Marilyn was rescued from a high kill shelter when her time was up. This sweet hound was in terrible condition when she arrived, with two ear infections and several bad teeth that had to be removed, but with the help of the humane society and our vets she is now ready for adoption!

Marilyn is a very sweet girl. She is quite shy at first but comes around. She is very quiet, especially for a hound! Her one bad habit is that she sometimes jumps up - on counters and on her foster when she's excited, but she has improved greatly in that area and rarely does it now. That is the only negative about this girl! She is good with other dogs and even cats. She has a real nice, calm temperament and personality.

Marilyn loves getting attention from people and being petted. She has been very tolerant and calm with the children she's met. She is not a licker at all, which is nice. She is allowed to sleep on the bed but often prefers the dog bed and would have no problem sticking to that in a new home. She sometimes comes up to you and noses you to pet her and just stands there calmly while you do. Then when you stop she will nudge you again! But for the most part she is not very needy.

Marilyn is crated when no one is home, primarily to keep her from getting into things. She has food allergies and must only eat certain dog food and treats. And definitely no people food!

Marilyn has extremely small ear canals and had problems with ear infections for months when we first got her. Come to find out, her food allergies were causing the problem! So as long as she doesn't consume anything she is allergic to, she does great. If she eats something she's not supposed to have, she will get irritated and then inflammed ears and will need to see to a vet. For this reason, her ideal home would be one with few other animals and not a lot of people coming and going. Our vet feels that this will reduce the chances of her eating something she's not supposed to.

Her adopters have to be extremely diligent about what "passes her lips." Nothing can be left on the counter, trash cans should be secure, etc. She is a hound and has a great nose so can easily sniff out any crumbs you might have missed and is smart enough to figure out ways to get into anything that's not fully secure. We will provide her adopter with a copy of her allergy test results. She also definitely needs her ears cleaned once a week.

If you meet Marilyn, please keep in mind that she is very shy at first. She is SUPER sweet and loves people and when she feels at home she is very spry - she loves to run up and down the hall and through the yard, and always has a little smile on her face. But she can act very reserved at adoption events. She is a GREAT dog and will warm up quickly (my mother just watched her for me and she did fine there) but when you meet her you might not see her personality right off the bat. She really is a sweet, happy girl but needs to feel at home in her environment before she starts coming out of her shell. Give this sweet girl a chance and you’ll get a great companion!

Medical Information: Marilyn had an allergy panel done by one of our vets. It showed she has allergies to egg, fish, soybeans, duck, oat, milk, wheat and rice. Her regular food cannot contain any of these ingredients. She will need a special diet. Her foster is feeding her Natural Balance Limited Ingredient, Grain Free Turkey and Potato.

General Information about Hounds
All of the dogs listed below belong to the collection of dogs referred to as Hound Dogs. As implied by its name Hound Dogs have been bred to chase (or hound) a quarry by sight or smell, or a combination of both senses. Sighthounds have exceptional eyesight, combined with the speed and stamina necessary to catch the intended prey once seen, typical examples being the Greyhound and the Whippet. Hounds which rely strongly on the sense of smell to follow the trail of a prey, such as the Bloodhound, quite literally follow their noses, speed and eyesight is of less importance.

Characteristics and features have been introduced and strengthened by breeding from animals who already demonstrated the desired traits. Breeding for appearance was only introduced in the 19th Century. Before this time dogs and puppies were bred to increase useful abilities and traits helpful for the duties they were intended for. Thus, the various hound breeds were initially introduced to help man according to specific requirements such as hunting and running, flushing out and driving game, vermin hunting, guard duties and tracking.

In this day and age only a few hounds still undertake these tasks, but nevertheless, they still harbour the skills and characteristics that made the original Whippet dog breeding program successful. The Hound Breed Group of dogs differ in that some hunt by scent and others by sight. Many hounds are kept in packs, in outdoor kennels. Any dogs and puppies belonging to the Hound breeds require a significant amount of exercise as they have high stamina levels suitable for hunting quarry. There are some breeds in this group who make a distinctive ' baying ' sound - invaluable information should be considering puppies.