Bigglander

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!