View Full Version : ...and we are in the process of adopting this dog!
Adding another species to our house! She came to visit today and there were no inter-species disagreements between her and the resident felines. Rescued beagle mix, an incredibly sweet girl. DD is already in love. Wish us luck - my DH grew up with a dog and has always wanted another. We are hoping this won't disrupt the current feline harmony too much.
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1301&d=1374454729
iris lilies
7-21-13, 9:12pm
Adding another species to our house! She came to visit today and there were no inter-species disagreements between her and the resident felines. Rescued beagle mix, an incredibly sweet girl. DD is already in love. Wish us luck - my DH grew up with a dog and has always wanted another. We are hoping this won't disrupt the current feline harmony too much.
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1301&d=1374454729
oh yes, she IS sweet! Great news! Don' let those cats run the household.
She's a doll. The cats will keep her in line.
Cute. Any idea on what you will name her?
fidgiegirl
7-21-13, 9:56pm
So glad for you! She will have such a wonderful home in your physically active household. Funny, I truly didn't think you were a dog person at all!
Well, Kelli, you're right in some ways: I don't like loud, boisterous dogs at all. I do not like to be licked, barked at, or jumped on. I do not even like to go to the homes of people who have dogs like that, to be honest.
But this is not one of those dogs. This is a quiet companion who is equally happy sniffing around the yard or sitting quietly next to her people. She did not bark at all during her visit, inside our out. She is very, very gentle. I love this kind of dog and always enjoy visiting friends who have dogs like this! I will enjoy having a walking companion, and it will be fun to take her on hikes and camping trips.
And although we were completely selecting a dog based on personality and size and not looks, I have always thought beagles were really cute. Serendipity. Maybe that should be her name. :) Name TBD. We'll get her from her foster mom in a few days.
She looks like the beagle I had as a child ("Cookie"). Sweet girl. Good luck with her, Rosemary -- bless you for trying to give her a forever home where she'll know she's loved.
She looks so sweet! Enjoy her!
She's cute. My dad raised and trained beagles when I was young. Always had a soft spot for them.
They are hunters....is your yard fenced?
Yes, we have a fabulous fenced yard. We bought this house for the yard - it was great for corralling our toddler (at the time) for safe play! The dog caught the scent of the wild rabbits in our yard yesterday and was very happily tracking them.
rosarugosa
7-22-13, 7:20pm
Beautiful - I hope you are all very happy together!
fidgiegirl
7-22-13, 7:30pm
Serendipity is an awesome name!! Or maybe she could be "Sara" - nice and clipped for learning obedience, etc., but still inspired by Serendipity.
Precious eyes....always a soft spot for beagles though I don't think I could live with one. Lovely girl. Congratulations!
Tussiemussies
7-22-13, 8:41pm
She is adorable. Glad she will have a loving, happy home with you...
In homes with cats and other species, cats characteristically rule the roost. Usually a female cat is head of the animal household and this is understood by the other cats and other animals. So if a cat tells your new dog what she can't do or where she should be, it may be not a problem to the animals, and nothing for humans to try to change. If the top cat dies, another will take her place.
Interesting to hear that, larknm! I've had multiple cats most of my life and it has always been a female that's been in charge. When we lived in Tucson, we used to dog-sit for a friend and her dog was terrified of my cats. The cats never hurt or scratched him, but they did let him know who was boss!
Our male cat is very outgoing and friendly. He and the dog touched noses within minutes of meeting!
Have been making preparations and will pick up the dog in a couple of days.
iris lilies
7-23-13, 9:13pm
In homes with cats and other species, cats characteristically rule the roost. Usually a female cat is head of the animal household and this is understood by the other cats and other animals. So if a cat tells your new dog what she can't do or where she should be, it may be not a problem to the animals, and nothing for humans to try to change. If the top cat dies, another will take her place.
yes, guess that you are right.
At the moment we have 3 shrinking violet felines, but our last alpha cat certainly did boss the dogs. She would squeeze between them and their dinner bowls when they were were hunched over their dinner bowl and would take a ceremonial bite, just to prove who was boss.
I still laugh when I remember how our alpha cat would unceremoniously walk up to the pug, and whap! him five times in quick succession on the nose -- whapwhapwhapwhapwhap. Then walk away. No particular reason, completely out of the blue. Just in case he'd forgotten who was boss....
Brought her home today. It went pretty well. The cats are all walking around, though somewhat cautiously. She's already used to her crate as her safe place, and we're working on getting used to each others' routines. I found our "alpha female" cat sprawled out in the crate mid-afternoon. This is a cat who will never, ever get into a pet carrier no matter how long it is left inside unused. Nope, it was pure dominance. Our most outgoing cat, the male, has been near the dog most of the day and only had to give two near-swipes, claws hidden, when she got a little too close. He has rubbed up against her, too.
I know they're all on "first day of school" type behavior, but - so far, so good. Tomorrow I'll take her to our vet clinic for a thorough check.
Side note: our frugal summer became very un-frugal this week. Adopting a dog, by the time we add tomorrow's vet bill, has cost about as much as taking a nice vacation somewhere (adoption fee, crate, collar, harness (she can slip out of the collar), leash, gates to keep cat areas for feeding & litter boxes, food, a few things for her to chew, some training treats, flea/tick treatments, and the as-now unknown vet bill).
Tussiemussies
7-26-13, 1:00pm
Oh, she has pretty eyes and is so adorable. Thank you for providing a loving, caring home for her. Her personality sounds so nice. Congratulations!
P.s. I have always loved my dogs so much that it didn't matter to me what I had to spend on them. You may feel the same way once you really get attached to her.
Day 3.
She doesn't like to pee or poop while on a leash. This is ok when we can have her loose in the yard but will be a problem on car trips or when we are in unfamiliar places. Tips welcome!
I've read a bunch of books and while they all indicate that changing existing habits can be difficult, none give particular suggestions. Right now my plan is to let her loose in the yard, teach her the word "potty" while she is going, and then try to extend that word to other situations when I think she needs to go. We had been trying to have her eliminate in a part of the yard that we chose, while on the leash. This led to a couple of accidents in the house as well as a dog that was crazy to get off her leash and who even squirmed out of her harness once. I've taken her on 2.5 mile walks and she has not "performed."
Otherwise... things are going really well! We set up some gates to keep the kitchen and the lowest level of our house dog-free. The cats' litterboxes are in the far end of the lowest level, and I don't want and dog/cat incidents occurring to keep them away from the litterboxes. Plus, that level is carpeted and so accidents are even more unwelcome there. The kitchen is where the cat food is and also I don't want to be tripping over a dog when I'm cooking. Our entire house is really open so we're not really closing her out of any of our activities.
Our ambassador male cat accepts her kisses and rubs against her. The queen female cat makes sure that the dog is aware that she needs a lot of space. The princess, unrelated to the queen but next in line of succession, is a really nervous little kitty but curious enough about the dog's food that she will sniff around the dog's bowl while the dog is eating.
Our vet gave her a clean bill of health yesterday and we have her heartworm and flea/tick meds in hand for the next few months.
Last night we were gone for a few hours and she was crated while we were gone. DH took her out when we got home and when she came in, she was tearing all over the house until I crated her again (only about 5 minutes, because I don't want her to act like that inside!). We turned off the lights and went to bed and she settled in immediately.
fidgiegirl
7-27-13, 6:09pm
No advice, your plan sounds logical, I just wanted to say I think it's funny that Gus has the opposite problem . . . prefers to only pee/poop on a walk. And we don't want to walk 1000 times a day. So we especially need to train him to go on command at bedtime. We only get pee pees overnight. So whatever advice the dog whisperers of the board have for you, maybe I should just reverse it for Gus. :laff:
For the eliminating on the leash thing, maybe try having her on a long leash or rope in the yard, with you not actually holding it - just dragging behind her. If she'll go then, try picking it up from as far away as you can, and gradually getting closer to her.
No idea if this would work, but it's a thought. This is always a common issue with older rescued dogs.
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