Five Steps to Take When Rehoming a Dog

The bond between pets and pet owners is a powerful one. However, there are times when rehoming is the best option for both pets and pet owners, meaning that it should be taken even though it can be a rather unpleasant process for both sides. With that said, pet owners need to make sure that their pets will be treated in the loving way that they deserve, meaning that there are some critical steps that they should take to maximize the rehoming process’s chances of success. Here are five critical steps that pet owners should take when they are seeking to rehome their pet:

1. Get a Reference from the Veterinarian

What people say is not necessarily what people will do. This is the reason that people should seek out references whenever they make important choices, with rehoming a pet being no exception to this particular rule. Generally speaking, when a pet owner is seeking to rehome a pet, the best person to ask about the candidate is their veterinarian. After all, a veterinarian can provide interested individuals with a lot of information about the health of the candidate’s pets as well as their behavior whenever the candidate’s pets fall sick. Simply put, if a candidate doesn’t treat their pet in the way that a pet owner would like their pet to be treated, it might be a sign that the pet owner should look somewhere else.

2. Visit the Candidate’s Home

Visuals can communicate a lot of information in an instant, so much so that text can’t hope to compare when it comes to pure efficiency. As a result, it is worthwhile to visit the candidate’s home to see what the living conditions for their pets are like, which is particularly important because imprecise language can result in a very distorted picture of the reality of things. By taking a look at the candidate’s home, the pet owner can make sure that they know exactly what kind of living conditions they will be sending their pet into, which should help them make a fully-informed decision.

3. Conduct a Trial

Even when a pet owner has been thorough in conducting their research, there is no guarantee that they can perfectly predict the outcome of a rehoming. Due to this, it tends to be a good idea to conduct a trial period during which their pet will live at their new home. This way, the pet owner can get the most accurate picture of what their dog’s new life will be like, thus eliminating any doubts that they might have about their treatment. Moreover, this can help both sides pick up on potential issues with the rehoming so that they can correct them before they turn into catastrophic consequences.

4. Remain Involved

Just because a pet owner is rehoming their pet, it doesn’t mean that they have stopped caring about their pet. As a result, pet owners might want to ask the candidate about whether they can remain involved in their pet’s life to some extent, which is something that might call for a fair amount of negotiations to ensure that both parties will be satisfied. Done right, this is something that can actually benefit both sides because it will enable the old pet owner to remain in contract with a long-time friend and the new pet owner to get some help with looking after their new companion.

5. Ask for a Rehoming Fee

It can sound a bit mercenary, but asking for a rehoming fee can be critical for ensuring a rehomed pet’s future well-being. In part, this is because the willingness to pay a fee shows the candidate’s willingness to commit to taking care of the pet. However, it should also be noted that paying a fee can cause a candidate to assign a higher value to the pet on a subconscious level, thus increasing the chances that they will provide good treatment. Some pet owners will find this to be rather unpleasant, but there is a simple way to deal with that by just donating the fee to either an animal shelter or some other organization that exists for the purpose of helping pets and pet owners.

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