Why We Chose to Get Rid of Our Dog

Please Share!

This will probably be an unpopular post, and I mostly agree with the opinion that getting a dog is a long-term commitment. You plan for having that dog with all your life changes. BUT… I also believe that my family comes before an animal and that a dog should get to have its best life.

The Situation

Imagine you have a new baby. She is sleeping peacefully but stirs ever so slightly, maybe makes a little cry, but goes back to sleep. Now imagine OUR dog in the picture. The baby is sleeping peacefully. She makes a little cry… All Hell breaks loose. The dog is yelping uncontrollably to alert us, now the baby is screaming, and the dog is barking and yelping more. Now the toddler is awake and crying. The dog WON’T stop barking until the children stop crying, but her barking is making them cry and scream.

Now imagine this second scenario ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. Every little toddler fit was magnified by the uncontrollable yelping of our dog. We tried figuring out training techniques to get her to stop barking that would make some progress but would gradually lose effectiveness. We also could not just devote the commitment to getting her retrained in this, because, again, my focus was on my kids.

The kids just made her crazy. She loved them so much, but she was a nervous wreck around them. She didn’t want them to cry, but would make them cry by stealing their food or barking at a noise outside. Kids carry their snacks around, leave them on their little snack table. She hardly waited for a second before she snatched it. This caused a meltdown, which caused more yelping.

I had parts of the house blocked off, we always had to close doors, because we couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t get into things. Things that we never really had to worry about that much before we had kids suddenly were a huge problem. She was a very different dog after we had children.

Guilt

Much of this I realize was us. She was not given the attention she needed and she had excess energy. She was a little ignored so got into things. I understand this, and I am in no way blaming the dog! Which is why I felt that I wasn’t being fair to her. There is no reason why she should live nervously and ignored. She now has a home that she gets lots of attention, lots of outdoor time, and a calmer environment that doesn’t get her so riled up and nervous.

I know a lot of people that have their “fur babies” and claim that their dogs are their kids and just as important as kids. I’m sorry, I’m just not one of those people. I love dogs. I think they are the best pets, and I don’t know of any other animal that is as in tune with and willing to serve the human race like dogs. But my dog was NOT my kid. My dog was my dog. My kids are my kids.

I felt an incredible amount of guilt with the decision to give her to my parents. I got this dog as a puppy! I kept holding off and holding off. Finally, I took a moment to really look at whether she was even happy. She wasn’t. She loved us and we loved her, but she did not get much attention, she was getting in trouble all the time. I started to think of her as a nuisance, and I’m sure she could sense that. I tried to make an effort to go and hold her and pet her and love on her like she used to get all the time, but it did not happen often enough.

When it came down to having a dog or having a more manageable household and my sanity, I chose the latter. There will be many people that say that this was an awful thing to do and that we should have taken the time to train her to be better in that environment. Well, this probably would have taken some money and a lot of time. Was it awful, really? To give her a better, more attentive environment where she can still see her babies often but not have to stress out about them all the time?

I was given comfort when I talked to others that understood this time of our life, the young kid stage of our family where all of our kids are very young. “You are a mom now and you have to do what’s best for your kids. Your dog is not happy either if they can sense that they are not loved the way they once were. You are stressed and overwhelmed in your house which makes you not a happy mom.” We can’t be the mom that we try to be when we are constantly overwhelmed by the chaos. They encouraged me to not feel guilty.

Now that we gave her to my mother, our household is so much more peaceful. Our children are calmer and meltdowns are more manageable. Our dog is happier and more at peace as well. She is in a calm environment and get snuggled and cared for. Basically, I feel that I should have probably made the decision sooner instead of letting myself feel that it was wrong. It was actually the best thing for everyone. I guess I was worried that others will just see it as giving up a family member and being a lazy dog owner… Maybe I was, but it is better for my family.

Do What is Right For You and Your Family!

Now I’m encouraging you. There might be a tough decision that you have to make for your family. Maybe it’s something that will help everyone have more peace. Maybe it’s a decision for your financial security. Maybe it’s something that you personally need to feel more emotionally stable. Your family is much more benefited by the parents being at peace. If a part of your lifestyle is causing too much stress and making your ability to be a happy, loving parent too difficult, try to make a change. It might be quitting a job that asks too much of you (current situation) or a pet that just adds too much extra chaos. DON’T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS FOR YOUR EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH! It is not selfish. It is helping your family for you to be healthy.

Please Share!