Lynn from Beagle Racing has just got a lovely new Beagle pup called Sunny:

With any luck Biggles will be able to have a little play with her when Beagle Racing starts up again around April next year!

And talking of racing – or more specifically speeding – the following image was sent to us by George at the Glasgow Dog Training Club. This is what could happen if you’re late with your Christmas shopping and put the pedal to the metal:

The freezing conditions over the last few days have brought some unexpected benefits:

• Walking to heel. The pavements around our house have been covered in thick ice. It’s amazing how the prospect of a hard landing on your arse can focus you on heel-work during an on-lead walk.
• A holiday for wellies. Even the muddiest field loses its ability to swallow your feet when it’s frozen. And the dogs come back from the walk half-way clean too!
• Cryogenic poo. This is a mixed blessing if you’ve got a little boy called Biggles. On the one hand, frozen poo is much easier to pick up and bag. On the other, the frost turns last night’s number two into a delicacy – a crunchy, lickable poosicle that’s impossible to resist. And of course if Biggles is eating the stuff, then Beanie has to get in on the action too.

The really good thing though is that cold weather hasn’t got in the way of park fun. Here are some shots from Wednesday’s outing, in which our dynamic duo were once again joined by Bella.

It may seem a good idea to bite Bella’s bum…

..but there can be reprisals. Time to leg it!

Biggles in full flight!

But he’s not nearly fast enough..

..to outrun Bella

A gathering at the office water cooler

How long before he’s big enough to pick this up!

You may wonder what Beanie was doing while Biggles was having all this fun. Well, despite the small fortune we’ve spent trying to find safe but interesting chase toys, it turns out Beanie still prefers her own improvised toys:

Yep, that is a poo bag swinging from her chops

Needless to say we got a nice quiet afternoon when got back home.

Finally, we’re still waiting for Beanie’s treat bag to emerge from the black hole that is Zak’s stomach. If it is still in there, it doesn’t seem to be weighing him down at all.

It was cold yesterday yet surprisingly sunny – ideal conditions for two young Beagles looking for chases and interesting sniffs.

Biggles’ red jacket (a hand-me-down from his big sister) was still wet from the previous day so he had to go out wearing only his birthday suit, but he didn’t seem to notice the cold at all. Unfortunately for me, his birthday suit is predominantly white, so I had to keep my eyes pinned on him in case he managed to hide himself amongst all the frozen foliage.

Beanie of course was somewhat easier to spot..

Kirby doing an impressive wolf impersonation

For some reason the icy conditions made Beanie more interested in toys, and she spent quite a bit of time just bounding around with a tennis ball she er… “borrowed” from Zak and Amber.

They say “what goes around comes around”, and before the end of the walk Zak “borrowed” Beanie and Biggles’ treats. He wiggled his snout into my pocket and made off with the treat bag. I figured he was just going to snaffle all the food but he went one better and swallowed the whole bag before I or anyone else could get it off him. After all the worry we’ve had over Beanie’s swallowing stunt I’m just hoping that the bag (minus the treats of course) will turn up in one of Zak’s future deposits in the Poo Bank. I think it will – Zak is a very big boy.

Beanie and Biggles – particularly Biggles – didn’t seem the least bit concerned about Zak though. For them, it was all about the treats, or lack thereof.

OK I’m sitting – where’s the treat?

Fortunately I had just enough emergency rations left in my pocket to get the two of them on lead and back to the car.