[Barbie]

Before we got Danny he was with the breeder and 8 other bassets. They had designated couch,outside and playtime etc....Structured. He and his sister were returned to the breeder because the elderly woman who got them as pups from them is very ill now. She returned them 5 months or so ago. I can see that he is nervous with new situations that is for sure. He does play though when we are outside and he loves his treats and toys. He isn't overly excited about getting his leash on or going for car rides though.
To give you and idea of our house and surroundings for him............We live in a 4 level split and our bedroom is on the very top floor. He has free run of all the floors except the top. I dont want him on the this level(bedrooms)for too much of the time.... We have his crate 2 levels down from our room and that is where he sleeps. We spend a lot of time in that room so he cant find it a lonely room. He is only alone in there at night time. Like most of your bassets, whereever i am, he is. He does not want to leave my side. Infact im not sure that he sleeps much because he is too busy keeping tabs on my whereabouts. What should i do about that? The dog is probably sleep deprived which wont help with his mentality problems either.....Poor guy! My husband is very mild in nature and is always soft spoken and my eldest son is gentle, but my youngest son sort of ignores the dog(which is good in ways)....So i dont know why he hasnt warmed up to any of them. Do you? Do you think the area where we have his crate is ok? It is where we watch tv and just chill out as such. I hope someone has some good ideas, both him and me are stressing out. I feel absoulutely sorry for him.

 

[Mikey T]

...He and his sister were returned to the breeder because the elderly woman who got them as pups from them is very ill now.

...We live in a 4 level split and our bedroom is on the very top floor. He has free run of all the floors except the top. I dont want him on the this level(bedrooms)for too much of the time.... We have his crate 2 levels down from our room and that is where he sleeps.

... Like most of your bassets, whereever i am, he is.
. Infact im not sure that he sleeps much because he is too busy keeping tabs on my whereabouts. What should i do about that?

... My husband is very mild in nature and is always soft spoken and my eldest son is gentle, but my youngest son sort of ignores the dog(which is good in ways)....So i dont know why he hasnt warmed up to any of them. Do you? Do you think the area where we have his crate is ok? It is where we watch tv and just chill out as such. I hope someone has some good ideas, both him and me are stressing out. I feel absoulutely sorry for him.[/b]

A. The dog prefers the comany of you over that of your husband and son? Given what little I know about the dogs history I would say it is not surprising. It lived with an elderly woman. That general means the dog as had little contact and socialization with men in its critical early social development period. Many future behavioral problems can be traced to a lack of early socialization. All is not lost but it will take some work to turn things around.

1. Have your husband or son be the provider of the dog meals better yet make it both.
2. Have both actively involved in training the dog, especially rewarding the dog.
3. Make it worth the dogs while to spend more time with Male. Reward him for doing so with treat ect.
4 Make up for the lack of socialization by doing so now with emphysis on men. Make sure all the encounters are pleasant for the dog. This usually mean pre-arranging them and making sure the men have lots of treats for the dog.


B. "He does not want to leave my side ...What should i do about that? "
Velcro type dogs are more prone to developing seperation anxiety than the more independant types
seePreventing Separation Anxiety

Puppies and newly adopted dogs are at higher risk to develop separation anxiety if they are smothered with constant attention their first few days home. It is much better to leave for brief periods extremely often so the dog’s early learning about departures is that they are no big deal and predict easy, tolerable lengths of absence: “whenever she leaves, she comes back.”[/b]

C. " he is nervous " what about shy and cautios? While it may be he just need time to adjust given what is known about his history it quite possible to be part of his personallity. If not addresses these behavior are self-rewarding and get worse over time not better. Even if all he need is just a bit more time to adjust, training to reduce his shyness will not hurt him.
The how, is way to extensive to cover her fortunately their are c couple of good references on the market for short money

HELP FOR YOUR SHY DOG
Book Review- Help for Your Shy Dog
"This breezy little paperback is a gem. Deborah Wood has managed to present a very readable, optimistic, and practical guide for coping with a shy dog. Between Wood's refreshingly conversational writing style and Amy Aitken's endearing illustrations, this is a book that any owner of a shy dog would find palatable and motivating"

CAUTIOUS CANINE, 2ND EDITION



D. "Do you think the area where we have his crate is ok? "

ummm I don't understand why the first 3 floors are ok but the fouth is not. IMHO the dog would be much happier and more relaxed sleeping with you in the bedroom even if he is confined in the crate. I can understand having the crate on the 4th floor the rest of the time would be a hassle. Moving crates around especially up and down stair cases is no fun. If it were me. ( and I do have lots of crates to spare) I would have a crate on every floor.

 

[Barbie]

Thank you so much Mikey for all the wonderful ideas and references. Also for taking the time out to forward names of books etc... I really do appreciate it.
Yes i think he is being shy and cautious. It makes sense that he likes me since he lived with the ladies from birth. Even the breeder is a lady.
Oh, we dont really want him to spend a lot of time upstairs because this is where our bedrooms are. My son and i both have asthma and i want to have as little fur as possible in our linen. We have both been tested for dog allergies coming back low to none in this category. Also we had a St Bernard for 11 years and he never bothered us, but he didnt spend time on our top level either. We feel that him having access to all other levels in the house is completely adequate and a lot of roaming room. The only time we are upstairs is at nighttime for bed basically. Maybe moving the crate to the main level as opposed to the 3rd might be a good idea. I know he must get lonely at bedtime, yes.
We will put to use your advice and see where that and others advice and also 'time' and lots of love get us.
By the way he first started to bark yesterday. Before that we barely heard 'boo' from him. He was barking at noises he heard in the distance. His bark is soooo cute. Love it!!

Thanks again.

 

[mgbrown66]

I would give it two weeks before you make any judgments about his personality. Things are still new to him, and he is not quite himself.

He has definitely latched on to you though, and Mike's points are all good. Seems most male bassets I know are all 'mama's boys' though, so I doubt you are going to get totally away from it. Embrace it!

You hear about chows and those types of dogs being 'one owner' type dogs. I think male bassets are that way too, except instead of hating everyone but the one owner, they just prefer to get belly rubs from that one person. Unless of course someone else has food!

 

[2hounds]

My Gibbs is somewhat like this. I mean he loves everyone, but where momma is he follows. He has started guarding me agains my other dog, but we are quickly taking measures to fix that problem before it grows any bigger.

~Heather

 

[Barbie]

Hi. Thanks guys.
I dont mind all the attention from him, i love that he loves me. It is just that i am concerned that he hates it here and is scared and upset all the time and that i am the only one he thinks is worthy. No one has hurt feelings in the house, we have made the boys understand.
We just want him to get comfy.
When i see how he is, I picture one of those dogs to have that nervous look to them and are terrified of children. We are going to work on him and making him more comfortable.

Thanks again guys...

 

[Sabian's mom]

I have adopted 2 senior dogs in the past. My last boy Beau totally ignored my other 2 dogs but he totally bonded with my then 17 year old son. He was much more timid with me than Chris. He also had that nervous look for about 2 weeks or more but then settled down and wasn't timid with me anymore. Give him time and I think he will do well. If he cannot be on your top level he will learn that. I imagine right now if you aren't on the level he is on he he is a little nervous. He will soon learn he is safe in his home wherever you are. He looks like a lovely hound!

 

[mgbrown66]

He looks like a very well bred basset from a reputable breeder. To me that means he will have a GREAT basset personality.

You just need to give him time to settle in. Let him know that it's HIS house and everyone else is just visiting. That will make him very happy to see people that are just visiting. Trust me on this one.....

You might want to keep the visitors to a minimum for just a couple weeks. Let him settle in, and know it's his place... Then he will settle in to being a real basset and understanding the foreigners are there to see HIM!

 

[Barbie]

Thanks guys. Mg brown thanks for the compliment on him and his breeding. When he isnt afraid(which is not all the time anymore by the way) he is a super sweetheart and totally lovable.