First Time Ever on the Beach

Jowls flapping, panting, racing along the waterline with fear widened eyes. That was me this morning when I tried to catch up with Nougat who took Bofa and Horton for a quick kilometer run (felt like it) as fast as possible away from the Human.

My body was going into shock because of the sheer and utter abuse of  such physical exertion after years of easy living. Somewhere in my head, maybe a message from the universe, a whining alarm went off that informed me that trying to catch a wayward Basset way ahead of me was utter foolishness and wishful thinking. A spark of inspiration hit me - probably because I was chugging along at such a slow speed that it could not miss me.

I stopped, bent down and started digging. I whistled, shouted 'Come LOOK' and made sure that I scooped the sand so rigorously that  it made dramatic arches through the air. I was going after an imaginary crab or whatever other thing might have been living under the sand. Nougat and Bofa were not phased. They gave me the 'don't care' Basset stare and turned to continue their escape. They were not interested in most things the Human considered very interesting, like blogging. Horton though was easily fooled. He came racing toward me to check this thing in the sand. It must have been his surprised cock of the head at nothing in the sand that made Nougat and Bofa think there was something in the sand. I could not get those leashes back on fast enough wen they finally reached me. My dream of seeing my pups running leashless came true in a nightmarish way. It might have been four escaping Bassets if Butter did not refuse to move because she was too tired. Beware the Wayward Basset.

The trouble really started when I opened the canopy door to let them out. Nougat had gotten rid of her harness and Horton was wearing his like sexy suspenders around his hips. Nougat can be as slippery as a slope when she wants to be. Try put a harness back on her when she has her mind set on exploration and try doing it while hanging onto one of Horton's feet to keep him from running. I cannot exactly remember how that worked, but it did. Luckily their Nanny, Mrs. Q, is with us on this vacation and she could hang on to Butter and Bofa who were still harnessed and leashed. The easy-off harnesses is of the kind that fits only over the shoulders and works very well while you're looking at the dog. When you're not, they take it off because you're not watching. Of this I'm certain. 

Because of all this action there are no photos of the off-leash run. The one below is Horton's reaction when he first saw the sea from our holiday home. He could not believe his eyes, which is exactly the way I felt when I saw the three of them taking off with no intention of returning anytime soon.

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A sleeping Nougat.

Play Date

We had a play date this past Saturday. I was delighted to meet fellow Humans under the influence of Bassets and a very busy teenage Corgi.

My Hounds (my pack, not my property) did not spend much time on introductions and pleasantries. They promptly started marking territory in a garden where they were only guests, except for The Butter, who immediately looked for a spot where she could lie down and block access to an entrance. All that frenzy and assertiveness in her house must have been what unnerved little Basset Gabriella for the rest of the afternoon. Corgi Dristan tried to rectify the situation by telling everyone who the real top dog in the house was.

Basset Christopher is a Tibetan monk chanting a continuous silent mantra. Absolutely nothing could 

unsettle him in his meditations. Whenever I stroked his head there was a little cone of silence around 

the two of us.

My hooligan pack was invited onto the patio couch which made them think that it belonged to them. Bofa 

even claimed our Human hostess for a while by putting his head on her lap. I was a little jealous. Whenever I 

try it he thinks it is a joke and tries to flatten me while barking at me. He was naturally also the one who 

broke through the baby gate and went 

on a speed cruise of the house with Dristan in tow.

Butter was friendly and open to all until I started paying attention to the new kids. She resumed her usual role 

as my body guard and growled at Gabriella when Gabriella finally relaxed and tried to come and collect a 

cuddle. I did manage to stroke that puppy skin before having to withdraw in order to keep the peace. 

Horton tried to hypnotise our Human Hostess into giving him as much lovies as possible. He succeeded. 

She seemed to be under his influence for quite some time. 

The Nougat was alternately happy, grumpy and silent. I think my puppy’s skin still hurts. She was declared my

 most beautiful Basset though.

I expected a day of relentless frenzy and barking but the pack decided to chill out after a while and was 

silent for the most part, lying around, soaking up sun and attention.

When we left there was a moment’s chaos as everyone broke through the gate simultaneously and 

ran in all directions, leashed or not.

That night Horton had chase-the-rabbit dreams. I dreamed of a visit with the Cooksons where humans drank 

wine and beer and Christopher the Basset smoked a peace pipe. 

The rest behaved themselves like the dogs they are.

Claiming the couch and someone else's human

Sorry Dude, no couch available at the moment. We're borrowing your mum, okay?

Butter meets Gabriella

Pardon me Christopher, if you can just partially lie on the side-table so that I can use your bum as a pillow...

Butter meets Dristan

Pardon me Christopher, if I can just squeeze in here and soak up some of the lovies you're getting here...

Jazz

Jazz-Jazz, you will forever be missed.

Love,
Your family.

The Tube Toss

Dog Food

Recently someone asked my mother*, if she won the lottery, what would she get for herself. She said she'd want a full time chef.

I agree with her. I cannot imagine how she prepared that many meals and not put us up for adoption so that someone else could do the cooking and feed us. I once measured out a new 15kg bag of food to check how far it is supposed to go in a month and counted 96 meals.

I've eaten dog food twice this week. No no no, not the dry kibble stuff but the veg, meat and potato or rice I cooked for them. Have you tasted raw carrot grated together with apple? Pretty good. Not to mention the super lean mince with the courgettes. Fresh potato, sweet potato, wild brown rice.

As I'm waiting for my hamburger there is a pot, a huge pot (well huge-ish by our standards) of meat and veg cooling on the stove at home.

Hour later - Bassets have eaten their balanced meal and I'm trying to be happy with a burnt second grade patty squeezed between the body double of a tomato slice and a vinegary sauce soaked bun. Nougat an Horton still have the audacity to beg for it. 'Be careful what you wish for' I tell them.

After all that slaving over the stove, the kitchen: I suppose it could have been worse.

I include these photos to prove that I have other interests beside the Bassets. Artwork by Adrian van Staden.

* Nougat's grandmother. Nougat is Grandmother's favorite in this house. Bofa lost his chance because of his love for my mother's feet. When she visited and woke up in the mornings and swung her feet onto the ground, Bofa would be there to grab it. No idea what he was thinking.

Ball Sense