beagle rescue--several concerns

Question
About 2 weeks ago my husband and I adopted a 7 yr old female "bereaved beagle" from a local rescue org. Her story: owner died and family member dropped her off at shelter where she stayed for 3 weeks until the rescue/foster mom took her. Vet report states that she is healthy, up to date on shots but very overweight. She does not bark, has absolutely no desire to go outside except to do her business. Just wants to lay on couch. We have two other 13 inch beagles who are perfect little girls and they are trying hard to accept her into the pack. I have been forcing her to go on walks around our farm and she is getting a little more active. The problems are: she grunts alot, snores to the point of worry...like she has allergies or blockage AND she has started foaming a little at the mouth, leaving little puddles here and there. She shivers like she is cold/scared (even though she is on couch with blankies all around) but is very cuddly and sweet. Could it be that she was so traumatized that it will take a long time to become like our other hounds...footloose and fancy free? It's easy to get the impression that she was some little old lady's lap dog as she has no idea how to play and socialize with the other girls. Thanks so much!

Answer
Thank you to you for taking her in, she sounds like she definately needed someone to rescue her and allow her to live the true beagle life.

The snoring may just be genetic, in other words there is some malformation with her tongue or throat or other piece of anatomy that makes it so she snores, being overwt would encourage snoring as well. As far as the grunting it may be alearned behavior or it may signify pain, or are you referring to Reverse Sneezing? The puddles and the foaming at the mouth is NOT normal. Usually this happens after they have ingested a poison, that one is strange and could indicate something else is wrong with her physically. I would talk to the vet about that one. Being overwt, she could have something like Addison's disease....

As far as the overwt part, this needs to be worked on asap by cutting down her food and making sure she is eating a high quality food, I always recommend Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance for beagles as they are highly allergy prone and their Limited Ingredient Diet foods are excellant, high protein, average amt of fat and free of all grains or allergy items. They use "novel proteins" so the protein comes from something a regular dog would never have been exposed to before and less likely to react to. She should be getting about 1/3 cup twice a day, which also leaves room for some treats or the occasional rawhide.

Absolutely get her walking, for her wt and her well being. She obviously was a couch potatoe as you said and for a beagle that is not healthy, they are extremely active dogs and need a lot of stimulation to be mentally sound and happy.

The shivering is most likely just fear based, & yes it will take time for her to adjust. Be careful not to reinforce this behavior by pettingher, talking to her or ina ny other way trying to soothe her when she does this. It must be ignored, she will survive and eventually learn that this behavior doesnt get her anything so why do it. Being in a shelter for three weeks when you have been a couch potatoe is certainly traumatizing and then meeting two other beagles you have to live with as well, it is possible she never interacted with another dog EVER. Bringing home a new puppy or adult dog you should allow for several months of adjustment for the true personality to come through and for them to feel safe and confident again. Just be gentle and don't get into any power struggles with her, let her know you are the ALPHA right away however you can do that in a gentle way by being firma nd having boundaries but never yell at her or smack her. Sounds like she will come around and end up being a delight, what beagle isnt?

If I can help with anything else please feel free to write back anytime.