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
    Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
    Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content

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