A little while ago – perhaps I should say “A wee while ago” due to the nature of this post and the fact that we’re in Scotland – I reported that Daisy had started peeing the bed in her crate on a regular basis. I tried a calming pheromone and carried out an uber-thorough wash of her bedding in the hopes of eliminating all traces of pee scent; this reduced the frequency of the soiling but didn’t stop it entirely. Clearly further action was required!

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it was probably a training issue; there was some kind of faulting thinking going on in that warm, soft and sweet smelling bonce of hers. I reinstated one of the most basic toilet-training steps: every time she urinated outside I praised her, rewarded her and made sure to bind the whole event consistently to the trigger phrase I use when she goes out for her final toilet visit at night.

Unfortunately when we got Daisy I had a moment of silliness and short-term thinking which led me to depart from the sensible “clean girl!” phrase I’d used for Beanie and Poppy. Daisy just seemed so tiny and cute that I felt strangely compelled to say “Pee-pee and poo-poo!”. Worse still, I didn’t just say it plainly, but used a mock-French accent. That was fine in those early days when Daisy couldn’t go for walkies in public; no-one could hear me so it didn’t matter that it sounded silly. Now of course Daisy isn’t a pup, she’s heading towards 2 yrs old and when she squats for a number one we’re much more likely to be on a popular park trail than in the privacy of our garden. Still, that’s the phrase she knows so I’ve been saying it, albeit with less of a Peter Sellers / Inspector Clouseau accent. Yes, I do feel silly, but also yes it has worked brilliantly, eradicating the problem after just a couple of days.

It has of course created another small issue, in that Daisy now does extra pees on walks just to get her treat. There are several changes in behavior that have led me to this conclusion; firstly and obviously she pees more during the walk, but more importantly after the first one she looks me right in the eye as she squats, then jogs over and openly mugs me for her reward. And of course his Monkeyship doesn’t want to be left out, so I have to give him a treat as well. Anyway, let all this be a lesson to anyone getting a Beagle pup: choose your toilet trigger words carefully!

Finally as we’re close to Christmas I figure it’s time to post a few festive shots…

Errr Monkey.. is your hoof better than mine?

Yeah Daisy it is, and you’re not having it ’till I’ve finished!

How come we always get the slightly odd ones when it comes to Beagles? Beanie would hump anything that moved and then demand to be covered by a blankie; Biggles was a furry noise machine who wanted to build his own dirty sock mountain, yet would always stay very, very quiet when he needed help. Poppy was a potato-obsessed kleptomaniac who could find a way through any fence. Monkey – as I’ve often noted – loves to lap up other dogs’ pee and gets inappropriately stimulated by our sofa throws.

Compared to that lot Daisy has always been the normal one; she just likes cuddles and humping Monkey, and let’s face it, everyone likes humping Monkey. Poppy did it frequently and numerous other (mostly boy) dogs have had a go at riding him this year, despite the fact that he’s is fully intact. Just recently however, Daisy has proved that she is indeed a fully paid-up member of the gang: she’s developed a liking for pressing her nether regions firmly against novel surfaces. Fleecy jogging bottoms are nice, as is fur – whether attached to Monkey or the purely synthetic kind – but her real fave is leather; cool, supple leather.  Especially if it’s been recently waxed.

In fairness I should point out that (so far) Daisy hasn’t actually humped her chosen perving surface – unless that surface is Monkey of course – but our little girl has definitely joined the “not quite right” club.

To finish, some shots of a more innocent nature..

In the last two weeks it seems like autumn has been and gone and now we’re into winter: mostly cold, wet and windy with the odd dry but extra, extra cold day. On one one of those extra cold yet sunny mornings, I put on a warm jacket and went to sit in the garden with the pups; they always enjoy playing and exploring more when one of us is out with them.

Out of the blue, Monkey interrupted his play & perimeter checks  and leaped onto my lap. This is unusual; Daisy’s normally my go-to lap dog , while Monkey prefers Susan because she tends lean right back in the chair, producing a larger area that is better able to accommodate a Monkey and all his components. Nevertheless, this morning he had his rear paws on my knees, his front paws on my chest and his head right in front of mine. I told him how nice it was to receive this special visit and ruffled his lugs, and there was much wagging.

Unlike Daisy, Monkey’s not keen on hugs, but he does like to go nose-to-nose with a humie and stare into their eyes, all the while making little snuffling noises. It’s a wonderfully gentle and intimate gesture – one so disarming that I forgot the other, even more intimate thing that goes along with it. As my lips parted just a little for an in-breath, he shot his tongue straight into my mouth and for an instant our tongues made contact. This turned the “awww” moment into an “ugghhh”, but as I reflexively did little spits and wiped my mouth on my sleeve, Monkey walked forward up my chest, putting my forehead in line with his neck. The “awww” came right back as I pressed my nose into his chest fur and he rested his chin on the top of my head. A moment later it was double-awww: Daisy leaped up onto my lap and crawled through the Monkey tunnel, emerging between his legs to put little kisses on my chin.

Moments like these more than make up for all the poo-pickups, bed-washings, extra vacuuming sessions and unidentified floaters in my coffee cup. They are also mostly adequate compensation for having Monkey’s tongue in my mouth, even when I suspect it was licking his bumhole only a few seconds earlier :)