Sorry anastasia but I don't agree with you.  Please don't put negative thoughts into julia's head.  She says that she has become friends with her breeder over the 12 months that she's had her dog.  She's only just come back from her holiday and may well not have a spare kennel waiting for an unruly adult.  She may well not have kennels at all, which would prove even more difficult.

I used to say that I would take any dog that I bred back until I had a nightmare of 20 people with their dogs sitting beautifully beside them outside my front door!  I now say that I will do my best to help find a suitable home for any of my dogs should the owners circumstances change.  I also think that the dog is better to have only one move rather than a change of routine and then another new home.

I had a call last week from a family about to split up after over 20 years.  They have 2 dogs from me.  I already had one lady waiting for an older dog and had a promising 'recommended' call yesterday evening, so this situation could be sorted within a couple of weeks, but the new owners accepted responsibility for their dogs when they bought them.  As a breeder I am fulfilling my obligations by helping them in whatever way I can. 

If I had made the wrong decision and decided that I had sold a beautiful dog that I should have kept, the new family wouldn't allow me (rightly!) to take it back.  Similarly if the family have made a wrong decision - there has never been any question that there is anything wrong with the dog, he just needs different handling - then the owner can't expect to instantly dump it back on the breeder, who is doing her best to help.  He will need a particular type of experienced home to retrain him to be a good mannered dog, not just a 'normal' good family who can take on the blank canvas of an 8 week old puppy.  These homes don't come up every day and it may well take time.  In addition a neutered Briard, like my double coated breed, will be much more difficult to place because the amount of grooming required is so much greater.  So the breeder is looking for an experienced Briard home, knowledgable enough to retrain a adolescent hooligan, who also likes grooming a neutered coat!

I feel for you Julia.  You're in a horrid position.  But I think that you are very brave to have made the right decision and not allow this situation to carry on.  Be patient - tough I know, I wasn't there when they gave it out;) - and I'm sure that your breeder will sort him out as soon as she can.

Hi Anastasia,

Julia is clearly feeling very vulnerable at the moment - please don't make her fret more by tearing apart any faith she has in her breeder :(   It may be that the breeder would rather the dog was collected from Julia direct by his new owners (a) because she is not in a position to take back a young male immediately {through pecking order etc} and/or (b) to cause minimal distress to the dog.

As for contacting breed rescue, in my breed the first thing they would do, and quite rightly, is look to the breeder {when known} to make arrangements.

Re. taking the dog to a shelter / dogs' home, I'm sure Julia wouldn't want to think of him being shut in a kennel, isolated for the first time in his life and very possibly with a time limit on how long they will keep him.

It's all very well being supportive and giving advice, but try and see it from a wider perspective - the breeder may well have things going on in the background to resolve the problem very soon - but like you, I can appreciate that for Julia it would have been much easier on her and her family to have him collected immediately.

Regards, Teri

Barney's breeders have never been in it for the money. They have owned Briards for 22 years and Barney was only their 3rd litter. The last litter they kept a bitch which has not been bred from and she is 3. It is possible they may never breed again. They have 2 dogs living in their household (Barney's mum, and his half sister from her previous litter), and do not have any kennels. I appreciate from this aspect that that taking him to their home is not an option. Her comment about his being neutered was only because he could easily have been re-homed within the Briard circle and used as a show dog. There are people on the waiting list for rescue briards, but he would need to be assessed before he could be re-homed. This I think is why his breeder wishes to visit with a local owner and breeder because the lady nearby will be unbiased towards the dog, and give her honest opinion on his behaviour (something that his breeder would find difficult to see as she dearly loves all her puppies.).

Typing this is helping it to make more sense to me, but not any easier to live with. I only want the best for him, and that obviously is not with us. I hope this makes things clearer for some.

Julia

Hi Julia,  I hope you got my pm a couple of days back.

You know all the support it's possible to give you over the net is available here - what you're doing is obviously hurting, even although you know it's for the best.  I'm glad that you are on good terms with your breeder and realise that, much as it would be less upsetting for your family, sometimes it's not possible for everyone to take a dog bred by them back immediately.

I'm sure she's doing all she can ;)  In the meantime try and stay strong about your decision and enjoy Barney while he's still with you.  If it's too tough taking him out, just play games in the garden with him to burn off his energy etc.

I hope and pray that your breeder finds his ideal forever home soon but should you need to vent off or just look for some reassurance, there's usually someone about who'll be happy to share with you.  God Bless, Teri x

Yes It did occur to me that the breeder might be pushed for room, but I am still sceptical re reading through what Julia has said about the breeders motives.There seems to be a lot of concern here for the breeder but not a lot of compassion for the owner of the dog.Either that or I am reading Julias posts upside down!

Hi again Anastasia

>There seems to be a lot of concern here for the breeder but not a lot of compassion for the owner of the dog

I don't see anything in the thread that been anything but compassionate towards Julia   As far as concern for the breeder goes, most people who breed or are involved in breed rescue also realise that with the best will in the world it is often not possible to immediately take a dog back and there are plenty of valid reasons why this may be the case.  It's only fair to draw these things to attention so that anyone reading this thread who finds themselves in the same unfortunate position as Julia does not immediately assume that their breeder is avoiding them or the future wellbeing of their breeding.

As it happens it's a moot point - as you can see from Julia's last post she still has every confidence with her breeder and is on good terms :)

>Either that or I am reading Julias posts upside down!

I guess that's a possible explanation :D   Regards, Teri

Julia, I understand what you are going through - I had to give a dog away about 15 years ago. I still think about him although I am glad I decided not to keep him. It is better to keep the dog until a suitable new owner is found otherwise he could be passed around and develop behavioural problems. Try to hang in there. You could contact some other rescue centres yourself. It would be worse if you just gave him back and didnt know what happened to him. Although the breeder may have some responsibility so do you because you own him. Is it possible that you could send him to a pet sitter or day care for part of the time? I know it costs money which we usually all don't have. Some pet sitters are also involved with training so may help.

You are being grossly unfair to the breeders.  Have you ever taken back into your home a dog that you have bred?  I have, it is not easy.

<She also said it was a shame we had had him neutered, although I do not see what relevance that has in this situation>.
To use him as a stud!!
It is very sad, my breeder who I am in regular contact, and have become friends with has had two dogs back, into his own home into the last couple of years, and has found them new homes himself. One of them cost him a fortune as he was so underweight, and he got him right before rehoming him. He would never want his dogs to go into any kind of rescue, he stays in touch with all his dogs. Sorry to say it but your breeder seems to be in it just for the money.
K

Or perhaps she has had an enquiry for an older intact male for showing?

Have you actually read what Julia says about her breeder? That they have a good relationship? And that the breeder specifically wanted the dog to be returned to her if something went wrong?

Hi ChinaBlue,

Have you actually read this thread   Why is it "very sad" other than that Julia is understandably feeling really low just now?  Her breeder is being, in Julia's personal opinion, very supportive!  Replies like yours may be well intentioned but only serve to make this very brave but currently fragile lady feel worse :( 

To state that her breeder "seems to be in it just for the money" is, had you taken the time to read all the information provided, totally unfair and based on nothing more than ill-informed opinion.

  

Well frankly yes you are being a bit unfair to expect them to be able to sort something at the drop of a hat.  They have just got back from holiday to this bombshell.  They probably need to contact lots of people who in turn need to network around also and this can take a bit of time.

The fact he is neutered just means that anyone in the breed looking for an older dog they might be able to show or include in their breeding plans is an avenue no longer open to them.

If it were me then the fact he is neutered would be easier as I woudln't be worrying about any bitches I may have in season at the time.

Not all, and in this day and age few breeders have kenneling for their dogs with msot living as family, maybe just a puppy kennel and run or one for bitches in season if they keep both sexes, but mostly the dogs live as a family grou8p.  Understandably an unruly teenager could cause quite a problem within the canine family. 

She may have a bitch in whelp, and elderly sick one that cannot cope with being bashed about or bullied by a loutish young male etc etc.

I know it is hard but you do have to give a little time for things to get organised.

Even my local dogs home has a waiting list for dogs to come in that owners are surrenedring.

Brainless, I really hope that if those last 2 comments were directed at me, then you have another look at my posts. All I know is that when we picked Barney up, we had to sign some paperwork to say that if for any reason we could not keep him, that he must go back to them. Perhaps I interpreted it wrong, but I hope you understand what a painful time we are going through. We still love Barney, and want nothing but the best for him (hence the decision we have made). Sometimes the right decisions are the hardest ones to make. Sorry, but I am still feeling very vulnerable at the moment.

Julia

No darling not at you at all, but the person who was slating the breeder, I can appreciate your situation very well, sometimes things just get too much.

Thanks for that, it really makes me feel much better. It is so nice to know that people can empathise with our situation. There is nothing worse than feeling alone!!

Julia

Julia,

I'm so sorry you find yourself in this position, sometimes a dog is just too much to handle, no-one's fault, just a mismatch and it's heartbreaking.  I can well understand how you want this sorted as soon as possible, for your own sake and your dog's. 

On a practical note, have you got any Rescue Remedy, Quiet Life tablets, Kalms or similar?  They can be a godsend in situations where you are at the end of your tether, they don't 'space you out' or anything like that they just help to calm that 'frantic' feeling, it may help save your sanity. 

Hope things are sorted out for you all soon
Regards
Dill

Well, his breeder rang me today, and as I had deduced by having too much time to think, she has nothing but Barney's best intentions at heart! I asked the question that I should have asked the other day "What will happen once you and the other breeder/breed judge has assessed him?". The answer was as I had hoped! The breeder knows she is biased, he is one of her babies and she does not want that to cloud her judgement. The other breeder/breed judge will give an honest opinion on his behaviour; this will give Barney's breeder the knowledge to go to the breed rescue with. Hopefully, doing it this way, he can be re-homed straight from here with as little disruption to HIM as possible. As I have said, all I want is the best for him, and for him to be happy!! There are more people on the list waiting for a Briard to re-home, than there are dog, so hopefully they will find him the perfect home quickly. I have accepted my situation, and I am making the most of it.

Julia

Brilliant.  Well done Julia! :)

That's very reassuring for you, Julia - it seems that the Briard clubs do things the same as we do in dals - get someone unbiased to assess the dog, and preferably rehome straight to the new home. Don't feel bad - you haven't failed. You'd only be failing Barney if you didn't do the best for you all. It's a very hard decision, and you're very brave to face it.

Thanks, as I have faced up to the situation, I have adapted and can live with it. Telling the children and then watching him go will be a different matter!

I think I will ask if we can take him wherever he goes because he has NEVER been taken from us in any way, but we have taken him to kennels several times before. He is actually going to kennels on Friday for a long weekend which we have had booked for a while. I was thinking that if we take him to his new home, then, for a while he will think that he is going to a different kennel!??

Julia