ADOPTION PENDING
Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle. At Pound Dog Rescue, we believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, and learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process.
This little cutie is Figgy and she is a tiny 2yr old Beagle looking for a great Beagle loving family to call her very own. Figgy is a small Beagle weighing in at 21lbs. She came to us from a shelter where she was an unclaimed stray. Figgy was in good shape and obviously had been cared for prior and is accustomed to being in a house, so we don’t know why anyone would give up this lovely hound. Their loss is someone else’s gain though as this little girl is just a darling dog.
Figgy is 100% Beagle and anyone interested in her needs to be experienced with hound breeds and fully understand that for her, and most hounds, smells are life! When Figgy is out in the yard, or out on walks, she is nose to the ground constantly and is always in motion, searching for new smells, and oh, how glorious, scents of rabbits or squirrels or whatever creature happened by since she was out last. Figgy will ignore everything else around her when outside sniffing….so, she can NEVER be let to run off leash outside of a secure fenced in area. Her foster home is rural and has a large fenced yard so she is in her glory, running and sniffing every chance she gets. She doesn’t require a super large yard but she absolutely must have a decent sized fully fenced yard to satisfy her ingrained need to work her nose and run freely. She will patrol that yard from top to bottom searching for interesting sniffs. Figgy also requires daily walks to new and exciting places so she gets to experience new and exciting sniffs. Figgy is a typical hound on walks, nose to the ground, trying to dart in whichever direction a sniff takes her. She needs more work on leash etiquette and not pulling, but for a truly dedicated sniffer like sweet Fig, there will always be a bit of pulling and darting when a good sniff calls. Thankfully as a small dog, she is pretty easy to manage, just hold on tight to that leash as you never know when walking along, what sniff is going to catch her attention and cause her to stop abruptly for closer inspection or want to change direction! Figgy’s ideal walk would be on a long line in a wooded trail, large park, or out in the country, where she can really take in all kinds of good smells. She would not like to be an inner city dog and only have pavement and concrete surrounding her.
While talking about Beagles sniffing we can’t forget to mention that when she catches a particularly exciting sniff or a fresh scent you need to be prepared for the Beagle bugling!!! This is a love it or hate it thing so her person or family will have to be on the “love it” side of the hound bugle. With Figgy her bugling sounds like she is being killed and will certainly stop your heart the first few times you hear it, until you get used to it and realize that Figgy is in no way being harmed or in pain…she has just found her glory…a fresh scent!!! Thankfully out in the yard this isn’t often so neighbours shouldn’t be too annoyed, but best to give any close neighbours a heads up so if she does let out a bugle they aren’t calling animal services worried about a dog in distress!! When walking in a wooded area or other places where bunnies are common you can expect to hear it more. Her foster family loves hounds so finds her bugling cute and they know that when she is bugling she is announcing a great find and she is a very happy hound dog.
When not out on her perpetual mission to find good smells, Figgy can be found inside, cuddled up in a chair or on the couch with her people. Figgy doesn’t play favourites and will happily cuddle with whoever is sitting down. She loves a good cuddle and will often fall
asleep on us or beside us. Figgy is all activity when outside, but is all about calm and quiet when inside. She isn’t much into playing with toys yet although we expect this will come with time. She is really into being with her people and getting affection and snuggles. Figgy is doing well with her housetraining but doesn’t know how to let you know she needs to go out so her people need to be proactive about this and let her out often. We find that her biggest downfall is that she often forgets to go when let outside as she gets caught up in sniffing, so we let her out a lot to increase the odds that she actually does go the bathroom when let out. Figgy is crated when we aren’t home and at night, and does well with this, but again, we have to ensure that she has had multiple opportunities to go out and go the bathroom before being in her crate to avoid accidents. Her forever family needs to be patient with this, especially in early days when all is new and she is settling in. They have to be ok with the odd accident because she just got too distracted when out in a new area. As she settles in and her yard smells become familiar she will be less distracted and will get her business done.
Figgy will greatly benefit from dog school and working with her people on obedience skills, building a bond, and better listening. Hounds can be more of a challenge to train as they are bred to work independently and Figgy is no exception to this. She has mastered selective hearing and will listen nicely when in the house, but when out in the yard likes to feign deafness. There are countless times that we have to go out and physically pick her up to bring her inside as somehow she just “didn’t hear” us when calling her to come in even though she is only feet away from us. She always has an embarrassed look on her face and a “sorry I didn’t hear you” excuse at the ready. Figgy is not a confident dog and obedience training will really help build her confidence and she will love the treats that come with positive reinforcement training. Dehydrated liver snacks are a favourite!
Figgy currently lives with cats and other dogs in her foster home. She is good with both, although her lack of confidence means she needs proper introductions to both and she can get overwhelmed easily. She over reacts by bugling loudly when frightened and this can scare other dogs or the cat. She does well with calm introductions and giving her space until she is comfortable. She will not be a dog that will enjoy dog parks or other areas where strange dogs will rush at her. The cats in her foster home are very dog savvy and don’t run from dogs or cause any fuss and Figgy is good with them. She would not do well in a home with a cat that reacts to her or runs from her as she will chase. If there is another dog in the home it will need to be a calm, more mature, dog that will give her space, especially in the first few weeks of settling in. But she will enjoy their companionship and will want to cuddle them once she is nicely comfortable in her surroundings and with her new dog sibling. Figgy will also be quite fine as the only dog as she doesn’t need another dog in the home to be happy. For Figgy happiness comes in 2 forms, sniffs and cuddles. When it comes to children Figgy is well mannered and gentle. But she is a total flight risk so we will only consider a home for her with kids 8yrs of age or older who can be responsible to ensure that the door isn’t being held open and gates are closed snugly every single time. If Figgy gets out the door or gate she will be gone! Off chasing smells and she won’t stop running until she is far away from home. We have to keep her safety in mind. She is a dog that will be just fine though if younger children visit as long as the adults are minding the doors.
Figgy is a Beagle lover’s dream dog. She is adorable and small and athletic and energetic. She is very busy outside but a total couch potato inside. She is very friendly and greets all new people as best friends she just hasn’t met yet. She loves meeting new people and getting pets from strangers. If you adore hounds and have a good sized hound safe yard that needs to have every inch of it sniffed and sniffed some more than Figgy just might be your perfect fit!