[sandals]

My new beagle Sweetie is a pound puppy. I have come to the conclusion she has a multiple personality. I have had her about 2 months now, and she has a strange "routine" I would like to share. 1st off, she is very nervous, especially noises. She is slowly overcoming that but I feel we have hit a platue.

1. She sleeps until noon (every day). When I greet her she trembles. I have to sweet talk her out to the back door. She seems very unsure walking down the hallway and out the door.
2. She seems afraid to come back in. I get the feeling she is afraid of the back door.
3. At 2 we go for a LONG walk. 1-2 hours on the average.
4. After that she is no longer afraid to come in the door.
5. After dinner I need to shut the bedroom door to keep her in the living room. She doesn't seem nervous, but if it were up to her she would live in there full time.

She is a very loving dog, and very affectionate. Not afraid to lay with me, but her routine just doesn't make sense to me.

I thought of getting her a companion but I am not sure if that will help or harm her? She loves other dogs but I am not sure it would help her quirks. Any ideas are appeciated.

 

[angelaH]

How old is Sweetie and what is her history? We have two ex research beagles and their routines were also strange when they came to us. Mostly they wanted to be left in peace to sleep, later they adored walks and now they are almost 'normal'. It will take time before your pup is confident enough to come and go at ease, but she will. Plenty of love and patience is what you need. Thanks for taking a rescue.

 

[BookerMoose]

What you are describing with Sweetie sounds a lot like what we have experienced with our youngest rescue Popcorn. She is also afraid of noises and pretty much everything else. When we first adopted her she was absolutely terrified of the metal threshold on the front door of our building and would have to muster up all the courage she had just to run across it each time we were entering or exiting the building (and sometimes she just couldn't do it and we would have to carry her over it). Over time she has learned to deal with the threshold, but there are still days even now (we have had her 2 1/2 years) when the thought of leaving the house is enough to make her start to tremble and lay down in the hallway as if she simply can't do it. She is usually the worst about going outside in the morning, when it is almost as if she has relaxed enough overnight to finally feel safe - and then we ruin all that by making her go into the big scary outside world again. Sometimes I still just have to pick her up rather than drag her down the hallway on her back.

So it sounds to me like Sweetie is a lot like Popcorn and, if that is the case, I think that she has decided that the bedroom is her "safe" place, and if she had her choice she would just stay in there all the time.

I've also noticed with Popcorn that if she has had a good walk or done something else really enjoyable, she almost can forget to be afraid for a little while - that might explain why Sweetie is okay coming through the scary door after your longer walks...

All I can say to reassure you is that over time Popcorn has slowly but surely become more and more confident so that it is no longer EVERY day that she just can't seem to face going outside (although it is still maybe two or three times a week). And she eventually got over her fear of the threshold...

There will probably be plateaus with Sweetie and it will hard not to get discouraged, but even after 2 1/2 years we are still seeing improvements - just recently we have noticed Popcorn is starting to wag her tail in certain situations when we are outside the house... that would never have happened even six months ago.

I don't think getting another dog will completely solve Sweetie's issues although it probably wouldn't hurt (unless the other dog is also a scaredy-dog, I guess). We have two other older extremely self-confident rescue beagles and frankly I haven't noticed too much of their self-confidence rubbing off on Popcorn... although she is marginally less freaked out when walking with one or both of the other dogs.

Sorry for the long post - but I just could really relate to what you were saying about Sweetie and would have loved to have had someone else who had experienced this back when we first adopted Popcorn and were completely at a loss about how to help her.

 

[sandals]

I don't really know the history.They say she is 4. She SUPPOSIDLY knew how to sit, stay, come, and "get in her kennel" on command. Well I guess someone lied. She didn't know her name either. They turned her in for barking too much. She did have a bad habit of doing a flip for people food.

Anyhow, She rarely barks. Whoever had her only had her 3 weeks before returning her to the pound.

She will strike and track a rabbit so my guess is she was someones hunting dog who originally came in as a stray....she likes deer too.

She seems housebroken. She had 2 accidents in the beginning but has not had one since.

She is not afraid of people at all, but is afraid of noises and the back door.

Maybe it would be best to not get another dog then. I am home all the time and she seems to have really bonded with me. I just wish she wasn't such a nervous nilly.

I should also note that people food and walking are her achilles (sp?) heel. If either are present she is not afraid of anything. If on the walk she is very confident.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

She sounds like a sweet baby. Your walks sound like lots of fun. I would give her more time and possibly she will get out of some of her nervousness. Enjoy her.

 

[Genie]

Sweetie sounds like a love!! I haven't had a rescue in a long time, but when we adopted our sweet Sassy many years ago, she had been abused, and was so afraid of so many things. With time, and loving consistency, she came out of her shell. I'm sure Sweetie will overcome her quirks too. But I don't think this may be just the time to bring in another pet. Maybe some trips to a dog park or someplace where she can be around other dogs, but knows she can be alone in her home if she needs to be. Then when she is more confident, maybe then she can have a companion.
Thank you for taking in your pound puppy. Here's a sweet poem I found on the 'net:

The Meaning of Rescue

Now that I'm home, bathed and fed, all nicely tucked in my warm new bed
I'll open my baggage, lest I forget, so much to carry, so much to regret
Yes, there it is right on the top - Loneliness, Sadness, Heartache and Loss
And there by my leash hides Fear and Shame
And I still have to unpack the worst one - pain
I loved them the others, the ones who left me, I wasn't good enough for they never kept me,
Will you add to my baggage, will you help me unpack
Or just look at my things and take me right back
Do you have time to help me unpack, put away my baggage and never look back
I pray that you do, I'm tired you see - but I do come with baggage
Will you still want me?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Murphys Dad]

I am so glad that Sweetie found her way to your home -- it sounds like you are doing whatever you can to make her feel adjusted. My Maggie was a "street dog" for an indeterminate amount of time before she came into my life. Our walks for the first couple of years were quite interesting -- she would jump into the air at the sound of a motorcycle or a car back-firing. She didn't like the sound of children crying or really any loud noises and shied away from most people. Hard to imagine now -- she could care less about firecrackers going off in the next door neighbor's yard and runs up to the children walking by. I used to teach special education and success was measured in teeny, tiny steps. I think it is a similar thing with rescues but, boy, those successes bring joy to our hearts!
(Genie -- thank you for posting your poem --I've never seen that one -- brought tears to my eyes!)

 

[Gingergoose]

My Henry's 2 year anniversary with us will be February 3rd.

He was a sick, scared stray and has come a long way in the time he has been with us.

But some days, something unknown will set him off and he will be nervous and scared all day no matter how much we try to comfort him and be with him.

There are also days, not even bad days necessarily, that for whatever reason he will not come through the door. Neither the back door or the front door. Nothing we do can lure him in. We have to (chase him down) and pick him up and carry him in. I can tell that on these days, he really, really wants to come through the door but just can't make himself do it.

Oh well...we do what we can. We love our Henry so very much. :heart:

I have no advice on this...just letting Sadie know that you love her and when she does this, she isn't in trouble.

Good luck with it all.

~Denise