The long awaited first lure coursing session of 2010 took place today. Beanie and Biggles new pal Bundy was there along with old pals Cuillen and Jamie. It was a beautiful sunny day – albeit very cold!

Cuillen and Biggles were first to race. Cuillin got off to a good start:

but lost interest after the first corner. Biggles took a short cut then romped over the finish line with Magic the poodle (who joined the race in the final straight) hot on his heels:

Cuillin should be in the race, and Magic shouldn’t!

But Biggles doesn’t care! His cheating ways have put him in the lead!

Bundy was next. She drew against a very fast whippet in her first race but she did very well:

Finally it was Beanie’s turn. She too was drawn against a whippet. She ran her heart out:

cut a couple of corners and managed a dramatic neck and neck finish:

But was pipped at the post. So all the Beagles were knocked out in the first round. We’d thought that Biggles was through but the judges awarded the race to Cuillin – no doubt because of Biggles’ shameless cheating!

We finished up with a couple of races with all the Beagles and Cuillin. In the first one Beanie took off after the lure while Biggles took a direct route to the half way point with Bundy hot on his heels. Beanie managed to catch them up despite the fact that Biggles only ran half the course, but our little boy slipped up a gear and managed to hold off his big sister to win the race.

In the next race the lineup was the same:

Cuillin was released slightly ahead of the others and this time he followed the lure almost half way around the course!

Biggles took his cheating a stage further and ran directly to the home straight to wait for the lure:

What’s wrong with this picture?

So Biggles wins his third race of the day…in his own unique way!

You can see the full set of photos from this lure coursing session on Flickr – click here.

Yesterday’s doggy breakfast was preceded by a loud scream. Susan went into the cupboard to fill Beanie & Biggles bowls, and almost scooped a handful of mouse instead of a handful of dog food! It seems the little critter (or more likely critters) sought refuge in our house during the recent big freeze and helped himself/themselves to our pups’ nosh. When I later cleared out the cupboard I found a little stockpile of kibble hidden in a corner behind a discarded kickboard. It was really, really neatly arranged, and when I saw it I had a mental picture of this merry little line of mice carrying kibble out of the food bag back to their corner, singing a little song all the while. Sort of like a rodent version of the “Underpant Gnomes” in Southpark. Needless to say measures have been taken, and the little kibble gnomes are not long for this world. Susan actually feels sorry for the little buggers, but as far as I’m concerned they’ve got it coming. Nobody messes with my pups’ food and gets away with it, whether they’re called Mickey or not.

On a lighter note, last night we met up with the gang from Lomond Flyball again for a really nice pub dinner. They had a surprise for us! At the end of last year they handed out prizes to their beginners for completing time trials. We missed out on the presentation because of the house move, but last night we got these lovely trophies:

You may have noticed that the one for 3rd place is a little bit grander than the one for 5th, but we’ve been deliberately vague about letting Beanie & Biggles know who got which one – we don’t want any jealousy rearing its head.

And finally, with the first lure coursing session of 2010 coming tomorrow we invited Beanie & Biggles’ new pal Bundy round to our place so she could learn what all this lure-chasing business is about. As one might expect, there was a little bit of a run around before we got down to business:

Beanie, Bundy and Biggles

Then we moved on to the lure coursing itself. Our little portable kit served us well and after a few goes Bundy seemed to have got the hang of it, so I’m hopeful that she’ll do well tomorrow.

Bundy’s a really sweet little girl. She has attributes in common with both our two; she’s pretty and fast like Beanie, and she can fart like Biggles!

By way of thanks for her crash course in coursing, Bundy gave Beanie and Biggles some little prezzies. Like all the best prezzies, they were edible.

The mice ain’t getting these rawhide shoes!

That’s for sure!

It was Biggles turn at Heel Work To Music tonight and his new buddy Bundy was there too! Bundy is a young Beagle (a relative of Beanie’s) that we met on the beach on Christmas day. Bundy was there with her dad as her mum wasn’t well.

Biggles (left) and Bundy (right)

I thought Beanie was very good last week, but Biggles was in a league of his own. In fact Heather even said that already his attention was better than some Beagles in competition!

Leg Weaving

Walking Between My Legs (Forwards AND Backwards)

And getting ready….

To Deliver a Big, Sloppy Kiss!

That big sloppy kiss in the picture above wasn’t quite what was supposed to happen. The idea is that you pop a tasty treat in your mouth to teach the dog to watch your face. But Biggles had other ideas!

But it’s not ALL about food with Biggles – he really can’t resist rolling over for a tummy tickle no matter where we are!

Bundy did very well too….

Walking Between Her Dad’s Legs

Showing Off Her Acrobatics
And Making Time For a Soppy Cuddle

Even Leg Weaving On Her First Night!

Heather says if we get any more Beagles in the class she’s going to have to split us out into an all-beagle Heel Work To Music Class!