Over the last few days the midges at our normal park have treated my head like an all-you-can-eat buffet, so this morning I took Beanie to Bellahouston instead. We were a little late getting there so it was a pretty quiet, but Beanie still enjoyed herself: she rolled in a dead bird and a pile of fox poo (totally necessary, as we gave her a bath yesterday!) . To top it off, she completely exhausted a young German Shepherd in a brief but full-speed chase. If you’ve seen the gladiator scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, you’ll get the picture (“I think I’m going to have a cardiac arrest.. aaarrgh”)

She was still full of beans when we got home, and it’s just as well, because Biggles was awake and ready for action. Despite his tender age and small size (though he’s growing at a terrific rate!) he gave Beanie the toughest tug of war she’s ever had:

It was more about determination than mass and strength. Who wanted that grimy, non-squeaking chicken the most? Biggles certainly gave it his all…

but when Beanie spotted the camera, she realized her reputation was at stake..

..and our little boy returned from the garden somewhat lacking in the chicken department.

For a while though I really thought he might manage it. As a young pup, Beanie was never that keen on tug’o’war games though she has learned to enjoy them subsequently. Biggles on the other hand is a natural tugger, and I’ve often been faced with the question of whether I should win my own games with him, or let him win.

Advocates of the “human as pack leader” approach would say that I should win every time, to show him who’s boss. On the other hand, the “natural” dog trainers would say let him win, to use his prey instinct to build a foundation for good recall in later life. I’ve always let Beanie win, and my feeling is that I should do the same with Biggles. He’s a very confident little pup, but pretty much every time I stroke him he ends up rolling onto his back for a tummy tickle. I somehow don’t see that as a sign that he wants to be dominant – at least not yet!

…’cos that’s the day Tess and her two five-month old pups Tara and Clara came to our place to see Biggles!

Susan had prepared some Mackerel cake to help get the party off to a good start. It worked a treat:

After the first round of cake, the visitors went on a sniffabout to check out the garden. As they neared the sandpit, Biggles bravely went to defend it. It’s his favorite play area at the moment, having only recently grown big enough to get in there! He successfully fended off Tara and Clara…

but Tess got an invitation!

Once out of the sandpit, Biggles really hit it off with Clara. She gave him a sniffing lesson:

he showed her round our tastier plants…

You actually eat that Biggles?

and they had some really fun play sessions together!

Soon it was time for another round of cake. Let’s face it, it’s about the only way to hold five Beagles’ attention:

When he wasn’t running around, Louise (Tess’ mum) nabbed Biggles for a quick cuddle.

And when she was distracted by Biggles and Clara, Beanie saw a chance to practice her latest skill – picking pockets!

Inevitably there was another round of cake..

..and to show how much bigger Biggles is than Beanie at the same age, Susan got out Beanie’s old winter coat. It fitted her up to about 13 weeks old, while at 9 1/2 weeks it’s already too small for Biggles!

Biggles and Clara continued to get on really well…

and I think Beanie got a little bit jealous, because she became quite vocal. Still, it didn’t escalate enough to merit a squirt from our trusty water-pistol :)

When the time came for Tess and her pups to head home, we popped Biggles in his fabric crate. With all the play and stimulation he was bound to be tired, but he voiced his disagreement loudly, and Tess went over to him to make sure he was alright. If only Beanie had such a strong mothering instinct!

Once their Beagle pals had left, both Beanie and Biggles slept deeply for the rest of the afternoon. Later on, I gave Beanie a quick walk before all the Bonfire Night fireworks started. As I write, the rockets are in full flight, and though Beanie’s not frightened by the noise as such, she is being a little clingy. And Biggles? Well he’s really reacting badly to all the explosions:

NOT! That little fella will sleep through anything – so long as food isn’t involved!

[More photos from today here]

What do you do when come home, knackered from a good chase in the park, and your little brother’s full of beans and running round the garden like a crazy thing? Well, if you’re Beanie you do something like this:

Biggles wasn’t the least bit deflated by the tail grabbing incident, and he headed off towards the sandpit with a very determined look on his face.

He emerged with his prize – Beanie’s heavily chewed frisbee, and did a quick victory lap of the garden.

All this activity took its toll though, and it was soon time for a nap.

Tail-grabbing and frisbee-stealing aside, our two Beagles are getting on pretty well now. They still have noisy arguments, but we don’t pay them any serious attention. Nope, the time to get worried is when they’re both quiet, because it probably means they’ve joined forces to chew something to destruction. So far they’ve ripped up a couple of the edge pieces from our rubber gym mats, and torn some of the covering off the base of our bed. The funny thing is that when she hears us coming, Beanie flees the scene, leaving little Biggles to take the rap. She’s just not smart enough to realise that Biggles’ little mouth couldn’t possibly do that much damage in such a short time. We’re on to you Beanie!