For the last four days we’ve been taking a tag-team approach to our park walks; I give Beanie an offlead session while Susan takes Biggles for an on-lead walk involving lots of recall training and games. About half-way through we swap, so Biggles gets some offlead time and Beanie gets training and a good sniffabout. The main reason for this change was to curb the wanderlust they get when they’re together ( especially now Biggles is in the particularly troublesome 5-8 month period when recall takes a nosedive). It may also put a stop to the pack behaviour they’d been displaying when playing with other dogs, which though harmless in itself did seem to incite the others to naughtiness and squabbling.

So far it’s working well for both of them. Instead of relying solely on each other for entertainment they’re having to play with other dogs.

Beanie’s back to chasing with other dogs, which keeps her safely in the field

.. and she’s loving every minute of it

For some reason it’s suddenly become a lot easier to get them playing with us outdoors too. Maybe it’s the extra obedience training we’re doing with them each night, or maybe we’ve finally found the right toys. Beanie just loves her treat-filled tennis ball, and is getting much better at bringing it back to me so I can liberate the goodies inside. She’s perfectly capable of getting them out herself, and sometimes does, but I think she prefers the excitement of grabbing them as I shake them out of the ball. Biggles on the other hand doesn’t really have patience for the treat ball; his passion is for Air Kong squeaky tennis balls. Sophie had some when they played together recently, and they made such an impression on him that Susan made a special trip out to the pet shop to get some. It takes a little effort to get him interested in them at the start of his off-lead session, but once he’s had one in his mouth and heard it squeak, he’s hooked.

He’s even getting quite good at bringing them back to me for a treat and so I can throw them again

A beagle genuinely interested in ball games – it really is possible!

So far we haven’t had any major incidents of them running way off out of sight, though there have been moments when one or the other of them has thought about it…

..but they only go so far, then come running right back for a treat. I think the on-lead recall training is a big part of that, and it kind of fits with the training that working pack Beagles receive. When a newbie is old enough to join the pack, he/she is apparently chained to one of the more experienced dogs, so they have no choice but follow the commands of the hunt leaders. After a while the behavior becomes almost hard-wired.

I’m also happy to report that Biggles seems to have got over the shock he had when the demon sausage came to visit, and he’s starting to lose his puppy looks and turn into a fine, confident young boy.

A heroic pose, but notice he’s still got his squeaky ball in his mush!

Meanwhile Beanie’s agility and obedience training is going from strength to strength. Susan took her for another session in the agility barn this week to work on issuing commands from a greater distance. It’s the only way to go; it was obvious from the previous session that Beanie was having to slow down or even pause to wait for direction from Susan. Two legs just can’t keep up with Beanie’s turbo-charged four-leg drive! Having said that, giving well timed and clear directions isn’t easy when you’re no longer seeing the course from the same orientation as your dog..