My name is Carly!

This super sweet girl is Carly. She is a 5 year old Beagle. She is a medium sized dog weighing in at 30 pounds. She is 17” tall at her withers. Her fur is a beautiful blend of browns and is surprisingly soft. She has long, floppy ears and a tail that is wagging most of the time. She is a very happy and incredibly friendly girl who just wants to say hi to everyone she sees. She is very easy to live with and will make you smile every day. She is a real love who is looking for a forever family to commit to her and provide her with stability and love and the knowledge that she will never be abandoned again.

Carly makes cute little grunting noises when she is happy – like when she is receiving belly rubs. She loves to be with her people and snuggling is a favourite past time, she is also independent enough to go to her bed to nap or just lie quietly.

Carly loves to play with small stuffie toys with squeakers. She loves to play fetch and will sometimes bring the toy back to you – she’s also content to play with the toy herself as she loves to shake them and make them squeak.

She’s perfectly house broken and hasn’t had any accidents. She has also taken easily to the crate at bedtime. She is currently crated in my bedroom which she seems very content with. She’s very quiet when I am at home (my home is very quiet in general). In fact she doesn’t even bark when my other dog barks at noises outside on the street. Carly is also great in the car. She will whine very softly in the beginning of the car ride (I can barely hear her over the radio) but she relaxes quickly. Carly isn’t being fostered with children but we feel that with her lovely temperament and medium size she would be a fine pet for a family with kids that are used to dogs and are at an age that they know how to properly behave around a dog and to treat a dog kindly. Carly will not enjoy a home with very rambunctious youngsters or rough children. She is a cuddler and snuggler, not a wrestler, so we would need to match her to a family with kids of the same temperament. Carly would also do well in a home with mild mannered dogs. Again, she is not one for wrestle type play but she does co-exist very well with her 2 foster dog siblings. She is not being fostered with cats. We feel she would be fine in a home with a cat that was accustomed to dogs and would be calm around her. A cat that is skittish or fearful of dogs and would run from her or cause a big fuss in her presence would not be a suitable match.

I have been walking Carly with my other two dogs. To my delight this has been a breeze. I walk her on a 6’ leash and I allow her to walk out in front. Hounds are so motivated by their noses and we felt it wasn’t in her best interest to force her to heel while we were integrating her into my pack. Over time this might be something that her forever family wishes to teach her, however she has a lot of leash respect and responds to my commands during the walk, so it might not be necessary. She walks at the end of her leash, but does not pull. OK, she pulls a little when she sees someone who she needs to go say hello to, she must say hello to everyone! She loves to sniff and will sniff at a spot for a couple of seconds and then abandon that scent and move on to the next one. If she lingers on a scent I simply say “Let’s go!” and she will abandon the scent and move on. I rarely have to repeat the command any more – she’s very respectful.

She is well behaved when meeting new people – she loves to meet people, but she does not jump … unless they ignore her then she starts to whine and could jump to get their attention – did I mention she just has to meet everyone! She’s not shown any fear at loud noises or new situations. We walked past construction workers who were making a lot of noise, my two dogs were cowering behind me, but Carly was pulling on her leash to go say hello to the men.

We discovered that Carly has had a few homes in her five years of life. Her last home abandoned her and refused to admit they ever had a dog. She ended up in a rural pound which is where we met her. Don’t feel sad for Carly, as this could be the best thing that ever happened to her because we are committed to finding the best possible forever home for her. It is vital that Carly never again face abandonment so her new forever family needs to understand her needs and commit to fulfilling them. She deserves a family who will be devoted to her – she will most definitely give her forever family the same devotion and joy in return.

Carly does love her daily walks and she NEEDS her daily walks. I want to stress that this is a dog who lives for her walks and the smells out and about and it is absolutely essential that she get daily exercise. I currently take her for a very brisk walk (power walk) for 50 minutes in the morning. By evening she is “full of beans”. She either needs a 2nd walk or a good 20-30 minute play session (fetch) to burn off some of those beans. Her forever family needs to commit to this. It’s not an option.

Like all Beagles she has a tendency to be self- centered and she is learning that the world does not revolve around her– for instance, when she wants to play while I’m eating dinner. My rule is don’t interrupt me while I’m eating dinner. She starts by talking to me (cute little grunting noises that are tempting to respond to). When I don’t respond she starts to bark. She tried this a few times but I ignored her, as I didn’t want to reinforce the behaviour, and she eventually stopped even trying with me and now she just plays on her own. This kind of behavior correction needs to be VERY consistent with Carly as she can be head strong. It’s a Beagle thing. She needs rules and boundaries to be clearly defined for her and consistently enforced and reinforced. She’s a lovely dog with a wonderful temperament but she could easily take over your life if you give into her every whim. It is very important that Carly receive the same consistent leadership from every member of her forever family.

Another example of consistent training with Carly is how she wanted to jump onto my furniture. I actually don’t care if she’s on my furniture, but this is an opportunity for me to show leadership by enforcing rules. Therefore, she’s not allowed on my furniture unless she’s invited up onto my lap for snuggles. I praise her for going to her dog bed and now that is what she does – she respects the “no furniture rule”. Same thing with my bed – she is not allowed on my bed, but she is praised for going into her crate next to my bed. Quite quickly Carly learned the rules and she is very respectful of them.

Carly does suffer from some separation anxiety. We feel this is understandable considering how she’s been bumped around from home to home. This anxiety is exhibited while she is crated when I am out of the house. She will bark and whine when I’m gone. She’s improving and over time we are confident that, with proper training methods and strong leadership, Carly’s forever family can teach her that she isn’t going to be abandoned and that her crate is a safe place for her to be. In the meantime we feel that Carly will not be suited for apartment / condo dwelling. She needs to be crated when left alone for security and safety as an anxious dog left to their own devices in a house can cause havoc. She is very happy when I return and immediately settles and is her sweet and loving self. She would be best in a home where someone is around more often than not. We aren’t saying that she needs to go to a home where someone works from home, she would just prefer to have someone home more regularly and will not do well being left alone for an 8hr work day. A family with opposite work hours, or someone who works part time would be fine for her.

She is a very smart and very trainable dog if she has consistency and repetition … lots of repetition (it’s another Beagle thing). Carly is very motivated by “jackpot treats” like bacon and chicken. Only the best for this girl! She also responds extremely well to praise and lots of pets, but a bit of meat goes a long way! She would also benefit greatly from working her brain and her body at dog sports like agility and scent detection. Carly will need to attend obedience school to teach not only her, but her family, obedience skills. We know she will love attending a positive reinforcement school that starts off with treats as reward…she loves her treats!! Dog school is such a benefit for both the dog and the family as it will help strengthen the bond between human and canine – it is important for humans to understand how to communicate with their dog and training classes will teach this.

Carly is such a fabulous, gentle and loving dog. I am blessed to have her in my home as she is such a joy to live with. When she meets people I tell them she’s been bumped around to different homes and no one can believe it. Everyone she meets is a fan. She will make someone very proud – will that someone be you?

All Pound Dog Rescue dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, de-wormed (if required), and micro-chipped prior to adoption. The adoption donation of $400 is applied to assist in the costs of veterinary care and the overall care of the dog. For more information and adoption applications please consult our website at www.pounddog.ca.