Beagle Zen

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Paul

Kibble on paws, but no-one’s snacking until they’re told. Beanie meditates on both pieces at once; Biggles is strictly a one-kibble-at-a-time boy

The two weeks of NILIF (nothing in life is free) were up some time ago but we’ve kept going with much of it, because together with the various self control exercises it’s worked wonders for bringing our two Beagles into line. We’re still hand-feeding them (it’s nice for them and us) and they still have to sit and/or perform a trick when crossing a boundary, but we are now inviting them up onto the sofa and into our bed for a cuddle.

Back in our bed on a morning, just where a Bigglet should be!

The aggression Beanie showed to Biggles seems to be thoroughly behind us now, though our boy still seems to lack confidence in some situations. We’re working to build him up, but we need to do so selectively because he is after all a Beagle boy; give him an inch and he’ll grab & tug it until it’s considerably longer, and probably full of holes.

They say it’s much easier to tell a mischievous Beagle to do something good than to stop doing something naughty, and I think that’s why the discipline of the baskets works so well. It took a bit of firm handling and patience, but now we can put a stop to lots of troublesome behavior simply by sending them to their baskets. Finally we can have TV dinners in peace, yet still invite our pups up for a cuddle when we’re ready!

The benefits of the NILIF programme have also spilled over into our agility training. Beanie is much less likely to go off on a poo hunt at the start of each session, while Biggly Boy is now able to follow commands at a greater distance and is very close to weaving unaided.

Biggles loves jumping almost as much as Beanie now!

And jumps are great for other things too :)

Beanie has her eyes fixed on the next obstacle as she slinks over the jump

The only thing that isn’t quite back on track is play between Beanie and Biggles. Having said that, they’re having lots of play sessions with us right now so maybe they don’t need to let off steam with chases and wrestling on their own. Also despite the odd clear day we’ve had a lot of rain lately, and Beagles generally don’t like getting wet. Getting smelly and disgusting: yes, getting rained on: no. Anyway, hopefully they’ll return to playing together as we head into spring and summer and they spend more time together in the garden.

Last Night’s Agility Lesson

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Susan

A little video clip of Beanie and Biggles agility lesson last night.

For the Beagle that has everything

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Susan

We’ve been racking our brains to find the perfect Christmas pressie for Beanie and Biggles and we think we’ve done it! It’s a two part pressie and I’m embarrassed to admit that we got a bit excited and let them play with the first half. It was a big hit.

Beanie and Biggles favorite thing in all the world is chasing. Last year we got them a portable lure and whilst they think that’s the bee’s knees it’s not suitable for smaller spaces. We wanted something that was as much fun as chasing a lure but that could eventually be used as a super exciting reward to make sports like agility more fun. Currently we use food rewards but the problem with that is that scraps of food found on the ground, in other peoples pockets or on stalls at an agility competition are every bit as appealing and we tend to lose control if there’s nosh within a 2 mile radius! We want something super-exciting that the pups know they won’t find anywhere except with us.

So, back to the pressie. The first part sounds a bit strange – it’s a lunge whip. The type they use for training horses. It’s a long, flexible pole with a ‘rope’ attached to the end. It cost about £5. Now it might not sound like fun but attach a rope to the end and wiggle it about a bit and you’ll be any Beagle’s best friend.

Here it is in action:

And some piccies:

The second part of the pressie is something a bit nicer than an old rag to chase and kill. A JML ‘crazy critter’ fox and racoon as advertised on TV:

These are just perfect for attaching to lunge whip – they’re all slinky and fluffy with squeakers in the head and tail that’ll make lots of lovely noise when the critters are being killed.

Anything that’s been attached to the lunge whip becomes exciting in it’s own right so in time I’m guessing that we’ll be able to stuff a ‘crazy critter’ in our jackets and whip it out at the end of an agility run to drive our pups wild with excitement.