if it’s okay, I’d like to ask for some advice regarding rehoming. My mom passed away recently and I have “inherited” her dog she impulsively adopted after her elderly dog passed a year ago. She’s a 3/4ish year old small pit mix. She’s very sweet, knows basic commands (sit, stay, how to walk on a leash), loves to play and cuddle with people, but she chases cats and I only live in a 700sqft apartment, so I can’t keep her.
So my question is how do you go about trying to figure out what “type” of home would be best for a dog? Obviously I wouldn’t recommend putting her with cats since she chases, but do you have specific traits you look for in a potential adopter? I’ve never had to rehome a dog before so I feel a little out of my element on what I should be looking for.
Oh I totally get it and its overwhelming to be tasked with this kind of thing for the first time. I'm sorry for your loss firstly. secondly I look for a lot of different things about a dog so that I can let people know about... lemme try and write em out. this isn't comprehensive but it's some of the most important ones imo:
how is the dog around food? how is she for meals and how is she for higher value treats like cheese? high value chews? any resource guarding of those things towards people or other dogs? if so, what kind and how does it show up? some resource guarding is totally normal but its important to know how it shows up/under what circumstances so people can be prepared.
how is the dog with other dogs? ever lived with other dogs? did your mom ever take her to places where she interacted with other dogs, like daycare or the dog park? if so, how did she respond to those places? how does she respond to male dogs vs female dogs? big dogs or small dogs? does she show any prey drive indications toward small dogs? is she ok to be walked in spaces where other dogs are? does she respond calmly to seeing other dogs while out on walks etc, or does she bark or lunge or show any other reactivity? and what about people? if you're walking the dog and someone unexpectedly walks around a corner at you, what's her reaction? does she react differently to children than to adults? how?
how is the dog about people in its space, for example, if your mom had visitors over? new people like home nurses etc that she hadn't met before? does she bark and then settle, is she rambunctious and overly friendly, is she cautious and warms up slowly, etc? can unfamiliar dogs enter her space without incident, or is that a no? like if someone had a friend visiting and they brought their dog with them, would this dog be able to accept a new visiting dog without issues?
how is the dog at the vet? in the vet waiting room? will she be upset about being in the waiting room with other strange dogs? does she need any special considerations for vet care such as being muzzled?
is the dog fully house trained? is she crate trained at all? how is she being left alone? can she be left alone loose in the house safely? does she have any separation anxiety when her people leave? how does it manifest?
How is she on a leash? will she wear a harness/how sensitive is she to having gear put on her? does she pull at all? does she do ok in a "gets walked" type of situation for her potty breaks rather than a "fenced yard" situation?
how much stimulation and exercise does she need to "fill her cup"? all dogs need some, but some need more than others, and they can benefit from different kinds of exercise/enrichment/play and that is helpful information for new owner to know.
is she loud? how often and under what circumstances does she bark?
its ok if you don't have the answer to all of these things!!! but they're all things that if you do know them it will allow you to give any potential adopters a really nice clear picture of what living with the dog is like, which will make things easier for everyone :) if you aren't familiar with stuff like dog body language I can tell you what to look for that will help you understand her reactions if they're subtle. i hope this helps and good luck to you and to her! hope you can easily find her a soft landing place
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