Time for a rummage

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Paul

January is the month when the Beaglemobile has to go for its annual service and MOT, and this is the time when it gets its most through clean – both inside and out. For some reason I never put in the same amount of cleaning effort when it’s just for us, but when I’m sending it in to be checked by anonymous mechanics I suddenly feel motivated do things properly.

As part of this process, I inevitably end up bringing a bag of assorted junk in from the van: tools, gloves, USB and audio leads, and of course the ever-growing collection of tennis balls that Biggles has rescued from the beach. Out of laziness I just dump this behind the first door I come to, creating the perfect conditions for a Beagle rummaging session. And there certainly has been plenty of rummaging! Over the last couple of days I’ve collected two shredded tennis balls from the corridor by our bedroom, and spent several minutes extracting the rubbery guts of a ball from between Biggles’s teeth. At first I thought he’d grabbed somebody’s discarded chewing gum, but no, he’d been flossing with tennis ball innards.

Rummaging is just so exhausting, but a Beagle boy must do his duty

This time around it’s not just garage bills to be paid, but vet and canine physio bills too, because Beanie has developed a mysterious condition that may or may not be wholly physical. Over the last couple of months she’s become increasingly hesitant about jumping onto things, has occasionally been a bit prone to slipping on our laminate flooring and in the garden, and her rear legs have been shaking more than Elvis Presley’s. This all started around the firework season and just after Biggles fouled her lead twice as she was jumping into the car boot, causing her to fall. We weren’t sure if she’d injured herself in these falls, or become fearful, or if these were symptoms of some kind of neurological issue. We took her to the vet who promptly ruled out a neurological cause but found that she was putting significantly more weight through one of her rear legs. The vet told us to cut down on jumping opportunities and include a bit more rough and hilly terrain in our walks, and I’ve been doing exactly that ever since.

As things stand now Beanie has improved considerably; when she’s running on the beach or playing in the house there’s no sign of anything amiss, but at other times we still see the occasional hint of instability or dented confidence.

Scrambles on country walks are no problem for Beanie

And she still takes the lead on hillwalks and runs

If it wasn’t for the occasional uncharacteristic stumble when jumping onto the sofa or chasing around the garden you’d think there was nothing wrong.

Knowing Beanie, it’s perfectly possible she’s got both reduced confidence and a minor but persistent niggle (I’ve certainly had plenty of soft tissue niggles myself!) so just to be safe we’re shelling out for a visit to a canine physio. If there’s a rehab or massage exercise we could be doing to help her along, hopefully the physio will be able to point us in the right direction. Fingers and paws crossed for a good outcome!

A sunny start to 2019

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Paul

Christmas was a pretty drab affair this time around, from both a weather and Beagle perspective. Two new solid memory foam dog beds appeared, and though they’re clearly more comfy than than older beds they replaced (as indicated by a dramatic reduction in the late night bed telling-off routine), they hardly made Beagle eyes light up with joy. Even worse than that, after December 25th the daily “Advent Biccie” program abruptly came to an end, and was not re-instated despite howls of protest from the Beanster.

Advent Biccies should be for life, not just for the lead up to Christmas!

There were however two highlights over the festive period. The first was the introduction of a completely new food item euphemistically labeled “beef rings”. I believe these are actually sections of bovine trachea and they’re so disgusting I couldn’t bring myself to photograph them, but they loosely resemble pieces of vacuum hose that have been given a makeover by the guys behind the Alien movies. The interesting thing about “beef rings” is that there seem to be strict rules about when and how to eat them. If I just grab a couple out of the bag and hand them to Beanie & Biggles, then they just get grabbed and munched noisily on the spot (the cracking gristle noises are not for the squeamish). However, if I serve them up in doggy bowls along with kibble, then both our pups carefully lift the rings out of their bowls, set them to one side and munch through their kibble before chowing down on the rings. They’ve done this several times now so it’s definitely a thing, and they make me feel like a lazy waiter who’s delivered soup and a bread roll together in the bowl rather than presenting the roll on its own side plate. Who knew that Beagles really do have table manners?

The second highlight came with an Amazon delivery just as I was on my way out to the gym. I’d ordered a 12kg sack of kibble and a bag of fish cubes, and as soon as I took possession of the boxes the officers from the local Beagle customs office came to make an inspection. I fully expected that I’d have to move the boxes to the kitchen for safe-keeping, but other than a brief sniff Beanie and Biggles didn’t seem particularly interested, so I just left them in the hall and got on my way. Some short time later Susan heard rummaging noises coming from the hall, but didn’t immediately go to check. When the noises continued and grew to the point that they could not be ignored, Susan found the box of fish cubes doing a tour of the hall as first one Beagle then the other attempted to access the contents. We don’t think anyone succeeded, but there was a sizable hole in the cardboard box and when Susan rescued it, both pups immediately turned their attention to the box of kibble. You know it has to be Christmas when you get a few minutes alone with a box of fish cubes :)

In all respects 2019 started much better than 2018 ended. The drab grey weather cleared and when I took the pups to Loudoun hill for their first big walk of the New Year, it was packed with families. To a Beagle, families mean one thing – lots of dropped food and other tasty items. We went up, down and around the hill a couple of times and by the time we’d finished anything that could be eaten (even though it really shouldn’t be) had been consumed or formally reserved (peed on). The temperature was low throughout, but it felt much warmer in all that winter sun, and the sunset was spectacular.

Biggles goes all NASA with his new collar

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Paul

When it comes to collars we’ve always favored the ones that use a traditional metal buckle instead of a plastic clip; I’ve never forgotten that one of Beanie’s litter-mates died when a plastic clip failed near busy traffic. That said, Biggles’ otherwise solid old fashioned collar literally dropped off on a recent evening walk. The cause of failure? The little cross-bar in the buckle snapped, and he wasn’t straining on his lead at the time. Very fortunately we weren’t by a busy road and Biggles was thoroughly engrossed in a sniff so he came to no harm, in fact he quite enjoyed being carried back home in Susan’s arms like a big furry baby.

He spent the rest of the evening and much of the next day without a collar, and given that he’d been so slow to recognize his sudden and unexpected moment of freedom on the walk I didn’t expect him to notice. I was wrong. Biggles very quickly learned that one our most basic Beagle control systems was gone. His visits to the outdoor loo via the kitchen suddenly became full of new possibilities; numerous items were grabbed from the worktops as we tried and failed to steer him directly to the door. I almost had to rugby-tackle him to get his head out of my sock drawer, and when it was time for his toothbrushing I discovered just how much I rely on hooking his collar with a finger; his rear teeth went almost untouched by the brush. Clearly an urgent trip to the local petshop was needed to get a replacement collar, but when I got there I faced a difficult choice: try one with a stout plastic clip, or trust a metal buckle, knowing that I had just seen one fail?

Eventually I spotted something that appears more trustworthy than either of those options: the EzyDog “Double-Up” collar. It does close with a plastic clip, but it has two D-rings either side of the clip for the lead attachment. You hook the lead through both of these rings, so even with a dog that pulls like a train the clip never takes the strain.

It’s a brilliant fail-safe design that would be worthy of NASA – if they applied their problem solving skills to doggy gear that is. Obviously I couldn’t get a secure collar for the Bigglet and leave Beanie with a lesser design, so two of them landed in my shopping basket.

If you’re looking for a safe collar for a dog with zero road sense then the EzyDog Double-up should be on your list of candidates.