I dont want to rehome my dog but I dont think i can cope anymore
Sorry but this is long, I wanted to include as much information as possible so I can get the best advice as to what I should do.
So in the start of the year i got a lovely golden retriever girl puppy called Sasha and shes been a great puppy, never chewed anything up, was so adorable, got along with my 2 cats and my 3 year old son loved her to bits.
I had some issues with toilet training her but after alot of accidents and new flooring its now so rare for her to have an accident inside.
But recently there has been issues that seem to have gotten to there breaking point. I know its my own fault and I should have put things in place to stop it from getting to this point and done more training with her and I feel so guilty about it but I know whats done is done and I can only moved forward.
I am also 30 weeks pregnant with twins and i have a 3 year old with autism and I'm a single mum due to finding out my partner was cheating while i was pregnant. Im also moving house within the next few weeks. So please bare all this in mind.
The issues im having with Sasha are:
- she wont leave the cats alone. One of them dont mind as much but the other doesnt like her near and runs away and just wants to be left alone (he is 8 years old and missing an eye) and no matter how much I shout her or try to distract her she wont leave him alone. The cat is now at a point of hitting her, sasha doesnt do anything and let's it happen but shes now got little cuts on her face and im worried this is going to get worse and cause a reaction from sasha or too much stress for my cat. Im having to physically hold sasha until my cat is out of the way and its not something I can do every single time it happens because its as soon as sasha sees the cats shes gets so excited and just runs over to them and wants to play.
2: shes so anxious. Walking her is a nightmare. My brother has been the one to walk her because im fully unable to now. She's terrified of everything and I mean everything, metal gates, cars, people with hoods up and she will freeze and not move at all and has to be carried away from whatever it is that has scared her. Other times she will jump into the road out of fear of whatever is on the path that she doesnt like. She also pulls on the lead and wont pee or poo outside, im guessing due to fear and will only do it in our garden.
3: she steals food from anyone and has started to lunge to take it from people's hands. It started just begging for food and my son being 3 would throw bits of his dinner to her, now shes being shut out of the dining room anytime there is food around because otherwise she will jump and take it off you. She mostly does this with my son. For example if he has an ice cream she will run up to him and snatch it off him. She has done this to me, my brother and my nan, basically anyone with food in their hands that are in my home, sasha will do her best to steal it. Due to this shes getting shut out of the room with a baby gate but she will bark and howl and cry the entire time. Tonight for over 20 minutes it was none stop and I felt like crying. She gets completely ignored and its not getting any better just worse. She also begs for the cats food and will bark and howl until she either almost climbs on the kitchen counter top to get it or I give it her. She's now barely eating her own food and I have changed her diet 5 times now but she wants to eat human or cat food instead.
4: she keeps eating cat shit. Unless I am catching the poo as it drops out the cat, sasha will eat it. She digs up the garden trying to find bits the cat has buried and if she sees that cat going to have a poo she will wait right next to it until its done and she will eat it. Like I said unless im catching it as it drops from the cat or physical restraining sasha, I literally cant stop her.
5: this has been the one thats made me want to give up on her. She snapped at my son. So some explaining is she has a dog bed in my room that she doesnt use. She's not allowed on my bed or my sons bed (not allowed in my sons room at all) but she has been allowed on the couch and she uses it as her bed. So she was next to me on the couch and my son moved a pillow to next to her and she growled and gave a clear warning snap towards him. I instantly pulled my son to me and told sasha to get off the couch, I told her out of the room which she didnt listen so my brother (luckily hes been at my house alot to help out) had to pick her up and put her out of the room and lock the baby gate to keep her out. Again the whole time she barked and jumped up at the gate. I honestly started crying because it all feels too much and I never imagined she would ever show any signs of aggression.
I know my hormones are playing a part too because I have in general been getting so annoyed and fed up with her even when shes not doing these things.
I have been in touch with a dog trainer and behavioural specialist and have paid a deposit for him to meet us and start a training plan but the problem is:
1: I dont know if I can mentally handle it anymore, or even have the 20 minutes a day to train her.
2: the biggest issue is that this training is going to cost over £400 and I simply cant afford it without going into debt. As of tonight I have been approved a credit card for £200 but I simply dont have the other £200 to spare. Like I said before im about to move house and I have babies due in 7 weeks via c section and its also just before christmas.
I really dont want to rehome her and I want to do everything I can to keep her but I dont know what would be for the best. I cant do nothing because I know how badly that would end but I also dont have the knowledge to train and correct these problems without professional help but I cant afford that help and i dont know if I can even cope any more with all of this.
My brother thinks I should just figure it out with the money and do the training and keep her no matter what. My nan and sister think I should rehome her.
I have just ordered her a crate that is being delivered in 2 days to start crate training and I have moved her bed from my room to the living room where she spends most of her time and im keeping her off the couch from now on.
I know this has been really long but I felt like I had to include as much as possible so I can get the best advice on what to do.
Posted Dec 4, 2025, 9:36 PM UTC