I might have to give Shankly up. Please Advise

[Dragosani1]

I was just wondering..........
When you got Shankly, was this a joint effort between you and your wife? Or did you just get Shankly by yourself? I am wondering because it sounds like she is making excuses just to get rid of an animal that she doesn't want. I understand how torn you must be, but........I see no reason why a mother cannot take care of her child and a pet. I grew up with a rather rambunctious dog and I cannot imagine what my life would have been like had my parents gotten rid of him right after I was born. If you get rid of Shankly, what will you do if you have another baby down the road? Get rid of your first child? I know firsthand that a human child is much more demanding than a furry one. I think you need to sit down with your wife and ask why she really wants to get rid of Shankly. Then go from there. Otherwise you will just be abandoning a member of your family because it is inconvenient for both of you to put forth a little extra effort for the next few months.

[elephant]

Mike,
The last thing I wanted or any of us wanted to do was to make your wife cry. We understand you have a difficult decision and that is why we gave suggestions ( per your request)...and they are only suggestions because you and only you can make the final decision on Shankly's life. I do wish all of you the best of luck.

[Bosco'sMom]

Ditto! Ditto! Ditto! to what Andie (Rocky's Mom) posted earlier on this page. As from what I can see you got plenty of advice. And good advise at that! Now I don't fully know your situation so I am not going to judge you. I don't think anyone else was judging you either. We just cannot understand when things like this happen.

Now I don't have skin children either but I will tell you this, My dogs are my children. They will always be treated as my children. They will always be included in my life. I can't stand people who say, "Oh, he's just a dog". So what! He's a living, breathing animal that deserves as much love and attention as you can give.

And guess what? I don't walk my dogs every day either. For one thing, Bosco is almost impossible to walk because he's not very well trained to walk on a leash and pulls my arm off. Does this make me a bad person? NO. I let them out into the back yard (which is fenced) and we play fetch with his favorite ball or frisbee. He loves this and gets plenty of excercise this way. I'm sure your wife could find other ways such as this (and ways others have suggested to give the dog a little attention and exercise). If you don't feel you can use the suggestions then I just hope you find her a good home with people who love her as she deserves. Maybe you had already made up your mind before you asked for advise?

So good luck and don't get mad at us. We just love our dogs and yes to us they are like children.


P.S. That link that Matt S posted (How could you) had me in tears. Did you read that? So soo sad. I hope your little Shankley doesn't end up that way.

[mrsdp2]

I know that everyone on here really loves there boxers and so do I. But I have to say that you guys are making it very hard for people to come to the board and ask for advice. I just read the all the post and I really think you are being very hard on the guy for just asking for HELP. There are many other ways to word your concerns than to make him and his wife feel bad. This board is not for people to be mean and nasty to other people. I am sure I will get plenty of replies to what I have said. But I thought that I would voice my opinion.

[vaboxer]

mrsdp2 ~ EVERYONE has a right to their opinion!

Many of us have been here for quite some time...and many of us work with rescues...many of us have given GOOD ADVICE...and we have been berated for it.

When people ask for advice they should want advice...we gave it...I apologize if it doesnt sound nice...many times our feelings get the best of us when we are thinking about the lives of our beloved Boxers...

[cfhtlhii]

Mike,

I was wondering if you guys had made any further decisions. You have not posted to let us know. As you can see from the number of posts in this thread, there are a lot of us here who care, about you and your family and no matter what you decide we would like for you to post and let us all know.
Thanks!

Connie

[Sube Ru's mom]

Originally posted by mrsdp2
I know that everyone on here really loves there boxers and so do I. But I have to say that you guys are making it very hard for people to come to the board and ask for advice. I just read the all the post and I really think you are being very hard on the guy for just asking for HELP. There are many other ways to word your concerns than to make him and his wife feel bad. This board is not for people to be mean and nasty to other people. I am sure I will get plenty of replies to what I have said. But I thought that I would voice my opinion.

I understand that you think we are being harsh, that is not a lot of ours intention. We are all just trying to stress the point that Mike signed on for a LIFETIME commitment when he got the dog. And i am sorry but my primary concern is the dog not the person. Unfortunantly, animals do not get to pick where they live, we make that decision for them.
That being said, when you buy, rescue or find a dog- you are making a commitment to the DOG, CAT, Fish etc. that you will care for them, feed them, love them and keep them until they pass on.
It makes me and i am sure others mad that when all of a sudden things start getting rough the first thing to go is the dog.
We are not here to critize but when you bring up a topic such as this, options are offered, and you make it sound like you are not going to try any of the advice given and instead just give the dog away, quite frankly it pisses me off.
as i have preached SEVERAL times, and that is why i made the last comment about people who know me know i voice my opinion on this subject, I work in rescue, i see the dogs that come in, and one of the number one reasons is "we just had a child, and we dont have time for the dog" so guess what, the dog goes to rescue and WE the rescue people and the people that adopt the dog have to deal with the emotional issues that the dog has, believe me dogs have emotions to, just because we dont see them pout, cry, get mad or whatever does not mean they have no emotions. animals can feel just as deep emotions as we (humans) do, and think about it, when someone we love sooo much passes away we grieve and sometimes that grief can be so overwelming that we cease to function, why should a dog be any different. do you not think losing a master, someone you worship to the depths of your paw, will cause such an intense grief???
This is why we get upset and say how we feel, because we care about animals and boxers especially.

[Kodie Rae]

But I agree with everyone else on the board here.

When Cooper was 5 months old I had met a guy and fell in love, we wanted to get married and have kids- we were soul mates.

Then he started becoming annoyed with my boy, he said I spent to much time with the dog (going to training classes) and playing with him and I refused to crate him 24 hrs a day while he wanted to go do things with me and he felt he had to compete with my boy. I explained to him that I made a commitment to myself and my boy when I bought him that I would train, love and provide to the best of my ability and that I could love and take care of my boy as well as love and be with him. He suggested that because my boy was still young it would be easier to give him up now instead of later on. WELL.........I felt forced to make a decision between the two of them and HE HAD TO GO. I REFUSED TO GIVE UP MY DOG FOR HIM BECAUSE HE DIDN"T HAVE THE PATIENCE FOR A PUPPY, I LOVE MY BOY AND I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON HIM NOR WILL I EVER LET ANYONE STAND IN MY WAY OF MY LOVE FOR MY DOG!!!! MY DOG WILL WIN EVERY TIME IF I HAVE TO MAKE THOSE TYPE OF DECISIONS AND THAT IS JUST HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY DOG. He is the love of my life and we have been through trying times and he is always by my side telling me it is ok, he has never given up on me either and he has adjusted very well to a lot of different situations and routines over the past 4 years of his life but he knows no matter what I will always be there for him.
Didn't you make the same commitment when you got Shankly??
So why not now?? Too hard?? You as a new father have a lot on your plate as well because you feel the need to PROVIDE the best for your family and I am sure you are overwhelmed as well with all the weight of so many people relying on you to provide but trust me......if you give it some time IT WILL GET BETTER and then you will be able to sit back and enjoy THE WHOLE FAMILY....TOGETHER like the fairy tale story you imagined when you got Shankly. DONT GIVE UP ON YOUSELVES OR SHANKLY !!!!!
I wish you luck in your decision but please re-think every option

Congrats on the new baby!!! truly a gift of god!

[KC]

Don't I know it, Kodie Rae. I had to hunt high and low to find a man who would support my boxer addiction. I would not have married any man who was not as dog crazy as me - or at least supportive of my own craziness even if he didn't go as totally mad as me. My hubby married me with the understanding that my boxers are SO important to me and that he was on his own to try to find room in the bed for himself - because they are staying put! He loves boxers now as much as I and would just as soon give away a fur baby as a skin kid.

We can't wait to add skin kids to our furry family and watch all the "kids" grow up together! What better gift can we give our children than the boxer experience? I can think of none greater.
The benefits far outweigh the challenges.

[Bosco'sMom]

i just noticed something. Looks like yesterday was Shankley's birthday! Happy belated Birthday Shankley!!

[BRIDGIT]

I have to agree with everyone's opinions. Obviously you asked for advice and like of course you cannot expect everyone to agree with your thoughts or decisions. I have a rescue that to this day I will not understand why they gave her up. I am glad they did because there is no one in this world that loves her more than us. I have one of my customer's at work who is asking for my help to place their year old boxer because they "didn't have time" for her anymore or room in their new house so they gave her away and now the family they thought was good turns out to be bad, they are not feeding the dog. This is the sweetest dog ever and deserves a loving home. My point is that a dog is a LIFELONG commitment that shouldn't be taken lightly. I do not mean to be rude and I am not sitting in your shoes but it still upsets me. I really hope you guys make a decision that is right for your family and Shankly is loved and well taken care of no matter what family he is with.

[mysticalblues]

Mike,

I read through all of the posts, and read yours twice. To me, it does not seem that you were looking for help in the situation, but support in giving up Shankley. If you were truely looking for help, you would have considered some of the suggestions given and had more imput in this thread.

I do understand you and your wife are going through a tough time, but really think about what you are doing. Think about what it will be like to come home and not have her there to great you at the door. Think about not having here there for the bumps in the night.

I know some of the posts may seem harsh, but I just think people want you to think about what you are planning on doing.

Pam