boogyblake

Hi everyone...

I am new to the forum and just looking for any helpful information. My family recently adopted a lemon/white basset hound. He happened to be from a rescue in Killeen, Tx. Apparently the lady who previously had him was housing approximately 6 other dogs and getting evicted, etc. So the rescue got a hold of him there and have been trying to find him a place. He's about 3-4 years old and up to date on shots. We didn't have to pay a fee, mainly because they were trying to get him a home quickly but we did sign an adoption contract and have to get him neutered and chipped by the end of January. No problem with that.

His name is Booger, I like calling him Boogy. I'm trying to learn how he works and I guess the breed in general. We've never had a basset hound. And well he whines a lot. My husband isn't used to this. I know its his way of talking to us... but sometimes it seems like he just does it to do it. Overall, he gets along well with all of our children. He loves the ladies mainly. He's definitely scare of the cats we have.. mainly my big boy cat and the cat knows it. Lol.

I guess the worry is how he will be once we all leave the house for work and school. He understands the concept of sitting, he hasn't had any accidents and whines at first to go potty. I noticed yesterday once I used the word Potty... he barked loud and that let us know he was ready for that.

I guess its all the extra whining... Its hard trying to figure out if he's just doing it because he's extra needy or what.

Any ideas or suggestions? We don't have much history on him other than whats noted above.

Oh and he's a bit skinny... we need to put some weight on him. Any ideas on how to get some weight on him?

Thanks,
Amanda

henry'smum

Hi Boogy
Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of basset! Firstly some bassets do talk alot, i own one of those such beasts! Henry likes his opinion and is a firm believer that everyone else should also like to hear it. Having said that are you sure he is just whinging and not in any pain? I would get him checked over by the vet but also remember he is in a new home, new environment and has new rules, if i where him i would be whinging too!
Henry hates cats too, no rhyme or reason he just is terrified of them, there are however bassets here who have cat friends of their very own so stick around and i am sure people will let you in on their cat adjustment secrets! [We know the Tommy Hillfiger basset got a kitten for Christmas so theres another feline basset partnership lol]
With regards to leaving him alone, is he crate trained? Alot of bassets on here stay in their crate when their humans are away. Henry has a 10x10 pen so we know he is safe and sound and happy, both of these things are good options if you cannot be with your hound all the time. I would suggest leaving him for a few mins at a time at first and building the time amount up.
Anyway good luck with your new baby
Victoria and Henry

boogyblake

I'm thinking the whining might just be getting used to the new home. And probably being the only dog around. Add in my big-boy cat who thinks he's running things. It appears Booger is a bit intimidated by the cat, other than that... he loves running around the house and checking things out. I'm still trying to introduce them and they really haven't had too many issues. I managed to pet both at the same time and the cat was purring. So we'll see.

I'm not sure if he's crate trained, but we figured we would give that a go. The plan is to purchase one this weekend and see how it goes. I did notice he understands the sit command pretty well.

Luckily my husband is off from school for a couple of weeks so he can do the crate training.

I guess we didn't realize he would whine so much. Rarely do we get a full on bark. Just whining. I am hoping there is no pain associated. We received his shot records from the rescue and she said the Vet checked him out and said he was okay physically. Either way, when we get him neutered and chipped this coming month, we'll have him double checked for our own peace of mind. He is pretty skinny and she said it was due to him being with the previous owner and the owner not having much food for all of the dogs.

I appreciate your feedback.

eclairs mom

Congratulations!! Rescued Bassets are the best, I have adopted 2 in the past 12 months! It took both of them a good couple of weeks to settle into our routine and their personalities to really come out!

Both Eclair and Ethel are real talkers, our previous gal Chloe was a talker too! Ethel was sick with phneumonia and badly emaciated when she was pulled into rescue, being so skinny you so badly want to overfeed, but at the advice of many here and our vet we were told to feed a high quality premium dog food at the quantity of the weight he should be. I am amazed, but Ethel is gaining a couple pounds per week.

Mikey T

Basset in general tend to be more attenion seeking than other breeds as they are more social. What happen is human general wait until the dog is so annoying they can't stand it any longer befor provide attention so the dog learn by being annoying it can get attention. The problem is if you simply ingnore the whining it will get so bad you can't ignore it any more or you simply force the dog to come up with an even mpr anoying behavior. like barking. or the paw strike etc.

see the harmoney Programme As a pretty solid way to de3al with Attention seeking behaviours.

Keep in mind however the dog is still adjusting and many behavior often simply disappear when they get adjusted wich general takes at least 3 week and sometimes a couple of months.


that can be an issue especial with basset hounds tlike above because they are more social than other breed they are more prone to seperation anxiety, see Seperation Anxiety and pay attention to the part on exercises to prevent it

One thing not mentioned in the article is you want to make departures and arrivials low key. which can be hard sometimes with children. but you want the dog to calm down when you arrive before acknowledging it etc. Also a companion often helps and it need not be the sames species. The cat could be a big assest in minimizing the the risk of a problem.

SarahRainey

Congrats on the new addition! One of my bassets whines a lot when he needs to go potty and when I leave the house. The other does not; both are rescue pups. I've noticed that since I added a second basset, my whiny one does much better. He came from a home with a lot more dogs, so it may take him some time to adjust to a new household.

A thunder shirt may work as well. My older basset, Copper, was advised by our trainer to use a Thundershirt to reduce his anxiety. It seems to work well. If anything, its a good layer of warmth for him.

__________________
Rescue Mom to Copper 52 pounds (Estimated DOB July '10--Fostered then adopted through BBR, Gotcha Oct. '11)
Foster Mom to Jamie doxie/basset born 9/11/2005
Former Foster Mom to Taz & Tommy (trans. to med care 4/12) Ashley (A 3/12) Gwendolyn (A 2/12)and Dudley (A 8/11)

Basset Buddies Rescue Grant Writer: (IL, MN, WI) http://bassetbuddiesrescue.org/

If you are looking to adopt young, old, or in between, please let me know!

boogyblake

Thanks for the info...

He's doing better... at least he was all week but since this weekend he's getting whiny again.

I tried a Kong yesterday... and he just sniffed and walked away. Its like he doesn't want to play with any toys.

No accidents... but extremely whiny to go out a lot. And we take him but as soon as we get back in the house, he's whining again.

Hmmm...

Mikey T

a dog that has spent most of its time outside is going to be more comfortable outside than in. also don't know what and who you me by we. but if it humans and not the dog then it is obvious he want you outside with him.

You need to be very sure your perception is accurate most peoples perception of what a basset should look like if predjudice by what they see on the steets tv etc and those by and are are overweight to obeese bassets. Get a qualified second opinion before embarking on a weight gain program it isw far healthier for the dog dog to be skinny than even a little bit overweight.
corpulent canine

feed for the desire weight of the dog is correct but keep these facts in mind. If there are feed rate recommendation on the back most manufacture tend to be generious. the more you feed the more you buy. Secondfly basset are a bit unique when it comes to caloric/metabilism need/ They have the most bone mass of any breed. that is Bone makes up a higher percentage of their weight than any other breed. Conpared to other tissues like skin, hair, muscles etc bone require very little endergy to be maintained. so basset of the same weigh and activity level as another breed need less food to maintain weight. For example my basset and harrier are approximately the same weight within a couple lb in the low 50ies but the harrier requires if anything the basset is slightly more active than the harrier, hoewever the harrier requires twice the amount of foos to maintain weight.

loopylou

It took Monty a while to get to like his Kongs but now he loves them. We started with squirty cheese and grated carrot and apple (frozen to make it last longer and to ease teething) but be preferred peanut butter with some kibble/meat etc stuffed in there. They really are great for putting in the crate when we're out. Persevere, it's worth it!

henry'smum

Thundershirt!!!!

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