More Travels

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Paul

On Tueday we checked out MugDock Country Park as another possible location for off-lead Beagle romps. Unfortunately it was quickly scored off the list. The park is truly in the country, and it’s teaming with wildlife: we saw squirrels, rabbits, deer, and its apparently quite popular with horseriders too. Little Biggles was almost foaming at the mouth with excitement when all those scents reached his nose, and there can’t have been anyone within a mile who didn’t hear him baying. So regrettably MugDock park is definitely not a good off-lead location for crazy hounds, but it is large enough to provide varied and enjoyable on-lead walks – in fact you can even get onto the West Highland Way from one of the paths.

To make up for this lack of off-lead fun, the next day we headed back to Irvine. When we arrived there wasn’t much beach (the tide was only just on its way back out) and it looked a little overcast, but both of these problems resolved themselves as the walk progressed. Beanie and Biggles had an enjoyable spell of free running…

..then just as they were starting to wander we put them back on the Cani-Cross lead and alternately walked and jogged so as not to cramp their style too much.

We even practiced a little recall this way; I jogged a little way ahead with our two pups, then when Susan called us we all turned and sprinted right back to her for treats. Well, to be more accurate only the dogs got the treats – which wasn’t fair because my recall was much more reliable than theirs!

On the way back we encountered a couple of dogs. The first was a playful Lab. Our two seemed interested in playing with him, so we let them off lead again. Off course the moment they were released they shunned their potential play partner and disappeared into the tall grass just off the beach. Since neither of us like them being out of sight for any length of time I headed up to their last known location and began hunting for them. I became a little concerned when I couldn’t find any trace of them, so I ran to a higher point to get a better view; still no sign! I continued on parallel to the beach for some minutes – in vain – then headed back to the beach to recruit Susan’s help. I saw her way back in the distance with two tricolored blobs dancing around her. As it turned out, Beanie and Biggles had doubled back and emerged by Susan almost the instant I’d left the sand. She couldn’t call me because I’d cunningly neglected to bring my phone. That’s the thing about mobile phones: they’re not much use if you don’t take ’em with you.

A little further on we ran into an old friend from the park: Cassie. Perhaps foolishly we let our troublesome twosome off-lead once more. Thankfully this time they became completely engrossed in play:

Thanks to Cassie the walk could not have finished better; our two pups got a good romp around, and we had no stress or hassle for getting them back on lead afterwards. If only it would go like that every time..

Agility – The Comeback

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Susan

Beanie stopped going to Agility classes two or three weeks ago as she’d got a bit huffy about the way she was being taught and refused point-blank to cooperate. She had a great teacher and in many ways Beanie was the star of the class. But a Collie she ain’t and she made it quite clear she wasn’t about to learn any Collie-type techniques and tricks. So we decided that we’d just go back to doing things the way that Beanie both enjoyed and was good at.

We had a training session at Janie’s Agility Barn this morning. I always did the handling in the past, so in an attempt to break Beanie’s bad associations with Agility, Paul took over as handler. It went very well:

Bigglander

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Paul

What a day Sunday was!

It started with a trip to Balloch for another lesson with the Lomond Flyball Club. Unexpectedly good weather allowed the class to be held outside, and for the first time the sides of the course were fenced off. I don’t know if it was the fencing or the change of location, but both Beanie and Biggles suddenly became more focussed! They had a couple of stutters on their first run, but after that they both retrieved the ball flawlessly several times in a row. The last three runs were timed and though neither of our two were blisteringly fast (6.4 secs for Beanie, 7.5 for Biggles) it was just amazing to see each run completed without any unsheduled sniff breaks.

After flyball we drove over to Kincardine for another round of Beagle racing. Plans for a prompt 2.30pm start were quickly abandoned. We had a long chat, a hole-digging session..

..a raffle draw and an impromptu dog show before the racing got under way. That was OK by us though, because a certain little Beagle boy did rather well in the show.

Rival Murphy is looking good

So Biggles wows the judge with his classic pose: Blue Steel!

Murphy looks longingly at the winner’s rosette, but it’s destined for the Biggly boy!

Beanie tries to eat her runner up rosette while Biggles enjoys a cuddle from the judge

Yep, Biggles won the prestigious “Best Beagle” award, and Beanie came second. As we celebrated, the whippet show got under way..

The competition was intense..

..but a winner was finally chosen

Having won their respective breed titles, Biggles and his Whippet counterpart would now face each other in a walk-off for the “Best in Show” title.

That’s right – it’s a walk-off!

Biggles has to pull out something special to win. And there it is – the new look: Magnum!

Our little boy’s superior ~~catwalk~~ dogwalk technique won again. He was declared Best in Show, and unlike Derek Zoolander he didn’t even have to remove his underpants while still wearing his trousers. He got a lovely gold medal for his trouble which unfortunately wasn’t edible, but we had plenty of treats to make up for this critical oversight.

Finally it was time for some racing! Since the first few weeks of the season don’t count towards any prizes, racemeister Graeme gave us a series of quick-fire, handicapped races to give each dog a taste of glory. It was a great recipe for fun! Here are some of the better shots. Firstly, a little series involving Murphy, to make up for losing out to Biggles in the earlier dog show:

Beagles weren’t the only ones racing on Sunday!

And now a rare sight – Beanie’s pal Sophie charging to victory (although Beanie almost caught her at the line, despite a huge handicap):

And here’s an even rarer sight – little Biggles not coming in last!

Interestingly, both Beanie and Murphy seemed to run their best when they started from slightly behind. With other dogs already ahead of them I suppose they ran harder right from the start line. Biggles also runs better with other dogs in front of him – not because it spurs him on, but simply because he hasn’t yet twigged that he’s supposed to be running after the lure. He certainly does understand a good old fashioned chase though!