Watch Your Nose

Watch your nose.

I never said that phrase until we adopted Shelly, a tri-colored Beagle.

For those of you not familiar with Beagles, they are known to be “chow hounds”. They are on a constant mission to find food. Open the refrigerator, they are there. Open the oven, they are there. Open the dishwasher and soon you will find your Beagle with their front paws on the door of the machine. Their nose will be diligently surveying each dish for the most microscopic morsel of food.It is this behavior that warrants the phrase, “watch your nose”. The basic rule is that before you close a food related appliance; make sure the Beagle’s nose is not in the way.

Shelly may appear to be a low energy type of dog. And for a good portion of the time she is. But she can strike with the speed of a cobra when food is involved. A perfect example of this ability occurred one day when I was looking for something in my refrigerator. Shelly was by my side. Suddenly, she runs in to the living room. I follow her and discover she had stolen a chicken drumstick from a container in the refrigerator. On another occasion, she had taken three pancakes and left two on the plate.

Shelly was not fully housebroken when she came to live with us. She has now progressed to being about ninety-five percent trained. Although she has shown great improvement since that time, Shelly still has an occasional indoor accident. In fact, I find my self entering the house like a cop on a television show. I carefully open the door and quickly glance in to the living room.“Good, nothing there,” I quietly say to myself.I then slowly look around the front door to see if there is anything in the hallway. My head spins as I look into the hall and then into the kitchen. It as if my mind is telling me that if I sneak up on the “indoor accident”, it will not be so bad. If the hall is clean, I am faced with the final option of my search. I look at the dog. I scan her face to find any signs of guilt. There are none.

A lack of guilt on a Beagle’s face can be very misleading. They can be very strong-minded animals. When they get an idea they want to do something, they do it. If you happen to catch your Beagle doing something wrong, they will look at you as if to say, “Why are you telling at me. I’m just sitting here”

Walking on a leash was another skill Shelly had to learn when she came to live with us. Being a retired hunting dog, she has always enjoyed going for leash walks. Just the sight of her leash and harness sends her into a frenzy of barking and jumping. Unfortunately for me, I have to put her harness on at this time. After about five minutes of Beagle wrestling, Shelly is ready for her walk.

I am ready for oxygen.

After I regain consciousness, we go outside. You must understand that one does not take a Beagle out for a walk. You take then out for a sniff. The moment a most Beagles are outside, their noses are on the ground. This is especially true of dogs that are trained to hunt.

Being a retired hunting dog, Shelly has two modes of sniffing. There is the normal sniff and the trail sniff when the dog has found the scent of an animal and begins to track. Shelly makes a sound similar to that of a helicopter when she is tracking. I almost expect her to lift off the ground and circle the house.

Nothing will stop the Beagle who is on the trail of a rabbit or squirrel. Not even their owner at the other end of their leash. Walking Shelly has not only sharpened my agility and reflexes, but it has enhanced my own tracking skills. I can now find people drinking coffee at sports arenas and pizza shops at shopping malls.Shelly has also learned things from me. She surfs the Internet, watches football on Sundays and is a fan of Court TV.

Well, I have to go now. Shelly has to check her email.