Surrendering A Siberian
Before You Give Up
Many Siberians end up in rescue or shelters due to training or behavioral problems that may have been easily solved if their owners just had the right tools. If you are considering giving your Siberian up due to behavioral issues you just cannot deal with, it may not be as hopeless as you think.
A rescue group can be a great resource for tools and tips that will help you keep your dog. People involved in Siberian-specific rescue understand the breed and have probably seen your dog’s problems before. They can provide training suggestions, and some may even be willing to schedule a visit with you to evaluate your dog’s behavior and provide solutions. The goal of rescue is to get dogs into forever homes; if they can help you keep your dog in your home it will be one less dog brought into an already crowded system.
If you are serious about keeping your Siberian, you might also consider enrolling your dog in training classes or consulting a professional trainer to help with behavioral problems. Understand that all training and behavioral modification will require some amount of effort and consistency on your part; but it will also improve your relationship with your Siberian and help them become the ideal companion you had hoped for when you brought them home. If you are interested in learning more about training and behavioral modification options, please look at our training and behavioral resources.
As a Last Resort
If you’ve tried to contact your dog’s breeder for help without success, and you know you just cannot provide the proper home for your Siberian anymore, it is time to contact a reputable rescue group.
Contacting rescue is a better idea than placing an ad in your local classifieds or a craigslist-type website. When you place an ad you just never know what you might get: It could be a perfect forever home. It could also be someone posing as a responsible owner but buying your dog to resell in a few days…or worse.
A responsible Siberian Husky rescue group can help you find the right home for your Siberian. They understand the breed, and they are a known entity with the resources to locate and evaluate potential homes.
When you contact a rescue group to surrender your dog, here are some things to keep in mind:
• Be honest. If your Siberian climbs fences or is afraid of children, tell the rescue. This will help them find the dog an appropriate home.
• Be prepared to foster your own dog. Most rescues are already overwhelmed with Siberians in foster care and may not even take owner-surrendered dogs. What they can do is list or highlight your dog on their website, social media, etc. and pre-screen any potential adopters.
If you are willing to keep your dog until the right home is found, you will ease the financial burden on the rescue group and your chances of finding the right forever home for your Siberian will be much higher.