Meet Lacey!

[Skytrooper]

Fantastic news Patrick ! Lacey is a beautiful puppy! Congratulations on finding each other !

Believe me, I had all of the same feelings when we got Lilly after Tilly’s sudden tragic passing a year ago. Watching Lilly explore and grow really imprinted on my heart. She isn’t Tilly, and I don’t want her to be. I would sell my soul to have Tilly back, but that is not going to happen while I am on this earth. Lilly and Boomer have restored my broken heart, as I suspect Lacey will yours.

[Cairo94507]

What a terrific post and a very cute little girl. Congratulations on adding her to your family. I am sure she will live a charmed life.

[Tidybuoy]

Adorable! I look forward to getting a dog someday but not until I retire. For now, it's two cats.

[Steve Carlton]

In the yard?

[Bill Douglas]

♪♪ Life used to be so hard ♪♪

[wdfifteen]

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.

[rfuerst911sc]

Sorry to hear you have to let her go . Not an easy decision . Do your best to find a good new owner . Good luck .

[Steve Carlton]

What about a second dog for her to play with?

[HobieMarty]

Awww, well, it is a difficult decision, I'm sure, but you are doing the right thing in considering the quality of life that Lacey deserves, and that is a good thing.
Is it possible that you let Lacey go and live with your grandson? If so, she could still be a part of your life.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

What about a second dog for her to play with?

Double up or nothing. I like it!

Put in an electric fence around the perimeter, and walk her on long leash around the boundaries a dozen times. "This is where you are supposed to stay". Then you can let her out anytime to get covered with mud and don't have to worry. My pup doesn't leave the yard unless his favorite neighbor crosses the street. Evil kitty cats will teach her all the wrong tricks.

Give a puppy a treat every single time they go business outside. Positive reinforcement.
-If they go #1 inside it's a dominance/habit thing. Same smell. Same place. Soak up the liquid and spray it with lysol or chemical. Your turf.
-If they go #2 take them along and show them while you put it outside. And then praise and cookie.
-Only get mad when you catch them in the act. Scolding a dog 5 minutes later does nothing and is actually counter-productive. They've forgotten already.

"A good dog is a tired dog". My 14yo pup (pug/beagle/something) still wears me out in a good way. Never satisfied. Mind was bouncing all over the place. Another dog would handle that nicely. My pup and my cat-dog were at odds and dog never accepted him. Bad energy in the house up until until kitty used up ten lives and passed. Sometimes I have to resort to locking pup outside or giving him frozen PB in a hollow beef bone to keep him busy. He was an unrestrained ball of terror energy until 4-5yo despite dog park etc.

Some put them on a leash and run them next to a bicycle. Always on the curbside. My dog gets the strict heel command whenever crossing a road at right angles and supposed to sit beforehand. Different rules. Different mindset. An electric 3-wheel with a fat butt seat with a stick leash to keep her from running under might help. Go slow the first few times and see when she wants to run.

[wdfifteen]

We took Lacey to class yesterday and told the instructors that we were going to have to rehome her. One of them offered to take her home for the week and try to do some one-on-one training. Her evaluation so far:

Lacey is a difficult dog, so it's not all on Vicki and I.
She is barely motivated by toys or food, which makes enticing her to behave difficult.
She had poor impulse control and that has to be worked on by a professional.

On the good side, she had Lacey sleeping in her crate with the door closed within a couple of hours. We NEVER got her to stay in the crate without raising hell. I know part of that was on us. Someone had Vicki's ear about crate training and she was strongly pushing this method, "Just put her in the crate, close the door, and let her cry it out. She will eventually settle down."
All the experts on the internet (and the trainers at her puppy school) say, "Make the crate a happy place, not a prison cell." That made sense to me, and that's the method I wanted to use.

So Vicki and I were at odds on how to crate train her, and as a result she didn't get trained either way. That is on us.

They are looking at options for re-homing her. We are not sure we will go through with it. We have 6 days to decide.

[Baz]

I'm so sorry for the tough situation you are experiencing with Lacey, Patrick.

Sounds like you are exploring some options, so I hope and pray that it all works out.

Putting Lacey ahead of your needs is something to be admired and respected. Not at all surprising, knowing you as we all do.

Regarding the crate training....the objective indeed to make their crate a safe space for them to retreat to whenever they feel the mood strikes.

Mine routinely spent time in their crates just hanging out, or napping, and even where they slept at night.

Crate door always open. Except when they were very young and Daddy wanted to make sure they stayed safe while he was out. That phase usually ends as they pass 6 mos. of age, but of course it will be different for everyone.

One other thing....I positioned my girls' crates in the living room so they would be in sight of Daddy most of the time.

Thanks for keeping us updated and for your caring.

[wdfifteen]

Thank you Baz.

I guess Vicki and I had unrealistic expectations for Lacey. Maddie was so easy, in retrospect, she was incredible. She basically house-trained herself. It only took a week! Owen the Schnauzer was a handful, but not as much as Lacey. Gracie our Golden Retriever was like a warm rug lying around the house. We didn't plan on a dog that required so much more from us than any of our other dogs.

This morning I sent the text, confirming that we want to find her a new home.

Good morning Xzzzz,
Thank you so much for what you are doing to help Lacey and our family. Vicki and I have thought and cried and prayed over our situation for two days now. We think it is best for all of us to re-home Lacey. In the past two years we have lost 3 dogs, each of them had been with us for over 10 years and we loved each one of them dearly. Saying goodbye to them, one after another, was devastating. Saying goodbye to Lacey Tuesday also broke our hearts. We just don’t think we can go through it yet again. We would like you and Yxxx to find a home for her if you can. We feel like we said our goodbye on Tuesday and shouldn’t see her again. Our hearts just won’t take it.
Thank you. Please let us know your thoughts.

[Baz]

Thank you for the update, Patrick.

As hard as it is...you are making the best decision for all involved, IMHO.

Good luck to little Lacey!