Q: The reason I am writing is because I have taken in two beagles who were hunting dogs. Their previous owner used them to hunt rabbits and gave them to us last week. One is about two years old and got
lost in the woods for three days. When we found her, she was hungry and didn't want to hunt with her owner and since my sister and I were fawning over her, he said we could have her. She seems fairly healthy and well adjusted. The other one is about eight years old and the hunter was going to shoot her because she was slowing down the pack. My dad told him that we would take her and so we did.
She seems to have been abused though and is very skittish. She won't go near my dad at all and hides when he comes in the garage. She will come to me though but is very nervous and jumpy at sudden
movements or loud, unfamiliar noises.

A: Give her food everytime she hears a loud noise.

Q: Both dogs are under weight and need to gain a few pounds. They are very dirty right now and have ticks and probably fleas. But because it is cold outside, we are planning to wait until spring to really wash them. I have been brushing them and when I find a tick, I get my dad to pull it out.

A: I'd absolutely not only bathe them but give them a dose of K9advantix for fleas and ticks and other things like earmites. There's no reason to wait, it will only get worse. They may already have lyme disease and if you don't treat that right away if it's there, your vet bills will be pretty bad later on and they will be suffering for a long time, well into their older years.

The only reason I'd consider waiting is if the older one is too freaked out to get in the bath. You don'
t want to set her back. But if she is okay with you, definitely do it as soon as you can. Don't take them to a groomer. And don't hose them down, whatever you do. Do it in the bath tub.

You don't want fleas anywhere near your house. If you got an infestation, it'd be difficult to get ridof them (bombing the house) and they'd bite the humans until they were an itchy, bleeding mess.

Q: Do you have any tips on how to acclimate these dogs to their new home?

A: Are they living outside or inside? They will probably be fine adjusting to the yard because that's probably what they're used to (outdoors), as long as it's not too cold. Hope you have a fenced-in yard or else they might wander and get lost for another 3 days.

If you want them to get used to indoors, leave a leash dragging from each collar so you can direct them when they make bad decisions (jumping on furniture, etc). If they are staying in the garage, make sure you clean it out so they can't get hurt chewing on anything or stepping on nails and such. There's no way to stop them from making bad decisions if they are unsupervised in there, or anywhere else for that matter.

Q: Their old owner didn't name them so we have named themDora and Boots, with the help of my 3 year old niece. But how do you teach an older dog its name?

A: Food again. Each time you give them a special food treat, say the dog's name that's receiving it. Then give them the treat. "Dora..(treat)..Dora..(treat)..etc. They will associate the word with their getting food, which will make them attach the word to themselves.

Q: Boots, the 8 year old won't even take food from my dad. Is there anything we can do to make her more at ease with him?

A: Have your dad sit on the floor as much as possible. The younger dog will probably come around first, which may prompt the older to come closer. Tell your dad not to speak if he can help it. She probably will associate a deep, manly voice with the dog beater. He should have roast beef or something just as good on him as much as possible. She has to begin associating him with something outrageous = roast beef. At first he should not make any movements towards her,
especially over her head. He should just drop the roast beef near her (far from him) and watch t.v. (lowvolume) and not even look at her. If she likes roast beef enough, she might slink over and grab it and back off again. He cannot touch her. She must be the one who initiates it. It might take a long while before she comes close enough to almost touch him. You have to be patient with abused dogs.

Q: I am planning on keeping them with me when I leave here. They are used to being outdoors and hunting though so if I move to a urban area I may have to leave them in the country with my parents. Any advice you have will be very much appreciated. As well as any web sites you can recommend.

A: dropthatsock.com is the only one I can in good conscience recommend right now. Tee-hee.

Take care!