Sunday’s first outing was for flyball class, and thanks to another spell of decent weather it was held outside again. Last week the change of location and the fencing around the course seemed to help focus all the dogs in the class. The same was true this week, but especially so for Beanie. She went from merely being reliable at returning the ball, to really getting into the whole flyball spirit. She was absolutely flying over the jumps, and even started doing the “swimmer’s turn” on the club’s new Canadian style box. That was great news – the swimmer’s turn is better for the dog as the force of the direction change is spread over all four limbs, and it’s more efficient too. It was superb watching her tearing up and down the course, but by the end of the class we were wondering if it had tired her too much for racing. We got our answer in due course, but I’ll get to that shortly.

After flyball we headed to Kincardine for racing. It’s a non-trivial journey from Balloch (Flyball HQ), but the roads were surpisingly quiet and we arrived early enough to watch the whippets doing their trials. I took a few slow motion clips and as you’ll see it’s surprising how graceful and fluid the whippets are when they’re in full flight:

This one is my favorite though – just look how the dog is stretching right out between each drive phase!

As an indication of how fast the dogs were moving, consider that the vids were taken at 210 frames per second and played back at only 30. That’s true slow motion, but they don’t look that slow. Maybe I’ll take some clips of the Beagles next week, just for comparison…

Speaking of which, shortly after the whippets had finished it was time for the Beagles. We had a decent turnout this week – some of the new faces from the start of the season had returned, and Dudley – one of Beanie’s brothers (direct brother, not half-brother like Biggles) – had come to race. He looked in fantastic shape. Last time we saw him he’d been carrying a bit of puppy fat, but he’s lost that now and is quite the athlete!

The first race had the Biggly boy up against Murphy. I had a strange feeling Murphy might just manage to hold off Biggles’ challenge, and I was right. Biggles came in last, but he enjoyed it and that’s what counts.

Usually when Murphy wins he pounces on the lure as soon as it stops and gives it a thorough shaking. I’d positioned myself right at the back of the track to catch that moment, and I’m quite pleased with the result:

I’m pretty sure the lure was dead by the time he let it go! Beanie was in the next race, and she won pretty comfortably, but it’s notable that Chief – who’s only just started racing – came in second. He’s only 10 months old and I think he could shake things up if he comes regularly.

Dudley was in the next race, and I focused on him to see how he’d get on. He’s wearing the blue jacket in these shots, and is instantly recognizable by his tail – he’s the only one that has it bolt upright (just like Beanie, always posing for the camera!)

As you can see he was doing quite well, until he got a little distracted and confused!

Nearly all newbies do something like that, and I’m sure that in a couple of weeks he’ll be going for the lure like a pro.

The next race was the final, putting Beanie up against Murphy. Watching from the finish line, I didn’t think Beanie got off to a good start, and further up the track she got into a little argy-bargy with Chief. Ordinarily this wouldn’t put her off in the slightest, but today she changed position and pretty much gave up on the race, jogging past the finish line in last place.

Murphy aiming to win the race and the Scottish Beagle Gurning Championship all in one go!

A solid win for Murphy, though Chief (in black) isn’t far behind.

Beanie seemed happy enough, and of course she got a big helping of treats (egg, cheese & veg omelette) when she finished, but I think this was an indication that the earlier flyball class had taken too much out of her. This was the first time that the class had become more like flyball practice than plain training, and it’s clearly not compatible with racing – at least not when they’re both on the same day. Since flyball goes on all year round but racing is limited to spring, summer and early fall I think racing should take precedence, but I guess we can miss the odd racing outing to keep Beanie’s ball retrieval skills ticking over. Hopefully our little girl will be running on a full tank next week!

That was the end of the racing for our two this week, but there were still some fun runs after the final. Race organizer Graham had been impressed by Dudley’s performance, and gave him a couple of extra runs with Murphy and other experienced dogs to help teach him the ropes.

Each time Dudley was very quick off the line, even getting ahead of Murphy for part of the course. Unfortunately we never got to see whether he could finish a race in the same style because he lost concentration again – but he’ll soon overcome that! What’s particularly impressive about his debut is that he’s had hardly any off-lead runs to build up his fitness. Maybe it’s just in the genes. Beanie definitely has a gift for running and chasing, and it looks her brother Dudley has it too. Last summer, I noticed that Beanie’s sister Bella also seemed  to be able to hold her own in a chase. It turns out that Chief is also from the Newlin line, and though only 10 months old and still a newbie he’s looking very promising for later in the season.  We really need Bella to come along one week, then we can have the three siblings and the Biggly boy racing together. Now that would be quite a sight!

I don’t think any other dogs will be racing alongside this little fellow though:

When the lure started moving he took off like the Tazmanian devil in the old Looney Tunes cartoons. For such a small dog he rocketed up the track, and probably did more damage to the lure in one race than Murphy could in a month of races. He’s a fun little character though!

After all the racing was over, another impromptu Beagle show was held. I figured the Bigglet was a pretty safe bet for a rosette, even with my non-existent handling skills, but I was wrong! Dudley got first place and Beanie came second, and the judge seemingly had no idea they were related.

Well that’s it for this week. Click here if you want to see more piccies from this season’s racing!

There was no trip to the park and only a short, lacklustre walk for our two this morning. They tried to make the best of it by having a frenetic chase session in our garden, but with so little space to play in it soon petered out and they ended up moping around on our bed, thoroughly bored.

Why, on such a bright sunny day, had we given them the most boring morning they could remember? ‘Cos in the afternoon, they were going Beagle Racing, that’s why! Yep, the new racing season started today. We drove up to Inch Farm nice and early, packing two spare leads and a bagful of fatty, smelly cooked lamb. On arrival we registered Beanie and Biggles then headed over to the track to watch the whippets doing their time trials.

As a veteran racer Beanie had seen this before, but it was all new to Biggles. He watched the whippets intently while Beanie concentrated on more important things, like how to pick her Mum’s pockets without getting caught.

As the scheduled start time approached the Beagle squad started to arrive. The core regulars were there, as was Beanie’s friend Sophie, but there were also quite few new faces. At least Biggles wouldn’t be the only newbie this week! The new racing organiser – Jill – soon had the first heats planned out. Beanie had a place in the very first race wearing red, while Biggles was in the second, also in red. We popped their jackets on and headed over to the track. The first race got away smartly, and Beanie won quite comfortably to secure her place in the final.

The first race of 2009 gets under way

Beanie wins convincingly

Despite considerable wind resistance from the ear department

As the lure was taken back to the start line I wondered how Biggles would fare in his first ever race. He’s quite an unpredictable little chap, or Bigglet. He picks some things up quickly, yet you can load a tennis ball with tasty treats right in front of his face and throw it, and while other dogs immediately sprint after it he’ll stand there, sticking his nose into your hand and trying to work out where the food went.

The race got off to a false start when one of last season’s regulars (Pebble?) got a little too excited and started down the track prematurely.

This left just three dogs on the line. When the race got under way properly, three became two as one of the competitors thought better of the whole running idea. This left Biggles and one other, and when he saw his remaining rival set off after the lure he gave chase. He did he best but was rapidly losing ground. Abruptly the lure stalled!

The leader slowed and stopped, but Biggles kept running and soon found himself in the lead. Had he kept going he might just have won his first race! But he didn’t – he stopped and turned to see what was happening, at which point the lure and his opponent started up again, leaving our very confused little boy stranded half way up the track on his own.

I called him a couple of times and once he spotted me he came running. Thanks to all that recall training we’ve been doing lately, Biggles finally crossed the line to complete his first race and got a sizeable chunk of lamb for his trouble. He’d finished last, but with only two finishers he was actually going to join his sister Beanie in the final!

In the next race, Beanie’s pal Sophie also managed to secure a place in the final.

Sophi nearly loses her jacket as she chases her place in the final!

Not unlike Biggles, this little fellow faltered a little as he passed the halfway mark, but a little encouragement got him going again and he also finished his very first race.

Not the biggest, not the fastest

But certainly in the running for being the cutest!

When the time came for the final, six dogs were on the start line, and little Biggles was among them. He started several lanes down from Beanie but almost as soon as the race got under way he ran across to his sister’s lane and followed behind her. He’d really enjoyed that lamb from his earlier race, and if anyone knew how to find more of it, it was Beanie.

Beanie in red, and way behind her, Biggles in black

As the race progressed Beanie and last season’s Derby winner – Murphy – fought for the lead. Incredibly, Beanie pulled ahead and won quite convincingly. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can take that as a sign that Beanie has truly surpassed her bigger, stronger rival, because in the subsequent jacket-free fun runs Murphy regained his customary first place. Still, it was nice to see Beanie being the one to grab the lure and give it a good shaking. As for Biggles, well it was no great surprise that he came in last, but he did so without any hiccups, and confirmed that it was no fluke by completing the fun runs too.

Murphy, Beanie, Sam and last but not least, Biggles!

All in all, it was a great start to the new season. Below are some more shots from the day’s racing, and you can see the whole set by clicking here.