For the Beagle that has everything

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Susan

We’ve been racking our brains to find the perfect Christmas pressie for Beanie and Biggles and we think we’ve done it! It’s a two part pressie and I’m embarrassed to admit that we got a bit excited and let them play with the first half. It was a big hit.

Beanie and Biggles favorite thing in all the world is chasing. Last year we got them a portable lure and whilst they think that’s the bee’s knees it’s not suitable for smaller spaces. We wanted something that was as much fun as chasing a lure but that could eventually be used as a super exciting reward to make sports like agility more fun. Currently we use food rewards but the problem with that is that scraps of food found on the ground, in other peoples pockets or on stalls at an agility competition are every bit as appealing and we tend to lose control if there’s nosh within a 2 mile radius! We want something super-exciting that the pups know they won’t find anywhere except with us.

So, back to the pressie. The first part sounds a bit strange – it’s a lunge whip. The type they use for training horses. It’s a long, flexible pole with a ‘rope’ attached to the end. It cost about £5. Now it might not sound like fun but attach a rope to the end and wiggle it about a bit and you’ll be any Beagle’s best friend.

Here it is in action:

And some piccies:

The second part of the pressie is something a bit nicer than an old rag to chase and kill. A JML ‘crazy critter’ fox and racoon as advertised on TV:

These are just perfect for attaching to lunge whip – they’re all slinky and fluffy with squeakers in the head and tail that’ll make lots of lovely noise when the critters are being killed.

Anything that’s been attached to the lunge whip becomes exciting in it’s own right so in time I’m guessing that we’ll be able to stuff a ‘crazy critter’ in our jackets and whip it out at the end of an agility run to drive our pups wild with excitement.

Lochore, Fife – a Run around the Loch

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Susan

Beanie and I completed our second canix race today, and Paul and Biggles their third. As always at these events the weather was perfect. Blue sky, sunshine and a crisp frost to keep us cool during the run.

This time around it really was only 5.1k (typically they seem to round up to 6k), and apart from a couple of hard slogs at the end the course was fairly flat. The only tricky part was a flooded section of the path with knee-deep, icy water lasting for about 20 feet. Biggles ran through it without even noticing. But poor princess Beanie got so far, sunk up to her neck then with a look of “eeeeewww!” on her face she swam to the side and tried to pick her way carefully to dry land.

Beanie does of course swim regularly at a hydrotherapy pool but refuses to go in at anything less than a balmy 29 degrees.

The course pretty much followed the shore of the loch so no risk of Paul getting lost and doing an extra 4k this time!

Biggles and Paul redeemed themselves and finished in a very respectable 26 minutes. Beanie and I came in last with a time of 38 minutes which I was happy with – but I’m working hard at getting fit so I can be the partner that Beanie deserves.

Not much video footage this time (Paul wanted to concentrate on navigation after last weeks mishap!). Just a little bit of Beanie’s and my finish:

A big thank you to Gregor Watson (Chief the agility Beagle’s dad) for his support and for the photos. It’s really lovely to have a reminder of the day – especially that big puddle!

Grizedale Forest – Race Day

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Susan

We woke up to perfect racing weather – blue skies, sunshine and a sparkly white layer of frost. When I say ‘we’ I mean of course Paul and I. Beanie and Biggles grumbled about the noise then snuggled more deeply under the covers to grab an extra 40 winks.

The view from our hotel at 8am on Sunday morning

After a quick breakfast we headed back to the Grizedale Forest to collect our racing bibs and and attend the pre-race briefing. If I’d been concerned about the race beforehand I was even more worried when the organisers dropped the bombshell that it was in fact a 6k race (not 5k) and that it was rather hilly! The best I’d done in training runs was 4k on very flat ground. My biggest worry was that Beanie and I would be last over the finish line and that everyone would be waiting for us to finish so they could pack up and go home.

Eventually the race got underway. Competitors start at 8 second intervals and ordering is according to age and gender (that’s human age and gender – not the dogs). Paul and Biggles’ race number was 26 and Beanie and I were 41 so they set off about three minutes ahead of us. Paul had the video camera with him so the plan was that he’d film bits of his and Biggles race then catch me and Beanie at the finish line.

The route took us along forest tracks and trails and our effort was rewarded with stunning views. Every so often you’d turn a corner or reach the brow of a hill to see a stunning panorama of mountains bathed in golden sunlight. The hills were tough going and it seemed a very long 6k, but eventually we heard the cheers and music at the finish line and managed to find the energy to sprint to the finish line in a very respectable time of 43 minutes. But no sign of Paul and Biggles. We waited around for a bit then headed back to the car – maybe they’d gone to switch cameras? No sign. We headed back to the finish line just in time to see Paul and Biggles crossing the line slowly looking very dejected (well, Paul did anyway). They were last, and to make matters worse everyone was cheering and shouting encouragement as if Paul was some poor old codger having his first run.

It turned out that Paul had made a wrong turn and did an extra 4k. To make matters worse, at the point where he should have turned off the main track onto a rough path up a hill side the main track went steeply down hill for quite a distance. Paul and Biggles flew down the hill making great time only to have to turn around and complete the hard slog back up a couple of kilometers later.

So, Beanie and I weren’t last. But Paul and Biggles got the last laugh. There were only two teams entered in their category so Paul and Biggles got a second place prize and substantially more points than Beanie and I…..despite being last overall!

The video of Paul and Biggles race:

After the race we went back to the Cafe in the Forest for lunch (outside this time!) then another nice, long walk through the forest to stretch out all of our muscles before the trip home.

For most of the walk Beanie and Biggles squabled about who’d ran the fastest in the race:

We walked for about 10k and still only covered a tiny fraction of the marked trails in the forest.