BusynMember
Well-Known Member
I'm really in a bind.
I was not a very good dog mommy when we first got our three dogs who are now ten and eleven (and they aren't going to die any time soon...they are healthy). The reason we went so crazy and bought three puppies is because the boy we adopted (remember psychokid?) killed two of our dogs and we were grieving and wanted to give our children new puppies. We lived on a farm, our kids were our first priority (not the dogs) and so it goes. They were neutered young, but always marked their territory, but on the farm they were outside a lot so we didn't notice how bad it was.
Nine and ten years later, we have three dogs that I can't handle anymore, although I love them to pieces. Two of the dogs, both brothers, mark constantly even though we are all so paranoid that we let them outside to do their business ALL THE TIME. It doesn't work...marking seems to have nothing to do with needing to pee. We had to stop allowing them in the living room because they ruined the carpeting and we rent (we had to buy new carpeting and forbid them from going into the living room). Our house isn't big anyway and they are confined to a foyer that is tiled. The tile is going bad from the urine and poop. Every night I get up and pick up poop and wash the floor. I do this sometimes during the day too. On top of that, the two boy dogs sometimes fight. Not always, but sometimes.
I feel like my dogs have a terrible life. In the old place we had a big yard. Now they can only go outside in a small territory because we can't have them pooping all over the yard and ruining the grass. We are good at picking up after them, but they still ruin the grass. Also, there is no fence so we had to put up a small fenced area. They can't run free in the NOT fenced part of the yard. They would run off. They are n Occupational Therapist (OT) really friendly with people or dogs who are not in their pack. My kids don't bring anyone home because of the unfriendliness of one of the dogs, their barking, and the possibility that the tile may be wet or worse. Again, this is not our house. I guess we will be buying new tile next (foyer and kitchen). Here is my dilemma and I really need feedback from dog lovers.
We can't afford a good trainer and the dogs are older anyway. So getting a trainer is not an option anyway...especially for three dogs (two are much worse than the third). Even no-kill shelters will not accept dogs they consider unadoptable and these dogs are unadoptable. I am looking at sanctuaries for dogs and not having much luck. We would travel for a good one. However, one in MN shocked me because they ask $800 (yes, you saw correctly) for every dog you bring to their sanctuary. That is way out of our league. For the most part, that's what the very few sanctuaries do...they charge A LOT to care for your dog for the rest of it's life. I don't blame them, but we don't have the money.
I wouldn't even try to rehome the dogs. They'd end up in the pound and euthanized. Yet I may end up taking them to a no-kill shelter and, once the no-kill sees their behaviors, they will euthanize them too. See, no-kill doesn't mean no-kill. It means they don't kill for space, but if they don't feel a dog is adoptable, they do euthanize. What kind of dog mommy am I to let these kids get euthanized after all these years? One more big problem...
We have to move in two years. If we move, it will probably be a downsize to a mobile home or apartment. But probably a mobile home, which appeals to me and hub. We just can't afford (yeah, it gets old hearing "I can't afford") living in a house and paying big house bills...large heating bills, electric bills, huge water bills, etc. We won't have a choice. We won't be able to stay here. Sometimes we are so broke it is hard to get food between paychecks, so we have to get out of a house and go to cheaper digs. We can't bring four dogs with us to an apartment or mobile home (we have one little doggy who is very well behaved...but our kids are older now and we have all the time in the world to train him!). Even if some crazy landlord allowed all these dogs, or some nutso mobile home park, the dogs would destroy the place much faster than they can destroy a house.
Does anybody have any advice or any knowledge of a dog sanctuary that takes in dogs with behavior problems? We are willing to travel to get them to a safe place. They just can't charge us $800. I swear, one sanctuary charged (LOL) $16,000. I just stared at the figure. We only make maybe fifteen thousand more than that per year.
Our last option is to stay in this house, keep fixing the house, wait until the dogs are gone (these dogs live around sixteen years) and we can keep stepping in poop in the middle of the night and I can mop the floor at 1am and the tile can rot. I love my dogs...it's almost tempting to do it. If we could AFFORD to stay in this house, that's what we'd probably do. But that's not possible.
I realize there are probably no good suggestions, but I'm up for anything. We did try putting bellybands on the two marking dogs, but they both bite them right off. So much for that. LOLOLOL...what a mess, no? (in more ways than one!)
I was not a very good dog mommy when we first got our three dogs who are now ten and eleven (and they aren't going to die any time soon...they are healthy). The reason we went so crazy and bought three puppies is because the boy we adopted (remember psychokid?) killed two of our dogs and we were grieving and wanted to give our children new puppies. We lived on a farm, our kids were our first priority (not the dogs) and so it goes. They were neutered young, but always marked their territory, but on the farm they were outside a lot so we didn't notice how bad it was.
Nine and ten years later, we have three dogs that I can't handle anymore, although I love them to pieces. Two of the dogs, both brothers, mark constantly even though we are all so paranoid that we let them outside to do their business ALL THE TIME. It doesn't work...marking seems to have nothing to do with needing to pee. We had to stop allowing them in the living room because they ruined the carpeting and we rent (we had to buy new carpeting and forbid them from going into the living room). Our house isn't big anyway and they are confined to a foyer that is tiled. The tile is going bad from the urine and poop. Every night I get up and pick up poop and wash the floor. I do this sometimes during the day too. On top of that, the two boy dogs sometimes fight. Not always, but sometimes.
I feel like my dogs have a terrible life. In the old place we had a big yard. Now they can only go outside in a small territory because we can't have them pooping all over the yard and ruining the grass. We are good at picking up after them, but they still ruin the grass. Also, there is no fence so we had to put up a small fenced area. They can't run free in the NOT fenced part of the yard. They would run off. They are n Occupational Therapist (OT) really friendly with people or dogs who are not in their pack. My kids don't bring anyone home because of the unfriendliness of one of the dogs, their barking, and the possibility that the tile may be wet or worse. Again, this is not our house. I guess we will be buying new tile next (foyer and kitchen). Here is my dilemma and I really need feedback from dog lovers.
We can't afford a good trainer and the dogs are older anyway. So getting a trainer is not an option anyway...especially for three dogs (two are much worse than the third). Even no-kill shelters will not accept dogs they consider unadoptable and these dogs are unadoptable. I am looking at sanctuaries for dogs and not having much luck. We would travel for a good one. However, one in MN shocked me because they ask $800 (yes, you saw correctly) for every dog you bring to their sanctuary. That is way out of our league. For the most part, that's what the very few sanctuaries do...they charge A LOT to care for your dog for the rest of it's life. I don't blame them, but we don't have the money.
I wouldn't even try to rehome the dogs. They'd end up in the pound and euthanized. Yet I may end up taking them to a no-kill shelter and, once the no-kill sees their behaviors, they will euthanize them too. See, no-kill doesn't mean no-kill. It means they don't kill for space, but if they don't feel a dog is adoptable, they do euthanize. What kind of dog mommy am I to let these kids get euthanized after all these years? One more big problem...
We have to move in two years. If we move, it will probably be a downsize to a mobile home or apartment. But probably a mobile home, which appeals to me and hub. We just can't afford (yeah, it gets old hearing "I can't afford") living in a house and paying big house bills...large heating bills, electric bills, huge water bills, etc. We won't have a choice. We won't be able to stay here. Sometimes we are so broke it is hard to get food between paychecks, so we have to get out of a house and go to cheaper digs. We can't bring four dogs with us to an apartment or mobile home (we have one little doggy who is very well behaved...but our kids are older now and we have all the time in the world to train him!). Even if some crazy landlord allowed all these dogs, or some nutso mobile home park, the dogs would destroy the place much faster than they can destroy a house.
Does anybody have any advice or any knowledge of a dog sanctuary that takes in dogs with behavior problems? We are willing to travel to get them to a safe place. They just can't charge us $800. I swear, one sanctuary charged (LOL) $16,000. I just stared at the figure. We only make maybe fifteen thousand more than that per year.
Our last option is to stay in this house, keep fixing the house, wait until the dogs are gone (these dogs live around sixteen years) and we can keep stepping in poop in the middle of the night and I can mop the floor at 1am and the tile can rot. I love my dogs...it's almost tempting to do it. If we could AFFORD to stay in this house, that's what we'd probably do. But that's not possible.
I realize there are probably no good suggestions, but I'm up for anything. We did try putting bellybands on the two marking dogs, but they both bite them right off. So much for that. LOLOLOL...what a mess, no? (in more ways than one!)