Finnegan!

Boy, has it been a hectic 4 days! We finally got our baby, Finnegan the beagle! No pics yet 'coz the stooopid network wizard still won't let me connect to my hubby's 'puter. Oh well. Here's a little rundown of things that had happened:

Day 1 (Dec 8) - Picked baby up from the breeder. Was a tough choice with all the cute pups but boiled it down to two. Our Finny won the lottery 'coz he seemed to come back to us more often. Also, he looks more like the classic beagle. On way home, he was good for 1 hour but started throwing up in the next. But he saw the paper on the floor and made a poo there....which means he's retained his paper training! He was all trembly the first night, and pretty much kept us awake all night. Finally.....

Day 2 - ....got up at 5 am to take him out. He went 5 times in an hour (3 were successfully done outside). Crate training formally begun! He seemed less tense and cuddled with us a lot. There were a couple of "accidents" but then again we were also starting to learn to how to read the signs. Auntie Junn paid a visit. More whining at bed time.

Day 3 - More 5 am madness. There was poo this time around in the crate. We tried to put him back right after he did his business so we can grab one more hour, but then he poo'd some more! So we decided to stay up. More crate training, but he was good the whole day! Auntie M. (Mike) and the rest of the aunties (Errick and Abel) came by. I think poor Finny was wiped out after 'coz he was so quiet the rest of the night....although a bit of nipping has begun....We also tried the breeder's suggestion of putting paper in the back half of the crate overnight so he won't be as whiny. But we kept the crate at half-size during the day.

Day 4 - So far the paper-in-crate-overnight thing worked....we got more sleep! We also got an e-mail from the breeder today saying that it will be a while that the pup will eliminate at night...and to wake up when *we* need to (not when the pup whines at 5 am). Today we tried out the pen on the second floor for the first time since we were working from home. He seemed to be okay with it - stayed for at least a couple of hours without a fuss. Crate training was somewhat done since the pen kinda made up for it (I guess). But he was more quiet at night. He peed on the couch though....maybe we misread the signs again. But the good news is that he slept longer! We also started using the leash 'coz he almost got away through a gap in the fence. Humping also started....the battle for dominance begins!

Day 5 - Which brings us to day. We got up at 6 am....he whined maybe twice overnight but overall the paper-in-crate-overnight thing seems to be a good method for now. He's also taken to the pen today, except one time I got downstairs too late when he woke up and he peed as I was putting my shoes on. When he is in the pen upstairs, it is *absolutely key* to take him outside as soon as he wakes up (by this I mean he actually gets up as opposed to just opening his eyes). He peed every single time.

*whew* We love him lots though :) I kinda feel out-of-sorts today 'coz I'm just consumed by worry....worry about what he steps on outside, what he eats, etc. etc.....I just hope we're doing right by him.