[Dailydrool] Nina and the new puppy

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

Dear Nina:
I know you will enjoy your new pupster. There will be times of great joy when you think that you've done the best thing in your life.

Then there will be the times when you wonder what you were thinking as you tear your hair out while your new puppy does something absolutely awful and you feel unable to stop it.

Welcome to the world of basset puppies.

The good news is that you will live through this. If you hang in there, you will end up with a well-behaved hound that will be a joy to live with. The bad news is that it may take a while to reach that goal.

I have only raised one puppy. It was a memorable event that I do not plan to repeat. Our Lady Jane was no lady as a puppy. She chewed on everything within tooth range, including the bulter's table my brother had hand crafted for my parents. She ate enough TV remotes to start an electronics store. My husband has fond memories of me running through the house, yelling, "No, no, no!" at Jane as she escaped with some tasty but dangerous object. Jane also didn't exactly do potty training for a long time.

I don't do puppies anymore, but eventually Jane grew up to be a respectable hound that we could be proud of. When we adopted other hounds, she lead the pack, teaching every dog that came here our house rules.
 
Here are the things I learned:
 
1. Treats, treats, treats, treats, treats. Bassets love them. For at least two seconds, puppies may obey you perfectly, if you offer one and give a command at the same time. Once the treat is eaten, all bets are off, but those two seconds are a wonderful thing.
 
2. You will have times when you  firmly believe that your puppy will never really obey. I remember reading a training book that said something like, "Your dog wants to obey you." At that time Jane must have been six months old or a little more. I laughed. Jane never obeyed me. I thought bassets just couldn't do it. But in time, with persistent, consistent training, you can have a dog who obeys you at least often enough to encourage you to believe that. (And it didn't hurt when I finally found the Drool and discovered that there were other people out there who owned dogs who wouldn't get any obedience prizes. It's still a mystery to me how the folks who show bassets get them to obey, but you'll have to ask them how they do it, since I don't know. There are a number of them on this list, so you might get a few good ideas here!)
 
3. Bassets do not get high grades for doing what humans want. The reason is not because they are stupid, but because they think for themselves. They were bred to do this, so when they hunt, they will find and stick to a scent. Don't go against years of breeding, but laugh when your dog manipulates you into doing something it wants (as long as that thing isn't bad for the hound or you). Our Jane learned to ring the sleigh bells I hung on the door, so she could let me know when she needed to go out. Problem is, sometimes she has done it to get me off the couch, when she wanted to sit there. A behaviorist claimed that dogs can't think that way, but he couldn't explain how she could do that! Bassets are not stupid, they are smart, stubborn, and very manipulative. So you will have to be kind but firm in your training. They are dogs who know how they want the world to be and are determined to make it that way.
 
4. As you train, keep in mind the things you will want an adult, perhaps 90-pound, dog to do. Train with the future in mind, and you will never be sorry. It may be cute to have that pupster jumping on you today, but if you have a 60- to 90-pound dog doing it, will it be so amusing?
 
5. Potty training will happen, if you are persistent and consistent. But bassets often take longer. So if it doesn't happen right away, just keep on training--as long as necessary. When Jane was six months old, I met someone who had a beagle. She told me her dog was already potty trained. I wanted to cry. Jane was still having accidents, no matter what I did. But by nine months, Jane was perfectly trained. It just took that long for her to get the idea that pottying outside was her idea. (Those bells I mentioned in #3 did a lot to help the process along.)
 
6. Bassets are puppies until they reach about the age of three. This is when Droolers say they "get their brains," which reportedly come in the UPS truck. Maybe the brains don't come on the pup's birthday, but they do come, eventually, and usually before the age of four. All of a sudden, you'll realize your puppy is acting like an adult dog. You will be so happy, but you will also miss those puppy days.
 
7. Only use positive training methods, no matter how frustrated you get. When I first started working with rescue, I was told that bassets didn't respond well to negative methods, and I have found that to be true. In the short term, you cannot outstubborn a basset. And because they are very sensitive animals, they will not accept any harsh methods--they remember them lifelong and rebel against them.
 
8. Bassets are wonderful, despite all these things. They will be your best friends. They will help you make friendships with other basset folks. They will entertain you, challenge you, and love you as no other being on earth will. Nothing is as wonderful as a basset.
 
Enjoy your new pupster. 
 
By the way, Jane is fourteen now. She has ruled our pack with a velvet paw, until recently. Our foster Holly, whom we will soon adopt, has taken over her spot as top dog. But no one rules the roost the way Jane did, with a firm gentleness that allowed us to take in many fosters and adopt other dogs. I am so proud of Jane. All that early training was worth the effort.
 
And I'd bet Jane would say that last sentence about me, too. Over the years I've had a succession of thoroughly spoiled hounds in the house. And I wouldn't have missed the opportunity to be owned by any of them. But it all started with Jane, who taught me how to love and be loved by a basset.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets
Lady Jane & Belvedere (ATB) & Alexis (ATB) & Abner (ATB) & soon-to-be adopted fosters Holly and Dexter (AKA C. Dexter Haven)
 
(By the way, ATB means "at the Bridge," the place where hounds go when they die, to await reunion with their humans. 
On the Drool, you'll learn more about this through Elder Clara's stories of hounds who have made their way there.)