Sheltiemama

My husband found a female beagle that someone dumped at his business. We got her on a Monday morning and took her to beagle rescue that Friday morning. We had her less than a week.

In that time, my purebred Sheltie just kind of shut down on me! He didn't want to go outside (beagle was kept outside on the back porch with free run of the backyard), didn't want to eat (and we call him the vacuum cleaner because he LOVES to eat) and wouldn't come out of the bedroom. It was really bad.

Just in the last couple or 3 days has he been my normal Scotty boy.

Now. A couple weeks before the beagle showed up, we got a foster sheltie. Little guy. Male. Neutered immediately upon arrival. Scotty wasn't thrilled with him but tolerated him for the 10 days or so that we had him.

JUST NOW I was reading about a thread about smell. I'm wondering if the reason Scotty was so upset was the beagle's smell. I didn't take her to the groomers but I did take the little foster sheltie. He needed it badly, the little beagle didn't. In my opinion.

Could it be that the smell was the whole issue with Scotty? I seem to remember that he wasn't too thrilled with the foster sheltie until the next day when he'd been to the groomer. Same smell he was used to since that's where he goes?

This is important for us to figure out. We've been asked to foster another girl but she's a sheltie. I don't want another disaster on my hands.

Any and all suggestions/ideas/thoughts much appreciated.

Criosphynx

Im not sure!...Its possible that your dog was keying in on that...they rely on smell about as much as we rely on sight....imagine having to live with a person that wore neon colors.... :::shutters::: If the groomers reminds him of happy stuff It could definetly make the new dog remind him of happy stuff! I know I smell som'thing randomly and have happy childhood flashbacks...im sure dogs make those associations too.

Emma gets really wierd like that too when a temporary dog is around...I think the change in routine confuses (or frustrates) som' dogs... In fact Emma gets so "wierd" that we pretty much make it a point to keep the temporary dogs outside now. She seems confused by them.

Can't wait to hear about the new little foster girl if you get her.

Sheltiemama

He loves the groomer so that smell would definitely be "happy stuff" memories.

Rascal, my Sheltie mix, liked the little beagle at first and was willing to play with her but within a day, he decided to follow Scotty's lead and not have anything to do with her and not go out that door to get outside. He wasn't nearly as bad as Scotty but he got weird on me.

My husband said Scotty told Rascal not to like the new little girl! LOL

Jo