In an effort to make better use of the day I’ve been taking Beanie for her morning walk a little earlier than usual. An unexpected benefit of this new schedule is that we get to meet up with another beagle pup, Sophie.

Beanie and Sophie running together back in January

As they are now: Sophie (closest), Beanie and a Spaniel friend

When Beanie and Sophie first met back in January they were great pals. Now of course they’re a little older, so there have been a few dominance tussles in between the chasing games. The best thing about this is that Sophie is confident enough to hold her own against our strong willed little hooligan. I think it’ll do Beanie some good to learn that she can’t always be top dog while she still has her “puppy license” ie. the recognition by older, bigger dogs that she’s still a pup rather than a serious competitor.

Speaking of bigger dogs, this morning’s doggy gathering included a Rottweiler called Chub. He’s as gentle as he is huge. I get the feeling that the biggest danger from Chub is that he might sit on your feet, causing you to need longer, wider and flatter shoes. Still, this big boy effortlessly commands the respect of humans and dogs alike. Imagine a doggy version of Samuel L. Jackson, lookin’ mean and packin’ some heat – something just tells you he’s not a guy to mess with. And that’s why there were a few uncomfortable moments when Beanie lost her Kong ball.

I took the ball out in an attempt to distract Beanie and Sophie from their wrestling match, and it got lost in the long grass. Chub found it, took a shine to it and after coating it in a thick film of slaver (nice), lay down with it between his front paws. There was no growling, no overt body language but the message was loud and clear: “This is MINE”.

Beanie evidently decided she would forgo her usual habit of snatching another dog’s toy in order to start a chase, because she kept a respectful distance from Chub. Equally, I decided that although the ball was Beanie’s, Chub could keep it if really wanted. It was pure generosity on my part of course, and nothing to do with the fact that Chub is really, really BIG. Curiously, the monster’s owner didn’t seem to keen to retrieve the ball right at that moment either. So we all stood there, chatting about other things, until a distraction gave the Rottweiler’s dad a chance to quietly hand the ball over to me, whereupon it went deep into my pocket and remained hidden there until Samuel “Chub” Jackson left for home ;)

Chub

Time for a few more pics from the park. First up, here’s a Jack Russell Terrier apparently auditioning for Hang Tough in the TV show Gladiators:

And now here’s part of another fun play session with Tessa the collie-cross and a retriever called Sorsha.

Beanie was already tired from an earlier romp, but she couldn’t resist even more play with her good friend Tessa. I think Tessa might need a breath freshener though…

..because that clinch put Beanie out cold :)

It was agility time again at Beanie’s training class this week, and this time I took the camera along:

As you can see, Beanie had to be kept on lead for fear that she’d shoot off after any unguarded treats. Despite that, we are starting to regain some of the ground lost when her sniffer went into overdrive, at least at home. We can now place tempting treats on the ground and successfully recall Beanie without any unplanned snacking. In fact it’s quite amusing to watch. She stares at the various edibles longingly as she waits to be called, yet gives them a wide berth as she runs to us. It’s almost as if she knows she won’t be able to control herself if she gets to close to temptation…

Recall outside the house is starting to improve too. I put this down to an adaptation of a “natural training” exercise we’ve been trying:

• Stalk the dog slowly with a suitable tug-toy ready in one hand, making “Grrrr” noises and trying to make yourself appear bigger as you go
• When the dog starts to react, suddenly turn tail and run away from the dog
• Engage the dog in a game of tug when it gives chase, letting the dog win

The first time we tried this Beanie backed off as we approached, then chased excitedly as soon as we took flight. A few repetitions later she knew what to expect and ran to us even during the initial “Grrrr” phase. Shortly thereafter we found it much easier to hold Beanie’s attention on games with us, and even got her playing fetch outside (not for long admittedly, but still it was a first for Beanie!)

Now we’re using this game as an alternative to conventional recall when we needed to bring her in from the garden, or get her upstairs and into the run by our office. I think this is starting to break the negative associations she has with the “come” command – associations that we created by using it to bring her outside play sessions to an end.

Of course sometimes it all goes a bit wrong and our over-excited little pup grabs hold of the tug toy at the end I’m holding. If she notices she’s caught my hand in her jaw she immediately softens her grip, but if she doesn’t notice, well that’s where the “Aaaargh” part comes in!