We’ve been looking for a beagle or beagle mix for quite a while, and this week, 2 have popped up. My guy is hesitating because we have travel planned - a 5 day weekend in early Sept. and a 10 day trip in early November. He thinks it would be cruel to take in a dog (not a pup) and leave it to be boarded so soon. I tend to agree, but thought I’d ask for opinions.
When you bring a new dog into your home, the first days and weeks of your interaction with it can set the tone of how well it adapts to its new environment. We adopted a beagle mix about a year ago and the first two weeks were demanding and frustrating. This is my fifth dog but this one was extremely timid and fearful to the point that it remained in our den for the majority of these 2 weeks. She stayed in one corner of the room and would tense up whenever we entered. It took a great deal of patience and perseverance but the dog gradually came out of its shell and now we have a great pup. I have heard of similar situations taking much longer.
A challenge when adopting a dog is you really don’t know what you’re going to get until you spend some time with it. Even if you bring home a dog with an ideal personality, I’m not sure boarding it so soon would be wise. My advice would be to wait until after your November trip before adopting.
My philosophy as far as new dogs in the household is to center life around them for six or so months. We have a new pup and this summer we’ve turned down numerous opportunities for fun because Kizzy couldn’t attend. Then again, we’ve had a blast taking her to puppy meetups at local breweries.
My wife and I have adopted/rescued many dogs, now on number 9. I agree with the others that it’s a good idea to spend lots of time with the adoptee in the beginning. And in our case anyway, fur-ever. We are seniors and don’t travel much, but our lives revolve around our dog. Some might think it sad, but we’re quite happy.
Looking at my schedule coming up, our new puppy is completing her basic obedience class, which has taken up every Thursday evening. We are struggling, trying to decide whether to sign her up for advanced obedience next, or to go right into agility. I broached the idea of my gf taking her to agility classes while I could take her to advanced obedience.
Down the road a few months, we will be having her tested for “nose work”. Our GSD scored high and took several training courses. It was fun. My gf would take off her hoodie and go into our woods. She’d text me on her cellphone when she was hiding and I’d let Kali smell the hoodie, saying “FIND HER”. Kali would take off and I’d follow on a long lead. We’d find her, even if she crossed a creek or tried doubling back.
Are the dogs being held by someone in your local area? I’m wondering if you could adopt them and see about having that same person watch it (at their house) for the two times you’re going to be out of town. That way instead of boarding it, it’ll be able to spend that time with someone it’s already familiar with.
This is what I was thinking. When I got my Morgan I had one day of work scheduled that I couldn’t get out of. The agency was eager for me to get her right away, and the foster said she’d take Morgan for that one day I couldn’t be home. It worked out great!
Foster! That was the word I was looking for. I couldn’t think of it. There’s a large rescue in Illinois that fosters their rescue dogs while waiting to be adopted. It gives the dogs a chance to be in a house with maybe 1 other dog instead of 15 and to start learning to socialize. Those foster ‘parents’, are just random people that are willing to let a dog live with them for somewhere between a few days and a few months. It’s all volunteer work and they’re not really affiliated with the rescue.
My thinking was that if the dog the OP is looking at is with a foster family, they might be more than willing to let the dog come stay with them for a few days here and there, especially since they already have a connection with it (and, of course, you’d pay them). Even better, if the arrangement works out well, you might gain yourself a trusted dogsitter that can make future vacations a lot easier to plan.