First Night Upstairs
Gosh, where to start?
First, I suppose, is the milestone of sleeping all night with the boys in our room. It’s been very cold recently and last night was supposed to be below freezing. With these tile floors, we decided the boys might get too cold during the night, since we also tend to turn down the heat a bit.
So, we let them run up and down the stairs a bit and go out and potty and snork around the bedroom and then we closed the door and that blew their minds, and then Unca Frankie took his bath which blew their minds, and then we started settling down.
Feargal spent much time wandering back and forth on the bed. He couldn’t get comfy and kept changing positions. Fred curled up on a towel in the floor. Fergus was on the bed at first. Then, gradually, Feargal banished Fergus from the bed, and I followed. I am on five high blood pressure meds and they dry me out terribly, so my snoring is god awful. I started out on the floor next to Fergus, but was getting too loud and ended up taking Fergus and the bedding into our closet.
At 2:45 a.m., Fredrik pooped and pottied on the floor. We cleaned that up and let them go out, then tried it again. Fergus and I went back to the closet, Feargal resumed control of the bed, and Fredrik eventually joined Fergus and I. The rest of the night passed uneventfully.
Feargal woke up Unca Frankie early by sticking his nose in his face and under his arm. Everybody trooped downstairs fairly early and the experiment was over. It was, all-in-all, not a bad first experience. They’ve only spent very short times upstairs, and they were very good, considering. Developmentally, Fred is still not quite there in terms of being able to hold it overnight, but will be soon. He’ll eventually figure out how to scratch at the bedroom door like he does downstairs when he wants out.
In other news, Feargal is into a total dominance kick where Fergus is concerned. There’s growling and bristling and posturing and teeth baring. Fergus doesn’t quite understand what’s going on and sometimes challenges and escalates. Mostly, he puts up with it. We can’t wait for the neutering appointment, which will hopefully put a stop to at least most, if not all, of this nonsense.
The boys have done some damage to the trim molding in the living room which will have to be replaced. So I put up sheets of tileboard to keep them from chewing the walls. It has worked so far. Besides being upset about the destruction, I was also upset to see that the molding in what is supposed to be a half-million-dollar house is … compressed cardboard. No wonder the boys loved chewing it. Unbelievable.
Contact
Here’s how to get in touch with us:
• E-Mail Feargal
• E-Mail Fergus
• E-Mail Fredrik
• E-Mail the Boys’ Daddies
Steve Pollock
Frank Lester
Feargal Murphy O’Dougal
Fergus Murphy O’Dougal
Fredrik Murphy O’Dougal
134 Wexford Street
Brentwood, CA 94513-4463
925 | 219-6511
Or use the form below to bark back at us:
About this Site
This is a website featuring our three beagle boy puppies, Feargal (which means valorous warrior), Fergus (which means strong warrior), and Fredrik (which means peaceful warrior). They are tri-colored, blue tick beagle puppies.
They were born 8-Mar-07 along with their two sisters, Jasmine and Isabel. Their mom and dad are Ginger Spice Girl and Buddy Bear Castro. They came to live with us permanently on 19-Apr-07.
Click on the “Beagles” link in the sidebar to read more about each puppy. Thanks for visiting!
Three Months Old!
I realize it’s been a while since I’ve posted. My physical condition has gone downhill this month as I’m slogging through the battery of tests thrown at me by the doctor and waiting for the magical surgery date which hasn’t materialized yet. But progress is being made, albeit very, very slowly.
The boys continue to do very well and tomorrow they will be three months old. Their heads are really turning brown now, something that has happened just in the last week. They romp and play for a couple of hours, then sleep for a couple of hours. All day long, that’s their routine. Fredrik is on the small and skinny side and we’re trying to fatten him up. Feargal is the chow hound and the big guy, the most even-tempered and the most cuddly/lovable. Fergus is pure alpha … full of energy and curiosity and did I mention energy? He’s the most vocal, too, and whines a lot to get his way. He and Fred have figured out how to bark; Feargal hasn’t found his voice yet. Feargal looks like his mom and acts like a Basset hound. I suppose he’s too cool and calm to bark yet.
We have some minor issues with the boys wanting to bite everything in sight, but we’re working on that and otherwise, they’re extremely good pups and have been really pretty trouble-free. They sleep all night long without a whimper. Although they are fed from three separate bowls, they insist on eating together (at least two of them) at one bowl before moving on to the next. Fortunately there are no food-sharing issues, like growling or fighting.
The good part of me being home the past month is that I’ve been able to spend lots of time with the boys and get them into a routine and start training them. They get to spend lots of time in the back yard running and playing and sunning themselves. They love water from the hose, digging in the garden, and chewing sticks. They’ve also begun picking the raw peaches from the tree and eating them down to the pit and then playing with the pit. I have to figure out how to raise the lowest branches above their reach. They don’t seem to have any problems digesting the peaches, but I’m surprised. I didn’t think they’d pick the fruit off the tree. I should have known better!
I’ll try to take some proper pics tomorrow and post a new gallery. In the meantime, it’s off to bed. Ah, life with puppies …
Growing … With Sticks
I’m sitting outside watching the boys playing in the gloaming … the gathering twilight of a California sunset. The very nice soft evening makes me _almost_ think this place will be tolerable for a little while longer. _Almost_ I said.
They’re growing steadily still, although I suspect Fred and Feargal are on the too-thin side, and they play and sleep with gusto. They seem very happy and well-adjusted and problems have been minor. They think that playing means growling and biteys and getting wild, which is something we’ll have to address as they get older, because they are starting to do the same thing with us as they do with each other … lots of play growling and mouthing and attitude. That’s fine for dealing with your brothers within the pack during the early months of life; it’s not okay for dealing with the peoples in the pack.
They would rather have a good stick than any of the play toys in the world. That or a leg or tail of one of their brothers. Won’t be buying any more chew toys, at least for awhile; it’s wasted money. They’re keeping the flower beds well groomed. Obviously, that presents digestive and other issues, but for now, they’re fine.
Feargal is very itchy. His sides are kinda rough. We’ve tried children’s Benadryl and anti-itch wipes, but they don’t seem to do any good. We’ll have to step things up here, since I noticed a little scabbing this evening. Feargal has the personality and physical appearance of a goofy old bassett hound. He’s the most calm and even-tempered and will be a total complete couch hound, averse to exercise, once he’s through puppy-hood.
Fergus is the most beagle-dy of the bunch and is the most robust. He itches a bit, but not much. He’s not skinny, he’s very active and energetic, and he’s also very, very, very whiney. What a whiney-ass beagle! Sounds like a rusty squeeze box when he needs attention. When he’s playing outside, he is total beagle … a bit of a spazz, really, but adorable.
Fredrik continues to be runty, not much into eating (although his piggy brothers may have more to do with that). He’s also very beagle-dy, but almost all black in color. We’ll see how much brown he actually has when he grows up. His coloring will be interesting. The vet says he would be unable to have kids, and that issue may cause us some problems in the coming months. He has matured better than I thought he would, and he certainly doesn’t take anything off his bigger brothers.
Honestly, my feelings about puppyhood haven’t changed. I hadn’t planned to do this, and probably won’t do it ever again (famous last words!). It takes gallons of patience and stamina (and odor/stain remover) to get through the first six months or so. I was glad I did it with Bayley and I’ll be glad I did it with them. But. Good lord. Can’t wait for them to grow up and be the kind of beagle Bayley was … which was wonderful companion, only occasional pain-in-the-butt, and pretty near trouble-free.
And on that subject. Granted, I’ve been diagnosed with an adrenal tumor which, among other things, causes emotional spikes (up and down). But God, I miss Bayley and am having a helluva hard time adjusting to him being gone, even though it’s been over two months. The puppies have been with us for a month as of this coming Thursday, but I’m still not adjusted to them either.
But more than the puppies is that huge hole in my heart left by Bayley Murphy Beagle. I miss him every single day and feel incredibly guilty and sad over his last two months of life. Mostly, I just miss him. I didn’t get the puppies to replace him. You can never replace someone close to you in your life. I love these three little guys … a lot. But if I could wave a magic wand and reset the clock to say, January, I’d do it in a heart beat.
I’ll get over it, to the extent that you can. And the boys will occupy a new happy place in my heart. But there was only one Bayley. And I just … simply … miss him. In the gloaming.
