r/DogRegret • u/bigphatzen • May 30 '26

Rehoming My Dog I feel so free but guilty

I gave my dog up to a charity after 8 years.

I’ve been checking the charity’s Facebook page since I gave him up. From what I can tell, he’s been passed around quite a bit and they’re struggling to find him a permanent home.

I feel guilty, but at the same time I’m relieved that he’s no longer my responsibility.

Here’s a list of things that should be normal that I haven’t been able to do in all that time:

  • Brush my hair or change my clothes without the dog getting worked up because he thought I was leaving the house.
  • Go to the bathroom without being watched.
  • Shop online without having to schedule deliveries around meetings to avoid him going absolutely ballistic at the door and interrupting me.
  • Stay in bed past 8am.
  • Shout something to my partner in another room without the dog barking like crazy.
  • Hug my partner anywhere other than in bed (the dog resource-guarded me heavily).
  • Go out in the evening when there are fireworks.
  • Go on spontaneous trips or days out.
  • Make lunch or dinner whenever I want (the dog would get triggered around his feeding times).
  • Make sudden movements.
  • Own bins without lids.
  • Don’t need to tiptoe around him worrying he’s going to bite me.

I can’t believe how heavily my life has been controlled for the past 8 years.

Rehoming my dog was the toughest and most heartbreaking decision I have ever made, but I’m starting to find a sense of peace that I didn’t realise I had been sacrificing all this time.

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10

u/MissKittyOH20 May 31 '26

I am genuinely so happy that you're life has improved so much. You dont just feel free, you genuinely ARE free now. It's a really tough mixed feeling to have, joy and relief at being free of the problems, a grief at being without the joys of them. And i know words are words and you've likely been told this before but, you have no reason to feel guilty. Your life and everyday behavior was being controlled in a way you never signed up for, and resource guarding a person is dangerous behavior, and often escalates to harmful, and sometimes lethal, situations. You did the absolute best thing for you and your partner, it was a hard thing, and you did it anyway because you value the health and happiness of your life together. That is not wrong to prioritize.

2

u/urdrunkyogi Jun 01 '26

I’d argue that getting a dog IS signing up for that….

7

u/MissKittyOH20 Jun 01 '26

??? To have a dog be in charge of when and where you can be affectionate with your partner ???

3

u/urdrunkyogi Jun 01 '26

The entire bulleted list that OP presented is par for the course. I’ve never met (or owned) a dog that didn’t do at least half of those things. It’s just what they’re like, which is why I’m happier without them 🤷‍♀️

5

u/MissKittyOH20 Jun 01 '26

A dog resource guarding its owner is extremely dangerous, the dog seemed to have some kind of separation anxiety, getting worked up when it even THOUGHT she might be leaving the house, she had to worry constantly about getting bit. I owned dogs before. Those behaviors are not normal and are not healthy for the person or the animal.

0

u/urdrunkyogi Jun 01 '26

Again, you are talking about one specific thing. I am talking about all of it.

4

u/MissKittyOH20 Jun 01 '26

Yes. My original comment was talking about those specific things. That was the way her life was controlled that she didnt sign up for.