Beagle Puppies

In all the puppy care and selecting a puppy books, there is one piece of advice they always leave out.

Don't go and look at puppies unless you plan to bring one home.

This should be emblazoned on every other page of any book about Beagles.

Our first Beagle was high energy and needy.  He quickly made himself the ruler of our domain and whined to go out several times a night.  Once out and he found the right spot, he would pace repeatedly back and forth before squatting to do his thing. This could take twenty minutes. If a car, pedestrian, or rain drop passed anywhere in his range of vision during this part of the ritual, he would have to start again.  Did I mention we lived in Seattle and it rains a lot?

We should have known better with the second one.  Just don't go and look.  He was at a shelter and only six weeks old when we first saw him.  He was so rolypoly, his legs looked shorter than his belly.  Once we got him home, we discovered that he was afraid of almost everything. A stuffed bear on the couch had him backing out of the room.  A plastic bag in the yard and he'd forget to do his business.  Then there were thunderstorms. His paranoia of those has grown worse.  Heavy rain and he paces the house whimpering.  Thunder within a hundred miles and he tries to crawl in your lap no matter where you are, couch, ladder or toilet.  An actual thunderstorm at our house and he will claw through doors seeking protection.

I suppose knowing these things wouldn't have changed our decision to take either dog home.

But I won't ever look at Beagle puppies again.