Sneak preview of upcoming novel.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
PuppiesHere are the puppies I told y'all about. One of them's going to be mine.
1:22 PM #
Comments:
Those look like the cutest puppies EVER. If you get one, please post lots of pictures of it--a weekly photo or something. I'm seriously going to go stare at that picture until I pass out from cute overload.# posted by
Jeffytown, USA : 2:10 PM
Dearest Gwen,
As your cyberfriend, I am going to tell you about George the beagle. (Those are beagle pups, right? otherwise, never mind). George the beagle lived in a yard behind our house. He was very cute. However, George HOWLED almost incessantly. When we complained (I was friends with the kids so I bitched about it constantly to them), they'd say "That's just how beagles are. They howl."
I have never forgotten those words and everytime I see a cute beagle puppy that I want to take home with me, an inner voice whispers "Future howler. Future howler."
Of course, YOUR puppy probably would never ever howl. George was probably horribly neglected. He was outside most of the time, after all. But maybe you could ask the breeders about the howling? Do they provide some sort of howl insurance?
I really don't want to be bumming you out, but I felt compelled to share that.
# posted by
Tanya : 3:52 PM
beagle/bassets looks like. Them are some big ears! I grew up with these dogs--we never had less than five at a time. (I also lived in the country and didn't wear shoes from May until August, but that's not important right now).
Some** beagles do howl--actually, it's more of a "harrooooo" than a "howl" but whatever. It's a hunting instinct thing--they're very easily stimulated. Keeping them inside helps a lot but some of them will just do it when you turn on the dishwasher. They can't help it, it's hard-wired. The cuteness is designed to counter-balance the howl. That is my theory.
**please note though that while most beagles have the howl gene, some never do. You could get lucky.
# posted by
Stinkydog : 4:41 PM
Jeffytown: Okay. I will.
Tanya: My Internet friend, you haven't been following along. Those are my kids' puppies. They live with my kids' dad, who is my ex-husband. I'm buying a house. My ex-husband told my kids that he can't afford their puppies anymore, and they will never see said puppies again... UNLESS their mom takes one of them to her new house.
(Here's the secret part: I'm not a dog person, and ex-husband knows this.)
(I've never met a dog I didn't like, I should say. But I would never buy a dog on my own.)
Thank you, though, for the heads up. Believe me - I've thought about the howling, in addition to the pooping.
Stinkydog: Thank you for the thin strand of hope. :)
I asked the kids about it and they said the parents only howl once in a long while. When I visited the puppies, they got visibly excited but didn't howl or even bark. But, yeah... I'm trying to face the fact that they'll probably howl.
I don't know, man. Maybe I should just call ex-husband's bluff and tell the kids I'm not taking any puppies to our new home.
:(
# posted by
Gwen : 4:47 PM
you probably won't appreciate this piece of advice, but... if you *do* get one? get two. Two puppies are actually easier than one. More self-entertaining--keep each other company, etc.
I would laugh at the person who would say 3 are even better, though. (from the person who has 8..)
good luck!
# posted by
Stinkydog : 5:00 PM
Man, after you take one, could I have the others?
Just kidding - Rudy's enough (he's bassett hound/beagle; we call him a "bagel", and only howls on command as a trick.) But he is the world's finest dog, too....hopefully your pup will be the second finest.
# posted by
White Trasherati : 5:05 PM
I want to pick up each one of those puppies and kiss them right on the mouth. Which is to say I think they are TOTALLY CUTE. How will you ever pick just one?
# posted by
Nyarly : 7:02 PM
What! Your only taking one?
# posted by
Janice : 8:59 PM
My beagle only howls when he wants in. And when a siren goes by.
He is awesome and yours will be too!
# posted by
Nancy : 10:15 PM
Oh, man. Thanks, you guys. When I saw all these comments, I thought for sure they were going to be from Pet Nazis telling me not to get the dog(s).
I've told the kids that we need to take two. They'd already gone through the excruciating arguments on whose puppy we were supposed to take. (Each of my three kids have their "own.") So they decided it would be Josh's puppy, and Dallas was sad that it wasn't his. (And Rory's puppy got promised to a cousin, and Rory luckily doesn't seem to mind, but he does keep reminding me that I said we'd get a cat.)
So I told them to tell their dad we want both Josh's and Dallas's puppies. Because, yeah - I totally agree that it's cruel to have the one dog and then leave it by itself all day. Pets need friends.
I'm so glad to have so many helpful, friendly dog people posting, you guys. I'm sure I'll be asking for advice.
Oh, and White Trasherati: My friend Letty says her friend has a beagle who howls on command, too.
# posted by
Gwen : 10:29 PM
You are absolutely right to take two of them. I have a beagle that lives next to me. My nickname for him is Howler. Sweet dog, loud mouth. He has been 1000x over the last 6 months since his owners got him a friend. He used to howl all the time because he was bored out of his skull in the backyard. Now, he only howls when something is wrong or he really wants to be let in.
I think my favorite event was when he started baying at the bathroom lights in the house next to him when he was bored and lonely.
# posted by
Shannon Bow : 11:34 PM
My (new) dog Paco is a bluetick beagle mix - he's mostly beagle, but maybe has some pointer in him, too. He NEVER howls. Well, okay, like twice, when he really wanted to go play with another dog, but almost never. He occasionally whines when we leave him, but never for long. He's a sweet, awesome dog.
What he does do is want to chew everything, so you might want to doggie-proof your house a bit. And have your kids run around with him because tired beagles are obedient beagles.
Anyway the puppies are totally adorable and I think it's great that you're getting two of them. Now that you'll have a house it'll be perfect - kids, dogs, and houses go together.
If you need any training help or whatever, I grew up with dogs and Paco was the opposite of trained when we got him and is doing pretty good now, so I fancy myself an expert.
# posted by
kate : 9:07 AM
Those puppies are adorable and how smart to take two!!! Two are better!!
How exciting!!
*but Gwen I missed the part about what happened to that other cat you had???? I thought you had a cat? or a wild kitten. But if you had a cat you wouldnt have a rat huh? so what happened to that cat?
# posted by
pixielyn : 9:33 AM
We have Tippy, a beagle/Jack Russell mix; he's beagle from the neck down, but his face is all Jack Russell. We love love love him!
Taking 2 of the puppies was a fabulous idea, and although there are going to be crappy (literally) days, I think you'll do fine. Tippy doesn't howl at all, but he chews on EVERYTHING. Some hints:
1. Get covered laundry baskets/hampers or learn to leave your bedroom doors shut; Tippy has eaten approximately 23 socks, and the crotches only out of one pair of my (dirty, ewwww) undies and 2 pairs of pajama pants.
2. Get lots lots LOTS of chew toys, and use them to get the pups to let go of the socks, shoes, paper, used tissues, or anything else they are chewing on instead of their toys.
3. Seriously, get ready to have some of your favorite stuff chewed up or put it away, because the one thing you don't want the dog(s) to eat? They will if they can get at it.
4. From puppy class: Get yourself a newspaper and roll it up tightly, holding it together with several rubber bands. Every time the dog(s) pee in the house, chew something they shouldn't have, or do some other awful doggy thing, take the rolled up newspaper and smack yourself in the head repeatedly, saying "Why did I leave my puppy unsupervised?" Works like a charm!
# posted by
Jennaratrix : 12:14 PM
Yay! I think dogs are like kids. Even if you don't care that much for other people's, you love your own like crazy.
I'm writing with another small beam of hope about the howling issue. I don't have a beagle, but I have a Portuguese water dog, a breed that's notorious for their insanely loud, piercing bark. And our dog, Dobbs, hardly barks at all. Nope, not even that time someone broke into our house while we were all sleeping and stole our laptop. So there's hope (in the form of a mixed blessing) for your dogs.
All we did (not that I'm sure this is the reason for Dobbs's non-barking preference) to discourage the barking was to ignore it when he was a puppy. As hard as that is to do, we read that if you try to soothe a barking puppy, you accidentally send the message that you're encouraging the behaviour. And if you yell at a barking puppy to shut up, you're sending the message that it's time for everyone to yell and bark! Together!
If you want a really good book on dog training that explains everything in terms of understanding how dogs think (because of course, they use dog logic, not people logic, and the two are often diametrically opposed), I recommend The Art of Raising a Puppy. It isn't just helpful, it's also really interesting.
# posted by
Doppelganger : 12:57 PM
D'oh! I'm up to date now!
I love the advice from Jennaratrix re the newspaper!
Having been the naysayer, let me add that we have a little Yorkie who is the calmest dog ever. Every other Yorkie I'd been around was hyper and yappy but not our little Max. So the breed doesn't always stick to the stereotype. Sorry for the "profiling."
# posted by
Tanya : 3:36 PM
Shannon: Aw. That makes me sad. But at least he got a friend eventually.
Kate: Dude, I am totally going to ask you everything. My first question is going to be, "How do you keep dogs from pooping in the house, especially if they were previously outside dogs?"
PixieL: You mean Smeagol. Basically, he decided that he needed to go outside whether we wanted him to or not. Later, he decided one of my neighbors gave out better cat food than I did. When I moved, he decided to stay with her. (I knew which neighbor it was. She was nice.) Next time I'm getting a girl cat, because they don't cheat on you like that.
Jennaratrix: Oh my gosh, you had me going with the newspaper thing. Yeah, I've always thought that was vicious and counterproductive.
Man, I do not want the dogs to eat my clothing...
Doppel: Good advice. I'm buying that book asap.
Tanya: Thank you. I'm hoping that, as long as we treat them well, they should be pretty chilled out. Even though I'm not a dog person, I was always pretty good with my cousin's and ex-husband's (outside) dogs. I think I'm naturally like that guy the Dog Whisperer. Dogs look at me and say, "That bitch is definitely the leader of the pack. I'd better do what she says."
# posted by
Gwen : 3:43 PM
Oh, Gwen, teaching an outside dog not to poop inside is EASY. I swear.
There are basically two ways. Crate-training is the way most experts recommend, and can also save you from chewing problems. Basically, it involves keeping the dogs in a crate when they can not be supervised. If the crate is the right size, the dog will not go to the bathroom in it (unless he just can’t hold it) because they don’t like to mess up their “den”. Experts will tell you, at length, that dogs don’t mind be kept in a crate, it works with their den instinct.
I didn’t use a crate, because my dog hates it and because personally I’m not in love with it despite the expert advice. And it isn't great for little puppies. How old are they, by the way? So this is the other way. But if you want to hear more about how to do it the crate way, let me know and I’ll send you an email detailing how it works.
The other, non-crate training way is:
1. If you catch them before they go, when they're getting into the poop position: Distract the hell out of them and hurry them outside, preferably by carrying them. Wait outside with them until they go. Once they go, give them a treat and make a big deal about what an excellent dog they are, which much praise.
2. If you catch them in the process: Say "No" in a deep and stern voice, and try to distract them (clapping, or making a noise, or physically shifting their body in a gentle way), so they’ll stop mid-process. And then hurry them outside (if you pick up a peeing dog, he will probably stop peeing. A pooping dog will stop with just a little bit of distraction). Then wait till they do it outside and praise effusively.
3. If you catch them after the fact: Clean it up and get over it.
Feed them at regularly scheduled times so you can predict when they’ll need to go to the bathroom (dogs generally need to go to the bathroom after eating, exercising, and sleeping). That way, you can take them for a walk. And praise them whenever they go outside. Once they understand that the praise and treats only come if they do their business outside, they’ll pick it up super quick. And then you can phase out the treats and go with praise only.
Also, puppies can hold it basically one hour for each month that they're age is. So a five month old puppy can hold it (pee, that is) for about five hours.
This is the short (hah!) comments version, but if you want the long email version, let me know.
# posted by
kate : 4:12 PM
Okay, my grammar in that post is APPALLING so I want assure you that I do, in fact, know better.
# posted by
kate : 4:17 PM
Late to the game, but I just have to say my parents have a beagle (so cute! so sweet! so smart!) and although my cousin tries, repeatedly, to "teach" the dog to howl...she cocks her head, twitches her ears, and then goes to get him a toy. Ha!
# posted by
usually_vulgar : 12:30 PM
I'll put in a word for crate-training; Tippy was a rescue dog, and we didn't think it would work because the trick is to NOT associate the crate with bad things. But, we finally got sick of cleaning up pee and crap, so we tried it and Tippy loves his crate.
We put him in it at night (in our bedroom) and praise the heck out of him when he goes in on his own, which he now does. BTW, Tippy is about 9 months old, we got him when he was 5 months. We also put him in it during our dinner so he doesn't beg, and whenever we aren't going to be home. He goes right in, doesn't even whine anymore, and has never once soiled in his crate. It helped with housetraining, too, because he had to learn to hold it.
What Kate said is dead on as far as some dogs not liking it and it not being a good idea for little puppies, but it has worked very well for us, and I'm also happy to answer any questions.
# posted by
Jennaratrix : 12:37 PM
Kate, Your method brings to mind the story my mom always tells at the most embarrassing times, about how I was potty trained by age ONE. Basically, they just sat me on the toilet at regular intervals just like you describe for the puppy. (Is this too gross? I DO have a point.) ahem, My point is, it was the grown-ups who got trained. I think it's the same with dogs: they have to train YOU about when they need to be let out.
(BTW, my mom says that my brother still wasn't potty-trained at two and a half; our housekeeper/babysitter offered to train him "in one day." My mom says when she got home from work that night he was potty-trained. She didn't ask HOW the woman did it. And yes, he is pretty much a lunatic now.)
# posted by
Tanya : 12:45 PM
Beagles are wonderful dogs. They make great family pets. We started out with one, our bluetick, she's
beautiful...Well I thought one would be enough, but we started looking online....and we saw all the rescue sites...so many beagles, esp the older rescue ones...Hardly anybody wants an old one, everybody wants a puppy...not me....training our puppy was alot of work, apparently beagles can be difficult to train...as much as I love her, I didn't want to do it again...Rescue beagles can come with their own set of problems, but we figured we could get through that a little easier then with a pup.....We went to an adoption day and found an older beagle, she looked so sweet and pathetic at the same time...We brought her home, cleaned her up and had our vet check her out. Her only serious problem was her teeth.
One of the people from the rescue said to us as we left, "you'll be back for another one" I looked at her like she had 2 heads thinking are you crazy? Then a year later we took our rescued beagle back for a visit, and decided to become fosters.....Well our 2nd rescue has turned into our 3rd beagle...We're hooked! Both rescues took their cues for house-training from the #1 beagle, she was the best teacher!
Beagles are the best, they have great personalities. The most important thing is they should have a fenced yard and always be on a leash. There are exceptions, but I wouldn't take the chance.
BEAGLES--betcha can't just have one! Put a little hound in your heart!
# posted by
BeagleMomof3 : 8:28 AM
Post a Comment
