A few people have been asking for the recipie for sardine or mackerel cake. So here it is….

1 tin of sardine in oil (or tinned mackeral in oil, chicken or turkey mince, liver etc)
1 cup of wholemeal self raising flour
1 egg
A little garlic or parmesan for extra flavor

Whiz it together in a food blender and pop into a flat cake tin and bake at 180 degrees for about 15 or 20 mins. Cut up into small pieces and freeze for use later.

I tend not to measure the ingredients. I just add enough flour to make a cake mix consistency. If i’m using meat I’ll put a tiny bit of sunflower oil in. No complaints so far.

And speaking of tasty treats……

Beanie has discovered a new use for her baby brother. Biggles is always so desparate to polish of his dinner that he ends up with more of it on his ears than in his tummy. Never one to miss an opportunity for an extra snack, Beanie has discovered that she can pin Biggles to the floor after lunch and while away a good half hour sucking food off of his ears. Biggles doesen’t seem to mind in the least :)

Over the last few days the midges at our normal park have treated my head like an all-you-can-eat buffet, so this morning I took Beanie to Bellahouston instead. We were a little late getting there so it was a pretty quiet, but Beanie still enjoyed herself: she rolled in a dead bird and a pile of fox poo (totally necessary, as we gave her a bath yesterday!) . To top it off, she completely exhausted a young German Shepherd in a brief but full-speed chase. If you’ve seen the gladiator scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, you’ll get the picture (“I think I’m going to have a cardiac arrest.. aaarrgh”)

She was still full of beans when we got home, and it’s just as well, because Biggles was awake and ready for action. Despite his tender age and small size (though he’s growing at a terrific rate!) he gave Beanie the toughest tug of war she’s ever had:

It was more about determination than mass and strength. Who wanted that grimy, non-squeaking chicken the most? Biggles certainly gave it his all…

but when Beanie spotted the camera, she realized her reputation was at stake..

..and our little boy returned from the garden somewhat lacking in the chicken department.

For a while though I really thought he might manage it. As a young pup, Beanie was never that keen on tug’o’war games though she has learned to enjoy them subsequently. Biggles on the other hand is a natural tugger, and I’ve often been faced with the question of whether I should win my own games with him, or let him win.

Advocates of the “human as pack leader” approach would say that I should win every time, to show him who’s boss. On the other hand, the “natural” dog trainers would say let him win, to use his prey instinct to build a foundation for good recall in later life. I’ve always let Beanie win, and my feeling is that I should do the same with Biggles. He’s a very confident little pup, but pretty much every time I stroke him he ends up rolling onto his back for a tummy tickle. I somehow don’t see that as a sign that he wants to be dominant – at least not yet!

…’cos that’s the day Tess and her two five-month old pups Tara and Clara came to our place to see Biggles!

Susan had prepared some Mackerel cake to help get the party off to a good start. It worked a treat:

After the first round of cake, the visitors went on a sniffabout to check out the garden. As they neared the sandpit, Biggles bravely went to defend it. It’s his favorite play area at the moment, having only recently grown big enough to get in there! He successfully fended off Tara and Clara…

but Tess got an invitation!

Once out of the sandpit, Biggles really hit it off with Clara. She gave him a sniffing lesson:

he showed her round our tastier plants…

You actually eat that Biggles?

and they had some really fun play sessions together!

Soon it was time for another round of cake. Let’s face it, it’s about the only way to hold five Beagles’ attention:

When he wasn’t running around, Louise (Tess’ mum) nabbed Biggles for a quick cuddle.

And when she was distracted by Biggles and Clara, Beanie saw a chance to practice her latest skill – picking pockets!

Inevitably there was another round of cake..

..and to show how much bigger Biggles is than Beanie at the same age, Susan got out Beanie’s old winter coat. It fitted her up to about 13 weeks old, while at 9 1/2 weeks it’s already too small for Biggles!

Biggles and Clara continued to get on really well…

and I think Beanie got a little bit jealous, because she became quite vocal. Still, it didn’t escalate enough to merit a squirt from our trusty water-pistol :)

When the time came for Tess and her pups to head home, we popped Biggles in his fabric crate. With all the play and stimulation he was bound to be tired, but he voiced his disagreement loudly, and Tess went over to him to make sure he was alright. If only Beanie had such a strong mothering instinct!

Once their Beagle pals had left, both Beanie and Biggles slept deeply for the rest of the afternoon. Later on, I gave Beanie a quick walk before all the Bonfire Night fireworks started. As I write, the rockets are in full flight, and though Beanie’s not frightened by the noise as such, she is being a little clingy. And Biggles? Well he’s really reacting badly to all the explosions:

NOT! That little fella will sleep through anything – so long as food isn’t involved!

[More photos from today here]