It’s been a while since we’ve seen Tess – another of Beanie’s beagle friends – in the park.  Tess’s early years were spent in a so-called “puppy farm” which left her in poor shape physically, and with precious little of the playfulness and exuberance that is normally typical of the breed.

Fortunately Tess’s new owner has worked very hard to undo the damage, and as part of her recovery she’s been allowed to have one last litter of pups – but this time they’re staying with her to keep her company.

We bumped into Tess and her Mum at the weekend and were treated to some pics of the cute little tykes:

The new pups are called Tara and Clara, and having them seems to have done Tess a world of good. Her body language has changed completely – she has more confidence, and is trotting along like the happy little dog she deserves to be.

She’s still carrying a rather heavy undercarriage, but hopefully the vet will be able to do something about that once the pups are older. We’re really looking forward to seeing them in a month or so when they can visit the park!

The Scottish Beagle Club held its annual barbeque on Sunday afternoon in Alva. We went along with Beanie but as it turned out it was only beefburgers that were on the menu, not Beagles. This was probably just as well as no-one had thought to shave their dogs before the event, and there’s nothing worse than a furry burger.

The gloomy weather threatened rain several times but never followed through, so all the outdoor activities – including various fun dog shows (waggiest tail, cutest puppy), wellie tossing and a potato and spoon race – were able to proceed unhindered.

Various prizes were up for grabs though sadly for some, not all of them were edible:

Hey! I thought you said I was getting a real hotdog!

But edible or not, they were still good enough to draw envious glances from the less successful competitors:

 … and even spark a few attempts at theft:

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