The first day my husband and I saw Eddie in his kennel, we took a glance (mostly because he was a small dog) but didn't pay too much attention to him. For one reason or another he just didn't really stand out to us. After glancing at the 40 or so dogs at the shelter, my husband found one that he was interested in taking out for a visit. Being a beagle mix, the dog (Max was his name, I believe) couldn't have cared less about seeing us- he was just happy to be out in a new environment so he could sniff everything! We decided that we wanted a dog that was a little more interested in people, so we asked the attendant what other small dogs she had that we may have missed. She brought out two other dogs, one of which was Eddie.
We found out that Eddie had lived in a house with two children and at least one other dog and a cat. This was a plus seeing as how he'd be spending most of his time around other dogs. We also found out, however, that he house soiled (the reason for being turned over to the shelter) and that the male of the house "couldn't stand him." Upon meeting Eddie, it was hard to come to the conclusion that he hadn't been abused- he cowered in the corner no matter where he was. Immediately our hearts were given to this little dog; he really needed and deserved a good home.
We picked Eddie up the next day, and we did all the things a new dog owner should do. He did great for the first few days- no accidents in the house, not even while we were gone. He was also really starting to come around, learning to trust us quite a bit. He wasn't big into treats or playing with toys, but that was something we could live with. Then we hit a wall. All of a sudden there were accidents in the house, even when we were there, and he was growling at people when they'd come into the house.
Thanks to reading a lot of books, talking to some trainers, and watching many episodes of the Dog Whisperer, we got him heading down the right path. We are in the process (still) of crate training him, although he really doesn't need it since he hasn't had an accident in the house in about two and half weeks, even while we've been gone. We took him to the dog park for the first time about a week ago, and although he's not big into playing with the other dogs, he really likes meeting the people, which is a HUGE step for him! We've even got him playing with toys several times a day, and eating treats like it's his job.
