I’ll be honest with you. For years I was the mum who said, “We are absolutely, positively, under no circumstances getting a dog.”
I had a few reasons. For one, I had two young kids under the age of seven. Our home already looked like a toy factory had exploded inside it. Beyond that, my husband had long hours at work. And mostly because I was the only one who would have to be in charge of feeding, walking and cleaning up after said dog while everyone else took the credit for giving it cuddles.
I was right about that last point, by the way.
Now, fourteen months later, we have a stumpy-legged, big-eared, absolutely ridiculous Beagle named Biscuit. I would not trade him for anything in the world. Not even a full night’s sleep.
Here’s our story.
How It Started: The Campaign of a Lifetime
It all started with my daughter Noor when she was six years old and asked for a dog.
She asked constantly. Drawings were left on my pillow.
A petition was written and signed by Noor, her brother Zaid (who is four years old and cannot write) and the neighbor’s cat (whose pawprint was placed in the document). A PowerPoint presentation was also prepared asking the crucial question of “why Mummy should say yes” to having a dog. The presentation had twelve slides. One of the slides had a picture of a Beagle and the words “PLEASE” displayed across the screen in large letters.
My husband Omar thought this was hilarious. He was useless.
I was awaiting the eight month mark until I discovered my son Zaid sitting in the corner of the lounge having a conversation with his stuffed toy about his day at kindergarten.
I sighed.
Fine. We are getting a dog.
Why a Beagle?
Once I caved, I at least wanted to be smart about it. I did my research. We needed a breed that was:
- Good with young, chaotic, loud children
- Manageable in size (we don’t have an acreage)
- Intelligent and trainable
- Not prone to aggression
Beagles kept coming up. They are known to be sturdy for their size, loyal to their owners, and very good with families. They are, well, absolutely adorable in a way that is slightly illegal. I didn’t stand a chance.
We found our Beagle through PetsForHomes Australia. This was one of the best decisions we made for adopting Biscuit – we had access to the health history for his parents, and we had a breeder we could always contact. We definitely got in touch with them several times in the middle of the night, understandably in a panic, but nevertheless, more than once.
The Day We Brought Biscuit Home
We drove two hours to pick him up. Noor cried before we even got there because she was “too excited.” Zaid fell asleep in the car, waking up and forgetting where we were going. His jaw dropped when he first saw the puppy and he whispered to his sister, “It’s real.”
Biscuit was eight weeks old and small enough to be held in one hand. He was completely unaware of the chaos that was about to happen in the house. He sat on Noor’s lap the entire car ride home, his little puppy-tail giving her a lick here and there as if doing an important job.
We had prepared for this for weeks. We had purchased a crate, a bed, food, toys, puppy pads and enzymatic cleaner (veterinarians will know why), and forty hours of puppy training videos on YouTube.
None of it mattered. Nothing prepares you.
The First Few Weeks: A Comedy of Errors
Let me tell you about Week One.
Biscuit cried the first three nights. Real, heartbroken, where is my mother crying. Omar and I took turns sitting on the floor next to his crate at 2am like two very tired, very confused sentinels. By night four, I had watched so many “how to get your puppy to sleep” videos that my phone thought I was a professional dog trainer.
He also ate the corner of our couch. He ate one of Zaid’s gumboots (one, specifically) He ate a crayon – the orange one – and I will leave the next morning’s events to your imagination.
The toilet training was an adventure. Beagles are very intelligent animals, so Biscuit understood what was required of him almost immediately. He just seemed to have a principle against using the toilet in the house for about two weeks before relenting. Whenever we tried to take him outside to go to the toilet, he’d go in the living room rug. We tried a few times to rename the rug (it’s a tough conversation to have with a toddler, really), before simply removing the rug altogether.
There was also The Incident of the Tupperware. I still don’t understand how Biscuit managed to get that lid off. The vet says beagles are problem solvers. I say Biscuit is specifically out to get me.
What Nobody Told Us
Here’s the real talk — the stuff I wish someone had sat me down and explained before we brought a puppy home.
- Puppies are basically furry newborns. The sleep deprivation is real. The constant supervision is real. For the first month, someone always had to have an eye on Biscuit or else something would be destroyed, eaten, or weed on. I say this not to scare you, but because I was not emotionally prepared for the care that you deserve.
- Training is your full-time second job. Beagles are sharp. They learn things quickly – which is great for training, but not what you want for your puppy when they figure out that barking at the pantry door will produce treats. Consistency is key with Beagles. If you allow a behavior to slide once, they will remember and act out that behavior again. Biscuit still side-eyes Omar any time Omar walks past the pantry, simply because Omar gave him a treat in the pantry six months ago
- They will follow you everywhere. Their instinct is to be with their people. This means Biscuit follows me to the bathroom, sits outside the shower, and waits outside the bedroom door if I dare close it. Adorable? Yes. Slightly unnerving? Also yes.
- Kids and dogs need supervision — always. Even with the gentlest breed, you cannot leave a toddler and a puppy alone together and expect good outcomes. Not because either of them is bad — but because both of them are chaotic and neither has great impulse control. We had a solid rule: if an adult isn’t in the room, they’re separated. It served us well.
- Vet bills are real. I knew this in theory. I did not know it in practice. Biscuit has been to the vet for: his initial health checks and vaccinations, the crayon incident, an ear infection, and a mysterious limp that turned out to be him being dramatic after Noor accidentally sat on his tail. Budget for it. Genuinely.
The Joys (And They Are Real)
Okay. Here’s the other side.
Watching Noor and Zaid grow up with Biscuit has been one of the most unexpectedly beautiful things I have experienced as a parent. Noor, who used to dissolve into anxiety about small things, has become calmer, more nurturing. She has a routine now — feeding Biscuit in the morning, brushing him on weekends — and the responsibility suits her in a way I never anticipated.
My shy and slow-to-warm-up-to-son has become a little ambassador for Biscuit. Dogs are social creatures in the park and Zaid approaches other humans with a confidence that I’ve never seen before – but for the simple fact that Biscuit is at his side.
Omar, my husband who laughed at the PowerPoint presentations and declared he did not want a dog in the house… is now on the floor watching television with Biscuit on his chest, whispering “who’s a good boy” to the dog – a phrase he has never uttered towards any of his human companions.
He’s besotted. Completely and utterly besotted. I have photographic evidence of this behaviour that I use as leverage whenever he attempts to sneak out the door to go do something other than stay at home with Biscuit.
As for me – I was right about the work required to care for a Beagle but I was wrong about it being a burden. There’s something about the particular joy of a Beagle who sees you come home. His entire back half wags due to the fact that his tail is too short to wag on its own. He’ll push his head against your knee when you’re having a particularly hard day and it seems that he knows.
I needed Biscuit just as much as the children did.
What I’d Tell Any Mum Considering a Dog
Do it – but go in clear-eyed.
Find a breeder or a rescue. Do the homework. We used PetsForHomes to find Biscuit’s breeder. The breeder cares for the dogs they breed – not the dogs they sell. Biscuit’s breeder answered every text we sent them (we sent many) and Biscuit’s parents are healthy and socialised.
The first eight weeks with a puppy are hard. They get dramatically better. One day, when your four-year-old is sleeping on the dog bed with the dog on top of him, you’ll feel an emotion so pure and ridiculous that you’ll have to go take a breath in another room.
It’s worth it. It’s absolutely, completely worth it.
About the author:
Ayesha Gul is a mum of two, optimist (because coffee), and dog owner (because she really needs that Beagle) living in Australia. Ayesha writes about the beautiful, messy and hilarious reality of motherhood – from the sleepless nights with newborns to convincing herself she absolutely did not need a Beagle (she needed the Beagle).