Life with Beanie's Beagle Pack
Our Beagle adventures
Our cani-cross kit arrived yesterday and we took the dogs to Pollock park to test drive it.
We’ve got two belts and lines as we’ll rarely have the dogs out together while Biggles is young. But we did get a double line so that one of us could take both dogs together if we wanted. It was the double line we tried out.
The dogs knew instinctively what to do and loved it. The main thing to work on is directional commands and a command to SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!!
Heelwork to Music
Last night Beanie and I went to a ‘Heelwork to Music’ workshop that was organised by the Glasgow Dog Training Club. This is something I typically wouldn’t touch with a barge pole as I have two left feet and absolutely no sense of rhythm. However, our obedience teacher Val assured us that it wasn’t about dancing but more about clicker training and teaching tricks.
It turned out to be perfect for Beanie as it’s so fast paced. The handler doesn’t have to dance – it’s more like getting the dog to do tricks around you. We’re starting classes in the next week or two. So watch this space – you might just see a video clip of Beanie and her gawky mum doing a rendition of the Sugar Plum Fairy ! Not sure what music we’ll get Biggles dancing to – the theme tune to Roobarb and Custard suits him well.
Cani-Cross
Paul wrote about our trip to Muirshiels Park at the weekend and Biggles and Beanie’s determination to pull us at break-neck speed accross the countryside.
At the time, we talked about finding a hobby for them that satisfied this urge for cross-country running. We thought perhaps tracking, but Paul has reservations as he feels that if they learn what their noses are really for it might be a bit like opening Pandora’s Box.
We think we’ve discovered the perfect sport for them (and us!). Paul and I have always been fitness fanatics until the last couple of years when family bereavements and injuries took their toll. We hope to get back to full fitness but it’s hard to find time with two active, impossible-to-tire beagles to amuse. Cani-cross sounds like the perfect activity for us. In simple terms it’s just cross country running with your dog. However, the difference is that the dog wears a special harness on a bungie lead that attaches to waist belt. The idea is to gain extra speed by letting the dog pull you up hills (Which Beanie and Biggles LOVE to do). The sport was invented by husky owners whose dogs needed a good daily workout but could not be let off the lead. Here’s a clip of a recent cani-cross event:
We’ve already ordered the harnesses and leads and some good cross country trainers for us. Paul’s fitness is quite good so he can run with Beanie. I’m still recovering from a hip injury so Biggles and I will make a great team – we can slowly build up running fitness together. By the time he’s a year old and allowed to compete we should both be fit and raring to go!
As many of the local dog walkers know our little princess Beanie has recently turned into an expert pick pocket. In the past couple of weeks she’s been richly rewarded for her criminal activity with a tasty stash including:
1. A whole bag of chopped sausage (swallowed whole still in it’s bag and later vomited up at the vets).
2. 4 Herta hot dog sausages
3. Cooked ham (still wrapped in tin foil – tin foil vomited up that night)
4. Assorted biscuits and other treats
5. Plastic bags, gloves, poo bags and a variety of other items guaranteed to start a good chase.
Aside from being anti-social behavior it’s also very dangerous for her. She’s already swallowed bags that could cause blockages and there’s a potential for her to steal something that’s actually poisonous to her (e.g. chocolate, medicines).
It’s a very difficult problem to fix simply because she has been so well rewarded for it. We’re going to try putting her off by getting some volunteers to put some nasty tasting chew stop on the outside of their zipped up pockets.
We’d be very grateful if everyone that meets her:
a) Guards their pockets – she’s a fast worker and can be in and out with a tasty stash in a fraction of a second!
b) Ignores her completely – no eye contact, no talk and absolutely no treats…ever. Even pushing her away is attention. Apparently it’s best if you just turn your back on her (if you can tolerate her pestering you – if not then of course you must push her away. And we’ll be there as fast as we can to haul her off)
We’ll try and get her to sit nicely when she greats you and we’ll reward her for that. But please don’t anyone give her (or Biggles) treats for the time being at least – no matter how good she is.