Adopt a Beagle / Dachshund / Mixed (short coat)

Meet Hazel. This girl could be the poster dog for what SHH is all about--she's getting a chance to live the good life after a rough start. Hazel came from a hoarding situation in rural Kentucky, where she never got to experience living in a home with a loving family. Because of this, she's a very shy girl, but has been doing absolutely wonderfully since making the journey north to Minnesota!

 

Hazel is an absolute sweetheart who doesn't have a mean bone in her body. When she first arrived, she was very shy and scared--understandably with the amount of stressful changes she was going through! And even then, she was a kind, gentle girl. It's been amazing to see her come out of her shell and show her true loving character!

 

Hazel LOVES cuddling. Her favorite thing is curling up next to her people on the couch, and resting her head on your lap. She prefers to initiate contact, but loves getting pets and scratches once she's settled in. And she's got just about the softest fur in town. If you're looking for a premier snuggling partner for Netflix nights or reading on the couch, Hazel's your girl.

 

Hazel is also crate trained, and does well in the crate while we're away. She spent her first few nights sleeping in the crate, but did so well she's now spending nights outside the crate (typically wedged in the middle of our bed!) She also hasn't had any accidents in the house after her first night, and she goes potty right away when going outside.

 

Hazel likes other dogs, and gets along great with her foster brothers. They play a little bit outside, but typically prefer to just lounge around together. She'd do really well in a house with other dogs. Her foster brothers have done a great job with showing her the ropes of living in a loving home, and she has taken comfort in them. She'd likely also do well as a solo gal, but homes without other dogs would likely have to invest extra time in training Hazel, as she would not be learning from doggie mentors.

 

Hazel's been a good girl on walks on the leash. She is still learning what a walk is, but has done very well on her leash. She does need extra precautions to make sure she doesn’t get frightened and get away from her people on walks.  We use a martingale collar and slip lead for times she's on leash to make sure she doesn't slip out of her collar, and make sure to secure the leashes around our wrists.

 

With Hazel being crate trained, accident-free, and a snuggle monster, it's still important to remember that she is a shy girl with her background. She takes time to warm up to new things, and many things are new to her. Her response to a new stimuli (like new people, a loud noise outside, etc.) is to go to her favorite spot on the couch. When she first arrived in our home, she was so frightened that she would hide in the smallest corner or behind the couch. She now does not hide in a corner, but still takes comfort in and will run to her favorite couch nook when startled or scared. She hardly makes a peep, so it's important to be mindful of her body language to see when she's a bit stressed. She learns and adjusts pretty quickly, and picks up on cues from her people. If you're calm, she's calm. We've been amazed at her progress in such a short time! In less than a week, she went from hiding behind the couch to snuggling us all the time!

 

The main thing we're working on with Hazel right now is the "come" command. With her shyness, it's difficult to approach Hazel, and she's still reserved in coming towards people (unless it's time to relax and snuggle on the couch, in which case the Hazel freight train is rolling right at you!) She'll come near you, but she keeps enough distance to make it difficult to get a leash on her. Because of this, it's important to take extra precautions to ensure her security. We use a baby gate to keep her away from the front door. We have a fenced yard, but still used a leash to take her out of the first few days as she got used to it (we didn’t want her scared and hiding under the shed in zero degree weather). She's already graduated into being able to go free outside in the fenced area (with a leash attached to her collar just in case), but she still takes coaxing to come back inside. She's still learning that the back door won't bite her! Sometimes, she will cautiously, but fairly easily come inside. Other times, she is a bit more scared and it will take several minutes and a couple false starts for her to come inside. We keep the leash on her so that we can help her come inside when it’s extra cold out! But getting her to trust to come close enough to get the leash can take some patience, and it’s important not to startle her and pull on her leash so she has a positive association with approaching you and coming inside. She isn't very food motivated, so you can't entice her with treats. She does enjoy hanging out in the backyard now, and it's nice she can play with her foster brothers outside and come back inside on her own, even if it requires some additional patience as she gets used to it. She's such a sweetheart, she even made friends with a deer in the woods behind the fence!

 

Because of her shyness, she'd do best in a home with older, dog-savvy children. And for her safety, she needs a secure fenced yard. She's been growing a ton in this area (again, going from hiding in corners to coming inside freely, if a bit reserved, in a matter of days). Prospective homes will have to be extra careful to make sure she's secure until she's totally mastered the "come" command. As part of the adoption process, we'll want to chat specifically about plans to keep Hazel secure until she's less of a flight risk--which will happen over time!

 

Outside of working on "come," Hazel just needs patience and calm support as she continues to adjust to living in a home. Beyond extra precautions for her safety, she's a really low-key dog who's been easy to welcome into our home. She is happiest with a spot on the couch and a friend to cuddle. She's a very bright girl who has made amazing strides in just a short amount of time. Oh, and after all this information, we haven't even mentioned how pretty she is! She really is a beautiful girl! Most importantly, she's got such a sweet, loving, gentle nature that makes her a wonderful companion! Whatever family is lucky to add Hazel to their family--it will be so very rewarding to help her continue to grow into the amazing dog that she is!!