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House pet or hunter, the congenial Beagle remains a family favorite.
By Vicki Shields
It's chewy time for the Beagle girls in the Dollar household. Toni, Lillian, River, and Marilyn gather around as the treats are passed out. All settle in for a session of satisfying chewing. But 5-year-old Toni wants more, and a game with a prize for the winner might be fun.
"When she's finished with her treat, she'll go find a toy nobody else has played with that day," says owner Dennis Dollar, a breeder in California. "Then she'll start playing with it, doing everything she can to sell it: tossing it in the air, teasing the others."
It isn't long before Toni's antics catch the interest of one of the other girls. With a mischievous gleam in her eye, she gives up the toy to whichever Beagle fell for her ruse — and polishes off the unguarded treat.
"And if she can trick two of them, she'll lie on one treat while she eats the other," Dollar says. "The others get duped on a regular basis; they fall for it every time."
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