Our first couple of years with Beanie were beset by all kinds of problems; she got sick, she ate things she shouldn’t, she ran off to the point that we could hardly ever get her off lead, and she started having very cross words with other dogs. We got through all these problems of course and the last year or so – in our new house – has been bliss. No medical issues, no non-edibles getting eaten, no off-lead worries due to having a big garden for Beanie & Biggles to romp around in, and for some months, no sign of grumpiness towards other dogs. So, obviously, it’s high time we had a new problem to deal with, and our little girl has come up with a really good one. A few days ago she attacked Biggles!

The attack came after a short and very pleasant game with our Burns frisbees. I was throwing the frisbees out in the garden and our two pups were happily retrieving them and bringing them back to me for a little reward:

Don’t be fooled by the photo – neither of our Beagles try to catch the frisbees while they’re in flight

But they run after them and grab them as they land

The frisbees aren’t always easy to keep hold of

But it seems like fun

We’ve found that Beagles tend to lose interest in a game if you play for too long, so I stopped while they were still having fun, tidied away the frisbees and sat on our garden bench to review the photos I’d taken. Beanie clearly wanted to play more and kept bugging me for another round, and tried to nick treats out of my pockets. I wasn’t having any of that, and I gently pushed her away a couple of times until she got the message. Then Biggles wandered up to me and as I often do, I started stroking him under his chin. Almost immediately Beanie flew into a rage and leaped on him. She did no physical harm, but she was like a Tasmanian devil, snarling and pinning little Biggles. He offered no resistance; he just squealed and tried to escape.

Once we’d managed to get hold of them we pulled them apart, and took them on a short walk together to calm things down. On the walk, they immediately became friends again, but once back in the house Biggles was still fearful, or at least painstakingly respectful, of his sister to the point that he didn’t want to be in the same room with her. It was as though she was claiming whatever room she was in as hers. Not content to let this happen, we put leads on both of them and made them sit together in the same room. By the next morning all seemed well again, and we were ready to put this unfortunate incident down to “one of those things” that happen occasionally with dogs, but then out of the blue Beanie attacked again, and again. In all there were four attacks over three days. Each time the attack seemed to have some kind of “resource guarding” motivation, and each time they were perfectly fine on walks outside the house.

All our walks have been uneventful

As long you don’t count Biggles losing his footing..

getting an unexpected bath…

and coming out smelling like a mucky pond!

Currently we’re managing the situation by keeping them on lead and under close supervision in the house. We’ve now gone two days without further attacks but we’re fearful of allowing them freedom in the house, or even the garden, in case there’s another incident. Help is on its way though – we’ve contacted behaviorist and heelwork to music expert Heather Smith to help us through this current and distressing problem.

Apparently most multi-dog households experience something like this at one point or another, even with dogs that generally get on very well. Still, it’s been a hell of a shock to us because Beanie and Biggles have been getting on so well together for so long. We’ve thought up lots of theories as to why the attacks happened, and had even more suggestions, among them:

• We’re way too lax about discipline in the house, and don’t really treat the two Bs sufficiently like dogs. Regardless of whether this is the root cause, it’s certainly true!
• We’ve fallen into the habit of each favoring one dog; I tend to do most activities with Biggles, while Susan usually pairs up with Beanie. We have noted a bit of discomfort, possibly the beginnings jealousy, when we swap dogs.
• When we’re out running with our pooches, I generally run with Biggles and Susan with Beanie. Since I’m the faster runner (and Biggles is the stronger puller) we’re always in front, while Beanie, who is certainly the fastest and most athletic dog (and knows it!), is forced to bring up the rear.
• Although spayed, Beanie is going through a bad time hormone-wise.

It may not be one specific thing that’s caused the problem but rather a combination. Regardless, we’ve just got to sit tight and hope that Heather can help us restore peace between our two little buddies.

Hopefully by the time I next post to the blog, the only fighting will be the playful kind.

If your doggy had pocket money and understood that it could be exchanged for goods and services, what would he/she spend it on? Or perhaps I should ask what would he/she spend it on if they were NOT allowed to use it to buy more treats?

I think Biggles would use his hard-earned pennies to buy more tummy tickle time. Actually when I say tummy tickle, I guess I really mean chest massage, but whatever you want to call it, it’s his favorite thing when he’s lounging on the sofa. A good tickle session is accompanied by wild, rolling eyes that make him look like a possessed child from a horror movie. And if you stop before he’s ready, he’ll drag you back in by contorting into an even more alluring pose.

With Beanie things aren’t so clear cut. She might spend some of her pocket money to buy a longer lie-in on a morning..

Getting out of bed is sooo over-rated!

She might even contribute to our decorating fund, because smearing muddy paws over a dirty wall soon loses its appeal. On the other hand if it’s been recently painted, well a girl’s just gotta do and all that..

I’m pretty sure she’d also invest some of her cash in more toilet rolls. You just can’t beat a good toilet roll when you’re in the mood for it..

Come to think of it, maybe Biggles would consider swapping cash for loo rolls too..

Oh yeah, money well spent!

Anyway, a couple of other noteworthy things happened this week besides me getting RSI from excessive tummy tickles, our bedroom wall getting wrecked, and the destruction of multiple bog rolls. The first thing is that Beanie and Biggles have once again helped us to personal best times while canicrossing at the Strathclyde parkrun 5k. Susan & Beanie soundly broke the 30 minute barrier (her first time with Beanie alone), and me and the Bigglet actually dipped below 23 minutes – which was even faster than the time I set when I ran with both our Beagles!

The other noteworthy event is somewhat.. “intimate”. Beanie has long enjoyed humping Susan’s leg, and this week she had what I can only describe as a “pee-gasm”. Just as her humping reached a crescendo, she peed on Susan’s leg. Not just a few little drops shaken loose by her exertions mind you, but a full-on wizz that left the lower portion of Susan’s jeans rather soggy. I bet you won’t see that on any episodes of Caesar Milan’s Dog Whisperer UK series!

Every now and then I like to spice up Beagle teatime by serving their kibble in food-dispensing toys. We have separate toys for each of them; Beanie gets her kibble in a  plastic jar whose open neck is blocked by a knotted rope, while Biggles gets his food in a hard ball that makes a squeaky noise as it rolls.

At one point we tried giving them both the jar toy, but while Beanie quickly learned to release the kibble in the manner envisaged by the toy’s creator, Biggles found a faster and much more direct method. He simply chewed through the knotted rope then rolled the jar around until the kibble fell out! So, now he gets the more or less chew-proof ball, and Beanie keeps the one remaining undamaged treat jar.

The idea behind such toys is to keep the dog stimulated and occupied so the owner can get some peace, kind of a set-it-and-forget thing, but in our house it doesn’t work out like that – it’s much more interactive. As you’ll see in the video, Biggles rolls his ball around at quite a pace, and inevitably some of the kibble manages to dodge his mouth and find its way under doors and furniture. We quickly learned that it’s absolutely vital to locate all this stray kibble, because if we don’t either he or Beanie (particularly Beanie!) will try to get it on their own, and anything that stands in their way is likely to take serious damage. For that reason, the second the ball goes empty I have to join Biggles for a team kibble hunt. I press my head down close to the floor and try to peer under the furniture, and more often than not I feel his furry head right beside mine as he does the same. Once we’re confident that all the strays have been rounded up and deposited in his stomach, I can turn my attention to Beanie. Usually there’s still a fair chunk of kibble left in her jar and I get to be her hero as I open it up and give her easy access.

A Challenging Tea from Paul Roberts on Vimeo.