12 Questions to Ask Before Re-Homing Your Dog


Do you need to re-home your dog? This is a very hard decision to make, but necessary in a variety of situations. Before you re-home your dog there are several things you need to ask yourself about reforming your dog.

I have compiled a list of questions that you should ask yourself before re-homing your dog. Read on to learn how to make the process as smooth as possible.

1. Do I Really Have to Re-Home my Dog?

It is a hard decision to re-home your dog. Sometimes it feels like it is necessary to re-home your dog, but there are other options you can go through.

Is your dog’s behavior not on par? Are they causing issues by peeing in the house, or maybe they have aggression issues. Have you considered maybe taking your dog to an animal behavioralist? They can give you tips to train your dog into being more house friendly.

Maybe all your dog needs is a little bit of extra attention for a little while until they are more comfortable in your home. If this is the case then maybe trying to work with your dog could be a better option.

If you are busy and don’t have time to train your animal to better behave maybe you can hire a sitter with training tools in the resume. You could ask for their help in training your animal to be better behaved and act in a way that is suitable for your household. Or you could try doggie daycares that work on animal behaviors.

2. Should I Tell the People/Organization that I Got my Dog from?

When you are looking to re-home your dog, some of the organizations or people you bought the dog from may wish to be involved. If you bought your dog from a breeder, they tend to like to be involved.

Most of the time if you are re-homing a dog, you are going to sell it for less money than the animal is worth or give it away for free. If you bought it from a breeder, they may pay you a little bit of money to take the dog back and try to resell it at a higher cost.

If you got your dog from an animal shelter, it might be worth reaching out to them and telling them. They can help you find a new home for your dog. Animal shelters want to help all of their dogs find the right home. They will be interested in why it wasn’t the right fit and will want to make sure that your dog gets to a home where it can be happy.

3. Will the New Home Fit with my Dogs Personality?

Do you know where your dog is going? You maybe have found a home that says they will take your dog. You want to make sure that he is not going into another home that cannot take him. For instance, if the dog is bad with children, do not send him to a home with children in it.

Each time a dog is relocated to a new family, they go through a period of anxiety and depression because they do not understand why it happened. Their entire world has changed. If you are just sending the dog to a home where they won’t be able to keep him long, then it is counterproductive.

Tell the family that is taking your dog what the issues you had with the dog are, and ask them if they are ready to take those issues on. If possible, figure out what their plan is.

4. What Supplies will the Dog Need in the New Home?

To help your dog adjust to a new home, it might be good if they can have their old toys. This will give them a bit of familiarity, which will be comforting.

If you are re-housing your dog because of behavioral issues, it might be hard for the new family to take care of the dog in the beginning. It might be nice if you can give the family may be the supplies they need at the beginning to take care of the dog. This is especially a good thing to do if you are not planning on buying another dog to replace the old one. You might as well give the old dog food.

Another thing to supply the new owners with is the dog bed your dog slept in. Sleeping in a new home is very hard. It will be a lot easier if your dog has its old bed. This will really help your pet in readjusting.

5. Should I Charge for Re-Homing my Dog?

You are re-homing your pet and you may wonder whether or not you should charge the new owners for the pet. It really depends on the situation. If you are re-homing your pet because of your own life situation, such as you got too busy or can no longer afford to care for the pet, then yes, you should charge for the pet.

If you wish to re-home the dog because of his behavior it may make it harder to resell the pet. You can still try it at a low cost. Realize, though, that people will not be as likely to take a badly-behaved animal if they come with a hefty price tag.

If you are giving the new owner your own supplies, feel free to keep the price higher. This is another service you are offering, and therefore, you can expect people to pay a little more.

6. Should I Take my Dog to the Vet First?

If you are re-homing your dog you should take it to the vet first. The vet can check your pet to make sure that it is not carrying any diseases and that it is healthy. They then can write a note for your pet claiming that it is well that you can show it to people who are thinking of buying your pet.

You can get your pet spayed or neutered beforehand if you wish to improve the odds of them getting adopted. This will help the people who are taking your animal.

The vet can also catch up on all of your dog’s vaccinations. People do not want to buy an older dog that does not have its vaccinations. That is unsanitary and they will feel like the animal could have something wrong with it that the vet did not catch.

Therefore, before you give your pet away for re-homing, you should take it to the vet so it is ready for its new life.

7. Can I Ask to Visit the New Home First?

You love your dog, but you cannot keep it for reasons. You still want to make sure that your dog gets to live in a good home. You want to ask if you can check out the home of where your pet is going to live, but you do not know whether that is appropriate or not.

If you are giving your dog away to a new family you are allowed to see if your dog is going to be safe and happy in its new home. You can ask to see where they are planning on keeping the dog or references if you want.,

I also suggest that you look at their social media accounts. Look and see what kind of a person they are from what they post. By checking out the new family’s character, you can make sure your dog goes to a safe and happy home that they will spend the rest of their life in.

8. Should We Do a Trial Weekend First?

If you are you concerned about your dog being able to adjust to its new home, you might be wondering whether it would be a good idea to gradually introduce your dog to its new environment. This could be a great plan for you and your family.

Talk with the new owners and see if they would be on board with taking the dog for a weekend first and let the dog see its new home. This will let the dog time to meet its new environment without feeling abandoned. When you take the dog back it will be happy to be back in its old home.

This will help when you leave him at his new home for good because he will already be used to the home from going on little visits to it. The dog ideally won’t even realize that has moved out for good and therefore will not go through a mourning period.

9. Can I Visit the Dog?

There are many situations where you will have to re-home your dog and you do not wish to. You may already fear the thought of missing your dog.

You might want to visit your dog in its new home. You want to make sure the dog is happy and you want to see it for yourself as well. Is it right to visit your dog?

It depends on the situation. If you know the new owner of the dog well then it might work to ask to visit the dog. Even if you do not know the owner you can ask if you can visit. You should be empathetic to the adjustment process.

You should not visit the dog early on when it is adjusting because then it will get excited and think it is going home and when you leave the dog will become more depressed. Let your dog get used to its new family before you visit it a lot.

10. Can I Use the Animal Shelter?

You can send your dog to the animal shelter. Realize, though, that most animal shelters are overcrowded. Many animal shelters are forced to put down dogs because they do not have the space or resources available to keep your dog.

It is also easier to make sure your dog finds a good home on your own. People will have lots of choices of dogs in the animal shelter, but if you go out of the way to find someone who wants a dog, they only have to decide if they should bring your dog home.

It is faster to use the animal shelter. They can take it right then, while you may have to search for a new owner for your dog for a bit of time. Therefore, if you have an animal that is a danger to you and your family, the animal shelter might be the best option for you.

Overall, give a lot of thought to giving your dog to the animal shelter. It is a hard choice, but sometimes it is the only choice.

11. How Can I Prepare my Dog to Leave?

Realize that this is going to be a hard transition for your dog. Most dogs go through a period of mourning when they are forced to move to a new home. They get depressed and anxious.

You can help your dog prepare by trying ideas such as a gradual transition, making sure they have their toys from home, and introducing them to their new family long before they move in with them.

Doing these things will help your dog to be ready to move out of your home. It may seem like a lot of effort, but it will truly help in the transition process. Think of your dog as a child. It does not have a good understanding of what is going on. All they know is that their parents are gone and they are in a strange new home. This will help with attachment issues that your dog may end up having.

12. Could a Friend or Family Member Help?

If you have a family member who wants to take the dog, this might be the best option for you. You can then visit the dog. You can also call a lot more to check and see how the dog is adjusting.

Family members would feel more prone to call you and ask for advice. That advice could really help your dog as it adjusts to its new home. You will also be able to see your dog in the future if you give your dog to a family member.

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