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Zeke the Wonder Beagle Since the loss of OTTO, our miniature Schnauzer, Kristian has been pining away for another dog. I've been putting him off by telling him we needed to be relocated to the country before I would be willing to get another. I had already mentally picked out what I thought would be the 'perfect' dog for Kristian, a Beagle. A very loyal and easy going dog, but one with enough stamina and curiosity enough to last as long as Kristian was willing to go. But, per my reasoning, a dog like that needed open country land, not to be pinned up in some backyard in a crowded neighborhood. Well, end of October I get a new job and we're headed out of the crowded Montgomery area and moving to Florida. Back to the country, big fields, long dusty dirt roads. As soon as we found out, Kristian reminded me of my promise for a new dog when we got 'back to the country'. So I had my folks check around to see if they could find someone with a Beagle. Luckily, one of their friends had Beagles, and they had just given birth to pups. We went to check them out and Kristian picked out a fine looking male and right away named him Zeke. It would be 24 Nov before he was old enough to get, but that time came pretty quickly and Kristian paid his $50 and took the puppy home. He has huge floppy ears and huge feet (for a dog his size). First visit to the Vet and Zeke weighs 3.5 lbs and is 6 weeks old. He's been living inside since it's winter, but when he gets older and the nights warm up a bit, he'll become more of a outside dog, out doors during the day, sleeping at night in the utility room off the carport at night. Second visit to the Vet, just 3 weeks later and Zeke has more than doubled his weight. He's now 7.5 lbs and 9 weeks old. He's growing amazingly fast, twice as heavy, twice as tall and probably more than twice as long as just a couple weeks ago. He's very smart and already knows several commands. (He especially knows the 'clank' of his dog food bowl). He's still sleeping in the house and his 'housebreaking' is coming along pretty good. He's a very fearless and curious dog. Ready to stick his nose in any hole in the ground he happens to come across in his and Kristian's daily walks thru the fields and woods. They both enjoy their daily romps as much as I knew they would. Zeke already has a real pretty 'baying' voice, even if it is still a bit high pitched due to his immaturity. Only thing so far that scares him still is loud, unexpected noise (or the sounds of a larger dog barking). Third visit to the Vet, another mere 3 weeks has passed and Zeke is now 12.6 lbs at only 12 weeks old (or 3 months). No more visits for a full year now (unless he goes back for some tutoring - I mean, some neutering) He still has his baby teeth, and likes to exercise them on most anything available, but mostly likes gnawing on our fingers, arms and ears. They may be baby teeth, but they're sharp as razors. We all look like we ran thru a pile of briars or a barbed wire fence or something. We're working to break his biting habit and he is beginning to mellow some. Vet says this is natural as his adult teeth start trying to come in (just like a human baby 'teething'). However we are still trying to discourage (break) him before this becomes a habit.
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