Author: Paul

Beagle Racing – More New Recruits!

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Last week Beanie’s park pal Sophie joined her at the race track. This week she had the company of more friends from the park, in the form of Dillon – a cuddly Tibetan terrier she loves playing with, and Nollaig (Irish for Christmas) – a beautiful Beagle who’s only recently had pups. Nollaig’s owners Kathleen and Neil also brought along two of the pups to spectate, and three more of their nine (yes, NINE!) Beagles to participate in the racing.

The Beagle newbies all finished their races and had a great time doing it. That’s a good start, and should make for some interesting races later in the season when they really find their feet. The final was dominated by the regulars however, and this time it was Milo that took 1st place.


Milo wins the race and Murphy’s face says it all!

Beanie’s playmate Dillon got to run in his own race against Titch and a Jack Russell terrier.


Titch in the lead, Dillon in second place just before it all went wrong!

They were all doing well and clearly having a ball, but unfortunately the lure lost its appeal before they reached the finish line. Race protocol was cast aside as Dillon decided he’d rather have a playful runabout at the halfway point, while Titch embarked on her own new race back to the Start line.

The day concluded with an all-in final race. I have to say this is always my favorite. No vests, no recorded results, just a big bunch of dogs tearing down the track and having fun.

With so many dogs running, both Susan and I were down at the finish line to help out with the post-race catching. We fully expected that Beanie would forget all about the lure and go play with Dillon, but to our complete amazement she actually won! Apparently she got a little bit of an early start, but barefaced cheating has always been allowed in the Beagle rule book :)


Murphy’s last second Superman impersonation is not enough to beat Beanie!


Beanie deploys her ears as an air-break while Nollaig secures an impressive 3rd place

Guided by his Beagle chums, Dillon finally makes it past the finish line!

There appears to be some controversy over the second photo of the final, erm “Fun” race. Here it is, in its full uncropped glory – click the link to see it.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2003/2701447941_37a9c6d14c_b.jpg

Did Beanie win? Did Murphy win? And if the Apollo moon landings really happened, how come there are two light sources in the photos :)

Allergy Trouble

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Recently we noticed Beanie scratching more frequently. Fearing that she’d become the target of fleas, we treated her with Frontline Spot-On, but it didn’t help appreciably. The itching escalated very gradually until early in the week, when we decided to give her a wash with some mild puppy shampoo. Her fur was a little matted due to her rolling in some unsavory items in the park, and we figured that a good wash might also get rid off anything else on her coat that might irritating her skin. During and after the wash I noticed excessively pink skin showing through her fur on her abdomen, chest, back legs and snout.

Over the next two days this worsened and I felt that her condition was causing her some distress. Her frequent scratching and licking had now created small lesions on her skin, so reluctantly we took Beanie back to her third favorite haunt in the world, the vet.

(In case you’re wondering, Beanie’s most favorite place is the cupboard that houses her food and treats. Favorite place #2 is the dishwasher when it’s full of dirty plates. Open either of those and a small, hungry Beagle will instantly appear. Guaranteed!)

The vet suspected an allergic reaction, though 9 months is unusually young for such problems. We wondered if the offending agent might be grass or pollen, since the flare up in her skin had coincided with the latest round of grass cutting at the parks she visits. While the vet didn’t discount this completely, she was more interested in the various cleaning agents we use on Beanie’s bedding, such as bio washing powder, fabric conditioner and so on. The treatment she recommended was antihistamines (more on this later) and antibiotics to clear any infection in Beanie’s skin. We weren’t keen on our pup getting yet another course of antibiotics and the lesions in her skin were quite mild, so the vet gave us a concentrated antibacterial wash to try instead.

By the time we got back home, we had a new suspect for the cause of Beanie’s allergic reaction. We’d recently used a spray-on fabric and carpet freshener in the house, and it was the very areas that contact the carpet when Beanie’s laying down that seemed worst hit. Needless to say the carpet freshener is now in the bin! We’ve also washed the carpets to get rid of any lingering traces of the freshener, and we’ve bought some non-bio washing powder to use on Beanie’s bedding.

Happily Beanie’s skin now seems to be calming down and she’s spending less time scratching, so it looks like the treatment’s working.

And so to the antihistamines Beanie was prescribed. It turns out there isn’t a dog-specific antihistamine, so she was given a human medicine instead: Piriton 4mg tablets. A lot of forums recommend including antihistamines in  your doggy emergency medical kit in case of bee stings and so on – at least now we know a brand and dosage that’s freely available and safe!

Beagles Whip A Whippet

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Beagle racing time again! Today’s turnout was small due to a clash with a dog show in Alva, but happily Beanie’s friend Sophie was there, along with two of her pals: a whippet called Rosie and Mac – a Fox Terrier. A cute little Jack Russell called Titch also joined the gang.

Rosie The Whippet

Rosie getting her first taste of racing

Once the whippet racing was over Sophie lined up with Beanie and Murphy for her first ever race. Sophie’s currently suffering from a phantom pregancy (apparently quite common in unspayed bitches) so she wasn’t in her best shape physically. Nevertheless, Beanie apparently felt threatened by the new competition and resorted to dirty tricks to increase her chances of a win. Just as starters orders were being given she unleashed a silent but deadly “bottom cough”. This noxious naughtiness gave rise to some expletives from the officials but once the air had cleared the race got under way.

Murphy finished first, no doubt spurred on by the desire to stay safely upwind of Beanie’s backfiring bum. Sophie finished last, but she ran the full length of the track without any hiccups – more than Beanie managed in her race debut.

Murphy (1st) and Beanie

The final race had all dogs, including the two terriers Mac and Tich, and Rosie the whippet, running together. I think Rosie thought she was out for a gentle stroll, because she was beaten into fourth place by Murphy, Beanie and little Titch.

You saw it here first – a Beagle beating a whippet!