Vicki and I just had a very, very difficult discussion about Lacey.
We have concluded that we need to rehome her, for all our sakes.
Before we got her we made of list of pros and cons of getting a puppy and almost all of the cons have manifested themselves, and then some.
Our inability to be good parents was not on the con list.
Our grandson came over yesterday and played with Lacey, and Vicki and I clearly saw what is missing in her life. She was a different dog. She needs a family that can run and chase her and play exuberantly, rather than just sit in a chair and throw a ball.
Neither of us is up to raising an energetic, rambunctious puppy. Lacey has more energy than any two puppies I've ever had in the past, and I just can't keep up. At least half my day is spent with her, and still we are weeks behind in her training and falling farther behind.
My physical limitations are part of the problem. For example, we feed her in her crate to try to get her to be happier in it - trying to make it her happy place (she's not having any of it BTW). With my back and hips, it is easier to get the food bowl into the crate by picking the whole damn crate up and put it on the counter that it is to get down on the floor and to put the bowl inside.
It's breaking my heart, but the bottom line is - she needs a better family than Vicki and I can give her.
