The Glasgow East End 5K road race was held this morning in Tollcross Park. Both Susan and myself had entered for it some time ago, but since we’re both carrying injuries we decided that I’d run (or more likely hobble) round the course while Susan took Beanie for a walk in the park. Or at least that was the plan, but when we got there we saw a couple of dogs wearing racing numbers, so we asked the officials if we could enter Beanie too. A couple of minutes later she had a number, an official T-shirt (small Beagle size, naturally) and was joining in the pre-race warmup!

If you want me to do aerobics, show me the treats

I have run with Beanie on lead before, but always with extender unlocked so she could go at her own pace and have the odd mid-jog sniff. This time she had to run with a fixed lead and I wasn’t sure whether she’d like it, but as it turned out she was great. Every time we passed other runners we’d hear “Awww look at that little doggy”and I’d slip her half a gravy bone as a treat. She really loved the cheers and applause at the finish, and although she wasn’t the first dog to finish the race (we took just over 27 mins) she was certainly the first Beagle!

Beanie and me after the race

 Another race, another medal

Beanie’s not done running today, though. Shortly we’re driving up to Kincardine for another round of Beagle Racing. Let’s hope the weather is kind!

P.S. At the end of the race, I had a bit of trouble locating Susan in the crowds, so figured I’d try to use Beanie’s amazing tracking ability. In an excited voice I told Beanie “Where’s Susie? Find Susie!” To my amazement, Beanie sniffed about a bit and picked up a scent. Unfortunately the scent led to a discarded sandwich, which she promptly scoffed. That’s Beagles for ya!

Yep, this was only our third visit to the Sunday races at Inch Farm, Kincardine but we’re completely hooked - in fact we’re now fully paid up members of the Caledonian Thistle Pedigree Whippet Racing Club (Beagle Division).

Beanie showed more steady improvement in her racing ability today. She had two “proper” races, in which she placed 2nd and 3rd respectively. Susan handled the release at the start line, while I was down at the finish, trying to juggle a new camera, Beanie’s lead and a decent sized lump of chicken (the “post race lure”).

Here are a couple of shots from Beanie’s second race:

The winner to-be glances over his shoulder to check that he’s got a clear lead

Beanie (in the blue vest) just beaten into third place by a superb lunge for the finish line

Needless to say we were very proud of our pup’s performance, but there was more to come. An additional, somewhat informal race was held, and this time Beanie finished second. This result was subsequently overturned after the original winner was disqualified for being less cute than Beanie (see, I told you it was informal!) This gave Beanie the win, and a second blue rosette to add to her growing collection of achievements.

Beanie closes in on the lure, and the tasty lump of chicken in my hand

Needless to say, we’ll be back for another fix next week

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:

We finally met up with Bella - one of Beanie’s sisters - at the training class this evening.

Bella and Beanie are both in the same class now so they should be seeing each other on a regular basis - something that may be a source of stress for the instructor, Val. She quickly regretted her decision to get the two sisters up together for an off-lead exercise!

We also ran into a charming Bassett called Polly on a recent park visit. Beagles and Bassetts are supposed to be quite similar in some respects. Certainly Polly has the same persistence as Beanie. When she saw me handing a treat to our pup, she went straight into a beg and held it motionless for what seemed like an age, wearing me down with her soulful eyes:

Needless to say her performance netted her several lumps of cheese.