It’s now two weeks since we started walking Beanie & Biggles separately at the park, so we decided to give them a session together to see if their desire to run off as a pack had been tamed at all. It seemed promising – they had some great chases with other dogs and each other but stayed in the field. They lost their own balls, found or “borrowed” others and generally had a great time.

It’s not really my ball, but it’ll do…

Rather than pushing our luck, we put them both back on lead just as the other dogs were leaving and headed up to the “Pond” cafe for hot drinks. While there, we met another new Beagle – a handsome, happy and friendly young boy called Patrick. It sounds like his owners may bring him to the puppy field for a run around in the near future. If all the Beagles we’ve met in the park turned up at the same time I think there’d be more than 20. Beagle popularity is definitely on the up!

On the way back I suggested going back through the field and giving our two pups one more brief session off-lead. Not one of my smartest ideas, but it’s the kind of thing that pops into my head after a sugar-filled hot chocolate.

Once released the two of them shot away, raced each other round the field at break-neck speed, and promptly disappeared into the trees. Although we couldn’t see them we could keep track of them with our ears, because our noisy little boy was baying his head off as he tried to catch his sister. The desperate “Aaarf! Aaaarf” circled round to our right, then grew faint. We sighed, and Susan started off towards the trees while I held stayed put in case they returned to our last known position. Susan had only got a few feet away when the baying grew louder. A lot louder! I looked towards the sound and saw Beanie bounding over the hill straight towards me, with Biggles bringing up the rear as only a Biggles can. They both sat for treats and we re-leaded them easily. So, they did run off a bit, but it was an improvement over the disappearing act they pulled a couple of weeks ago. The separate walks really do seem to be helping to fix the problem as well as manage it.

Back at the car, we found a lovely present waiting for us from Sheila (Kirby’s Mum) – a ball on a rope. It’s now in my coat pocket, ready to be unleashed during Beanie’s off-lead session tomorrow (assuming the snow doesn’t make the roads impassable). Beanie says a big “Thank You” to Kirby & Sheila!

Finally here’s a shot I took of Biggles yesterday. After meeting up with Ben & Co for another great play session while Beanie was having her agility class, he snook into the putting green for a solo treasure hunt. It proved quite successful! Indiana Biggles came back with a burst tennis ball, a couple of empty crisp packets and – his largest find to date – a punctured and heavily weathered football.

Yep, it’s grit we’re talking about. It’s a necessary evil given all the ice and snow we’ve had recently, but our spoilt little Beanie does not like it at all. Our first major run-in occurred earlier in the week on our way to the puppy field. I noticed Beanie lifting her paw and trying to chew it, so I picked her up for an examination. I couldn’t find anything wrong so I just rubbed her paw and put her back down on the ground. That did the trick and she was back to trotting along happily, but it set a precedent. We went through the same patch of grit again after the walk and got  a repeat performance, this time with a different paw.  Without thinking I again picked her up and rubbed her paw. The pattern was set.

Now whenever she gets grit between her toes she stops dead, lifts the affected paw, puts on her most pathetic look and patiently waits for her roadside service. On this morning’s walk she had to negotiate a big patch of the stuff, and looked like she was doing a weird Beagle version of the game Twister as she tried to keep her paws from touching any of it. Susan picked her up and carried her over it, so maybe the service routine now includes carrying as well as paw rubbing. To be fair, Beanie’s not the only dog that has a dislike for grit, but her reaction to it does nothing for her street cred. At least Biggles isn’t copying her on this one – he’s still happy to trudge over anything.

Fortunately all this is forgotten when we actually get to the field. The highlight of this morning’s walk for Beanie was the discovery of an exciting new toy – a ball on a rope:

This particular toy belongs to her friend Penny, but as often happens Beanie managed to.. er.. “borrow” it for a while.

Penny has it, but not for long…

Penny got her toy back in due course, forcing Beanie to slum it with her own, treat-filled tennis ball.

So what’s better – a big stick or a tennis ball with treats in it?

Speaking of tennis balls, I’ve given up buying them from regular shops. The over-priced dog tooth-friendly ones from pet shops last hardly any time at all, and the cheap tennis balls in supermarkets don’t fare much better. As an experiment I bought a bunch of used higher-quality tennis balls on eBay. These are lasting much, much longer – they hold their shape even after several play sessions, don’t cost much and seem to have a lower profile, less abrasive finish on them. So we’ve got Beanie’s ball requirements sorted, but Biggles still insists on Air Kong squeaky balls – even though he can now de-squeak them in less than two minutes (he seems to roll them round in his mouth until he locates the squeaker, and then his fangs finish the job). Still, he loves them just as much whether they squeak or not. Unfortunately his older pal Chewy seems to like them too…

Someone help! He’s got my ball!

Give it back or you’ll get a serious woofing!

Dad! He’s still got it!

Biggles did get his ball back. In fact Chewy dropped it on command more than once to let Biggles retrieve it. The problem is our excitable little boy isn’t too good at remembering to hold on to it when there are lots of fun distractions around him. Like this little fella for example:

This is Obi (dunno about the spelling, but I’m assuming a Star Wars link). He’s three years old but still runs around like a crazy pup, and he and Biggles had an absolutely brilliant time together.

As is often the case nowadays, Biggles got to lead most of the chases. I think he’s getting a taste for being out in front!

Today’s heavy snow may have caused hassle for the human population, but it’s been blummin’ brilliant for dogs. Neither of our two pups had seen a decent covering of snow before, and when they got out into the garden they went absolutely wild. Needless to say we rushed through breakfast and got them to the park as quickly as we could.

As I noted in a previous post we’re still walking them separately so they can’t go running off together, and as usual the first off-lead slot went to Beanie. When we first got to the field there was no-one else about, so I loaded up her trusty slit tennis ball with treats and threw it as far as I could. It buried itself in the snow, but with treats at stake Beanie was willing to dig it out. I think she got the Beagle equivalent of an ice cream headache when she first picked it up…

but she soon got used to it!

Soon she was not alone – a huge yeti appeared at the top of the hill and she bravely gave chase with her ball still in her mouth.

Unfortunately the yeti was so fast that Beanie had to drop the ball to gain that extra gear!

She chased the creature up and down the hill and round and round the trees..

but somehow it escaped her clutches and is still at large, ready to pounce on unwary travelers and cause them to lose their balls.

Beanie may have lost her ball in the encounter, but at least I didn’t lose her. That was a major concern when it was time for Biggles’ off-lead session! The snow had started up again in earnest, and Biggles’ mostly white coat gave him very effective camouflage. He still had time for a brilliant run with a corgi called Polo before we called it quits, but sadly due to the blizzard-like conditions I couldn’t get any snaps.

I did get plenty of photos of a great walk on Saturday though. While Beanie was having her weekly (formal) agility session, I took Biggles for an off-leader. I wasn’t expecting to run into many other dogs, but for some reason the park was packed. We soon met up with some of Beanie’s old pals Barney, Buster, Ben and Ellie. Biggles hit it off with Ben immediately and the two of them played constantly as the group made a circuit of the park.

There were moments of excitement..

..moments of almost balletic grace..

..and of course, moments of naughtiness

All that running about is thirsty work, so there were a few unplanned pit stops along the way.

The more we walked, the more dogs and owners joined our band, and Biggles and Ben soon admitted Troy to their pack. The three canine musketeers charged round having adventures in every corner of the field.

As we reached the upper level of the park a longstanding tradition was observed – the line-out along the wall. The dogs happily lined up to receive their treats with only minimal direction – much more civilized than the mobbing that accompanies a treat handout in our usual park.

The Biggly-boy had a brilliant time, and left the park a little gift to show his appreciation:

Look at the height of that leg-lift! Faultless leg-cocking technique from the Bigglet!