Is it cruel to give up a dog?

Ally Snyder
Mar 3, 2022
4 min read

Unfortunately, giving a dog away is the first resort of many dog-owners. They expect their dog to be easy-to-train, respectful, or even calm, but when that cute puppy that was irresistible with big, brown eyes turned into a large, semi-aggressive beast that slobbers everywhere, they don’t want to bother with training the dog and rather give it away for someone else to deal with. A problem with people buying or adopting purebred dogs is that sometimes people lack to do research on their breed and buy for looks rather than compatibility. If you live in a quiet, boring environment, you don’t want to buy a Border Collie because these dogs are energetic and need plenty of exercise or they’ll turn aggressive. But, is it ever okay to give away your dog?

Why people give away dogs

Before we decide if it is okay, we need to talk about why people give dogs away. And I’m not talking about selling puppies that your dog birthed.

Dog is to hard to train.
Dog doesn’t listen (because lack of training)
Dog is to big, small, etc
Dog sheds to much
Dog is aggressive towards children, people, etc
Dog is destructive
You don’t have time for the dog
Not a puppy anymore
Doesn’t like cats
Breed isn’t what you wanted

As you can see, the list goes on and on! People will give away their dog simply because they are too lazy, or lack the knowledge to train their dog. I guess when they adopt a large-breed puppy, they expect for the dog to stay small as a puppy forever. Or when their high prey-drive Coonhound chases cats due to instincts. Or when their double-coated dog sheds too much. Or the dog keeps you up all night barking. Or the dog has food aggression issues and nipped at you.

What to do before giving away your dog

Before you even adopt a dog, purebred or not, you have to decide if you have the space and the time for one. If the dog is a purebred, you need to put research into the breed not just looking at the weight and the lifespan. When people in the 1960’s saw the awesome new Disney movie 101 Dalmatians, almost everyone wanted one of these sleek, spotted beauties. However, due to lack of knowledge, they didn’t that Dalmatians were highly energetic and can become aggressive due to stress, boredom, or lack of training. In the mid 60’s, thousands of Dalmatians ended up in shelters. If you want a dog, you need to ask yourself these questions:

Do I have the space for this dog?
Do I have the time to walk?
Do I have the money to feed, groom, and send to the vet?
Have I done extensive research? (if a purebred or known mix-bred)
Does the dog get along with other pets? Children?
Does the dog have special needs?
Does the dog have someone to watch him if I leave for a few days?
Do I promise to try all training methods before giving away my dog?

Instead of giving away to a shelter, do this instead

About 3.1 million dogs are in shelters all around the country. Don’t add your dog to the unlucky number. When a shelter overfills with dogs (unless it is a no-kill shelter), the shelter will put down perfectly healthy dogs, desperate to make more room for new dogs. Over 390,000 dogs were euthanized last year. Before you abandon your dog, first come up with the reasons why you are getting rid of him. Is it because he’s destructive? You have no time for him? He nipped at your son? There are proper training methods that help you exterminate your dog's problems. If you have no time for your dog, find someone that is eager to take him, like a family member or neighbor. Don’t add to the shelter population. If your dog continues to mis-behave, find out the reason why. Dogs can become stressed over the smallest things, whether that be the house is too loud or the lawn mower across the street is bothering them.

A dog’s bond

As loyal animals, dogs bond closely with their owners whether you like it or not. Dogs choose to stick close to people they love and will tolerate them. It has been proven that dogs can not only learn their names, but also the names of people they know and love. When you suddenly get rid of a dog, that bond breaks in half and the dog gets upset. Remember that feeling when you got lost at Wal-Mart and separated from your parents and felt scared? That’s how the dog feels. A dog would rather be with you than crammed in a concrete pen, waiting for the next person to take him.

Last resort

However, if all else fails, the least you can do is place the dog in a no-kill shelter, where no dog is killed. And if the place seems overcrowded, volunteer or buy things for the shelter to help care for your old companion. It’s the least you can do to help out the shelter workers after you dumped yet another dog on them.

Is it cruel to give a dog away?

While it isn’t cruel, it certainly isn’t a good thing to say. “Oh, I gave up my dog at the shelter because I couldn’t get him trained.” It’s also hard on the dog, who has to restart with bonding and get used to his new humans.

Whatever you do, DO NOT abandon your dog in the wild. Abandoning your dog is a crime in the whole United States, with the punishments being a 3-5 year jail time or even a fine of up to $2,500 dollars.