How I am Doing...straight from the beagle's mouth

Day 75: I just realized how different things are for me these days. I seem to be fully house trained - I know I am supposed to do all my potty business in the yard, not in the house. Unless MaMala is gone a really long time without Rachel coming to let us out in the yard (which pretty much never happens) I can wait for the next trip outside and I do.
I also eat with the other dogs now; I'm not sacred of every little noise or every time MaMala makes   a move so I can keep eating even with the other dogs bumping into me and MaMala doing stuff in the kitchen. So I clean my plate and even lick their dishes when they're done. Not that any of us leave much; we're all beagles after all!
Sometimes at night I sit at one end of the couch while MaMala sits at the other end. She usually leaves me alone, so sometimes I will sneak up and sniff her hand or lick it, if I am feeling especially bold. When Jimmy is here I like to curl up on his feet because they smell very interesting. And they are almost as big as me. I let him pet me too because he knows I like the pets but can't always make myself sit still when people get too close.
I let Rachel come up and pet me: she always goes slow and never puts her hand over the top of my head. For some reason that makes me really scared. Rachel always rubs me under the chin, which is pretty nice.
But my favorite new skill is taking treats from MaMala's hand (and Rachel's and Jimmy's and Siobhan's and Matt's) and... well if it's a salmon treat and we're in the house and they stay pretty calm, from all of them. I REALLY like salmon treats and kibble and canned food and...well, anything salmon. That is also a new skill: knowing what SALMON is!!!!!! I like that one a lot!

MaMala goes away

Day 63: QT here. MaMala went away with JT and Mibs for 5 whole days. She left us here at the house with Jimmy and The Dog Walker. It was pretty much like it is when MaMala goes to work except she wasn't here at night to take us up to her room to sleep. we like going to MaMala's room because there are 5 cave beds in it.  Toirin and Bridget usually sleep inside the cave beds, Sid starts under MaMala's bed then usually ends up in his cave bed the rest of the night. I like it under the bed but I usually sleep in the corner behind one of the cave beds. The beds are nice but it's summer time - too warm to sleep inside with that fleece lining. Kaya sleeps on top of her cave bed, which always makes MaMala laugh.
Jimmy slept on the couch while MaMala was gone; one night he was so tired after a day of working outside that he fell asleep sitting up on the chair and a half. I woke him up by licking his feet because the little black box he holds to his ear and talks to was making a loud noise and I didn't like it. He ran around like a crazy person, then left for work.
We got into some trouble because Toirin figured out how to open the dog gate with his big paw or his big nose - he is very talented. And someone (I have been sworn to secrecy) peed in the house a couple of times. One of us got sick too, but that could happen to anybody. Other than that, it was life as usual.
But boy, did we go crazy when MaMala and JT and Mibsy came home! We spent almost all Wednesday evening in the back yard playing and running around and having fun. And we got to sleep in MaMala's room!!!! Toirin deserted us and slept with Mibsy; that's his daddy.
Thursday we got in trouble again. The men came and opened the pool and MaMala was doing something called "backwashing" all day long. There was a lot of really interesting smelling stuff coming out in the water and we all kind of rolled in it. Well, I guess there's no kind of about it: we rolled, we stunk. MaMala was NOT pleased with us. Jimmy almost got sick because he was eating his dinner when we came in the house. If there was only one of us it might not be so bad, but there were four smelly beagles in the house. Of course the princess, Bridget, did not participate in our shenanigans.
The trouble we got into was we had to get baths. NONE of us likes being wet, so that was not fun at all. I may think twice before I roll in something stinky again. Maybe.
Here is a picture of all of us that Rachel, the Dog walker, took of us this week. Sid was busy smelling himself so you can't see his face. But that's my pack: Sid smelling his old self, with Toirin right behind him. I am way in the back, with Bridget right in front of me. That is Kaya looking back at me. That little pink pig on the floor? Toirin ate him later that day so no more pig to play with. He pulled the stuffing out of my little brown rabbit too. Sheesh!

Weekend in the backyard

Day 51: We spent most of this weekend outside. It was sunny and nice...and in the morning there were lots of smells to bark at. Poor MaMala! We do like going outside and making noise! While we were tracking and tending to our business in the yard, MaMala was working really hard. She cut the grass, although we have to stay inside when she's on that big red machine. It's LOUD! Toirin hates being inside when the people are outside and he pulled some papers off the table and tore them up. MaMala got mad and told him he was mischievous and spoiled. Like that was news to anyone or something.She cut all the weeds in front of the walls and out by the road with that yellow stick thing that makes a lot of noise. And she pulled up green stuff from between the stones in the walk. She was really busy! We were taking naps in the shade, chasing flies and bees, barking at the cats next door  and following whatever scent we could find. Some of us were also eating poop, but not me. Gross. Apparently certain beagles (Kaya) think it's a delicacy.

Rabbits

Day 47: This morning when MaMala let us out Sid and Toirin went crazy! At 4am they were racing around the yard, sniffing and yipping and, eventually, barking. Really loud. THERE WERE RABBITS IN THE YARD! And a great scent trail too. Poor MaMala! She was going nuts since the neighbors probably don't want to hear us singing at 4am. Bridget, always a suck up, went right about her business and went back in the house. Kaya was too interested in eating Bridget's poop so she didn't join. I followed the boys but didn't make a sound. Eventually MaMala came out with leashes and treats. Toirin got caught and taken in. I followed them in; Sid stayed outside for a long time but he did stop barking. Poor MaMala. Toirin never took care of his business outside so he peed in the kitchen. MaMala just shook her head and said "beagles!" while she cleaned it up but you can tell she wasn't really mad. And that she loves us lots even when we act like hounds. Maybe especially then. She let us out again a couple of hours later, before she left for work. I guess the scent lifted because there was no excitement...

Toirin's Great Adventure

Day 43 - Apparently when MaMala puts her yard shoes by the back door, she expects them to be there when she wants them. But I like having them with me on the chaise while she is at work. I can put stuff in them, like the nylabone or an antler or a stuffed pig. And they smell like MaMala but I don't have to worry about them trying to pet me or touch me or put me on a leash. Of course, they can't give me treats like MaMala can either.
I heard MaMala talking to someone with that little pink thing near her ear. Toirin got out of his yard yesterday when the Old Woman he and his daddy live with forgot there was no fence behind the vegetable garden and left the gate to the garden open. I am so happy that a nice boy found him at the park and took him to the vet. Since Toirin has a chip they were able to call his daddy to come get him. Now everybody is worried about it happening again. I guess the Old Woman is 92 years old (wow, that is O-L-D, since Bridget is almost 12 and she is ancient) and doesn't always remember to watch out for Toirin, especially when she is doing something else. I guess she was cutting her grass when this happened. So Toirin might come to stay for awhile. That will be fun for me, but I bet Kaya won't be so excited. He really drives her nuts with his barking; she gets right up in his face and BARKS as loud as she can. It doesn't really work because he thinks she is playing with him and so he keeps right on barking. Bridget's snarl and snap approach is a lot more effective. Sid just joins in. Then MaMala gets her little squirt bottle and sprays them with water; that works too! For 5 minutes.

Eating right from the hand that feeds you

Day 36 - I made MaMala really happy today. I feel like it's okay to take treats from her hand when the other dogs do. And so I did. You know what I figured out? If I take it right from MaMala's fingers, the other dogs (and by other I mean Toirin and Sid) don't snatch it off the floor before I can get it. That is very important when we are talking about SALMON TREATS, the most delicious thing in the world.
I'm still trying to get comfortable with the idea of letting someone pet me when I am resting on the sofa though. That's my relaxation time and I still don't know how Bridget and the rest of them can roll over and let a person rub their bellies. They do it all the time and seem to like it; maybe I'll give it a try. Some day. Probably not today. Or tomorrow, for that matter...

Touched by QT

Day 32 - well, I really surprised myself today. I think I surprised Toirin's daddy too. When Mibsy came downstairs this morning, I was so excited because I knew that meant we would get to go out in the yard. I ran up to him AND I TOUCHED HIS FINGER WITH MY NOSE!!!!! ALL BY MYSELF!!! I surprised myself so much I had to go hide on the couch in my favorite corner. Mibsy was so excited he was dancing around the room singing "QT touched my finger, QT touched my finger" over and over again. I cannot believe I was that brave. Toirin says Mibsy is a softy and the nicest daddy ever, so maybe I shouldn't feel so proud of myself. But I do!