We’ve been trying for some time to buy a field for Beanie and Biggles but it’s impossible. The property market might be slow at the moment but there’s still unbelievable competition for any little bits of land that come up.

A couple of weeks ago Hazel (Sohpie Beagle’s mum) sent us the schedule of a house for sale. It mentioned that the current owners rented some land near their house and Hazel suggested that it might be worth finding out if they had anything that we could rent. I was at a bit of a loose end so I started browsing through property and came accross a house that looked perfect. I called Paul over and he loved it. We went to see it the next day and put in an offer the day after that. Our offer was accepted immediately and today we’ve agreed on an entry date of 4th December!

The new garden is huge. The whole plot is about 1/3 acre and the back garden is probably around 60 feet by 160 feet. There’s a river runs along the bottom of the garden and we back onto open countryside. This is the view we’ll wake up to in the morning:

And there’s a lovely deck that runs the length of the house to sit and watch our little hooligans having fun:

The location is perfect. Miles of countryside around us with cycle paths, quiet country walks, country parks nearby…

and……minutes from several miles of wide, sandy beach!

It’s going to be a busy month!!!

Last time the Glasgow Dog Training club had its Halloween bash there was no problem choosing a costume for our (then) only Beaglet; she just had to go as Underdog. This year of course we had two costumes to get, and it proved difficult to find a theme that would suit them both. In the end, Susan happened on a US store that had doggy outfits from Grease. Due to a little mix up we ended up with large sizes, but our two still looked pretty cute.

They were up against some stiff competition though!

Cuillin as Wonder Woman

Molly turns tables on her owner and makes her wear the fancy dress

Cuillin deservedly won but the Beanster managed third place and bagged a pack of Burns fish treats. Biggles clearly felt a bit left out and did his level best to nick some treats of his own from head trainer Val.

That taught Val a valuable lesson – never underestimate the jumping ability of the Bigglet. We of course are well aware of our boy’s Olympic boinging talents, but he still catches us out sometimes. One of those times happened when Susan was preparing two sardine cakes for the party. A well timed leap followed by a bid for the Beagle Speed Swallowing world record claimed one of the cakes, but though modest in size the survivor still looked good:

Even with one cake missing there was plenty of food to be had. Each time there was a droppage in the spoon and sausage race Beanie and Biggles were on hand to assist with the clean up operation.

In the obedience competition Biggles had the help of Val, and though he didn’t win he acquitted himself well and managed to pull off his first ever (intentional) high five!

The Biggles hi-5. Technically it’s a hi-8 ‘cos he hit with both his paws

Recall through the legs is easy if the sausage is tasty enough

And for an extra treat he didn’t mind trying on Val’s head band even though it could really lower a growing boy’s street cred. Don’t worry Biggles, I won’t tell anyone…

Beanie scored another bag of Burns treats in one of her competitions, and Biggles somehow managed to get his bum on the floor fast enough to win the musical sit, making it a great night out for us and our pups.

The full set of piccies from this year’s Halloween bash is available here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdtc/sets/72157622578031447/detail/

We’ve both been plagued by a really pesky cold over the last few days. It’s the type that makes you feel worn out and shivery rather than the full-on mucus factory version, so we’ve clocked up a lot of sofa time by the fire. Our recovery is being helped by our two Beagles though – especially Biggles.

Biggles provides the bodily warmth, Beanie’s there for moral support

He snuggles up really close and when he’s sleeping he gives off heat like a furry hot water bottle. Admittedly this particular hot water Biggle also snores and farts occasionally, but he doesn’t need refilling every hour so the pros outweigh the cons. Beanie’s not so good at the snuggling but she’s so cute it makes you feel better just looking at her.

Not that the sleeping Biggly Boy isn’t cute too, of course.