The singing dog treat jar guards the bone-cakes as they cool

Those tasty bones came with a price though; as they cooked the smell of sardines flooded the house and drove our two Beagles mad. They in turn drove us mad. Beanie in particular spent most of the evening wailing outside the kitchen door, and when she wasn’t wailing, she was following us around like one of the spooky kids from the Midwich Cuckoos. Midway through the evening she had a protest pee in the corridor, and even though she did quit wailing when we finally crated her for the night, she spent a good twenty minutes telling her bed off.

Beanie’s long vigil at the kitchen door

Happily these trials and tribulations were forgotten when we got to Strathclyde park for the run. For the first time in ages there wasn’t the slightest trace of snow or ice anywhere on the route, but there was plenty of water. Apparently there’s a tradition in parkrun never to say that it rains; instead it’s customary to say that it’s merely “damp”. Well,it was so “damp” that afterwards our running shoes ended up in the utility room with the dehumidifier turned up to full, and I was very tempted to stick Beanie & Biggles in there for an hour too to dry them out. The sardine bone-cakes were a huge hit though, and as we talked with the other cani-crossers a decision was made to get together again for some informal training runs.

Our first such run happened today around the standard parkrun course in Pollok park. We were joined by Bundy and her dad Brian, Lindsay Cloughley with her handsome husky Suko, Colin Reid with his completely mad-for-it Border Terrier Mitch, and Scotland’s chief parkrun organiser Richard Leyton. He didn’t have a dog with him but he was keen to get a feel for what it’s like to run alongside cani-crossers (keen enough to be there with us at 8.30 in the morning on a Sunday!), and after the run we lent him the Biggly Boy for a quick lap of the car park so he could feel Beagle pulling power first hand.

The run itself was a conducted at a gentle pace, which is just as well because both Colin and Richard are quite a bit faster than the rest of us! The dogs got on great throughout; obviously Beanie, Biggles and Bundy are great together, but Beanie also hit it off with little Mitch and Biggles just loved running with Suko. At one point he and Suko were running right alongside each other and I could sense him swell with pride; they say Beagles are big dogs in small packages and I’m sure he felt twice his normal size as he trotted along with this huge, tame wolf of a dog! I did have a bit of hard time keeping Biggles going in a straight line for some of the run though, which is unusual. In a regular parkrun, the convention is to run in single file on the left, and with the scent of all the faster runners ahead of us, Biggles flies along like an arrow. Here however we were running level, and he kept wanting to stray to one side or the other. Apparently Mitch is a little like this too; if someone’s ahead of him, he runs brilliantly, but when he’s at the front, he tends to lose focus.

The run was great fun for two-leggers and four-leggers alike, and as we headed back to our cars Susan broke out another pack of bone-shaped cakes (chicken flavor this time). This gave the Beagle contingent a chance to demonstrate their superior gobbling ability. While Mitch and Suko politely nibbled at their cakes, Bundy polished hers off in a couple of bites, Biggles devoured his and nearly took my fingers with it, and Beanie bypassed the chewing process completely, swallowing hers whole before proceeding to nick half of Suko’s cake into the bargain. That’s Beagles for you – insatiable appetites paired with a complete lack of manners!

When we got home the peace and quiet we got (until tea time) was a strong indication that today’s run was a big hit!

If you’re in Scotland and you’re interested in running with your dog(s), get in touch and we’ll give you more info about runs that we take part in.

Lining up at the start with my Biggly Boy, I had high hopes for a personal best, but as the starter noted, PB or not all runners were guaranteed their best time of the year so far! It was very exciting, and with Biggles, exciting equals noisy. I did my level best to keep his baying under control using treats as a distraction, and as the last piece of bone shaped biscuit disappeared into the black hole that is my boy’s stomach, we got the “go” signal.

He took off like a rocket, while I took off like a rocket with an ignition problem and a fuel leak, but between us we managed to overtake a fair number of other runners and find our place within the pack. We kept the pace up despite a few patches of ice, and when one of the marshalls offered us a lucky dip from a huge tin of Quality Street, we both resisted temptation.

As we came down the home straight I looked for the little tent that marks the start and end of the race, and when I finally spotted it, it seemed to be a good couple of hundred yards further away than I remembered. This is apparently a common experience for runners at Strathclyde; the organizers insist they don’t sneakily shift it further back during the race to prolong the torture, but I have my doubts! Regardless, we eventually we caught up with the evasive tent, crossed the line and took up position to watch for Susan and Beanie. We didn’t have long to wait – the two of them finished strongly and I got the distinct impression that we’d all be getting personal best times!

The start of the race. With all that grass alongside the track, it’s easy for cani-x runners to run as wide as they need until the pack thins out

Me and the Bigglet slowly moving up the pack!

Susan and Beanie on the outward leg of the course

Many thanks to Ross Goodman and Andrew Jeske for these fine mementos of the run. You can see more pictures from the Strathclyde parkruns on Flickr here and here.

When we got back home, we had a hefty dinner (steak pie & veg of course!) and crashed out in front of the telly, rising only to check the parkrun site for our times. When they appeared, it was PB’s all round: 24.06 for me and Biggles, and 32.19 for Susan and Beanie!

Biggles gets a well earned nap

Beanie hears the camera and strikes a suitably princess-like pose

But she can’t keep it up for long

Biggles reacts to news of his personal best time

What a great way start to 2011!

The course was around 5K long and totally hill-free, but perhaps best of all, the race kicked off at the very civilized time of 3pm so there was plenty of time for the traditional Sunday lie-in.  Once we’d finally emerged from the safety of our warm bed our thoughts turned first to breakfast, then to preparation for the run. Beanie and Biggles felt that their prep time would be best served by a rigorous warm up run round the garden:

Meanwhile we got our running gear together. The entry fee for the run gets you a cheap and cheerful one-size-fits-all paper thin Santa costume, but the pants looked a bit on the small side so we decided to try them on before the race to avoid any embarrassing surprises. The costumes were a bit tight in places though we did fit into them OK, but they certainly gave our pups a shock when they came in from the garden. Beanie threw her head back and howled for all she was worth, then having got over the shock, ran over to Susan and promptly tried to rip the bobble off her Santa hat!

That’s not the first bobble that Beanie’s attacked. Earlier in the week I got a doggy Santa hat and scarf set from Poundland for Biggles (Beanie already has her own full Santa jacket) and almost the moment I came in the door she snatched at the poly bag it was in. I wrestled it free and called Biggles for a test fitting, then noticed that his little hat was bobble-free. I turned around and Beanie was lying on the floor with the missing bobble between her paws, tearing it to shreds.

A sombre moment for Biggles, who now faces life without a bobble on his Santa hat

It was justified revenge I guess; last year when Beanie first went out in her posh winter jacket Biggles peed on it. Anyway, I took great care to protect Biggles’ scarf from damage. Speaking of Biggles, he used Beanie’s distraction to launch his own attack on Susan’s Santa beard:

Since he was doing so well with the beard, Beanie decided to join in:

Once the preparations were complete (and Susan’s beard was an inch and a half longer) we headed off to Ayr to join the growing crowd of Santas at the amphitheatre – the starting point of the race.

Biggles wore his Santa scarf proudly, and Beanie looked great in her Santa coat so I squatted down to get a photo:

As I did so I heard a brief “pop” from down below, and when I stood up again things felt kind of breezy around my groin. Yep, my economy sized bum had torn the stitches of my one-size-fits-everyone-else-but-me Santa pants. Fortunately I had shorts on underneath, and anyway I didn’t feel that my dignity had been compromised because I was already standing around like a tool dressed in a Santa suit in the middle of November.

In due course the race got under way, and things went pretty well apart from a short stop for a Biggle poo. I could hardly hold that against him given that our roles had been reversed last weekend (see previous post) but he still bayed like crazy when I delayed us further by fumbling with the poo bag.

The race finished in the town center to the sound of bagpipes, and after collecting our medal and water, we found a good position to wait for Susan and Beanie. We didn’t have to wait too long; Susan had a decent run after being thwarted last week by cramped calf muscles. As they headed up the street towards us, Beanie – who up to that point had been very well behaved – suddenly went into “spider-beagle” mode. She darted about from side to side, stretching out long and low to reach something by the gutter. Pizza! Yep, she’d scored a chunk a of discarded pizza, and now she was on the hunt for more. Me and Biggles joined Susan and Beanie for their last few yards, but Beanie barely noticed. Anything and everything within range ended up in her mouth, and soon she lucked out again with a couple of prawn crackers. Not a bad haul for a little Beagle dressed in a Santa costume! She was a nightmare on the way back to the car, so we went part of the way via the beach – less to pick up there!

I have to admit that this experience has given me new respect for the real Santa Claus. He never complains about how itchy his beard is, never loses the bobble on his hat, and never splits his pants. Let’s hear it for Santa!

Here’s a little video of the highlights from the day:

This morning we went along to a park run in Glasgow, and against all odds got to run in sunshine. It still wasn’t exactly dry – the paths we were running on were waterlogged from the gales and monsoons of the last week – but this unexpected gift from the weather gods was certainly appreciated, and there was a good turnout – well over 200 runners.

Things started well for me and Biggles; I’ve been doing a bit more running of late and I felt pretty good as we headed off. We overtook lots of people – which Biggles loves – and we looked set to improve on our previous time, but then as we reached the half way point I felt a grumbling from down below. From my abdomen that is, not from Biggles. It started off as a polite request from the bowel department, but in the space of a minute it turned into a demand at gunpoint! When I spotted a break in the trees, I had no choice but to leave the path to go do what bears do in the woods.

In a way it wasn’t entirely unexpected; earlier last week Susan and Biggles had been hit by a tummy bug (funny how human and doggy illnesses often coincide!) and it was probably only a matter of time before it claimed me as another victim. It was pretty embarrassing though – I mean you expect to have to stop running occasionally to deal with a doggy number two, but not with one of your own! Anyway, there I am, squatting on my imaginary throne, hoping to stay hidden in the trees, when Biggles realizes that the other runners are passing him by. Being the Bigglet, his immediate response was to start baying at full volume, unwittingly doing everything he could to call attention to my misfortune! Thankfully no-one responded and we were able to return to the course without being arrested, though all hopes of getting a decent time had been dashed.

Susan & Beanie’s run didn’t go too well either; Susan’s calves cramped up early on and that severely limited her pace. Little Beanie did her best to help though, and as they approached the finish Susan managed a sprint to the line alongside another runner and her dog:

So it may not have been our best park run ever, and it was memorable to me for all the wrong reasons, but at least one half of our team got to finish in style!

The turnout was quite small compared to the 5Ks we’ve run in Glasgow, which surprised me a little. After all, the weather was perfect – bright and sunny but still quite cool, and the course is flat and linear: starting at the Amphitheatre, you run left along the promenade up to the Doon Estuary Bridge, then return.  The views along the sea front are spectacular, some of the runners wear entertaining costumes, and all the proceeds from entry fees and sponsorship go to fight cancer. What more could you want from a road race?

Biggles’ answer to that question might well be “candy floss”. There was a sizable chunk of the stuff lying on the pavement about halfway along the promenade and fortunately or unfortunately – depending on how many legs you have – I saw it first and denied Biggles his chance to grab it. As often happens, what Biggles misses, Beanie gets; that candy floss was half way down Beanie’s throat before Susan could react. Biggles still got the satisfaction of being the first dog to finish though, despite having me in tow!

We met up by the Amphitheatre after the race and broke open the water from our goody bags. One of the first aiders spotted Beanie & Biggles drinking from our hands and kindly brought over a sick bowl. Sadly for our two Beagles the bowl didn’t come with any vomit in it (they’re both very partial to a bit of pavement pizza) but it did make it easier for them to get a good drink.

Here are a few moments from the race..

There’s another road race coming up in Ayr on 21st November – the Ayrshire Santa Dash. The entry fee gets you a Santa suit which you’re encouraged to wear during the race. It should be quite something to see a load of Santas jogging along Ayr’s promenade. I’ve got a feeling there’ll be a couple of small, four legged Santas among them!

Real Radio is one of the high profile partners for the race, and their mascot is a Basset called Barry. As luck would have it he turned up to cheer all the runners on, but he was considerably larger in the flesh than he appears in the station’s adverts, and he spent a suspiciously long time walking on two legs. As Beanie & Biggles were the only Beagles in this year’s race I figured that their fellow hound might come over for a chat, and sure enough he did. I don’t think his approach complied with accepted pack protocol however, because he immediately found himself on the receiving end of a severe, and I mean severe, woofing. His reaction showed no remorse whatsoever – he didn’t seem to take the woofing seriously at all, but that’s Bassets for you!

Ten minutes before the race was due to start an official warmup was held featuring a fitness instructor and a couple of Glasgow’s premier cheerleaders . Generally speaking we’re not much into organized warmups, but Beanie seemed willing to give it a go.

The start of the race was very noisy, but Beanie & Biggles weren’t phased by it and got off to a good start. As usual I was partnered by the Bigglet while Beanie was Susan’s running partner. A lot of runners fell to walking pace by the end of the first kilometer so we had a lot of overtaking to do. In previous road races this was hard work because I had to guide Biggles through all the gaps, but today he knew exactly what to do and expertly weaved his way past all the walkers with hardly any direction from me. The course had a lot of twists and turns but he took every corner correctly and without guidance. When a couple of uncontrolled mutts strayed onto the course and ran up to him, he stayed resolutely focused on his task and ran straight past them without even a backward glance. I’ve said that Biggles is a great jogging companion before, but today his performance was truly flawless. I really felt we were running as a team, and we set a good pace for the first 3km or so.

As we entered the closing stages of the race, I started flagging quite badly. It was a typical Glasgow “summer” day – overcast, unpleasantly warm and very humid (though not actually raining , so I guess not truly “typical”) and I just didn’t seem to have any energy left. Fortunately Biggles’ enthusiasm didn’t falter once and I kept trudging on so as not to let my boy down. When we crossed the finish line he rightly got a lot of attention from the master of ceremonies and the crowd. I’m not sure, but I think he was the first dog to finish! Beanie also ran a great race, sometimes running ahead of Susan to encourage her onward, and sometimes jogging smartly to heel in the hope of getting another piece of kibble.

Here’s a bit of video from the day.You’ll see the aforementioned severe woofing directed at Barry the Basset, the exciting start of the race, Susan & Beanie’s finish, and the post-race refreshment and goody-bag rummage.

Despite a thorough inspection by Beagle Customs the goody bags were found to be completely devoid of any edibles. Our two did get rather nice medals for completing the race though!

Afterwards we headed to Pets At Home in Renfrew and treated them both to posh new collars. This wasn’t purely an indulgence; yesterday Biggles somehow broke part of the metal buckle on his collar, and earlier in the week he managed to chomp through a couple of leads. Nothing seems to last long with Beagles!

It was raining pretty hard on the way through to Glasgow (a sure sign that summer has arrived!) and because of that we were expecting a low turnout, but we couldn’t have been more wrong:

The road outside the park is flooded with runners, though not all are enthusiastic about the warmup!

The rain slowed to a barely perceptible drizzle just as we arrived, creating perfect conditions for running; nice and cool for the dogs, but not too cool for us. The only problem when the race started was the sheer number of entrants – we’d almost reached the 1km marker before we had enough space to break into a jog, and we still had to dodge and weave past walkers almost up to the final kilometre! Despite that, we had a great time. There were drummers, dancers and pipers dotted along the course to spur everyone on, and nearly every time we passed a group of spectators we heard “awww look at the little doggies”.

As in the previous year I ran with the Bigglet and Susan ran with the Beanster. Unlike last year, Biggles thankfully decided against getting into a woofing match with the big Rottweiler in a walled garden along the route, and neither Beanie nor Biggles seemed particularly bothered by even the most enthusiastic drummers.  The 5K passed very quickly, though not quite as quickly as this brief compilation of clips from the race:

I don’t think Biggles quite knew what to make of the Master of Ceremonies cheering him on as we approached the finish. The guy looked very suspicious and didn’t have any treats. If we hadn’t been running I think he might have been on the receiving end of a Bigglewoofing!

Once my boy and me had finished we collected our two medals (the officials insisted on giving me an extra one for the Bigglet – I didn’t even have to ask) and found a good vantage point to watch for Susan and Beanie. When they appeared, Beanie was trotting along like a dressage pony and gazing into her Mum’s eyes. She probably looked like the best behaved doggie in the world, but in reality she was of course just waiting for another handful of chicken from Susan’s pockets!

Susan and Beanie finish the race in style!

Back in the park we bumped into runners from Dog’s Trust and an appropriate fuss was made of our two, and then we spotted another couple of Beagles who’d completed the race. One of them was Brodie, one of Newlin Waffle’s pups and therefore related to Beanie. He was a great little guy – wiggly, full of life and keen to have a nibble at Beanie’s racing number!

As we left the park, we were both enthusing about how great our little Beagley running partners had been. This conversation was interrupted when Bigglet had a bit of a tantrum because he couldn’t quite reach a half-eaten chip lying on the grass. This was rather cheeky on his part given that he’d nicked a sizeable lump of chicken from the kitchen worktop before we’d even set off that morning. Still, racing champions get perks and a small step towards the chip quickly resolved the situation.

Initially I’d considered using our cani-cross gear to let me run with both Beanie & Biggles hooked up to my belt, but field tests in the park quickly put me off this idea. It is after all very difficult to run when your legs are trussed up by dog leads and your two Beagles have decided to have an impromptu tail-pulling contest. So we decided to split them up, and I chose the Biggly Boy as my running partner while Susan went with Beanie. We were joined on the run by Susan and Cuillin from the Glasgow Dog Training Club.

Cuillin, Jamie, Biggles & Beanie before the race

Building on her recent doggy tailoring experience Susan made some small adjustments to Beanie & Biggles T-shirts (yep, all entrants – even dogs – get free T-shirts) that made them fit better around the lower body. It’s just as well she did, because as Cuillin’s owners found out dogs really don’t see anything wrong about peeing directly into their racing shirt. ‘Nuff said!

As race time approaches Biggles is resolutely focused on the start line. Beanie is resolutely focused on the burger van.

The warmup in full swing…

The race (or “big day oot” as the organisers called it) attracts all ages, fitness levels and species

This year the race started quite promptly, and we quickly cut along the side of the course to escape the heaviest concentration of runners. The first half of the run was uneventful and Biggles and Cuillin easily picked there way through the slower joggers. In the second half there were a few interesting moments.

For starters, Biggles discovered that the dog training club stickers we’d fixed to his lead felt nice in his mouth and I kept having to extract them and the lead from his frighteningly efficient chewing gear. Then we encountered a roadside photographer and Biggles felt the need to give him a stern woofing. Next we passed a very large and noisy Rottweiler who seemed keen to escape from the confines of his garden. I quickened my pace at this point and Biggles kept his head down – until that is we’d got about 20 yards away at which point my brave little boy gave the Rotty a stern woofing too. Unfortunately Biggles, Beanie and Cuillin weren’t so brave when we passed a drumming band that had set up along the side of the road to spur everyone on. It was great for the humans, but all of our dogs found it a little scary. I just kept moving purposefully to get Biggles past it as quickly as possible and it was quickly forgotten.

As we neared the finish all the dogs responded to encouragement from the spectators and put on an extra burst of speed. Cuillin crossed the line just little ahead of Biggles, and Beanie was next across the line. Here’s a little clip of Susan and Beanie on the home stretch:

All human finishers got a goody bag but additional prizes were also handed out at random, and as luck would have it both Susans got one!

The medal winners, and all of them stubbornly camera-shy

Susan#1 gets her prize

Susan#2 gets hers too

The 5K was over, but the “big day oot” was just getting started. Just before we left there was a carnival procession put on by kids from local schools, and agility displays and other attractions were planned for later.

I don’t know exactly what it’s meant to be, but it’s green and some kids made it :D

As we headed back to the car one more challenge lay before us.. a field full of banana skins, stray chips, half-eaten hot dogs and assorted food wrappers.  Beanie and Biggles had their heads down the whole way as they tried to find these discarded treasures; we had our heads down too, in the hope of keeping said items out of our dogs’ mouths.

A field of dreams for any self-respecting, speed-swallowing Beagle..

It turns out that mum Karen runs a dog walking and boarding business. And of course, any lucky dogs that come to stay with Cullen and Jamie get to share in all the fun outings, activities and pampering – here they are at the vet school rodeo shortly after excitedly opening their prizes from the doggy lucky dip!

Karen’s business is called Mukky Paws and her website is www.mukky-paws.co.uk.

There’s a weekly 5k (3 miles) timed race held in Pollock Park every Saturday morning at 9.30am. And the best bit – dogs are welcome provided they are on lead! It’s free to enter – just register on the website. You don’t need to be a good runner – no reason why you can’t walk the course (the Biggly boy and his mum will be). It’s just you against the clock.

More info here

Do any of Beanie and Biggles buddies fancy joining us? Especially their fellow Beagles! Kathleen – what about Neil and some of your gang?

EDIT:

Kathleen from Muchisle Beagles asked where we got the cani-cross equipment. They sell kits here, but they don’t do harnesses small enough for Beagles (not small enough for ours anyway). Also, we were warned by an experienced cani-crosser not to get the x-back harness for beagles. The reason being is that they are really designed for sled dogs pulling a sled as it directs the forces along the dogs back. It’s great for running with large dogs but with little dogs the line pulls the harness upwards and puts the strain in all the wrong places.

We each got:

A delux belt with key pouch
A Bungee
A single line

The bungee attaches to the belt, and the single line attaches to the bungee. There’s an emergency release clip so you can separate yourself from the dog quickly. We weren’t keen on this as it looked as if it could be released by accident. Fair enough for a big dog with reliable recall but I think on balance you’re best having your Beagle firmly attached! So we also purchased a carabiner to replace the clip.

We also got a double line so that we could have both dogs running with one person. You could manage this with two single lines, but it gives the dogs more scope to run off in opposite directions!!

We were told that the fleece harness from here are better than the cani-cross ones because they are completely fleece lined so much more comfy for short haired dogs. Ours are very happy to wear them.