Dog Community

weigh in on Roscoe's sister options

Posted : 5/17/2006 5:27:00 PM

I went to see two girls today, and I still want to check out a boy on Saturday. I didn't "click" with either of these girls, but I liked them. Feel free to give me your thoughts on them...

So Roscoe & I visited Tulip and Gracie today. Here's the scoop --

Gracie the coonhound: She was *tiny*. If Roscoe is about 65 pounds, I'd say she's 35, maybe would hit 40 once she fills out a bit. She basically looked like a miniature coonhound. Super-skinny. Her background is she lived in a fenced yard with 11 other coonhound/mixes for her entire life. She got no socialization except with those eleven dogs. She is not housebroken at all. Not spayed yet.

When they brought her out, she was very scared and did the slinking around method of checking things out. Didn't want to come to me. I sat on the ground and just talked to her for about 5-6 minutes, and eventually she came over and licked my face. I patted her and gave her a piece of Innova kibble. I let her come to me a few more times for a kibble and after that she was totally fine with me. She would come running over when I called to her and follow me around the little pen, tail wagging.

Once she was used to me, I made a ton of noise right on top of her and she couldn't have cared less. I ran around the pen waving my hands and clapping and she just followed me. I picked up all her feet and pinched them and rotated her legs, shoved my fingers in her ears and mouth, fiddled around her rear, touched her all over. She just leaned against me and wagged her tail.

I brought Roscoe into the pen, and they greeted each other politely and then he totally ignored her. He discovered that the rabbit cages were just outside the pen, so he stood in a point for the entire time we were there unless I specifically called his name.

She, on the other hand, was all over him, giving him submissive licks on his face. Crawling under him, rubbing up against him, etc. He paid NO attention to her, just stood in his point. She paid no attention to the rabbits, though.

We didn't "click" but rejecting a sweetheart like that is WAY harder to do in person than on paper.

I just don't know if I want to risk the lack of socialization on her part. We travel a lot with Roscoe, and the shelter worker said that could go either way -- she'd either benefit from all that travel or she'd be a stressed out dog most of the time.

Tulip the coonhound/retriever -- stray who was pulled from Animal Services so the coonhound/retriever is a best guess. She bays, so they're pretty sure she's got the coonhound part. Super-sweet, much more confident than Gracie. Also not housebroken (but I wonder if they just say "not" if they don't know for sure, so she could be like Roscoe who we were told wasn't housebroken but never had an accident ever).

I charged a clicker with her, and she figured it out very quickly. They said she already knew sit, so I did that a few times with the clicker and then lured her into a down. She wasn't sure what I was doing at first, but once she figured it out she was perfectly willing to go down for a click/treat. So either she's very responsive or someone did some training with her prior to her becoming a stray (or both??).

She wasn't as interested in me as Gracie became (once Gracie got over being afraid of me). She mostly wanted to check out the pen and sniff things.

I did the same noise and touching tests with Tulip as I did with Gracie. She was fine with noise, and was okay with all the touching. You could tell she didn't like it - tried to take her paw away or turned her head, but once I gave her a treat she tolerated it just fine.

We introduced Roscoe and they got along fine. They both totally ignored each other.

We did a "cat test" and walked her by the outside enclosure for cats. Three of the cats hissed at her, and I thought Tulip was going to jump out of her skin. She did the four footed jump and brace. Then when another cat hissed, she backed away quickly and just wanted to get the heck out of there. Then we took her into a different cat enclosure and she just hunkered down and cried even though these cats weren't paying any attention to her. Weird.

Still no "click" but I liked her a lot. She's an inch or so taller than Roscoe and very solidly built. I put a hold on her and DH is going to go with me to check her out tonight. I think he's going to balk at her size and the possibility of not being housebroken, though.

Any thoughts??

This is Gracie: [link>http://tinyurl.com/knmk5]http://tinyurl.com/knmk5[/link]
This is Tulip: [linkhttp://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=6209003]http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=6209003[/link]

tiffy

Posted : 5/17/2006 5:56:09 PM

How did Gracie do with the cats? It sounds like Gracie would be the most responsive to you and probably would tolerate change well. Also, I'm a sucker for a spotted hound, i.e. Roscoe and Gracie.

sooner

Posted : 5/17/2006 6:01:48 PM

I like the sound of Gracie, very adaptable and easy going.

But, if there was no "click" with either...

griffinej5

Posted : 5/17/2006 6:13:34 PM

That sounds like a tough decision. On one hand, Gracie sounds like the better choice, and on the other, Tulip seems like the better choice of course. If I were chosing between just these two, I think i'd pick Gracie though, if I were going to pick one, and i'd hope she reacted well in all the situations you want to take her in to. I think if Roscoe is there to set a good example for her, she'll be alright, and not freak out.
However, since you didn't really click with either of the dogs, I would wait and check out that boy if it's possible. See how you and Roscoe feel about that guy. Maybe he'll be a better fit.

Julie Beveridge

Posted : 5/17/2006 9:12:24 PM

Well I would pick Gracie at this point, she was showing submissiveness to Roscoe, that is going to be key when they are living in the same house. She maybe smaller but that is not so bad, less food to buy, LOL! [

] Tulip sounds like she could become reactive/aggressive with the whole cat thing. It was not a good reaction to the cats.
I would check out the boy and then see what happens. When you say you did not "click" with them, can you figure out why? Were you hesistant to fall in love and then have roscoe or hubby say no? I have done that before and then when I let my heart go the "click" is there. Interested to hear what you have decided.

Julie

dasher

Posted : 5/17/2006 9:18:33 PM

Another vote for Gracie. Seems like she will bond easily with you and was willing to be submissive to Roscoe. I think those two traits would be helpful in adapting to your household.

boneyjean

Posted : 5/17/2006 9:31:13 PM

I was thinking Gracie too b/c of the things other people said, but also b/c she sounds like she will be more eager to please you and maybe more willing to be taught. I wonder how she did with the cats as well?

I know that this is a completely different situation, but I was worried about Izzy and her social skills at first b/c she is a very high strung little dog. I put her in a puppy class which made a world of difference. I also put my dogs on a coupler when I have them both with me somewhere b/c it is more manageable for me. Harely thinks that anything and everyone is his friend and always runs to greet people and I have noticed that when they are on the coupler, Izzy does the same thing as him which suprised me the first times I saw her do this. She is typically more standoffish of strangers. Most of her problems where skittishness when she was young, but she seems to have even more confidence when she is with Harley. Roscoe may will serve as a good role model for her probably and since most of her socialization has been with other dogs, I would think he will help her confidence when traveling as well. If she was so submissive with him, it seems she might want his approval as well.

And by the way, Harley completely ignored her for the first few days that we had her. Now they are the best of friends.

I would also check out the boy and take DH back to see all the dogs with you as well. You might feel differently when you have your partner to help you make such a big decision.

marlania

Posted : 5/17/2006 9:51:28 PM

Gracie's my pick. No major reason other than I just have a "feeling" that she's the one.

jeano

Posted : 5/17/2006 10:16:58 PM

Another vote for Gracie. Smaller is fine. Much easier in the car! And for all the reasons everyone else said: she's submissive to Roscoe, and very willing to please. Roscoe would help housetrain her. She already adores him.

On the other hand, by your description of her it sounds like you were disappointed. So maybe you should keep looking. I understand that completely.

spiritdogs

Posted : 5/17/2006 10:22:45 PM

I am never inclined to want to adopt a dog that hasn't much interest in humans...so, I vote for Gracie, too. At least she warmed up to you pretty quickly, and took her cues from you - looking for guidance from the handler makes for trainability.

bluelighting

Posted : 5/17/2006 10:39:55 PM

I like Gracie she seems to be intrested in you which is a good sign. Just try to pick the one that you seemed to click best with and keep looking if there wasn't a good click with either one. It's never easy trying to pick out a dog

jensw

Posted : 5/17/2006 11:00:16 PM

Wow, a lot of Gracie votes. [

] In answer to the cat question, I didn't test her 'cause I wasn't sure about her and it was a bigger deal to set up a cat test at that shelter than at Tulip's shelter. So I don't know. She didn't care about the bunnies that so enthralled Roscoe, though.

I took DH to see Tulip this evening. I already wrote this update on another board. She was like a different dog with him.

Well, I took my husband to see Tulip and *she* really clicked with him. Where I was just another body in the room who gave out treats earlier today, she was a wiggle-butt for my husband. She tried to climb in his lap, licked his face, and flung herself on her back for a belly rub from him.

He liked her a lot but has reservations about size and housebreaking, just like I thought he would. Also, when she went belly-up, we noticed a bright red rash under her armpits. So we asked them to put her on the list for when the vet comes to get that checked out. The vet comes out Friday.

He also liked that when we went back to say good-bye to her in her cage all the other dogs went nutso barking and she just sat and gave a small whine while looking at us. The not going crazy barking is a good thing, right??

So there's the latest. We won't make any decisions 'til at least after the vet check.

glenmar

Posted : 5/18/2006 5:23:20 AM

I'm afraid my vote goes for Gracie as well.

cakana

Posted : 5/18/2006 12:30:10 PM

I vote for Tulip, but I think it's because she reminds me of how Sassy was at the shelter, and that may not be a good thing. Sassy was sweet, but reserved at first. I remember thinking "look at all the dogs running forward, barking and fighting to get close, but not Sassy". She just hung back. I thought that was a positive (laid back lab), but she's actually a pretty aloof dog still. I also took her for a walk around the shelter and she was totally freaked out by the little garden statues (gnomes). She investigated but very cautiously. Recently I left a bag of garden clippings in a brown paper bag on the sidewalk. She came around the corner and went nuts, barking, hair up on her back, afraid to get too close - funny, but she's just a skittish dog and pretty darn reactive to new things. Still, we love her and all her personality quirks.

schleide

Posted : 5/18/2006 12:45:13 PM

Based on reactions to you and Roscoe, I vote for Gracie. She seems to be a better match for Rosco (interested submission and playfulness) and the way she quickly warmed up to you and seemd eager to please etc. seems like a good thing. OTOH, Tulip and DH sound like a good match - so, who can say??

Or - maybe you should keep looking? You might feel that you will just know, in your heart, when you meet your next dog. And, it could be, that neither of these girls were it... Disappointing maybe, but if you don't feel what you wanted to feel, maybe it is better to wait...