Milo is going back ....

[NightOwl]

B~

Is it the foster family that said they won't give you $ back?

Is the returning and getting your money back or the option of exchanging for another dog actually up to the foster family, or is it up to the adoption agency?

Did this foster person do the rescue work themselves or are they "working" for an adoption agency?


If the foster family actually volunteers to care for animals through an adoption agency like a humane society, then they really don't have the final word on whether you can get a refund or exchange. You would be best to contact the actual rescue group.

If the foster family is the "agency" then you have run into a person who picks up dogs from the pound and turns around and sells the dogs for a profit.
If this is the case, the person is considered a pet dealer or broker and is usually required to be licensed.  You may want to check with your local agencies about required business practices for pet dealers.  You may have a legal leg to stand on to get your money back or an exchange.

My goodness, I had no idea of all this before this thread came up with  remarks from so many of you with knowledge of rescue agencies and fostering homes.

Cindy, your comments in your last paragraph remind me of those hideous "puppy mills" which provide purebred puppies to pet stores by the thousands and just use the dams as breeding machines with no reagrd for the breed or the individual dogs.  And all these so-called "breeders" care about is the money. :swear:  :swear:  :swear:

[birol]

Well, I raised hell and so did they !

Basically, they said that Milo is a kind gentle dog and it just needs obedience classes (well more like us needing to learn how to handle a dog).

We are told to ignore the experience at the vet as the vet was forwarned about the dog and should have sedated him, which I agree.

We have an appointment with a dog obedience teacher who handled much worse dogs than Milo. According to her, we are just experiencing dominance issues and that she can teach us how to handle those in no time, of course it will take some time to take effect ....

If we return Milo, we will be in a no adopt list across NA, as according to both rescue organizations Milo is as sweet as they come, and if we can't handle him, we are surely not capable to get a real rescued dog.

So, we will give it a try with training, hopefully save our money and hopefully have a good dog. He has been very good today as well so far. I do not know what got into him the last two days ...


So Milo stays and I hope he behaves .....we want him to be good and to stay to be honest .... but will not tolerate bites or attitude ....

We will see how it goes .....You should have seen the amount of e-mail this caused

[angelsmom10]

At least you are giving it a try.  

[campingboaters]

I can not believe by returning the dog that you would be put on a no-adopt list!  Would they rather you take the dog and dump him at the local pound?  MAYBE the dog is just not a good match to your family and MAYBE if that rescue society was a good one, they would understand that not all dogs fit in all houses/families.

That being said, I think you are doing the right thing trying to work it out with obedience classes.  Milo has to learn to deal with you as well as your family to deal with Milo.  ALL family members should take the class and be very clear on proper commands so as not to confuse Milo.  Sometimes the best relationships with pets are the roughest in the begining when you are each trying to be dominent.  Hopefully, that is all that is going on here and everything will settle down sooner rather than later.

[Acts 2:38 girl]

When we got our first dog it took about a week for it to settle down. We had some company over and she nipped a girl in all the excitement. The girl was definatly more frightened than harmed. I seriously thought of putting the dog down. I don't mess with biting dogs and children, however I gave the dog a second chance as we didn't have any kids yet, and told all children to be careful. My sister was about 10 at the time and she never had any problem with the dog - loved her,, but she was careful.  When I was pregnant for our first child we ended up placing the dog in another home ( there were other disguisting habits we could not train out of her and I wasn't taking any chances with a big dog and aggression), and I was called by the placement agency when she nipped another child. I explained it was most likely the mayhem of it all (big party for the dog- lots of kids) and it must be so because I never heard back from them about returning the dog.
 
Maybe Milo just needs some time to settle into his new home, and go to classes! Good-luck Birol, and I'm sure he'll get into the swing of things!

[Miss-Teri]

Some things you can do to help your dog know you are dominant and not him:

Obedience training.

Always walk through doorways first.  Make Milo stay until you walk through then tell him it's okay.

Never give a treat or even give him his food without giving a command ("sit" for example) and making him do it.  Make him hold the command, lay the food down, then and only then can he go to the food.

A dominant dog should never be allowed on the furniture, nor should they be allowed in your bed (that's a really hard one, if not impossible with a Chihuahua!).

I wonder if they gave him vaccinations right before he went home with you.  When I vaccinate, I always do it in the scruff of the neck.  It can be pretty tender to a lot of dogs for a bit afterwards - wonder if he was just sore and reacted to that?  

Good luck!

[angelsmom10]

.....
 
A dominant dog should never be allowed on the furniture, nor should they be allowed in your bed (that's a really hard one, if not impossible with a Chihuahua!).

I guess that's part of our problem, all the dogs lay where they want.  If they are in our way, we just say move it and off they go... except the beagle, she just stands up, moves over a few inches (literally) and lays back down.

[Michicampers]

Birol, I give you  a lot of credit for trying to work with this little guy. If everyone in your family is consistent with him, hopefully you will end up with a happy little family member. Good trainers can often help a great deal. If you have never owned a little dog before, a trainer may help your family to understand the special care they need - little guys can easily feel threatened because of their size. He sure looks like a happy little guy in the picture, so hopefully he won't need a whole lot of work to get on the right track. I don't agree with the way the rescue agency handled the situation, however - to make you look like the bad guy if you want to return the dog due to aggressive tendencies they didn't disclose. When we adopted Juju, our Chihuahua, one of my main concerns was that she would not be aggressive toward people. Her foster mother assured me that she was not, and agreed to let me return her with no penalty if she showed any aggression toward us. Luckily, she did not. I have so much respect for her foster mother, and I feel she was very honest with us. Unfortunately, I think there are many agencies out there who are more concerned with placing the dogs rather than placing them in the right homes for their temperaments, and it can be a tricky deal to figure out which one you are working with. We adopted a Maltese mix for my mom, after being told by her rescue group that she was a quiet dog (my mom lives in a condo, so that was a necessity) and healthy. When we brought her home, she barked constantly, no matter what was going on, and drank water like a fish - I was concerned she might be diabetic, and the barking made it a no-go. We returned her that day. I didn't appreciate their tactics and would never recommend that rescue group to anyone. I also have a friend who just adopted a dog from another rescue group after being told she was a 4-month old pup and had completed heartworm treatment, only to find out she was one month into a three month program, and a year old, and not housebroken either. They are working with her, thankfully. I appreciate and admire most rescue volunteers so much, and I think it is a wonderful way to save and improve the lives of countless pets, but I wish that some of them weren't in such a hurry to move the dogs through the system, for everyone's sake.

[Gone-Camping]

I don't know if this will help you or not, but....
 
 
A few years ago my roomate's (now deceased) son brought her a much desired Dalmation. This dog was removed from a VERY abusive home, and though he was house trained from the begining for us, he was extremely quick to snap, and yes, he has bitten on a couple of occassions...mostly kids.
 
This Dalmation was actually half pit bull with those locking jaws. Well, once she had the dog, she was not about to send it back to the abusive situation he came from. It's taken a couple of years, but this dog has turned into a great pet, and trusted friend. The roomate has been gone for a year, but he lives here with me, the other son, and his 2 kids.
 
Despite a somewhat rough start, the dog has earned his place in our hearts, and we just couldn't imagine life around here without him. We didn't utilize professional guidance or training, just gave him the time he needed to get used to us. It took him quite a while to figure out the humans in our household were not going to treat him like the humans in the other household.
 
I guess all I'm saying here, is that it will take some time, and lot's of TLC...Good luck to both you and the dog!!

[Starryart]

The Purina dog chow co. has a neat website with good information on it for new dog owners. If you check on the "special offers" tab, there is a free puppy care kit they will send you, with a booklet and video with training tips. Milo may not be a puppy but the tricks are the same. The video is good for everyone to see.

http://www.dogchow.com/

I know it will take a while to receive this but for free it is worth the wait!  In the meantime check out the internet for more dog traing help.

[jonathan]

Basically, they said that Milo is a kind gentle dog and it just needs obedience classes (well more like us needing to learn how to handle a dog).

Ah... let me try to help. Let me relate our puppy experience... we have a high strung (aren't they all) Jack Russell Terrier!

When we brought him home, there was ALOT of biting and nipping. I was told the same thing - he needs obedience classes. So, i called the local dog obedience school, signed him up and paid our money.

Little did i know, dog obedience school is nothing more than getting a room full of dogs together with their owners. Then the owners try to get their dogs to mind them while the owner feeds the dog small bits of dog treats. Should i mention that all the dogs are more interested in smelling each other and it is hard to keep their attention!

There is a huge difference between obedience school and lessons. Our obedience school experience lasted two whole lessons.

So Milo stays and I hope he behaves .....we want him to be good and to stay to be honest .... but will not tolerate bites or attitude ....

EXCELLENT! I am glad Milo is staying. Once trained you will be glad you stuck it out.

My advice...

1) Buy several chew toys from your local pet store - NOT from WalMart. They will cost more, but will last much longer. The more toys the dog has to chew on, the less they will chew on you, your shoes, etc. Teach the dog to retrieve/return first. The excercise will wear him down a bit.

2) Do an Internet search for dog training. I learned alot about training this JRT. Alot of other people are experiencing the same things you are.

3) Crate train. Crate training can be used for potty training and dominance issues. Our crate or "room" is used for "time-outs"!

4) Praise the dog! Lots of praise and lots of small rewards.

My disclaimer: I am not a professional dog trainer and i have not trained my dog to get the mail or flush the toilet. But, with no help from the obedience school, he will sit, stay, lay down, retrieve/return, jump through hoops and the biting has stopped.

Love ya man!

[tlhdoc]

Birol lay Milo on his back and hold him that way by placing a hand on his chest.  You want to hold him in this position until he stops struggling and lets his tail lay down and relax.  A dog on his back in this position is in a submissive position.  Do this several times a day until Milo immediately submits to you.  We had a very aggressive Dalmatian for 14 1/2 years.  This is one of the things we were taught to do with our dog.