The Secret Life Of The Dog

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Paul

In case you missed it, there was a really interesting programme on the Beeb on Thursday. It examined the relationship between humans and dogs and highlighted some interesting discoveries made recently:

The hormone involved in the bonding process between humans and babies may also play a part in the bond between humans and dogs
All dogs have their roots in the wolf, but there are genuine behavioral differences that have been brought about by selective breeding rather than through nurture
Dogs have mastered some pretty amazing human interaction skills – they readily understand the action of pointing and appear to study our facial expressions

I think one part of the program will bring a smile to Beagle owners in particular. It covers an experiment where wolf cubs were raised in the house just like regular pups to see if they’d grow up to behave like domestic dogs. They didn’t, and the person raising them commented on the behavioral differences she observed. For example, whenever she opened a cupboard the cubs would magically appear between her and the cupboard contents; they would jump onto tables, steal things and run off, and act very possessively over certain items. “Dogs don’t do this” she said. Apparently she’s never encountered a Beaglet.

Anyway, you can still catch the programme online via the Beeb’s “iPlayer”: http://bbc.co.uk/i/pssgh/

Monkeys of both kinds

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Paul

It was all very well having a white Christmas, but we’re now well into January and the the frozen white stuff is still showing no signs of departing.

You wouldn’t want to go using the hand rail on our deck..

At least not without thick gloves..

And the burn that runs by the back of our garden is still frozen over, though some intrepid critters have punched a hole through to the running water below

The brass monkeys might have been wise to stay indoors today, but monkeys of the cheeky variety had good reason to venture outside. It started when Parcel Force finally dropped off a package that the UK Customs Grinches had been holding for us since before Christmas:

We paid a lot for Customs to delay our parcel

I just hope we weren’t charged for the services of a sniffer dog…

…’cos our two are always happy to do that for free

Although even a thorough sniffing left Biggles a bit puzzled

Yep our portable lure coursing kit – from Grimner Greyhounds in the States – was finally here. The kit comes with a battery, control switch, four pulleys and about 300 yards of line. It’s amazing how all that fits into such a tiny box.

Needless to say we had to go out into the garden and give it a try despite the freezing conditions. We didn’t have any deer or rabbit skin to use as the lure, or any of Kevin Rose’s tripe juice, but it turns out that a Tesco value tea towel liberally smothered with the contents of a tin of sardines does just as well.

OK, it was just a short straight line run but still it’s enough to declare a successful test, and Beanie & Biggles both loved it. It’s also worth noting that the sacrifice of the tea towel didn’t hamper our kitchen activities in the least; we have a cache of ’em because the Biggly Boy has a thing about them. Stealing a phrase from the fashion world, you might say that the tea towel is the “new” sock as far as Biggles is concerned.

So, we’ve got our own working lure. All we need now is for the weather to warm up a bit so we can have a few sessions on the beach, though judging by the freezing conditions late this afternoon, that’s not going to happen any time soon!

Yes, that really is chunks of ice getting washed in by the tide!

The Wrong Kind of Snow

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Susan

I thought I’d better provide a quick update as we haven’t posted for a while.

We’ve had a fairly thick layer of snow on the ground since well before Christmas. I think it’s only snowed twice but it’s so cold there’s been no thaw. On a positive note most days have been gloriously sunny with clear blue skies. We haven’t been able to get out and about to activities due to the weather but we have had lots of beautiful walks on the beach and along the nearby cycle path. Sadly it’s been a little too slippery underfoot to cope with the camera and two naughty Beagles!

We’re seriously considering getting our hardy little Beanie a pair of walking boots. On walks we have to stop every few minutes to pick her up and rub her paws to thaw out all the little icicles that form. She always lets us know she’s ready to be thawed out – she stops in her tracks, lifts one paw pathetically and looks at us with big sad eyes. As soon as she’s had her paws warmed up she trots away quite happily. Biggles doesn’t seem to be affected.

On New Year’s Day we met Cuillen & Jamie on the beach along with Susan and Karen. They had a couple of their ‘lodgers’ with them (Karen is a dog walker and also looks after dogs while their owners are on holiday). They put our ‘hardy’ Beagles to shame by diving into the ice cold sea. We managed to get one or two snaps of this.

On this particular day there were huge slabs of ice floating in the sea and the salt water was freezing on the beach as the tide went out. Even the fast-moving burn at the bottom of our garden is frozen solid.

You can just about make out the snow-covered peaks of Arran in this photo – sometimes it looks more like the Arctic than the West Coast of Scotland!

Sadly Rumbling Bridge is still well and truly buried in snow so little chance of the special “Christmas Lure Coursing Event” taking place any time soon. However, on a positive note Sue and Kevin have a brand new website for the lure coursing events. And even better still Beanie and Biggles lure has now been released from customs and is apparantly being delivered tomorrow!