The decent weather on Thursday was too good to waste, so the four of us headed out to Irvine beach. It’s been a while since our previous visit and we couldn’t help but wonder whether our dynamic duo would be any better behaved off lead after all the training we’ve been doing.
As it turned out they were. There was an initial explosive sprint off towards the horizon but they returned quickly, and then spent most of their time staying pretty close. Whenever they showed signs of heading off for another distant adventure we abruptly changed direction and that seemed to reign them back in.
I have to admit though that most of the improved behavior came from Beanie. Biggles was in a very playful mood and frequently tried to tempt her away on a Beagles-only mission, but she held firm. I think Biggles still needs more solo time to get him more interested in us than his sister, but then again he’s still just a youngster.
Biggles may be lying down but he’s ready spring into action the second Beanie shows interest!
All the swimming we’ve been doing has made both of them much more confident in the water. Beanie waded through quite deep water to retrieve her toy a couple of times (though she didn’t actually swim) and Biggles went for a cool bath whenever he got a little too warm.
Of course whenever you get wet, you’ve got to shake yourself off…
About halfway down the beach something caught Beanie’s interest, and of course Biggles ran over to investigate. A tug of war ensued and as we approached it became clear they’d got hold of the remnants of an animal carcass.
There wasn’t much left except bones and leathery flesh remnants. It’s possible – just possible – that this was all that was left of the dead sheep they found on their last visit. Either way we felt it would be a good idea to get them away from it, and this was accomplished with surprising ease and no squealing, grunting or aaarfing from the Bigglet.
The rest of the walk was uneventful, save for Biggles deciding that he wanted to drink seawater instead of the bottled stuff we’d brought with us. Needless to say he was sick shortly afterwards, but as often happens he made an instant recovery and was back to doing what Biggleses do best.
Nice and clean – time to go back on lead ready for the trip home!
So of course, a thorough roll in the sand is required
The Bigglet Pigglet!
what fantastic photos, especially mid shake!!!
Is photography a hobby for you or are you involved professionally as well?
Hollie & Alfie x
Thanks! It’s just a hobby but I get a lot of requests for photos so you never know, it could be a useful sideline in the future.
good pics as always! and thanks very much for the sponsor :) x
@Gillian
Thanks, and sorry it took us so long to get round to it – it’s been a hectic week!
I love the 3rd picture from the bottom. Biggles almost looks like Snoopy doing his happy dance!
We’ve just been looking into harnesses for our Beagle, as we’re about to start biking with him. I really liked the look of the fleecy ones you used (they looked really comfy), but I’ve just noticed you’ve changed to the Rogz ones. Any particular reason?
We decided to use different harnesses for different activities so that the dogs know what’s expected of them when a given harness is popped on. We originally bought the Rogz harnesses for flyball.
The fleecy harness are lovely and comfy, but our two could easily back out of them (I think we could have done with a smaller size). I wouldn’t take them near busy roads in the fleece harnesses and I get a bit nervous when they’re going balistic over a scent out in open countryside as it would be so easy for one of them to wiggle out. We started using the Rogz harnesses on walks/runs simply because they are more secure. The dogs seem to find them comfy.
But for biking (where you’re having to cope with a bike AND A dog and you aren’t always watching the dog) we’ve gone a step further and got RuffWear webmaster harnesses. These are very secure and were originally designed for mountain rescue dogs. The harness is comfy enough to wear all day and secure enough for you to be able to safely lift the dog by the handle. I figured that this could be VERY handy if I wanted to reach down with one hand and lift the dog out of danger whilst I’m on the bike (e.g. a car’s passing and the dogs decided it’s a good time to pick up a scent). We haven’t used the ruffwear harness yet so I can’t give you a review I’m afraid.
I use a “Perfect Fit” harness for Chigley when cycling….they are infinitely adjustable & have a nice fleecy lining too. Check out the website @ http://www.dog-games.co.uk/shop/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness
PS – Love the Bigglet Pigglet pics!
Thank you for the harness info, Susan and Sam. They both look ideal, although the ruffwear harness looks the buisness. I can definitely see the advantage of the handle. That would come in very handy for us whilst out walking too. There’s often the odd style over a stone wall to negotiate and it’s awfully tricky getting Murphy over if I’m on my own.
Love the Biggles shaking out pictures! Great captures altogether of your little thoroughbreds.
Bigglet is one sexy dog