Sunday, May 24, 2009

Featured Rescue - Washington the Beagle

In most shelters, you will find Beagles. Why? There are many theories to this; some say that beagles are runners and unless you have a fenced yard, they will follow their nose and run away (that's crap - I've had a beagle for 14 years and she's still around - she's constantly following her nose ... ? ... before her we had a hound of undetermined breed with the same habits), some say that they are difficult to train so people get frustrated and dump them (could be so - I have heard that hounds are difficult to motivate, though I've never found them to be a problem) ... the excuses go on.

For whatever their reason, each dog has a story and each one is there. Take it or leave it and move on.


Today there are 7,600 Beagles on Petfinder. (That's a nice round number!) Of those many beagles, I found Washington. He has a similar story to most Beagles out there; he was found wandering around as a stray. As is not always the case, they found the owners! Unfortunately, the people were moving and didn't want to pay the security deposit their new rental unit would require to have a dog. Now the rescue is adopting him out.

Washington is in Westfield, NY and is in the care of Northern Chautauqua Canine Rescue Inc.

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13684188

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey
Beagles are a great family pet. It's sad that so many end up lost. Mom's last dog was a beagle terrier mix. He was the best dog ever. I wish I could have met him.

Norwood

♥Mimi♥ said...

It is the unusual Beagle that doesn't put nose to ground and turn off their hearing when loose. Just because one didn't run you can't say that they aren't runners. That is like saying all Pitties bite because. There is always the exception to the rule.

GoLightly said...

Sheeesh.
Good luck to Washington.

What's your secret with hounds? My husband's old coon-hound mix could care less what people did.
Leash him, he'd lie down.

In my SPCA days, I picked up a beagle (in Oakville, Ontario) that had tags from New Jersey.
Yup, they had gone camping.
Boy, were they glad we found him!

mytwh said...

I'd get a beagle in a heart beat. I have a beagle/boston terrier mix and he's fabulous. He has a nose on him, but he listens really well and will drop the scent. Very handsome boy. I hope he finds a very happy home!

DogsDeserveFreedom said...

Norwood and Mytwh ...

Don't get me wrong - I love hounds. We'll probably always have one around. Just so happens that we currently have a beagle as our hound-ie. (I love the "a-woo-woo", though I've heard it irritates some people)

Mimi ...

I think you're half right. Yes, every beagle should put their nose to the ground. I haven't met one that doesn't instinctively. However, they don't HAVE to turn off their hearing - they CHOOSE to turn it off.

I don't think it's the same as saying "all Pitties bite because".

In fact, it sounds like you are saying that "all Beagles run because" ...

Or are you saying that all Pitties bite? I'm confused ... could you clarify?

(Let the record state that I would get a bully breed in a heartbeat)

GoLightly ...

I'm sure you can agree with the following statement ...

Most hounds I've met say the following when recalled:

"Cookies? Treats? Pah. You'll give them to me when I get there so why should I rush?"

I'm sure I'll get smacked on the wrist for saying this, but food is NOT a good motivator for Beagles. I'd like to blog about this idea sometime (I don't actually use many food rewards with training), but I don't know if I can get my thoughts together well enough to explain so that people don't go off the deep end on me!

With the hounds, I have found it is ALL about bonding.

First thing's first - you need to be the most important thing in that dog's world. The dog earns off-leash time ... it is not a right, it is a privilege. If you are the dog's world and Off-Leash is earned, then he/she will recall for you.

Here's another statement that I'll get harangued for ... I think hounds have more of an attitude (somewhat more similar to cats) than many other breeds. Because of this, people have more difficulty training them. Does that sound like a fair assessment?

mytwh said...

DDF-I actually don't like treating that much. I have 2 Walking Horses, which are known for being mouthy, couple that with one of them that likes to occasionally take a chunk out of someone, and you have horses that are not hand fed or given treats. We just don't do it and our horses seem fine.

We never had to really give our older dog Z many treats, he's the kind of pup that likes to do what you ask him to do because it makes his master happy and he gets good affectionate pats and scratches instead.

That being said, I've never bought so many treats in my life since we got D. That dog is very treat oriented, but also very stubborn. If you don't have anything it's a battle of wills to get him to sit or lay down. He also growls and snaps at my brothers dog so I've been working on him getting lots of good stuff when M is around to distract him and show him he doesn't need to be on the offensive. Of course Z also benefits from the treats, he does all his tricks to get some of what D gets.

All in all, I'm hoping that once we finish obediance class and have D for a little longer, I won't have to treat as much. It's actually really a PITA to have treats on your person at all times!