We’re just back from our regular training class at the Glasgow Dog Training Club, proudly clutching Beanie’s graduation certificate:

Beanie’s now qualified for the intermediate class - not bad at all for a naughty 7 month old Beagle!

We really hadn’t been expecting to be move up to the next class so soon. Beanie’s a relative newcomer to the club and though she’s quite good at sit/down/stay and recall, her walking to heel still needs a lot of work. Also, I’m not sure about this but I suspect it goes against the class rules to chew on her neighbor Robbie’s tail whenever she gets a chance - especially as Robbie is a show dog with a very promising future (we’ve just heard he’s qualified for Crufts next year). Nevertheless, head trainer Val gave Beanie the nod, and it’s really motivated us both to work even harder on training. Having said that, we’ll be missing next week’s class as we’re heading down to the Lake District for a mini holiday with our pup!

On Sunday we went back for another dose of Beagle racing at Kincardine. Beanie was much more focussed on catching the lure this time and managed to outrun one of her adult competitors. After the final there was one more race - a complete free-for-all with all Beagles squeezed onto the start line. It was great fun though somewhat chaotic; a few Beagles had a go at eating the lure once it had stopped, while a couple more ran out of the race enclosure and gave their owners some unexpected and unwanted exercise. But again, Beanie hadn’t finished last - not a bad achievement for the smallest and youngest there, and what’s more it was only her second time. We had to leave before the raffle and dog shows though, because we had an appointment with a potential permanent playmate for Beanie.

We’d been thinking about getting a second Beagle for some time. At first the plan was to get another pup when Beanie was older - say five years or more, but gradually we came round to the idea of getting another playmate before Beanie reached adulthood. We contacted Beagle Welfare and heard of a 13 month old youngster, Lilly, who lived just 20-30 minutes from the racing venue and was looking for a new home. We just had to go see her.

When we first met Lilly it was in her home, and she didn’t appreciate Beanie encroaching on her territory at all. However, once outside the tension dissolved and the pair got down to some playful wrestling - surely a good sign. We arranged to take Lilly on trial for a few days, and headed back home with two Beagles.

We let both of them play in our garden for a while before entering the house, and everything still looked promising.

Unfortunately once we went inside, things went downhill very quickly. Lilly was extremely gentle and affectionate with us and enjoyed walking and playing outside, but she made it very clear that she wasn’t happy about sharing her new home with Beanie. Furthermore she wasn’t happy about us showing any affection towards our little pup. We tried to diffuse the situation by keeping them separate, but the antagonism between the two dogs continued to grow every time they met each other inside the house. Later the next day, after consulting our dog trainer and Beagle Welfare, we decided this just wasn’t going to work, and took Lilly back to her original home.

This story has a very happy ending though. Lilly’s family missed her so terribly while she was away that they resolved to have her back whatever the difficulties. So little Lilly is back in her original home for good, and we’ve had the sobering lesson that even Beagles don’t always get along. What’s more, it sounds like Lilly and her family will be coming along to the Beagle Races next Sunday, so Beanie and Lilly will be able to play happily without any territorial or pack hierarchy pressure.

Since her return to full-on physical activity, Beanie’s frequently impressed us with her speed and agility when playing chases with other dogs. She routinely exhausts labradors and can even outrun her older, male Beagle buddy Tanner. So, when we heard that there was a weekly Beagle racing club not too far away, we just had to go.

The races are held at Inch Farm, Kincardine on Sunday. The race track is a straight, flat piece of fenced land and the lure is a bundle of tape pulled by a cable. The track is shared with a friendly group of whippet enthusiasts. When the whippets race, they’re released from proper racing cages. These are far too narrow for well-fed Beagle bottoms though, so the Beagles are just held at the start line and released by hand. They do still get to wear proper colored racing jackets though:

When we got there we figured Beanie would only get to run on her own due to her young age, but after some discussion it was decided that our pup would be allowed to run in a proper race. After all, she runs far more than that when she’s playing in the park! So Beanie’s name went into the draw and before long she was lined up against two adult Beagles, straining at her collar and baying excitedly.

Both Susan and I were playing it cool, but we had high hopes for our little houndlet. On the journey in we’d joked that Beanie would not only outrun the other overweight and under-exercised Beagles, but catch and chew up the lure as well. As I stood waiting at the finish line - with my camera all ready to shoot - I couldn’t stop the theme from Chariots of Fire from playing in my head. Oh yes, the sweet scent of victory was in the air! Suddenly the signal was given, and the race was on:

Keep watching the clip, because Beanie’s not the first dog to cross the line. Or the second. Nope, she’s the little rascal in the red jacket that would only jog down the track if Susan came with her. Apparently, she did start running at the start of the race, but then like a good girl she thought better of leaving her Mum at the start line, and headed back to make sure that everything was OK. Happily, she got another try later on, and with both Susan and I down at the finish line she did actually complete the race, although she was completely outpaced by the older Beagles. My mental jukebox switched from “Chariots of Fire” to “Shattered Dreams”, another 80’s classic.

After the races an informal dog show was held for both Beagles and Whippets. Beanie was awarded a rosette by way of consolation, but it tasted just as good to her as a hard-won “1st in show”. She was a bit upset when I extracted from her mouth though.

And finally, you may be familiar with the cute little Labrador puppy that fronts the commercials for Andrex toilet tissue. Here’s the Beagle version:

After ten days’ convalescense to recover from her spaying op, Beanie was finally allowed to return to the park and have a proper off-lead run. I think we were looking forward to it even more than Beanie. We’ve missed the walks, but even more than that we’ve missed the blissfully quiet afternoons that follow an energetic play session with other pups.

It hasn’t been at all easy to keep Beanie from popping her stitches. A few days after the op she felt fine, didn’t seem to need her pain meds, and would have been bounding round the garden like always if we hadn’t been there to stop her. But somehow we managed it, and as I write Beanie’s sleeping peacefully after a good old fashioned romp with her park buddies.

The other dogs were keen on splashing about in a stream - something  that normally doesn’t appeal to Beanie. She’s much more keen on covering herself in mud and disgusting pongs than washing it all off in an impromptu bath. Still,  she’d gone so long without a play session that she jumped in and joined in the fun.

She doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll be getting swimming lessons in a couple of weeks - our training club is holding a “pool party” at the Pets A & E in Glasgow. I guess they have a pool for therapy purposes - the ideal place for dogs to learn to swim in safety. Given that the club has a couple of crazy labradoodles in its ranks, I think I’ll be wearing waterproofs for that one!

Last Friday we took Beanie to the vet to be spayed or “dressed” as it’s often called. I’d been counting down the days to the op, convinced that she’d go into season just before it, forcing us to cancel, reschedule and endure all the hassles that come with a having a bitch on heat. Every attempted humping put me on red alert, but when the day of the op finally arrived I was nervous rather than relieved.

The operation is of course very common, and generally doesn’t require an overnight stay, but still it’s a pretty major undertaking. If you’d like to know the gory details you can click here, but I wouldn’t advise it if you’re squeamish or about to take your own dog to be spayed. I deliberately avoided any doggy Googling in the lead up to the op - trust me, ignorance is the best approach if you’re besotted with your pup!

The plan was that we’d drop Beanie off at the vets first thing in the morning, and collect her in the afternoon. Being pretty anal types we arrived early - before the practice had opened its doors - so we got to sit in the car park drumming our fingers for a few minutes. Once inside, we went through the pre-op checklist:

• No food after nine PM the previous night? (Er, does nibbling at a bit of poo I failed to scoop from the garden count as feeding? No? OK, “Check”)
• Been to the loo immediately prior to coming here? (Yep. Oh, you mean Beanie? Yep, her too. “Check”)

Then I signed the consent form, and we handed little Beanie over to the friendly lady vet. I was a little concerned that my nerves might have rubbed off on our pup, but no, she merrily trotted off with the vet without a single backward glance. Ungrateful, disloyal little git! We’re standing there fighting the fear that we’ll never see our treasure again and she couldn’t care less!

I filled the remainder of the morning with a visit to the gym. It was more about keeping my mind clear of worry than improving fitness, but it worked because by the time I’d got back, cleaned up and had lunch it was time to collect Beanie.

Back at the vets, we were told that Beanie had behaved herself very well - she hadn’t squirmed once - and that the op had gone very smoothly. The convalescence period would be ten days, during which only the gentlest exercise would be permitted. Also to prevent Beanie from interfering with her stitches, she’d have to wear the classic “lampshade” collar when unsupervised.

The first day there was no problem holding to the exercise restrictions. Beanie was feeling rather delicate after her operation, and was happy to be carried and pampered. The next day, she became a little bolder, especially after a little dose of her pain medication. Today though, she’s trouble! As far as she’s concerned, she’s fully recovered and has already launched herself onto the kitchen table. We’re trying to redirect her energy into chewing and to that end I spent a ridiculous amount at the pet shop on assorted hide chews, pigs ears and bones. So far, the only thing that’s holding her attention for a decent length of time is the “Piggy Rope“. I’d had high hopes for pigs ears - they’re certainly expensive enough - but Beanie can down one in less than five minutes. Plus, there’s something disconcerting about seeing an otherwise cute little pup devouring a real pig’s ear…

And you probably won’t be surprised to hear that the “lampshade” isn’t too popular with our houndlet either. We quickly learned that her collar needs to be extra tight to stop her pulling the whole thing off her head and chewing it to bits. Maybe the vet should have given us two collars - one to wear and one to chew.