End of Term Photographs

Posted on June 24, 2008 by Susan

The Glasgow Dog Training Club, where we take Beanie for obedience training, breaks up for a month for the summer holidays next week. So last week we had a professional photographer in for end of term photos.

We’re delighted with Beanie’s pictures:

She’s such a little poser!!!! During the class, each of the dogs was taken out in turn for a little private photo-shoot. As is normal for Beanie nowadays, she was being the naughtiest pup in the class. But the moment she was in front of the camera she was as good as gold. Even the photographer said she was the most well behaved dog they’d seen that night!

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.

Kennels

Posted on June 21, 2008 by Paul

We had to fly down south earlier this week for family matters, and that left us with no choice but to put Beanie in kennels for a couple of days. There are a lots of kennels close to us, but we choose quality over convenience every time where Beanie’s concerned. Fortunately one came recommended by friends and even our vet, so earlier in the month we took Beanie along to check it out.

The kennels was in a farm building – a good thing for a Beagle with a very active nose. Another thing in its favor was that it only had places for ten dogs – I think small has to be better for something like this. Half of the cages had both an indoor and outdoor area, giving the occupants just that bit more freedom and stimulation, and one such cage was available for Beanie over the dates we needed. Everything looked modern, clean and secure. Unfortunately though Beanie’s first reaction to the cages and their current residents was not good – her tail went right between her legs and she was looking overwhelmed. Still, the owner assured us that the dogs always settled in after their first walk, and we really didn’t have any other option, so we made the booking.

When the day of Beanie’s incarceration came I took her out for a long, vigorous walk and runabout to tire her out while Susan packed up her crate, some long lasting chews and dug out her vaccination records (a kennel cough vac is always recommended – and sometimes required by kennels, at least 10 days prior to entry). We then drove over to the kennels – doing our best to act as if nothing unusual was happening – and took Beanie over to see her cage. Happily, her reaction this time was completely different. She had some nice, gentle looking neighbors and her tail kept wagging while I set up her crate in the indoor section. She entered her cage quite happily, and watched us while we did all the paperwork and handed over tubs of food and treats. I tried to keep a smile on my face, but I felt terrible seeing my little pup behind bars. When it was time to leave, I saw her clawing at the cage in an attempt to follow. The chances are she wasn’t the least bit concerned about us leaving her though. Given that it was after five o’clock I suspect the only thing on her mind was “Hey, you do know it’s teatime, right?”

On Wednesday morning we were back to collect her, and though she was happy enough to see us, she wasn’t able to give us her full attention because there was a stick of tripe that needed eating. It seems that while posh hotels put a little chocolate on your pillow, posh kennels give you a tripe stick.

We packed her up and took her home, where she spent the first 20 minutes performing a thorough nasal inspection of all rooms and the garden, to make sure nothing had changed. Once satisfied, she got straight down to her usual naughtiness – in this case a bit of unscheduled pruning.

Anticipation…

…makes the chewing even more enjoyable