A Legitimate Rosette!

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Paul

Beagle Racing was back on today after a three week lay-off, but this morning we actually considered giving it a miss due to bad weather. Fortunately I caught a more promising forecast on the radio as I drove back from the gym, so we bundled Beanie into the car and headed off towards Kincardine Bridge.

I had reason to hope that Beanie would do well this time. Earlier in the week we bumped into her friend Tessa in the park. Tessa is a Collie cross, but it looks like she’s got some Greyhound in her mix (does that make her a Lurcher?) She’s fast, and could easily outrun Beanie the first time they met. However, this time around Beanie had closed the gap noticeably – despite already being tired from a heavy play session with other dogs.

My hopes proved well founded. She finished second in her first race, then managed second again in the final, losing to Jan Bell’s lovely Abbey.

Beanie (in blue) chases hard…

…but it’s not enough to deny Abbey’s victory

This result is particularly remarkable because:

it was achieved without any of the dodgy practices that often creep into Beagle racing, such as giving Beanie a head start because she’s a midget, or disqualifying the true winner on the grounds that Beanie’s cuter
we only had a few pieces of Burns Kelties to give her at the finish of each race. I mean come on, no cheese?
this was the Beagle Bitch Championship of 2008, not just an ordinary race

Admittedly there were only 5 Beagles in the whole competition (it would have been 6 if astute officials hadn’t spotted that late entrant “Samantha” had some dangly bits that don’t belong on a girl), but still we’re really proud of our little sprinter.

Just for fun an extra race was held between three of the Beagles (Abbey, Beanie and Sam, now cured of his earlier “confusion”) and a whippet, to see just how much faster those sleek speed demons really are. The Beagles were given a sizeable head start, but it wasn’t nearly enough:

OK, so whippets *are* quite fast then

Abbey and her owner Jan were presented with their fine looking trophy,

then the traditional post racing show was held (again won by Beanie, thanks to some expert handling by youngster Holly!) just before the heavens opened.

For any Beagle owners interested in having a fun day at the races, the location is Inch Farm, Kincardine – close to Longannet Power Station (FK10 4AA). Racing is held on Sundays around 3pm – for more details head over to the Caledonian Thistle Pedigree Whippet Racing Club forums.

Munro Bagging, Self-Cleaning Beagle

Posted on June 1, 2008 by Paul

The forecast for Saturday told us to expect a hot sunny day, and for once the weathermen got it right. We decided to take advantage of the good weather by taking Beanie for a walk up Ben Lomond.

Ben Lomond is one of the most accessible mountains in Scotland – it has a well worn, gently winding path – but the walk to the summit and back takes a good 4-5 hours, so we packed extra water and treats for ourselves as well as Beanie.

We got there a little later than planned but happily still managed to get a parking place, and set off. From the start all the way up to the summit, Beanie positively charged up the mountain. I don’t know why, but she really loves to climb – it’s much more than just the lure of fresh, free-range sheep poo that keeps her going onwards and upwards.

After a while though even she started to feel the heat. We stopped for a breather at one point and Beanie found a pool of muddy water. Rather than standing at the edge and drinking from it as she usually would – and given a choice between fresh clean water and a mucky pond, she’ll take the pond every time – she waded right in up to her neck. When she emerged she was coated in mud, though thankfully she shook off the excess before she came into contact with anybody else. I suppose there’s a first time for everything :)

On park walks I often tell people that Beanie is virtually self cleaning, though I’m sure they don’t believe me. Well, here’s the proof. This is Beanie at the summit:

We didn’t wipe her down, and she didn’t lick any of the mud off, but it’s nearly all gone! It must be a combination of her short coat and whatever oils she produces. Whatever the reason, it’s a good thing.

On the way up, Beanie really was an asset. She often found little deviations from the path that were easier on the legs, and she was pulling strongly enough that whoever was holding her lead noticeably quickened their pace, regardless of fatigue.

The path back down from the summit may have looked inviting…

..but it was just as punishing on the legs as the climb up, and a pulling Beagle doesn’t help when you’re trying to keep your balance. Beanie’s path finding abilities were still useful though. She took us on a couple of grassy shortcuts that were much easier, faster and probably safer than the standard rocky trail.

Although there wasn’t really any point on the walk when Beanie seemed to be tiring, when we got back home she flaked out completely. Ordinarily that would have given us a chance to get on with household chores in peace, but we were cream-crackered too and just vegged out in front of the telly.

Pole Position And A Pit-Stop

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Paul

Sunday’s Beagle racing at Inch Farm, Kincardine went very well for Beanie – she won the consolation race, and then in the show afterwards she won best Beagle and best dog, beating a very fine looking whippet.

However, these tremendous achievements should be put in context. For one thing, the turnout was quite low (probably due to the Bank Holiday the next day). Also, it’s worth noting that the consolation race only had two competitors – Beanie and Daisy. It gets worse though, because as we lined up for the race, I was told to nudge Beanie forwards an extra couple of yards to give her a better chance against her seasoned opponent. I guess it wasn’t playing strictly to the rule book, but I was “only following orders” as they say. In any case, Beanie bet Daisy by more than the head start :)

As for the show, well I’m not sure the judging was quite as rigorous as one might get at Crufts. For example, I have my suspicions that not all the competitors were actually Beagles:

On our return after the race, Susan decided it was time to make some repairs to our lawn. There were of course a few holes to fill – Beanie seems determined to dig her way to Australia. But an even bigger problem was the lifeless brown patches caused by Beanie’s grass killing power pee.

Our poor lawn, after a few repairs

We only found this out when it was too late, but dog pee – or more commonly bitch pee – can be lethal to grass, especially in dry weather. There are three ways to combat this:

Don’t let the dog pee on the grass. Not that easy to enforce!
Hose down the favorite pee spots with water regularly
Try lawn saving products like Dog Rocks and Greenum

We’re not keen on messing with Beanie’s drinking water or giving her pills just to save the lawn, so we’re left with the other two options. From now on when she goes into the garden, we’ll keep her on lead until she’s emptied her bladder on the graveled areas, and any unplanned pee events will be diluted with lots of water. Hopefully this will give the lawn a chance to recover.

To channel Beanie’s urge to dig, I made her a little sand pit to play in. I have absolutely no carpentry skills but I’ll never turn up an opportunity to wield a circular saw. Must be something to do with all those cheap and nasty horror films I watched when I was younger. Anyway, the sand pit seems to be a success so far – Beanie just can’t get enough of it!