Wednesday 12 November 2014

Becoming a Beagle Mom...



Growing up, I always had cats. As much as I loved them to pieces and still do, I always yearned to have a dog. I didn’t really think about a breed, that was until I met my now ‘Godbeagles’ and then I was totally and utterly hooked...thanks to our best friends!

Leia, Otto and Labri (or L.O.L. Pack, as they are affectionately known) were the sweetest and cuddliest doggies I had ever met: 
Otto , Leia and Labri - a.k.a. L.O.L. Pack
I had not experienced them growing up and so I really didn’t believe all the ‘beagles are devils in disguise’ thing. I mean come on, with those faces and puppy dog eyes, to me they could do NO wrong...! I was warned otherwise though and so in preparation for the ‘onslaught’, I bought myself two books - Beagles for Dummies and The Beagle Handbook.

It took a good few years before my now Hubby and I were settled enough to get our own beagle kids and so I had plenty of time to do my homework - so to speak! Well, let me tell you, no amount of homework can actually prepare you for a beagle, that’s for sure!

When it came to getting our first beagle child, we decided to get a puppy and not an adult. (In future, I will definitely only adopt, though!). We wanted to enjoy the whole experience of owing a pup together and so we found our little Ollie boy and we brought him home on 24th July 2012. 

© Pawgeous 2014
The day we brought our Ollie home - cute huh!
We were (and still are!) totally in love with this little bundle of fur. He was totally spoilt before we even got him and so he had a ton of toys and things to keep him busy but the FIRST thing he did when we brought him home, was chew our brand new rug. It’s funny though, even though we had just brought this little dude into our lives, we loved him so much already that the rug didn’t really seem to matter and we soon just rolled it up, put it away and learned to live without it. All things material that we would have freaked out over before we got him, became so immaterial. He ate my slops, my work, our socks, TV remote, tissues and various other things that he shouldn’t of, but we learned that if we didn’t want it eaten, we had to put our stuff away!! (OK, we had been forewarned about this ‘Beagle Rule No. 1’, clearly we didn’t listen!!)
Having gotten Ollie Boo (he now has several names...Ollie Boo, Ollie Banana, Ollie Wally Banana Boy, Ollabaloo, Boogaloo) in winter, he was SUCH  a snuggle bug and it was great having him snuggle up to us on the sofa, the bed, ON our feet in the kitchen... However, we realised we had broken Beagle Rule No. 2 and let him rule the sofa and our bed.
He now owns our (his) bed and our (his) sofa...along with his sister Zoe.

Yes, we couldn’t just have one naughty beagle – we had to get another one. Beagles, being pack dogs, love company and we couldn’t bear leaving him on his own anymore when we went out, so on 11th January 2013, we brought home Zoe-Minnie. My Grandma had died that month and so in honour of her, we gave Zoe my Grandma’s middle name.  She also joined the silly name club and goes by various names such as Zozo, Zozo Bean, Yo-Yo, Beanyboo, Fattybean...

© Pawgeous 2014
Our little Zoe pup giving us the 'Puppy Eyes'.

Zoe is THE funniest little thing. She brings a ton of humour to our lives every day with her silly beagle ways. She jumps about like a jumping bean and makes THE cutest sighing noises when she is trying to get to sleep – and she LOVES to sleep. Ollie is like the Duracell bunny – always full of energy! (I wish I had some of it!!) He comes and lets me know when he’s bored and paws me as if to say ‘Get off your butt and come and play Ma!’. Despite his energy, he is still a snuggle bunny and also chief tissue chomper. Although he is slowly weaning himself off of this habit...thankfully.

O and Zo, as we call them, adore each other. They share lots of beagle facials and snuggles, manic games of tug and then they do what I call ‘the steam train’... They race like mad things around the lounge, through the dog flap, around the garden and back in again. Muddy paws and all. Our household is never short of entertainment with these two around...that’s for sure!


So, in short, just a few tips if you plan to own a beagle:

  1. Your stuff is their stuff – if you don’t want it chewed, eaten or buried forever - PUT IT AWAY
  2. Your sofa and bed will become their sofa and bed – unless you decide otherwise
  3.  Your beautiful garden is their sandpit – prepare for some beagle landscaping
  4. Your private space will never be private again – so prepare to pee with an audience
  5. They will never really respond to their proper names, you’re better of just renaming them No, Off, Down, Cookie.
  6. Be prepared for a life with a dash of chaos, a bucket full of fun and a TON of love...

Looking at the list above, I have to giggle. I wouldn’t change them for the world.
I love them completely, madness and all...

© Pawgeous 2014
My Pawgeous snuggle bunnies...


Until next time, keep calm and love your dogs!
Kez

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