From Rhinestones foster: "She definitely needs a home who is fully willing to take her in knowing her special needs. Medical is obvious; her seizures and thyroid need monitoring. Behavior-wise, she can be very un-beagle-like. She enjoys being around people, but at her own pace and comfort. She enjoys her pets, but doesn't cuddle or accept embraces. She will walk away if she wants her space. However, she will sit next to you and look up expectantly, and when napping, she'll sometimes pop her head up to see who's around and go back to napping if she's not alone (this is worse when she's sick lol). She doesn't really play with any toys; snuffy mats and bully sticks have been the most I can get from her. I don't think a home with kids would be a fit, as the kids need to understand she's not a dog they can play with and hang off of.
Potty training has been difficult. She doesn't tell anyone she's needs out, and the best course we found was having a strict potty schedule. We've placed bells on our door to see if she'll use those, and we've had some success. She will use them if she has to poop; but we've never gotten her to use them for pee times. If no one opens the door, she turn around and just pee wherever. We have had her trained on pee pads (PetSmart brand is really good), and she will almost exclusively pee on them inside. Not great, but still controllable, especially at night. Potential adopters will probably still have to work with her; a lot could probably be a weak bladder, but again, that's where vet visits become important.
She loves walks and car rides. She's an easy walk, she mostly slow paced as every blade of grass should be sniffed out. She will dig, and will eat dirt and grass if allowed, and that's only the real difficulty with walks. She'd loved someone who hikes or is active outside, even if she's a little slow and may need some breaks. It lets the little hunter out.
I've never been able to train her on commands. While she's very treat motivated, it's really only because she wants to eat, not learn. Even doing a simple come command has been hard; I'm not sure if it's her hearing getting bad or just selective hearing. She'll get bored and walk away. Honestly, there's never a huge need; she's old, she's usually sitting most times. She has tried to escape; once successfully, but never made it down the stairs.
She is a stubborn gal, which I attribute to her overcoming a lot of her medical issues as if they never happened. Of course, this stubbornness doesn't help with commands or walking.
At first, we crated her at night and when leaving. She had no problem with it, but she will whine if she needs to potty. Sometimes, even now, she'll lay inside with the door open. It might bring her a bit of comfort. For a while, she really wanted to sleep in the same room as someone, so her bed was placed in my room, and she'd do well. She's now feeling much more independent; maybe she's comfortable and understands weve never left, so she sleeps where she likes now. Potting at night is still an issue, but she will go to the pee pads.
She really is a wonderful companion; the Tender care team always speak highly of her as she's been very good with allowing blood draws and X-rays. I do worry that entering into another household might send any training we accomplished back to square one. We've noticed, when rearranging furniture, change kind of confuses her, sometimes to the point of a reverting behaviors, like peeing in other places and her being a bit more stand-off-ish.
Anyone who takes her in will definitely need to go by the old 3/3/3 rule, and take their time with her. She's definitely a special girl, and if given the time and space, she really does shine."
