Maybe We Should Have Named Them Mickey & Mallory
Buddy and Penny (The NukeBeagles) have killed 2 squirrels in the past 5 days. I don’t mean like they sauntered up on an old grey drawing his last breath, I mean tracking in tandem and killing. Just like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. “Clever girl”, indeed. I’m not sure where the blood lust is coming from. OK. that’s not true; they’re beagles for crying out loud. They’ve been bred for over 180 years to track and trap a variety of small burrowing rodents and mammals. But they aren’t supposed to kill them. They’re job is to run them up a tree or down a hole and then make as much racket as possible until the guys with the guns show up. It’s not like they don’t get fed enough. Buddy attacks his food bowl like Britney Spears at an all you can eat buffet. Penny is a little more selective; nibbling at her food the way J-Lo might move 5 peas around her plate and call it sustenance. They rarely eat at the same time, which means if you leave Penny’s food down, Buddy will eat them both. This is a concept I’m still trying to get the Nukekids to understand.
I can’t be mad at them, in fact, I’d give them medals if I thought they’d understand the significance of the ceremony. I caught a glimpse of them in action the other day. Penny was crouched down low to the ground like a cat staring at a squirrel on the fence. Buddy was under the shed. Penny finally bolted towards the squirrel after it had come into the yard. The squirrel knew what the kill zone was, and made sure he was well outside of it. He started running away from Penny; TOWARDS the shed. Buddy blew it when he jumped out a little too soon and after the ultimate “OH CRAP!” moment, the squirrel took a hard left and jumped for the fence. He made it. Barely. I couldn’t believe it! The coordination and strategy they had shown convinced me that they are the dynamic duo of backyard squirrel slaying. An explanation for the 2 dead squirrels I saw Buddy prancing around the yard with was apparent: my beagles are telepathic. They have an incredible bond already, but this stuffs got to be more than instinct. They are brother and sister and have not spent a moment apart from the day they were born. The dominance factor was solved long ago; it’s Buddy. Not because he’s the male, but because Penny could care less. Buddy out weighs Penny by 7 lbs (see food bowl entry above), but she still kicks his ass on a routine basis. He thinks he’s the alpha male, but I don’t have the heart to tell him that’s about as useful as an Honorary Doctorate from Guilford County Community College.
With all of the greys trying to stock up for winter, there will be no shortage of targets over the next few weeks. I imagine Bonnie and Clyde will have their hands full protecting the vast acorn vault that is our backyard. Mickey and Mallory from Natural Born Killers, Early and Adele from Kalifornia, hell, I could even call them Thelma and Louise if I wanted since Buddy has been fixed. I wouldn’t do that to him though, he already has self-esteem issues. Thank God they don’t know how to drive a convertible…yet. I just wish Buddy would quit looking at me like I’m a T-bone.
Melisa
I don’t think you mentioned if they howl (and/or screech and yelp as if they’ve been stabbed) as they are chasing their target (unless you mentioned it and I’m blind…); are they that stealth in their movements?
By the way, I think Buddy would make a wonderful doggie husband for Roxie. She was considering going after Uno, the Westminster Champion, but he’s probably extremely vain. Buddy seems to have looks *and* substance.
And I’ve apparently got way too much time on my hands this afternoon. Geez. Matchmaking for my beagle? Seriously.
(NukeDad) Penny howled in a different tone, which is what alerted me initially. Have your dog people call my dog people; we’ll do kibble.
Melisas last blog post..I Feel Much Better.
Oct 24, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
PandoraWilde
Beagles prefer to hunt in braces, but my solo Beagle hunted on her own when she was mousing the house (yes, the DOG was the mouser–the cat was the bum), and did eat what she killed–then found an inconvenient place for my almost MIL to find where she’d barfed it back up.
Good dog–hated my almost MIL.
But back to Beagles. Hunting is heavily instinct–a lot of people do train them (in braces of two) but the best dogs always have a killer instinct to start out with. I got mine (dog, not killer instinct–that came from dealing with the almost MIL) from a breeder who felt she wouldn’t be one of the best of the hunters from a set of four litters, so she became my companion until I had to let her stay with her best buddy, my ex-fiance’s Flat-Coated Retriever–he’d been away from her only one in six years and he was pitiful that whole night (we spayed her and she had to stay overnight), so I couldn’t put him thru it again.
BTW you have two beauties there–wish I could pet those soft silky ears…
(NukeDad) I’ll post some pics later on with their eyes open.
If you need help with the almost MIL, let me know; just dress her in a squirrel costume and send her over.
PandoraWildes last blog post..How dumb can it get?
Oct 24, 2008 @ 10:51 pm
Weaselmomma
Have the NukeKids been reading “Bunnicula” to the dogs in honor of Halloween?
(NukeDad) It’s actually the sequel; “Squiricula’s Revenge”.
Weaselmommas last blog post..Wacky Wednesday
Oct 25, 2008 @ 7:27 am
'cuz I'm the mommy, that's why
I used to have a blue heeler/Austrailian Cattle Dog mix. She was hell on chipmunks. They ended up looking like squirrels after she got done stretching them. Good times, good times…
The cat had a mouse/mole fetich while I was pregnant. I’d get up every morning and put on my rubber gloves and get my trash bag and go on a twister version of the Easter egg hunt. And no, Hubs didn’t kill the cat. (yet).
Tell Penny and Buddy to be careful: I hear squirrels are meaner than they look!
(NukeDad) My friend had a Blue Heeler. Those dogs freak me out. You can never tell what they are thinking. They never wag their tails, never lick you, and their ears are always straight up. You’re either a friend or lunch; you just never know which one.
‘cuz I’m the mommy, that’s whys last blog post..Gluttony, Envy, Pride…
Oct 26, 2008 @ 6:04 am
Momo Fali
My Mom’s dog likes to catch groundhogs. Every week, I talk to my Mom and she has to go pick up a dead one. Yet, it makes her sick to pick up dog poop. Go figure.
My dog loves to chase squirrels, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t know what to do with one if she ever caught it. I think maybe she’s trying to catch one to have as a friend. You know, just another living creature to scratch her belly.
(NukeDad) That’s a good theory, Momo. I sometimes wish I had another living creature who’s sole purpose was to scratch my belly. Of course, that could take all day with the size of my gut.
Oct 27, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
tom
Can I borrow them to chase possums? I have a family in my backyard. I wouldn’t mind them at all, except they leave huge amounts of poop all over the lawn. It’s really annoying. Good for you for having such good squirrel hunting dogs.
(NukeDad) I’d say yes, you can borrow them, but I’m afraid Penny would teach them how to pee on your couch. Which explains why she is now a 100% outdoor beagle.
toms last blog post..The Winds Of Change
Oct 27, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
Karen
“They never wag their tails, never lick you, and their ears are always straight up.”
The licking thing is one of the reasons I do not want a dog (poop, barking, jumping, smelling…), so that breed would have some potential if I were actually willing to put up with other dog traits. Beagles are one of my favorite to look at though, they are soooo cute! If they worked on deer I would have so wanted to borrow them the year I tried growing corn, first the stupid woodchucks, then the deer, I did not have a good year!
(NukeDad) Trust me, you don’t want a Blue Heeler. They’re like owning a ghost with mis-matched eyes. I’ve never seen one that had the same colored eyes. You usually end up with a grey/blue or green/yellow combo. Creepy.
Karens last blog post.."Tastey" Tuesday
Oct 28, 2008 @ 4:23 am
Jon D (Graco)
We put our Spitz, Alex on a runner in the back yard when she’s out – otherwise she’ll take off after anything that remotely looks like a squirrel. But when she’s on the runner, the squirrels know she can’t get them so they’ll come halfway down the tree, until BARK-BARK-BARK. Back up the tree they go. Alex shuts up and watches. They chatter away up in the tree just teasing her – like saying “ha-ha, you ca-an’t catch me!”
Then they do it all over again and again and again – just messing with Alex and she has no clue what they’re up to – I watched this repeat itself for a good twenty minutes on Sunday. Cheap entertainment, but meanwhile I’m getting hate mail from the neighbors about our “stupid dog that won’t stop barking.” I could sure use Buddy and Penny to clear out a few smart-aleck squirrels – and maybe a neighbor or two.
(NukeDad) They could teach Alex some of their Ninja moves. I saw Buddy sporting a headband the other day.
Jon D (Graco)s last blog post..Homemade Halloween
Oct 28, 2008 @ 12:46 pm