How Do I Surrender My English Setter?

If you’re considering surrendering your English Setter, you’re likely most concerned with how to find them a wonderful, safe, and loving new home. After all, even though it may not have worked out for you as a pet parent, you still want to make sure your English Setter is matched with a truly loving, responsible new family. This guide will walk you through the steps to learn how to safely, effectively, and responsibly rehome or surrender your English Setter.

While English Setters are super social, sweet, and goofy, they also tend to be high energy, can have selective listening if something has caught their attention, may be destructive when bored, and can have a strong instinct to chase any small critter who hops, flaps, or runs. Sometimes these behaviors can become a bit too much if your work hours increase, and you can no longer give your dog enough of an outlet for their energy. Or maybe some health changes mean you’re no longer able to match their playfulness and intense drive. Or perhaps moving or financial stressors have made it difficult to continue providing for their needs. 

While we always encourage pet parents to consider working with a qualified, ethical canine behaviorist first to work through any challenges, we understand that sometimes rehoming is the best decision for you and your pup.

What does it mean to rehome a dog?

Rehoming a dog means that you’ll personally find your pup a new, loving home, since their current living arrangement is no longer working out. This may be due to lifestyle changes, behavioral struggles, financial challenges, or a mismatch between your English Setter’s needs and what you as their pet parent can provide. When you rehome your pup, you’ll make sure that the new adopter is a great match and that they’re fully prepared to provide for your dog’s health, social, exercise, and enrichment needs.

How to rehome your English Setter

To get started, create an adoption profile with eye-catching, fun photos of your English Setter, a few sentences about their ideal home, and any important information about them. Then, you’ll need to find potential adopters.

Creating an adoption profile

• Emphasize that they’ll need an active family. Most English Setters need lots of daily exercise and play time. A couple of walks around the neighborhood aren’t going to cut it for this super high-energy breed. Instead, English Setters tend to do best in an active home where they can go on adventures such as daily runs, practice agility, play frisbee in the park, go on long, enriching nature walks with plenty of sniffing opportunities, and so on. Make sure to prioritize finding them a home with an active and enthusiastic family. 

• Consider other aspects of your pup’s personality and behaviors. This breed is typically highly social and enjoys the company of other dogs. If this is true of your English Setter, looking for a home with other friendly pups is a great idea. Do they have separation anxiety? If so, focus on choosing a family who can spend lots of time with them — someone who works from home or can take them to work could be a great choice. Are they gentle and calm around small pets, or will they do best in a home without little critters around?

• Be upfront about any health conditions they may have. English Setters are prone to some medical issues such as deafness, hip dysplasia, and hypothyroidism. If your pup has any medical needs, be transparent about this so potential adopters can determine if they have the means to care for them. 

Find someone you already know to adopt

Once you consider which type of home your English Setter will thrive in and make an adoption profile, you’ll want to share their adoption information with people you already know. Start by reaching out to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers whom you think could be excellent fits for your pup. Adopting your English Setter to someone you already know and trust is one of the easiest and least stressful ways to rehome your dog. 

Look into pet adoption sites 

Sharing your English Setter’s adoption information online can broaden your search, but it’s important to only go to reputable pet adoption sites, such as Rehome by Adopt a Pet. There, you can post their information and connect with potential adopters. Some animal shelters also offer digital rehoming services for pet parents to advertise their pet’s adoption information, so make sure to check with your local shelter as well. These peer-to-peer rehoming programs help shelters reduce the number of pets in their facilities and promote safe adoptions. 

Avoid pet classified sites

While reputable pet adoption sites can be great tools for rehoming, make sure to avoid pet classified sites, such as Craigslist or Local Sales Network (aka LSN), as well as social media sites, such as Facebook or Nextdoor. These sites are often full of backyard breeders selling litters. They are also frequented by scammers looking to steal your information or adopt your English Setter for harmful reasons, such as flipping your pet for profit or selling them as a hunting dog. To ensure the safety of you and your pup during the rehoming process, it’s best to avoid these sites altogether. 

Surrender to a shelter or animal rescue 

Sometimes, try as you might, direct rehoming just doesn’t pan out. If that’s the case, you’ll need to consider surrendering your English Setter to a shelter or animal rescue. 

Surrendering to a rescue organization

It’s best to start by reaching out to foster-based animal rescues, since staying in a foster home will be much less stressful for your dog than staying in a kennel at a loud, often crowded shelter, especially for a high-energy breed. Look first for breed-specific or general Setter rescues, such as Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue and A Better English Setter Rescue. 

Be prepared to (potentially) get on a waiting list or travel several hours to place your Setter with a foster-based rescue, because these organizations are often inundated with placement requests from both individuals and shelters. If you don’t have any luck with breed-specific rescues, your next step should be to reach out to non-breed-specific, foster-based rescues. 

Surrendering to an animal shelter

As a last resort, after you’ve reached out to reputable rescues, you may need to contact an animal shelter to take in your English Setter. It’s crucial to thoroughly exhaust all other safe rehoming and rescue options before surrendering your pup to a shelter. Although many shelter organizations work hard to make the animals in their care as comfortable as possible, these loud, often chaotic environments are inherently stressful and anxiety-inducing for most animals. 

Most shelters also simply do not have the time or resources to provide the amount of daily exercise and enrichment that high-energy breeds such as English Setters require. If you’ve reached a point where you’ll need to contact a shelter, it’s best to prioritize reaching out to organizations with a good reputation in the community, a great adoption track record, plenty of volunteer opportunities, and a strong foster program — they are much more likely to quickly find a loving home for your pup.

Do you have to pay to rehome an English Setter?

You may need to pay to rehome your English Setter if you end up having to surrender them to a rescue or shelter. These organizations sometimes charge relinquishment or surrender fees, which help cover the cost of care for animals in their facilities. Not all organizations charge a surrender fee, and some only suggest you make a donation. If you do need to pay a fee to surrender your English Setter, it is likely to be in the $25 to $150 range. 

What is a rehoming fee?

A rehoming fee is set by the pet parent and paid by the adopter. You might feel resistant to the idea of setting a rehoming fee, because you don’t want to feel like you’re selling your canine pal or putting a price on their worth. However, a rehoming fee isn’t intended for profit. Instead, its purpose is to prevent impulse adoptions and to deter people looking for free pets to use for harmful reasons, such as baits dogs in fighting rings or to sell for profit. (It’s a bit like a rescue setting an adoption fee.) So, while it can feel a bit uncomfortable, setting a reasonable rehoming fee can help keep your pup safe, showing that the adopter is serious about providing for their care. 

What is a reasonable rehoming fee for an English Setter?

A reasonable rehoming fee for an English Setter is about $100 to $300, and can depend on factors such as where you live, the health status of your pup, how old they are, and if they’re up-to-date on their vaccinations. It’s also important to ensure that your pup is spayed/neutered before putting them up for adoption, because someone may be willing to pay a rehoming fee to make money by breeding your dog. 

Should you charge rehoming fees?

You should charge a rehoming fee when you’re adopting your English Setter to someone you don’t already know, since this fee acts as a security measure during the rehoming process. Other security measures include requiring references from potential adopters (especially from a vet, if the potential pet parent has any current or past pets), asking them questions about what the pup’s life will be like in their care, setting up a meet-n-greet prior to the adoption, and writing up an adoption contract that outlines care expectations.

What about rehoming with pet adoption sites?

Rehoming through pet adoption sites is a great way to expand your search. Rehome by Adopt a Pet offers a free service to pet parents that makes this process simple and effective. Rehome’s guided process helps you set up your English Setter’s adoption profile, review applications, set up meet-n-greets with potential adopters, and finalize the adoption with a contract when you find the perfect match. 

Commonly asked questions

Do English Setters get separation anxiety?

Yes, some English Setters get separation anxiety. If you’re rehoming your English Setter and they have separation anxiety, it’s crucial to inform potential adopters of this and to prioritize finding them a home where they will have consistent company. 

Can I surrender a dog to a pet store? 

No, you can not surrender a dog to a pet store. If you need to surrender your dog, it’s important to only reach out to reputable rescue organizations and animal shelters. 

Where can I put an English Setter up for adoption? 

You can put an English Setter up for adoption by either directly rehoming them into a new, loving home or by surrendering them to a rescue or animal shelter.

References

Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue. (2025, April 23). Home - Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue. esrescue.org.

English Setter Rescue | A Better Setter English Setter Rescue. (n.d.). Better Setter. www.abetteresetter.org.

Rehoming a Pet: Finding a good new home. (n.d.). Best Friends Animal Society - Save Them All. bestfriends.org/pet-care-resources/rehoming-pet-finding-good-new-home.