Skid Marks and other signs of speeding

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Paul

Beanie & Biggles prepared for Sunday’s racing with a number of warm up laps in our garden. Unfortunately this occurred just a few minutes after their post breakfast number twos, and being a bit lazy on Sunday mornings, neither of us had bothered to perform the ritual poo harvest. The result? Well this picture will give you the general idea..

Now that’s a skid mark and no mistake!

If Biggles looks unhappy it’s because I made it very clear to him that he wasn’t getting back into the house until I’d given his arse a thorough wiping. I didn’t have any pet wipes to hand so I ended up using a box of Tesco’s finest moistened and perfumed bum wipes that we were keeping back for guests. When I need to wipe my rear I end up using “value” bog roll; when Biggles has a skid mark, he gets the top notch stuff. It’s not fair, and Caesar Milan would not approve at all. Anyway, let’s talk racing.

There was a good turnout this week, thanks mainly to a lot of new faces. Racing was delayed a little until the whippets finished up, so the day started with an impromptu dog show. Biggles placed fourth and got a lovely green rosette to add to his collection. It’s just a pity the powers that be didn’t also have a motor show, because racing regular Jan would have won easily with her new customized wheels:

The opening races were just for fun, to get the newbies introduced to the track. Beanie won her first round easily, storming past the finish line in her favorite racing color: red.

Biggles was in the second race, and apparently was so laid back on the start line that he kept rolling over for a tummy tickle. That’s just not the sort of behavior you expect from a serious racing dog, and I’m sure he’d have been disqualified if the ref had spotted him. As it was, he got his act together when the lure started moving. He was up against a newbie and Chief, who is normally no slouch. Today however Chief was in a silly mood, and seemed more interested in Biggles’ bottom than lure. Perhaps my Tesco finest bum wipe had failed to completely remove all remnants of the earlier skid mark. Regardless, while Chief buzzed around Biggles’ rear end, our determined little boy just kept on running and deservedly won the race.

Chief checks up on Biggles’ woeful lack of personal hygiene

He gets serious about the race in the last few yards – but it’s too late!

Biggles chalks up another victory!

Never underestimate the Biggly boy!

In amongst the “normal” races, we also had a handicapped “points” race. Beanie won the first such race last week, so she ended up starting several yards behind Murphy, last year’s Derby champ and winner of the recent Open. She ran well and managed to close the gap somewhat, but it wasn’t enough to deny Murphy his victory. However, as the winner of a points race, Murphy will be joining Beanie at the back of the field next week.

Other noteworthy moments from Sunday included Beanie triumphantly seizing the lure as she won another of the regular races:

Cosmo the Tasmanian Devil disguised as a border terrier doing much the same:

And Jan’s Abbey pushing through another spot of unruly behavior to win one of her races:

Finally, here are a few more shots from Sunday.

There are more pictures from Sunday’s racing – you’ll find the full set (two pages worth) at the following link. Some photos are available in larger sizes – just click on the photo you like, then click All Sizes when the next Flickr page loads:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27172079@N08/sets/72157618707174201/detail/

Biggles has Graduated!

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Susan

We haven’t managed to take Beanie or Biggles to obedience classes for a few weeks due to work commitments. Tonight was our first night back (Biggles’ class tonight, Beanie tomorrow) and I was a little apprehensive as whilst we’ve been working hard on training it’s been mostly recall related. I honestly expected Biggles to have problems remembering what to do.

Biggles gave everyone a big surprise. Teachers Val and Carol couldn’t believe how calm and laid back he was since they saw him last – in fact I was accused of drugging him at one point! He was as good as gold, and performed without treats even. When told to sit and stay he kept his bum stuck to the floor no matter what chaos was going on around him. The only slight problem was a tendency to roll onto his back for a tummy tickle mid-way through ‘down-stay’ exercises. He did so well that he’s been promoted to the next class.

Here’s hoping that Beanie does just as well in her advanced class tomorrow night!

And whilst on the subject of training, our emergency recall practice seems to be paying off. We’ve been working hard on it for two or three months now and over the past few days we’ve tried it out while Beanie and Biggles were some distance away from us and quite engrossed in what they are doing. It’s worked every time. The moment we call they stop what they’re doing and run to us like little bullets. Today we decided to be brave and give it a real test…

Beanie and Biggles had clearly picked up a scent and took off at high speed, baying their heads off. Most Beagle owners (including us until today) assume that Beagles are in fact deaf when on a scent as it’s impossible to get their attention. Well, they were about 200 yards away from us and about to disappear out of the meadow and into the trees. Paul yelled our magic word at the top of his lungs and they both instantly skidded to a halt and sprinted back to us.

The fundamental rules of Really Reliable Recall are:

Practice recall using your emergency word three times a day
Use highly valued rewards, and make the reward last at least 30 seconds (i.e. keep feeding treats for 30 seconds).
Only use it when you are 100% certain that your dog will come to you.

We took a gamble on rule 3, but fortunately it paid off. But we won’t make a habit of this – tomorrow we’ll be sure to make it nice and easy for them.

Normal, every day recall is coming along well too. I won’t claim that it works EVERY time, but most of the time they’ll break off what they’re doing and come to us when we call.

Finally, here’s a couple of pictures from today’s walk:

Water Babies

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Susan

As promised, here’s the video clip from Wednesday’s swim session:

We were only booked for a 30 minute swim, but the hydrotherapy centre had a visit from the local vet and we were asked if we’d mind staying on a bit longer so he could watch Beanie and Biggles swim. Beanie ended up in the pool for about 45 minutes and she swam non-stop just as you see in the video – and STILL we had trouble gettting her out when it was time to go home.

Beanie’s confidence in the water is really growing fast! Biggles is a little slower to get started, but when he does he swims like a little torpedo.

I think you can just about see his Biggles’ sunburnt lip in the video – that happened at the Beach on Tuesday. He’s now got his own special lipstick to wear when he goes out in the sun….and true to form our little boy is more than happy about that! A boy has to look his best at all times.

The next planned swim session is on the 30th May with Glasgow Dog Training Club buddies Cullin, Jamie, Tess, Clara and Tara. Beagle twins Tara and Clara will be celebrating their 1st birthday on the day. Clara and Tara came to Beanie’s first birthday party back in October so I think we’ll be having their birthday party at the pool – a ‘real’ pool party!