Daily Life With Beagles: Mischief, Food & Mayhem

Living With Beagles. When Food Is Everything

If you've ever owned a Beagle, you'll know one thing for certain:

Beagles will eat anything.

And I mean anything.

They are completely ruled by their noses, permanently on the lookout for their next snack and seemingly convinced that every meal could potentially be their last.

For a Beagle, food isn't simply something they enjoy.

Food is life.

And our girls, Kiwi and Poppy, are certainly no exception.

Where's Our Ham?!

My eldest son, Liam, has been away this week, house and dog sitting for my sister, his aunty.

Unfortunately for Kiwi and Poppy, Liam being away has resulted in a rather serious problem.

Their daily extra treat has disappeared.

I say extra because they're hardly going without. Hubby gives them a treat when he gets home, but Liam normally sneaks them a slice or two of ham as well.

Apparently, this additional ham has now become an essential part of their daily routine.

And the girls have noticed its absence.

Oh, have they noticed.

The whining. The noises. The sorrowful Beagle eyes.

You'd honestly think these poor dogs hadn't been fed for weeks.

Never mind the perfectly adequate meals and treats they've already had.

WHERE IS THE HAM, HUMAN?

And That's When the Mischief Starts...

The trouble with Beagles is that when food doesn't magically appear, they don't simply accept their fate.

They go looking for it.

Kiwi and Poppy have therefore developed a new daily activity while Liam has been away:

Breaking into Lewis's bedroom to eat the rat food.

Yes.

Rat food.

Apparently, when you're a Beagle, kibble intended for an entirely different species still counts as an acceptable snack.

Kiwi Has Learned Absolutely Nothing

You might imagine that eating something she shouldn't and subsequently being sick would teach Kiwi an important lesson.

You would be wrong.

Did it deter her?

Not remotely.

As soon as another opportunity presented itself, there she was again, trying to sneak into Lewis's room in search of more forbidden rat kibble.

Because apparently the possibility of an upset stomach is no match for the possibility of FOOD.

I've now moved the bag somewhere higher and completely out of reach.

Kiwi and Poppy are deeply unimpressed with this development.

I, meanwhile, am hoping the rat food might finally last longer than five minutes.

Life With Beagles

Living with Beagles means constantly being one step ahead.

Food needs to be moved away from the edge of kitchen worktops. Bags need to be securely closed. Bedroom doors apparently need guarding.

And if something smells remotely edible, you can guarantee a Beagle nose will eventually find it.

They can be mischievous, stubborn and ridiculously dramatic when they think they're missing out on a snack.

But they're also incredibly entertaining.

One thing is certain:

If you have Beagles in your home, life will never, ever be boring.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and check where Kiwi is.

It's suspiciously quiet...