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MidnightDave
February 19th, 2008, 05:48 PM
Bold = speed reading ;-)

Well?this is another fine mess I?ve gotten us into!

We had to send our Dalmatian to the big kiddie pool in the sky in early January, after the treatments for Cushing's Syndrome made her liver give out.

Duchess Daphne Jean had picked out Molly, our Border Collie mix at the Humane Society 12 years and they've never spent a day apart since. Molly has been really lonely, and we're gone a lot so we've been talking about another dog, something small and fluffy and fun. Well...

I had the idea I?d go last night to the Humane Society and inquire about getting a dog?well?I?m a sucker for sad, female eyes! I insisted Margee and Molly come see Annabella, we?ll call her Bella, before they closed at 8pm, and what do you know? She was out taking a whiz when we arrived, just as Molly was when we arrived with Daphne in the last go around at adoption.

We said we didn?t want a ?special needs? dog, but?you see, Bella is a Treeing Walker Coonhound, with some big?well, she?s nursed a lot of puppies in her four years. Nobody wants her b/c hounds aren?t great cuddly kid dogs, and hunters want a dog that?s aggressive and energetic, not docile like Bella, and then there?s those pronounced, well, there?s no mistaking she?s a girl and a mom!

We had a rough night last night, b/c the ?Treeing? part means these dogs can jump and climb like crazy. She did a vertical jump over a baby gate. That?s not all. Look at this quote off Wikipedia: "These hounds have been known to use objects as levers/tools and often manipulate their environment to accomplish a task (e.g., moving furniture to climb over gates, using household objects to manipulate kennel mechanisms, etc.)" I had to literally strip a bathroom bare and barricade her into it. She cried and attempted an escape all night. (Poor Mrs. Dave had to be on the road to Hickory at 7 this a.m., too.)

We?re not the only ones affected by this new addition to the pack. The squirrel, opossum, raccoon and deer population in and around the back yard doesn?t know what?s coming once this little girl regains her confidence?

Molly is so-so about her, she?s accepting, but not thrilled of another dog in her domain. She did enjoy eating the dog food they sent with and for Bella!

More stories to follow as I?m sure they?ll develop! These dogs are supposed to howl, this poor thing just cries, as of now?hopefully that is one thing that doesn?t improve. ;-)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8633/img3669iu6.jpg

Any other good dog (or pet) stories or pics to share?

Nascar Mini
February 19th, 2008, 07:21 PM
Dave, i'm sure it will all work out,she's a great looking dog and i see what you mean about the eyes.It's great to hear you went to the shelter to rescue Bella ,i have a soft spot for rescuing animals,cats in my case they're the children we never had.Bless you!
Bill

BlimeyCabrio
February 19th, 2008, 08:34 PM
She's beautiful!

Don't have to worry to much about my Dachshund jumping over stuff... he's vertically challenged like his dad...

jdavidson
February 19th, 2008, 09:22 PM
Congrats on taking in Bella (very cute!)
Our dog Jasper is a Walker as well (mostly). We got him from PAWS in Stuart, VA

http://jasonsmini.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_0794.jpg (http://jasonsmini.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0794.jpg)

http://jasonsmini.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_1483_filtered.jpg (http://jasonsmini.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_1483_filtered.jpg)

MidnightDave
February 21st, 2008, 12:22 AM
Help me out! Was this a mistake?

She ran out the door tonight and it took me two hours to get her back into the yard. Then she went out through a hole in the fence, (she's only 37 lbs) and it took over three hours to get her back. We were afraid she'd get hit by a car or not come back or something.

We're not worried about the money for the spay/shots/adoption, we just don't want to give her back and have them put her down. I wrote to a Walker kennel here in NC to seek their advice and see if they could provide her a good home.

What do you think? Does Jasper run away? Were you able to train him? Do you hunt with him? We'll never hunt with her. Is that a problem?

Thanks for any help. (I didn't send a PM in case others have advice.)

jdavidson
February 21st, 2008, 01:54 PM
Well if you really think getting her was mistake then it is what it is, but I think you should give her a little time to learn what she can and can't do..you might be surprised!
I'm no dog whisperer but what I find with Jasper is plenty of exercise/play helps a lot. Usually he just wants to sleep on the couch afterwards.

When Jasper was about 6 months to a year old he was a handful...not listening well...chewing on legs of furniture... he's now almost 2 and he behaves so much better..just had to be somewhat persistent.

We don't hunt with him but I'm sure he'd love that. But as long as he gets his play time I don't think he knows he's missing anything

I don't know how much help that is...just passing on my experiences with Jasper..hope it helps a bit..

I'll be checking back for an update..good luck!

Vango
February 21st, 2008, 02:59 PM
you need a low energy dog like our dog Lester ( Check out his myspace) http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=278902458&MyToken=a636ee64-fbf3-4bf1-a8bd-689b8b0bd46b He likes to sleep, eat, and then sleep some more...

Catseye
February 21st, 2008, 06:45 PM
We have a "challenging" dog as well... bottom line is we ended up having a behaviorist come to the house and teach us hoe to work with her particular "personality", very much like the Dog Whisperer guy, and we took her to "Feisty Fido" Class with half a dozen other "challenging" pooches. BIG help, and believe me, we were at our wit's end.... I would look into this if I were you, it is changing our lives for the better....

Sylvie's K9 Solutions (link) (http://www.trianglecaninesolutions.com/)

These folks train Police K9's and Military dogs. They know what they are doing.....

minianni
February 22nd, 2008, 11:21 AM
Hang in there Dave. It's a time for adjustment for both of you. You have to be the ALPHA dog. When we got Solomon from the rescue, we went thru a time of tribulations. Then we had a "come to Jesus" meeting with the dog and he's been an angel ever since... It takes time and patience and love.