"A new baby is the single biggest reason pets get rehomed"

"A new baby is the single biggest reason pets get rehomed"

This statement was used on another forum in a discussion about someone trying to rehome their dog before emigrating to Australia. I have to admit it surprised me and I wondered if there is any statistical proof for it. What do you think? Is it correct? And if so, why is it the case?

sounds correct to me. i had my 4 babies before i got the first of our 4 dogs and even then the little one was nearly 3 years old. im glad i waited cos the kids should come first but now my dogs come first!!(only joking!)

I don't know if it's true in the UK. I could find out what Dog's Trust make of it though. I'l let you know what they say

Thanks Sarah, it would be useful to know the accuracy of the stat. I guess when i think about it it may well be correct for rehoming (as opposed to abandonment) but it had never crossed my mind before.
It just seems so so sad.

It does seem sad I agree. My friend's daughter is due to give birth in October. They have a lovely little staffy and she has no thoughts at all about rehoming him.

I guess i see my dogs as part of my family and i would always want to try and make sure any addition (whether furry or human) would be made welcome and not exclude the others but I can also totally understand that having a baby is probably the singular biggest change in your life you will go through.

My dogs are a member of the family and i would no more get rid of them then the new baby. Yes it is life changing i'm sure but it doesn't mean everything has to change.

We are planning to have a baby in the comming year and my dogs are going to be a way of reminding me there are other things then babies!

I have no facts and figures in support, but I do spend a lot of time looking at rehoming sections (my dogs have all been rescues) and the reasons that come up most often are:

(a) new baby
(b) relationship breakdown/change in circumstances so that remaining person feels unable to work and look after dog
(c) not understanding the time/commitment a dog needs
(d) allergies

personally I think the last one is often used as an excuse rather than a genuine reason, but again have no evidence to support this.

I know there are genuine cases where the people involved could not reasonably foresee what was going to happen to them (particularly things like illness), but generally I think people don't give enough thought to the 'what if' scenarios before they get a dog. So, you always see what the future holds, but surely you know if you want children and what your thoughts are about having a dog at the time.

When we got our first dog after years without one (because we were not in a position to look after one) we deliberately chose an older rescue to break us in slowly again - that way our commitment was only likely to be 5 or 6 years rather than that 15 or so if you go out and get a pup. I wish more people would give that some thought rather than rushing out and getting a cute puppy.

A very sad statement, I wonder if it is true. If a baby had a severe physical / mental disability then I guess I could understand that the parents / parent might not be able to devote enough time to the dog anymore and they felt it was more fair on the dog for him / her to go to somewhere where they would get more time and energy spent on them.

Call me cynical but I think some people just get bored of things too quickly and feel they can justify rehoming the dog because they have a new baby rather than saying they couldn't be bothered to walk it anymore or they didn't like the fact that it barked or moulted or grew too big...

i have to say i think its probably true !!
I remember looking at the staffie breed rescue rehoming sheet which was 2 pages long and nearly every second answer was due to new baby !!!

thats a very sad thing !

Also when i was pregnant and walking Bruno - people used to ask me when I was getting rid of the dog ?????

I know of two people who have rehomed a dog due to a new baby, there may be genuine reasons, but i thin kthe majority of people its probably just laziness and the fact that the noveltymay have worn out.

It never even crossed my mind - Bruno was amazing from the day luca was born and the only way that i would have rehomed bruno was if i thought he was a serious risk to my child - however i think i would know this before even having a baby by his reaction to children so perhaps i woudl have rethought having kids at that point if he was ???

its a real sad state of affairs for many dogs as a new baby often means tufting the dog out. just in case.....

Dont get me wrong its hard as in the early days you barely have time to get something to eat never mind walk the dog - and i had a baby in the middle of winter but \i was still out at all times with the baby and the dog !!!

my toddler adores Bruno and would be so different if he wasnt around - i think it made him crawl earlier too as he was dying to follow him !!