Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Introducing BJ

BJ came to live with us on Saturday, June 15th. After picking him up from a BREW adoption event, we drove him back home with Jack and Abby. Our first impression of BJ was that he seemed very calm - let me  hold him before we left and just laid down in the back seat on the way to our house. This was certainly in contrast to the other two beagles in the car who were more interested in console surfing than the new hound taking up space in the back.


Once we got home, we thought we'd let the dogs get to know each other by letting them run around the backyard. However, we may have underestimated BJ's level of comfort with us and his new surroundings. He immediately ran for any corner of the yard that was not near us. The chase ended when BJ tried to escape the yard and ended up getting stuck in our fence! We're lucky the rails aren't spaced any farther apart or his back hips would not have caught him and stopped him from running. Lesson learned, little guy.

Most of BJ's first day was spent on a dog bed in the living room - his self-selected favorite spot. While he doesn't seem to mind snuggling up next to you if you put him there, he's not yet willing to join you on his own. During the first night, Alpha-dog Jack let BJ know he was the boss beagle in the house (and BJ did not put up a fight!), and BJ started to come out of his shell a little and play with his foster siblings.


Since BJ's first night, he's slowly showing more personality. The older beagles aren't quite sure what to do with the little puppy that's so full of energy! BJ tries and tries to get Jack and Abby to play, usually to no avail. He has also now discovered every toy in the toy basket. He's not yet sure about the humans, but seems to be warming up to us a little.


BJ was estimated to be a year old, but it wouldn't surprise us if he was really only 8-10 months. He's quite small (20 lbs), and definitely has some puppy tendencies (can have high spurts of energy and is interested in chewing on things). While still nervous about people, he is a very sweet and quiet dog! He also seems to really enjoy the company of other dogs. Case in point:


Poor Jack. Now he has two dogs who take up his personal space. Pretty sure he's a canine dog whisperer.