# Not sure what to do-dog won't adjust :(



## mejohnso (Dec 19, 2012)

My husband and I adopted a Beagle mix from our local shelter a little over a month ago. He was found alongside the road, but was really friendly and though they had to neuter him at the shelter, he seemed to have been owned previously. They estimated him to be between 1 and 2.

When we got him, he was severely underweight. The first week we had him, he jumped on things and did a little exploratory chewing, but he slept a lot with us on the couch and didn't have any accidents in the house. He didn't go to the door, but we took him out pretty often and it seemed to be working. We sort of felt like we had our dream dog. He learned to sit and other than reactionary (frustration) barking at other dogs and people on walks, there weren't any huge problems.

Two weeks in, everything changed. His energy levels went off the charts. He started jumping on everything, from my kitchen counters to my walls. He had a few accidents in the house. He developed some food aggression, which now seems to have gone away, as we did exercises with him and had him re-assessed by a trainer. He has a kong, but unless it is constantly filled, he is bored and wanders aimlessly until he finds something to steal or some other way to get in trouble.

Recently, he began nipping during his nighttime "zoomies", jumping up and biting at our clothes. We have tried everything the trainer recommended and she is coming again on Friday, but honestly, this is taking its toll on my husband and I. 

I asked the trainer if the dog could be happy in our house, and she seemed to think he would settle into our routine. We walk him for about 30 minutes in the morning then have a half hour of playtime. Then he is in the crate from 8am to 12:30pm when I go home and give him a potty break. He is in the crate again until about 5:30pm and he gets about an hour and a half of walking for the rest of the night and he has an 11pm bedtime. Most weekdays we also have a dog walker who comes from 3pm to 4pm. Doggie daycare is great, but I can't afford that too often. 

I feel like I am doing everything I can, but it's not enough and it doesn't seem to be making a difference. Last night he peed in my house again for the first time in almost two weeks. And the jumping, stealing and chewing continue. If I have to take him back, I will feel so guilty because I know the plight of shelter dogs--that is why we went there in the first place to adopt. But I cry every night and my husband and I haven't had a non-dog related conversation in over a month. I feel like this is consuming my life and it's making it difficult to bond with our doggie. 

Any advice or encouragement? Please share anything that might help. Thank you!


----------



## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

We brought home Livia at the end of July.. and I can tell you that it took almost until November before I felt bonded with her and that she wasn't consuming my life. We already had Loki.. but the jump to 2 dogs was overwhelming to say the least, plus she came with a myriad of issues that only surfaced after the first couple weeks. 

I can completely empathize. 

I would suggest doing some basic obedience training with him. It will help your bond with him immensely, plus his bond to you. It will also give you things to work on during the week, and sometimes mental exercise is even more tiring than the physicial stuff. You may also meet other like minded individuals that you can organize puppy play dates with - I find dogs are good at exhausting each other out 

Re: behavioural issues, you may want to start tethering him to you while you're home so he doesn't have a chance to do all those jumping, chewing, stealing activities that are SO rewarding for him. Or if you have a crate, put him in a time out for periods of time to give you a break, plus him a break when he's behaving inappropriately.

Hang in there.. it will get better. I know I didn't believe everyone when they told me the same for Livia.. but it really does. Be patient with yourself and with him.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Keep up the training and fun activities with him. I think it sounds like a pretty good walking routing and such.

Shelter dogs go through adjustment phases. Often at first, esp. if they were neglected or strays, they can be somewhat shut down and lack energy (sometimes from being underweight and unhealthy) and not understand the idea of fun and playtime. Then after a month or so, they get healthier and gain energy. That can start a troublemaking phase where they are trying out "being a dog" for the first time and all those typical dog antics like jumping and chewing and nipping crop up. They can also still be unsure about their surroundings and that can cause some anxiety and lack of confidence. 
So work on building a positive relationship with your dog, try obedience classes like a basic intro or "canine good citizen" class and then consider continuing weekly classes with something like nosework (hounds tend to like the scent based classes) or rally or agility- whatever seems fun for the dog and is available to you at a good time/location. If you don't have a class available, keep up all the usual obedience training at home. Spending time exercising a dog's mind is as important as exercising his body and it builds his trust in you (provider of all good things like yummy treats) and teaches you to read him better (so you can see when he is getting tired, moody, overexcited etc and redirect to the appropriate activity)

Generally the 4 month mark is when a shelter dog, assuming no real continuing health or behavior problems (such as separation anxiety) which is doesn't sound like your dog has, settles in and gets used to the routine and has caught on to most of the basic commands and the expectations of the household. That's about the time when the dog becomes FUN and enjoyable to have around rather than tiring and occasionally frustrating.

So keep at it and give it time, he sounds like a pretty normal dog that just needs some guidance and training and the chance to adjust to his new circumstances.


----------



## Iheartbeags (Nov 26, 2012)

I agree with previous posters, give it more time (and I know it takes a lot ofpatience) I have rescued 3 beagles, the last one just 14 weeks ago. He has a history of abuse and has definitely been the most challenging. It does take awhile before they feel safe, secure enough to show their true personalities. You may feel like you have completely different dogs with the same dog for awhile but they will even out and settle into a routine with time. Just consistency, patience, and more consistency and patience. Hang in there and God bless you for rescuing!


----------



## loudtisa (Jan 10, 2013)

I'm really glad I read this thread. I haven't had any rescue Beagle experience, but I have been around for the training phase of a few Beagles. They need a LOT of exercise to wear them out, and only after they were worn out were they ready to listen. Smart dogs are always a challenge


----------



## lisahi (Jun 19, 2011)

I think it's pretty common for rescues to go through a "dream dog" period only to then go through a "what dog is this?" period. I adopted Lucky when he was 5 months old. He was found by the side of the road malnourished and covered in ticks. He was on antibiotic for about a month and must have had over 100 ticks on his little body (big and small). When I brought him home he was so mellow. Sweet and compliant. Once the ticks were gone, and he was done with his antibiotics, and he had gotten used to his surroundings, and he was well and eating, he turned into a racing, zooming, chewing, jumping, mouthing little bandit. Actually, when a rescue starts acting like a little terror is kind of when you know he/she feels at home. Lucky wasn't anxious or scared; he was having fun!

It took him another three months or so to really get the routine down. Now, at 6 months in and 11 months old, he's still a little bandit (he's still a puppy after all), but he knows "leave it" and "out" (when he ventures into the closet), and has (almost) stopped with the jumping and mouthing. It just takes time.


----------



## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

I agree with giving it more time.

One thing you might do is exercise him mentally by doing some training with him each day. Even 15-20 min will help tire him mentally. And it can be anything from basic obedience to tricks. Playing games like hiding things so he has to sniff them out is right up his alley. 

Look up "impulse control" on the training forum. Or "Your choice" or "Doggie Zen". All of those will help.


----------



## Rays89 (Jun 29, 2011)

I have a preference of adopting (rescueing) Cockers that have had been abused. Its rewarding to watch the true personality come out when you have gained thier absolute trust. Joey my present Cocker was extremely aggresive to the point it acually frightened me. It took over nine months for him to settle in and gain his trust. But it was truly worth it. Joey is a loving very obedient dog today
What I did was put him on a strict routine, If he was chewing something he wasn't supposed to chew, replacing it with something more enticing that he is allowed to chew worked for me. My prefence was the good old dependable squeaky toy.
As for catching him up to no good I would distract him with some nondestructive activity such as a game of fetch.
But the main thing I learned is you need alot of patience. But it is worth it.


----------



## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Everyone has really good suggestions.It took Snowball, who was found as a stray but not (likely) abused, nearly 6 months to really settle into our place. Give him time and keep up the routine. Doing a little bit of basic obedience or trick training is a ton of fun, and it doesn't have to take up a lot of time - usually 5-10 minutes once or twice a day is enough for us (but it totally depends on you and your dog - just try to keep it to a length where you are ending when you are both having fun).

If he is pottying in the house regularly, you might have to start house-training from the very beginning and crate him whenever you can't watch him.


----------



## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Yeap. First two days Meeko was at home with us, he was quiet, calm, and very cuddly. I thought that neutering him turned him into a mellow dog! Well, I was wrong... because within a month of having him, he has turned into a little terror! He races around the house, wrestling with my 45 lbs foster dog, he jumps on our faces in the morning if we don't wake up when the alarm rings, and he barks excitedly when I come home from work or school... And we've only had him two months, so I have no clue if he's going to settle to be more calm or more crazy!


----------

