I nearly fell off my chair today when I received a call from the Beagle Scent Trail/Hunt organiser informing me that Jamie has made it into the category of Top Ten beagles of the 2011 Hunt Season. What an achievement for my boy!
He will be racing in the final on September 25 against the other nine dogs to determine who is the overall winner. This time instead of breaking up the trail into 5 sections, they will be laying out one long trail of between 5-6 kilometres. This is a real test of endurance and ability to truly follow a scent. Many dogs just follow the call of the pack and last year only two dogs out of the Top Ten actually finished the trail.
All credit for Jamie's achievement lies totally with him. He achieved his success with very little support from me.
I know that I did not exercise both him and his sister Jemma enough to get them into tip top peak form. I have not kept my dogs mean and lean. A fellow owner who is a vet has chastised me for the fact that Jamie is a bit overweight. He also started the season after being "bed ridden" for a month after the amputation of his toe. He has had to overcome his fear of the car and motion sickness every time we travelled to the hunt. The only thing I did was to be Jamie and Jemma's taxi driver to the "hunt" venue.
Secondly I have begun experimenting with a new diet this week, not a good time to play around with Jamie's nutrition if he is to compete in the final soon. I will have to get my butt into gear and give him plenty of exercise to get a last burst of training in before the big moment.
Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!
Stunning achievment for the little boy. You can borrow my mountain bike to get in some last minute endurance training for them!
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