Really hard dilemna :( :(

I'll start at the start.

I had Skye from a farm in Wales 18 month ago. I am a vet student and did some work experience on a dairy farm in the same area a year ago. I became really good friends with the farmer and she adored Skye.
So, when Skye's parents had another litter last Christmas, I let my friend know and we each had a pup from the litter.
I called mine Shiloh and she called her boy Scooby. Scooby has had a lovely life to date, and is doing really well with his herding and training, a true farm dog.

A few weeks ago my friend said she was worried about Scooby, that she thinks there's something wrong with his hips. He's just gone for x-rays and he has fairly advanced hip dysplasia at 11 months old. She can't keep him in because he's going mad knowing there's jobs on the farm and he's shut away. She's also got problems with her ankle so she can't easily lead-walk him - plus she's so busy around the farm. He'll probably need painkillers and controlled exercise for the rest of his life.

She doesn't think it's fair to keep him as she can't give him what he needs and he's got to the point already of collapsing and dragging his hindlegs after running around.

It's going to be really hard to find him a home with diagnosed hip dysplasia at his age, being a Welsh Sheepdog too others are going to shy away as he'll need other, less vigorous forms of exercise and stimulation kept up to keep him happy. He also needs other dogs as he's so used to always having animals around.

He will be PTS if a home isn't found for him. I won't allow that to happen though.

Being vet students, my partner and I get heavily discounted vet's bills and we already have two of Scooby's siblings here so he would have like-minded company and lots of stimulation.

BUT we really cannot manage 5 dogs. We have had our rescue PMD, Bear, just over a month and he's settled really well, but doesn't much enjoy the company of other dogs, at the moment he simply tolerates them and is actively aggressive towards entire males on his walks.

My partner and I have had a chat and just cannot decide what to do. Would Bear, now he's a happier dog and his temperament is known more, find t easy to have a new home? Would he be happier with someone who has experience with PMDs or as an only dog?
I just feel really torn, there's no way I'll let Scooby go into a dog's home with his current problems, I know he'd go mad and find it hard to find a suitable home. BUT I am so worried that Bear has just learnt to trust us and he'll feel abandoned and confused all over.

I know our other 3 dogs would be much happier with Scooby than they are with Bear as he's really growly with them on a daily basis and often lies in doorways and won't let them pass.

I just really don't know what to do. I know either way I'm going to be doing wrong by one of them.

I guess I'm thinking that Scooby will probably be PTS if we can't have him, whereas Bear, being a purebred PMD who is so wonderful with people will not. We would obviously have a chat with the people we rehomed him from and decide to either rehome him from here or find a place for him in a specialist PMD rescue home where his needs will be understood and hopefully find a forever home that suits him.

I feel sick. What would you do?
I'm absolutely torn in half about this.

I don't think I would give up Bear. You say that you have had him a month and there is still friction between him and your existing dogs. A month is a very short space of time for him to settle in and things may impove considerably over time. I personally think it would knock his confidence a lot.

As a vet student, you obviously know a lot more about hip replacments than I do, but is surgey not an option for Scooby? My mum's dog has had both hips replaced now (18 month gap or so between the ops) and almost immediately after each op he made really good progress.

Ultimately, Bear is your responsibility and Scooby is your friend's. If you really think Bear is unhappy and won't settle down given time, then rehoming him may be the better thing, but I personally wouldn't rehome Kiki (who's great with kids, dogs, well behaved, etc) to take on a harder to home dog off a friend

I guess I feel kind of responsible for Scooby as I introduced her to the dogs and she only had Scooby because she fell in love with the breed through meeting Skye.

W/r hip replacement surgery, it is not suitable for such a young dog, and it's very drastic with lots of associated risks.
If he is well managed from now he might be all right once he reaches 18months to 2 years because of the joint capsule thickening and supporting the joint better, but until then he can't do what he is doing.
If he's not better by then, that would be the point to consider hip replacement surgery.

He is on analgesic therapy but as you can imagine with an 11 month old sheepdog, once he is pain-free it's hard for my friend to stop him running around like a nutter on the farm and then he collapses.

I honestly don't know about Bear - he's still coming into his own. He's made brilliant progress, there is no denying that, and he's an absolute star. This past week he's spending a lot of time upstairs on his own, which is almost back to how he was when he first arrived
I guess I'm wondering if he really is happy with the whole picture here. He loves people, and loves his fuss, he will stand for grooming and fuss for hours. He's booked in for his castration for a fortnight from now so I guess he will probably still be settling for a long while.
He's a totally different dog to the one we brought home over a month ago, and for the better. I'm so proud of him.

You are going to have to harden yourself a bit or you are going to end up as a burnt out vet!

IMO keep Bear, you could end up with problems with Scooby anyway. You took on the responsibility of Bear and he is just beginning to trust you, don't wreck that for him and make him try and cope and trust all over again.

You have to back of a bit and let your friend make the decision---don't feel guilty as it isn't your responsibility.

That is my take on it---however you are in the situation and maybe you have bitten off a bit too much and you'd be better with Scooby than Bear.

Good luck whatever you decide but do treat this as a learning curve!

rune

BTW---in any behaviour programme you get a regression---might be what Bear is doing now.

rune

Thanks for your reply rune, you always manage to put things in a clear light.

My OH and I need to have a proper talk, a proper ask around about Scooby and make sure we're both in on whatever is decided.

I wish we could manage 5 dogs, but 2 new dogs in a matter of a month is just a disaster waiting to happen so I think that would be a terrible mistake.
Also, 2 of those dogs on lead-only walks and another 3 off-lead - that may be stretching ourselves a little bit thin and our dogs will be the ones to suffer.

I don't even know whether we could foster Scooby until a suitable home is found.

I just always say I know that our sheepdogs would go mad if anything should ever happen to us and they end up in a rescue, they're just not the kinds of dogs who are chilled out enough to survive it without scars, and I'm nearly in tears thinking about the brother of my pups possibly ending up in rescue with little prospect of a home.

I really do need to harden myself though, but this feels so close to home, I've known Scooby since the day he was born. It almost feels like this is happening to one of my own dogs

Personally if I was you I would keep Bear, he is your dog now and your responsibility, he has grown to love and trust you... Your friends dog is ultimately her responsibility and also the breeders responsibility also... I would never rehome my Honey who we have had 3 weeks, to take on another dog who "may" be PTS.. sorry jmo...

Perhaps you could invest some time helping to find a home for Scooby? Perhaps a retired farming couple who'd be happy to have a dog with limited mobility, and maybe do some carboots, etc to raise funds for his hip replacement(s) if he's not insured?
It really doesn't sound like Bear is struggling so much that you need to rehome him, so I think that to rehome him now would not be doing it out of his best interests or anything, and your responsibility to your own dog that you chose to get has to be more than your responsibility to a dog that your friend chose to get, no matter how in love with your dogs she was, she made the concious decision to get that dog. It's a shame she can't work the situation but it is her situation to sort out, not yours, and I think the most you should offer as a friend is help finding a suitable home, not rehoming your own dog to accomodate hers.

I have a good friend who takes on dogs and rehomes them---usually collies. She is in Kent.

She is away at a show this w/e but may be able to help.

Hold fire and don't let your friend rush into anything and I am sure we can sort something out. The dogs are fostered on a farm while they wait for a home if they can't stay where they are so he should be well at home!

rune