Dolly

Dolly is an adorable beagle with haunting eyes that turned me into goo the first time I saw her. Her coloring is interesting - black on top, white on the bottom, with some light brown on her face. We don’t know about her daddy and think she may be a mix. Her muzzle does appear to be a little shorter and her tail a little longer than a pure beagle, but this is very subtle and to a casual observer she looks all beagle. She will probably weigh 25-30 pounds as an adult.

Though Dolly is a submissive little girl she comes out of her shell in time and has even taken a dominant position during play with our submissive beagle girl. She likes to follow me around the house, but sometimes she’s happy to just lounge in the living room and work on her chewies. She is a snuggle bug and would be content to snuggle up next to you or on your lap all evening. 

Dolly is house trained. She will usually potty on command, and will potty on leash. I don’t yet know her signal that she has to go out; since I’m home during the day she goes out several times a day whether she has to potty or not. 

She walks nicely on a leash, though a little bit slowly because she wants to stop and sniff everything! She’s wary of yards where big dogs are barking at her from behind a fence. I never pull her or force her to walk past - I stay within her comfort level, which sometimes means we walk in the street until we pass the house with the scary dogs. Letting her progress at her own speed has really helped her gain confidence in situations like this and she is making great progress. 

Dolly has been non-reactive to loud sounds like thunder and emergency sirens. I threw a ball around the yard for her during our recent emergency siren testing and she seemed oblivious to the noise. Likewise, during a brief thunderstorm at night when she was crated, she appeared to sleep right through it. 

She’s getting better about crating during the day if her crate is in the room with our other dog. I think, quite simply, she doesn’t like to be alone, and who can blame her, really?! She does keep her crate clean and does not chew the bedding. She's quiet in her crate at night if we sleep in the room with her.

I have seen Dolly toss a ball in the air and chase it when our dog does not feel inclined to play, so she can keep herself entertained for a while. Of course, she’s still a puppy and inclined to investigate potential new things to play with. She is learning that pillows are not to be removed from the sofa, and the rug tassels are not to be played with or chewed on. This little girl loves to chew and it helps to provide an incentive. A bully stick shoved through the hole in a Kong can occupy her for hours! 

Dolly did not enjoy her recent bath, nor the nail trim I gave her, but I managed to give her both and will continue training her to accept a nail trim without fuss. 

Dolly would adjust more quickly to her forever home if there were another dog in the home. That said, I think if the home had a large dog or multiple dogs already it may take her a little longer to gain confidence. I think she could be an only dog under the right circumstances, namely someone who works from home or who is retired. She seems to become overwhelmed when around large dogs, and also when confronted with multiple dogs, although she previously lived in a home with four other beagles and four cats and did fine. I suspect that it may just take some time for her to gain confidence. 

Dolly will make a great beagle companion and is eager to go home with you. She tells me she’d really like to celebrate her first birthday in March with her forever family, and she’s feeling optimistic that it won’t be long before then!