Oh god...I cannot believe this is happening...

I'm so sorry Foam. :(:(:(

I wish I had some way to help, but what I think has already been said.

I do hope you make the right decision...and I wish you the best of luck in making that decision.

**HUGS**

K9soul-Had to reply to this. I don't know anything about the old dog you speak of and fortunately all my old dogs went somewhat quickly and we didn't have months of agony with them. I guess we're paying for it now with Mandy. I just gave her a bath (both dogs) and it took me till noon to muster up the courage and I've been up since six! She has a bad heart and one time after her bath she had a spell so now I'm terrified each time she gets a bath. But we made it! We're having an early birthday party for her today, she's 2 yrs 11 mo. She may not be here till three, who know's, her life expectancy is 2 to 3 yrs. Her care can be very draining what with keeping her somewhat restricted (like the bath I had to keep her guiet after instead of letting her go wild like dogs do after a bath) and we do have the other dog , well sometimes it can be a living h*ll! But no one could give me a million dollars for her! My husband said once we'll be rewarded for this someday and I said we already are with her and he said you're right.
I also don't want to be judgemental of this girl but I(and my husband) have given up many things and spent much money on Mandy and don't regret it one bit!
I pray she makes she makes the right decision for both of them,I'm just saying you have to make choices sometimes and mine is my babies.

Just had an idea

Since school is just about out, maybe you could spend the summer training him?

OMG! foam that's terrible! please realy think about this before you give him to somebody. you may have been busy lately,but will you ALWAYS be this busy? i really hope you make the right choice. if you do choose to find him another home you have to be careful who he lives with. he could look like he's going to a great family,but they could turn out to be terrible!
he's a beautiful dog.i wish you both the best!

Thanks guys.

I could not sleep last night after posting this...I got up at midnight, and went into my mom's room and layed in bed with her until she woke up to me crying. We stayed up until about 2 in the morning talking, and making a decision about this, and some other issues.
It's not final yet, and my mom suggested we wait and see how summer goes. I think that's a good idea, and we're going to do just that.

He is almost 10 months old, for those of you who asked.

Awww Foam... This whole thread has been breaking my heart, but I thought I'd toss in my 2 cents too. :) First off, hang in there! Second, Ozzy is still just a baby! So try not to give up hope so soon. When we first got Chloe, she was a rescue with severe separation anxiety. She shredded our carpet, chewed up 3 crates, and almost broke thru our French doors. I know that most people coming home to that would have had a fit and taken her back. We got her a behavioralist. It worked! Now she's a great dog, with only a few neurotic quirks. ;)

Charlie... God... Charlie... I always say Charlie has ADD. And I swear it's not far from the truth. He just turned 2 this year, and up until about 8 months ago, he was almost more than I could handle. He had been crate trained, but was still kennel shy and got violent whenever you closed the door. House trained, but refused to go outside. The cleaning bill from my last apartment was rediculous because of the monster! It took a lot of time (which I don't have a lot of, my work schedule sucks! 12 hours days most days i work) but he's finally starting to shape up into a respectable pooch. He's not as destructive as he used to be, I can actually trust him to be here when I'm not home.

I just thought I'd give you a couple of examples so you know you're not alone. I think the advice about summer is great. Put him in training (charlie failed his classes miserably), spend time with him. If it doesn't seem to be working the way you'd like, talk to your vet about a behaviouralist. He's a kid going thru his teen stage, so patience is definitely a virtue. :)

Hang in there, kiddo and keep us posted! All 12 of us over here are rooting for you! :D

Oh - good! I'm really glad you decided to wait until the end of summer to make your decision.

Remember when we were thinking of rehoming Jake? I'm soooo glad we didn't do it. You know - we've thought about it so many times "Jake isn't affectionate." "Jake doesn't fit our lifestyle." "Jake would be better off with somebody older." "If we found Jake another home we could adopt another one." But he was our puppy! I'm so glad that we're going to keep him from puppyhood through old age.

I don't think you were wrong to consider it. Maybe at the end of the summer you'll still feel the same way you do now, but at least you will know in your heart that you looked at it from every angle before you decided.

Bless you, either way!

Foam, you seem like a really nice person and I love seeing pics of Ozzy, so please don't be offended by what I have to say. Please next time you decide to get a dog remember that it is a life long commitment. Dogs are not objects that we can discard when they require our time. I hate saying that, but it's my true feeling on this subject. :( I'm sorry that you have to make this very hard decision.

Hi Cayter,

Really sorry to hear about this. I wish I'd known about this 2 weeks ago. I just put down a deposit on a puppy or I'd seriously ask you about taking Ozzy. Although, I do think it's best that you give it a shot this summer, before you make that final decision.

You said he was a handful. Can I ask exactly what the issues are? Maybe we all can give you some advice to help. I know with Oz, he went through a stage around 10-14 months, where he was really rambunctious. Driving all of us nuts. I know Maddie yanked out quite a bit of his hair, during that time frame.

A tired dog is definitely a better behaved dog. It didn't take a huge time committment on my part, but I was pretty consistent about exercising Oz everyday. I'd head outside with him, armed with several balls and frisbees and then I'd just keep him running non-stop for about 5-10 mins chasing'em, until his tongue was hanging out. I didn't even need to barely move and I didn't care if he brought'em back or not. Only goal was to keep him running, until he was pooped. Then when we went back inside, he was nice and calm and ready to hang out on the bed with the rest of the crew. I usually did that in the morning, at lunch, right after work and once before bedtime. So that's only about 30-40 mins of the day. He also got time outs for pestering Murph and Maddie or if he got too rambunctious in the house in general. The house rule was and still is, if you wanna run around like a wild banshee, take it outside. Anyway, maybe if we know what the specific problems are, we can give you some tips.

Hope everything works out.
Les...

I am glad you've decided to wait and see how things go over the summertime. You may feel completely different.

If at the end of that time you do decide to give Ozzy up, please do not be hard on yourself. You would not be selfish, in fact I think it is an unselfish thing to do if you believe you cannot give him the life he needs and deserves.

For some time now it has been in my mind that my Bobby would be better off in a new home. I can't take him out walking like I used to, grooming is difficult... all sorts of things, but I am too selfish to let him go, he's my boy!

Good luck, I hope everything works out for the best, for both of you. :)

Chris

You can also check out enrolling him in a man's best friend type of class. My ex husband's family did that, and, they were all better off for it, especially the dog (a sheltie). They have classes where you leave the dog at the school for x amount of weeks to be with the trainer. That could help Ozzy a lot, and, it would also give you some time to yourself to figure out if not having him in your life is really what's necessary. I'm glad to hear you are reconsidering. I think Ozzy will thank you for it. :) But, maybe something like that could be an idea, too. Then, even if you have to rehome him, he'd be a more obedient dog! Either way, keep us posted....

I was all set to reply and ask you if you had talked to ParNone, but I see she has already responded.

I think it's a good idea to wait and see how he is after summer. You're bound to have more time for him during the summer, without restrictions like school, and you can really work with him.
I have a friend who has an Australian Cattle Dog. Izzy is a handful, and he works a lot, but he does kinda what Par suggested on tiring her out. He throws her ball up and down the steps until she gets tired (inside), or throws balls and frisbees until she gets tired outside. He said it takes her at least 45 minutes before she's tired, but it's worth it, and he spends quality time with her.

I hope everything works out, and Ozzy is able to stay in the home he knows and loves.

Thanks guys.

I don't want to sound unappreciative (sp?) because I really appreciate your advice, bur I don't really know what else to say. :(

I stayed home from school today and spent time with him, and played and took him for a walk. I just need time like that everyday. :(

Foam Glad you're reconsidering. My Lacey is almost 4 and I truly believe at least 1/2 the people who would have taken her from the shelter would have taken her back! Lord knows I've told her she was going back a million times.When we got her my husband and I had to sleep in shifts and I'm not kidding! Chew things up, she still will, steal things, she has to be watched at all times. I did take her to school and we just have to wear her out like a few other posters said. And I mean everyday.Hopefully by the time she's 8 she'll calm down:eek: But for all the bad there's so much good in her. And I'm not young and I work and have 3 other pets and fish. And I treasure those few moments I get to relax. Dogs that are properly cared for are a lot of work. Hope things work out for you.

Having a young energetic dog can definitely be a handful. Nebo tested my patience MANY times when he was a pup. I had a few fleeting thoughts that maybe he wasn't the right dog for me, or I the right person for him...

I knew however that when I brought home a dog I brought home a lifetime commitment. We worked through our issues with training and time. Nebo still tests my patience sometimes. But I can handle it. Now that he is almost 2 years old he has matured SO much, he's a completely different dog than he was as a puppy.

If you really think this is best for him, then I say you should definitely do it. He's a larger dog and a herding breed, he needs LOTS of attention, training, and exercise. This are things that should have been researched before bringing a dog of that breed home. If you don't feel you can provide that then by all means find him a new home. It does seem to me that you really love Ozzy though, and I'd hate to see you lose him. Really think about this before you do anything drastic. Like I said earlier dogs do change as they mature!

p.s. I've been trying to contact you about an unrelated subject, please empty your pm box