Hi there and welcome!
I can give you our puppy experience...Rocky is 11 weeks old and we have had him for 4 weeks now. It's been a blast! The first night was really tough...first night away from his siblings and mom, and he cried a lot and I do believe we were up every hour or two. The good news is that it didn't last long! He was first in the crate in our room, and the 3rd night we tried him down in the living room, his usual spot, and he had us up twice in the night. His last pee was around 11pm, he then had me up between 1:30-2:30, and then hubby heard him next sometime between 4 and 5. He did give us a bit of a hard time about going back in the crate after the middle of the night visits and hubby ended up spending the rest of the night on the sofa a few times. I would sit on the floor nearby until he fell asleep again. We left the radio on for him for the first week. Now, he typically goes out around 11 still and hubby is getting up closer to 5-5:30am, sometimes 6! Hubby brings him up after he's been out, I get a few enthusiastic face licks and the we sleep until my alarm goes off! Then I send him to wake the kids (mine are 10 and 11), by the time we come down it's 7-7:15 and he's then let out again.
Play time and exercise...very important! For chewing I got him a variety of toys...Kong, stuffed animal, Nylabone, sqeaky toy, toss and floss rope toy, and he loves papertowel tubes! This way, depending on what he's chewing on in the house, I can correct him and substitute for a similar texture...ie chewing on wood chair legs, he get's the Nylabone. It's working really well and he loves his stuffies and rope toy!
Training is going well, and everyone is doing well in using the same commands that I have started with him. If he starts getting into too many things, and I don't have the time to sit and play (like as we're getting ready to go in the morning) I tether him to my waist. Works like a charm! So far the only almost casualty has been the starp on a fairly new pair of my shoes...hubby and kids weren't paying attention to him! He's currently very interested in the recycling bins....
Oh, and housebreaking....for the most part he goes to the door and will sometimes paw to let us know. There's been a lot of piddle accidents on the carpet (I use Nature's Miracle) but it's just a cheapie so I don't really care, and if we aren't paying attention he will poop. They key is always being aware of where he's at. During the day my son comes home on his lunch break to let him out if no one else is around (the school is a 2 minute walk from here). Rocky is home in his crate for 4 hours in the morning, and the kids are home from school 2 hours after my son goes back at lunch time. I am home 15 mins after them.
Rocky is our first Beagle, and he is actually part of an oops litter of 4 from our very dear friend's dogs. We know his parents, so we have a pretty good idea of what his temperament could be like. So far, so good! Oh, I should mention that we have 2 year old kittens...endless amusement for the pup!
So that's my experience so far...hope it will help you some in your decision making!
I can give you our puppy experience...Rocky is 11 weeks old and we have had him for 4 weeks now. It's been a blast! The first night was really tough...first night away from his siblings and mom, and he cried a lot and I do believe we were up every hour or two. The good news is that it didn't last long! He was first in the crate in our room, and the 3rd night we tried him down in the living room, his usual spot, and he had us up twice in the night. His last pee was around 11pm, he then had me up between 1:30-2:30, and then hubby heard him next sometime between 4 and 5. He did give us a bit of a hard time about going back in the crate after the middle of the night visits and hubby ended up spending the rest of the night on the sofa a few times. I would sit on the floor nearby until he fell asleep again. We left the radio on for him for the first week. Now, he typically goes out around 11 still and hubby is getting up closer to 5-5:30am, sometimes 6! Hubby brings him up after he's been out, I get a few enthusiastic face licks and the we sleep until my alarm goes off! Then I send him to wake the kids (mine are 10 and 11), by the time we come down it's 7-7:15 and he's then let out again.
Play time and exercise...very important! For chewing I got him a variety of toys...Kong, stuffed animal, Nylabone, sqeaky toy, toss and floss rope toy, and he loves papertowel tubes! This way, depending on what he's chewing on in the house, I can correct him and substitute for a similar texture...ie chewing on wood chair legs, he get's the Nylabone. It's working really well and he loves his stuffies and rope toy!
Training is going well, and everyone is doing well in using the same commands that I have started with him. If he starts getting into too many things, and I don't have the time to sit and play (like as we're getting ready to go in the morning) I tether him to my waist. Works like a charm! So far the only almost casualty has been the starp on a fairly new pair of my shoes...hubby and kids weren't paying attention to him! He's currently very interested in the recycling bins....
Oh, and housebreaking....for the most part he goes to the door and will sometimes paw to let us know. There's been a lot of piddle accidents on the carpet (I use Nature's Miracle) but it's just a cheapie so I don't really care, and if we aren't paying attention he will poop. They key is always being aware of where he's at. During the day my son comes home on his lunch break to let him out if no one else is around (the school is a 2 minute walk from here). Rocky is home in his crate for 4 hours in the morning, and the kids are home from school 2 hours after my son goes back at lunch time. I am home 15 mins after them.
Rocky is our first Beagle, and he is actually part of an oops litter of 4 from our very dear friend's dogs. We know his parents, so we have a pretty good idea of what his temperament could be like. So far, so good! Oh, I should mention that we have 2 year old kittens...endless amusement for the pup!
So that's my experience so far...hope it will help you some in your decision making!
