Getting a beagle puppy :)

awatkins

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We're getting a beagle puppy this weekend! He's a blue tick--black and white with a little bit of brown. There are black (blue) spots on the white parts (that's what makes him a blue-tick). He's really cute! Gotta puppy-proof the house now and go shopping for puppy stuff before he gets here. Oh, yeah, and call the vet to make an appointment for the first check-up and stuff.

I'll try to post some pics next week. :)

By the way, this time next week I'll probably be a basket case, between the puppy and the two interested parrots. Pancho already does a great imitation of a whining puppy and I'm sure he'll respond to any puppy noises. This should be fun. *groan*
 

TheIT

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Congrats on your new pet!

My aunt had a beagle when I was little. The name escapes me at the moment, but what I remember about the dog was lying on my back in the hallway with this puppy on my chest enthusiastically licking my face. I think I was about five years old at the time and probably had been eating something sweet.

Good luck!
 

awatkins

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Thanks, y'all. And I'll give him a tummy rub for you, OFG. :)

I'm kind of nervous. There hasn't been a puppy in the family for nearly 15 years so I'm reading up on puppy training and stuff. Can't wait to start shopping for him!
 

TheIT

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I've never owned a dog so I can't really help you, but if it's anything like proofing the house for cats, I'd suggest getting everything nice off the floor.

Maybe earmuffs for the parrots so they can't hear the puppy? :D

What's the puppy's name?
 

awatkins

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His name is Darby. We picked out the name before we decided which puppy we wanted! LOL

And, yeah, I already thought about all the things I'm going to have to move. For one thing, those shelves of books that I really don't want to get 'dog eared'. ;)
 

IHeartWriting

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LOL -- My senegal does a dead on impression of the phone ringing -- drives me NUTS!

Thank goodness my dog doesn't whine because I'm sure the bird would pick that up too.

Good luck!
 

veinglory

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Congrats! beagles are one of my favorite dogs, but you can't skimp on the puppy obediance training given those hunting instincts (running off after scents and barking, oh my God, the barking!) ;)
 

MidnightMuse

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PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!

PuppiesPuppiesPuppies! I just loooove puppies :D

Okay, sure, you're only getting ONE, but it sounds better to dance around saying PUPPIES!!!!!

I demand posted photos. DE-MAND :D
 

oarsman

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Congratulations! A new puppy!! Good luck with the new parrot whining and yelping sounds. I'm sure you'll be able to tune it all out.
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Purina has a puppy care program you might be interested in...you get a $2 coupon on puppy chow and some puppy care tips. Here's the Purina link.
 

Haggis

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I love beagles. Be sure to get lots of chewy stuff for him to gnaw on, and a pair of earplugs for yourself. The yelping, or howling will get to you eventually, but you couldn't have a nicer dog.
 
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J. Weiland

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Beagles are sweet little dogs. Just remember that they need a lot of exercise in order not to be a pestilence when inside. :)
 

DigoryScout

Beagles!!! :snoopy:

I've got two--10 year old Scout (13" tri-color) and 2 year old Digory (15" tri). Welcome to life with a merry little hound who loves to sniff, snack, and snooze :).

Beagles are great dogs--cute, friendly, good with kids, outgoing, a manageable size, and just all-around fun. Like every breed, beagles have particular characteristics that can make them challenging at times. Again, like every breed, the more you get trained now the better off you'll be later.

There's nothing I hate more than people who give completely unsolicited advice--and lots of it--so I'll keep it short and address the three biggest issues you'll face right now: house training, chewing, and barking.

The easiest way to house train is to use crate training. If you're not familiar with crate training, I'll start by saying that it's not inhumane :D. How it works is that you get a crate (cage, wire is usually best) and when you're not watching, the pup lives in there. By instinct, dogs will not soil their beds, so even the youngest puppies will hold it while they are in their crates. Obviously you have to be vigilant about what can be expected of a small puppy as far as time-wise goes. When it's time for the pup to go outside, take him on a leash (even if you have a fenced yard, go ahead and accompany him) and when he does his thing, praise him extravagantly (a tiny treat is always a nice reward). This teaches him that when he goes outside, that's a great thing. As you're standing around waiting for him to go, pick a phrase and repeat it while the deed is done. I picked, "go potty" (which was a mistake--will explain in a sec) so while the dog is sniffing around I'm saying, "go potty! go potty! go potty!" until it happens, and then, "good potty!" This has the added bonus of training your dog to pee on command. I can't tell you how handy that is. As far as the phrase to pick--it doesn't matter what it is, but I'd recommend against, "go potty" because you look kind of stupid walking around the block or at a park or wherever saying, "go potty! go potty!" My friend used the phrase, "hurry up!" and boy, that was a good idea.

Issue #2 is chewing. Chewing is always going to be a problem. The key to curbing chewing is to prevent, distract, and deter. Prevention is obvious. Like you said, moving your books to higher levels was a very good idea. Distraction involves lots of appropriate things for the dog to chew--rawhide, Booda bones, regular bones, Nylabones, stuffed animals (don't bother with rubber squeaky toys--beagles will gleefully shred them and then run around while you're trying to get the pieces out of their mouths), rope toys, etc. Not all dogs like the same thing, so you'll need to get a variety of delicious chewing items and see how they work. Be careful with rawhide because large chunks can break off and be swallowed. Scout, Digory and I prefer Booda chewies because they're made of corn starch and just pass through the digestion system. Once you've got a chewie, then whenever you see the dog chewing something you don't want him to, distract and redirect him toward the chewie. To deter, you can never go wrong with Bitter Apple Spray. It's harmless but it tastes disgusting and they won't want to chew on the contaminated surface anymore.

#3 is barking. There are lots of barking issues and solutions, but the easiest to start out with is a squirt bottle. Beagles by nature don't like being wet all that much (there are exceptions, but in general, they don't--just wait until bath time) so a squirt bottle is usually effective for them. When the barking starts, give a command (like "quiet"--every command should have only one meaning so don't use "no" for everything) and if the barking continues (and it will) give him a squirt. Try not to shoot for his face--anywhere will usually do. They're not real fond of that. Then praise like crazy.

And I said I'd only give 3 pieces of advice but I'll add one more. Beagles in general (not all, of course) don't like their paws to be handled, so nail trims can be extremely difficult. Ideally you'll want to trim his nails at home, so start now by handling his paws a lot and touching his nails a lot. I wish I'd done a better job of this with Scout, who I got as a puppy, because we can't do it at home now and have to go to the groomer at PetSmart. But Digory--whoa boy. We got him from a rescue at age 1 and man oh man--we actually have to take him to the vet to be anesthetized for a nail trim :rolleyes:.

All right, I'll shut up now :D. If you have any questions about the cuddly beag, let me know. Like I said, beagles have some unique characteristics that make them a little different to deal with sometimes. Have fun!

Wheeee! Snoopy! :snoopy:
 

C.bronco

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I hope you have good sneakers; beagles like to run! I once dated a guy with a beagle, the latter I bailed out of the pound three times within six months. They are hard to catch!
 

DigoryScout

C.bronco said:
I hope you have good sneakers; beagles like to run! I once dated a guy with a beagle, the latter I bailed out of the pound three times within six months. They are hard to catch!
Haha--so true! :ROFL: What it comes down to is that beagles will always follow their noses without regard to things like, oh, cars or stuff. Once they get a taste of freedom and get on a scent trail, they're extremely difficult to catch up with. The bottom line is really that beagles can never be trusted off-leash if they're not in a fenced-in area.
 

veinglory

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I spent a very cold afternoon calling and calling for a beagle that was behind a shrub eating a rabbit anout 10 feet away the whole time. But when you finally do find them they corner the market on the cute "what? who, looking for me? really?" look.
 

lobiso

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Just found this thread here - Oh, I love beagles too, little buggers that they are. I rescued one in KY that was living in the woods alone for five months. Took me three months to catch her, but now she's a regular bed-bug and runs the place living with my ex. Weirdly, there was another here in NJ, same scenario, on her own for three months. She was finally captured and adopted in Aug. Advice from this - don't let her run free, but they're just the best dogs ever! Congrats!
 

awatkins

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:snoopy: Darby's here! :snoopy: I'll post pix in a day or so. He's a real little cutie pie!

Thank you all so very much for the helpful advice! I appreciate everyone for taking the time to share your ideas and experiences. :)

Right now, he's playing contentedly in his crate...got a binky, two soft (dog-safe) stuffed toys, and a rope toy. He's had a nice long nap, a meal and two trips to the yard. Just sneaked a peek at him--he's sawing logs again. lol

He loves to be snuggled and scratched under his chin and his tail wags like crazy the whole time. So far the parrot noise hasn't bothered him in the least, but he hasn't come face to face with them yet. That'll be interesting!
 

TheIT

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Glad to hear Darby's making himself at home. How are the parrots reacting to him? Have they noticed him yet?
 

Pat~

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Congratulations on your new family member! Enjoy this puppy stage; they grow up so fast. I'm curious how a parrot would sound trying to imitate a beagle howl. :)