In This Chapter
- Understanding how exercise benefits your Beagle (and you)
- Incorporating exercise into everyday activities
- Discovering dog sports
- Exercising your older Beagle
Then I went on a cruise to the
Caribbean, and to rid myself of the guilt that I felt after I ate way too much
delicious food, I headed to the ship’s gym to put in some time on the treadmill
and exercise machines. To my considerable surprise, I enjoyed myself — and to
my supreme relief, my clothes still fit me at the end of the cruise. Those
results sold me, and when I returned to dry land, I joined a nearby gym. Today,
my clothes still fit me, I’ve toned up, and I deal with stress a heck of a lot
better than I did before I joined the gym.
Keep Him Moving, Keep Yourself Happy
Dog trainers constantly tell
their human clients that a tired dog is a happy dog — and for good reason. The
pooch who has had the chance to flex his muscles and use his brainpower is
generally too pooped to get into mischief such as unwinding toilet paper,
pilfering laundry, and engaging in other activities that don’t please his people.
Put another way, a dog who stays out of mischief results in a happy dog owner —
and that generally leads full circle to a happy dog.
Plus, getting and staying in
shape feels just as good to your Beagle as it does to you. Regular exercise not
only prevents the boredom that gets him into hot water with you — it also does
wonderful things for his body and overall health. The Beagle who stays in shape
has a healthier heart and lungs, less fat on his body, greater mobility, and
fewer aches and pains than his couch-potato counterpart. Those health
advantages will become increasingly important to your Beagle as he ages.
Finally, exercise gives your
Beagle a chance to be with the individual who matters (or should matter) more
to him than anyone else: you. That’s because Snoopy-dogs are social creatures,
and they’re not likely to exert themselves to any great extent unless their people
are there to do it with them. They need their people not only to show them the
moves that will keep them in shape, but also just to keep them company.
And isn’t your Beagle’s company
the reason that you added him to your life in the first place? He’s a
delightful little guy, and having the chance to do stuff with him gives you
opportunities to enjoy him for the unique individual that he is. Helping your
Beagle stay in shape keeps your relationship with him in shape, too. Doing so need
not take a whole lot of time: A couple of brisk 15- to 20-minute walks per day
may be all he needs. Of course, your Beagle may be such wonderful company that
you may need and want a whole lot more time with him than that!
Trying Everyday Exercises
You don’t have to join a doggy
gym or invest in fancy equipment to give your Beagle a good workout. The stuff
you do every day can, with a little tweaking, become part of great exercise
routine for any dog. Here are some ideas.
Walk on the wild side
In all likelihood, you’ll be
walking your Beagle anyway, simply to take him to his outdoor potty. But why
not go beyond the thricedaily bathroom break, and go for a stroll with your
little guy?
And if you’re a couch potato by
nature, take heart. A leisurely stroll for you can be a brisk walk for a
Beagle, whose little legs have to move at a quick pace to keep up with your
relatively long-limbed strides. A 20-minute walk around a couple of blocks gets
your Beagle buddy moving and gives the two of you some quality time together.
And a daily stroll is especially good for a senior dog, because walking
provides gentle exercise that’s kind to an older pooch’s joints, muscles, and
ligaments.
Chapter Schooling Your Beagle explains how to teach
your dog to walk politely when he’s on a leash. When you and he are out and
about, though, keep the following safety precautions in mind:
- Keep it cool. Black-topped pavement heated to furnace-level temperatures by the summer sun is very unkind to a Beagle’s tender paw pads. Avoid walking on such surfaces during the summer so your dog’s feet don’t burn.
- Avoid extremes. If the weather’s too hot or too cold for you to take a long hike, the same is true for your Beagle. Keep the walks short during summer heat waves and winter deep-freezes.
- Heed your dog. If your Beagle limps, lags, or otherwise can’t keep up with you, stop to rest, or at least slow your pace. If your normally energetic Beagle suddenly can’t keep up with you during walks, have your veterinarian check him out. A sudden loss of energy may signal the onset of a serious illness.
- Use the leash. The Beagle’s reputation for wandering off in whatever direction his nose takes him means that you must — absolutely must — keep him on the leash unless you’re in an area that’s enclosed by a secure fence.
Jog your memory (or at least your feet)
For the relatively fit Beagle, a
jog with his favorite person can prove even more beneficial than a walk. The
aerobic benefits multiply, and the Beagle expends considerably more calories
than he does when walking. Jogging also tires out your little hound faster
The same guidelines for walking
apply to jogging with two additions.
- If your dog shows any signs of discomfort (such as limping), don’t jog him at all.
- Try not to jog on concrete — for the sake of his knees and yours. Instead, opt for a softer surface such as a jogging trail, bike trail shoulder, or even grass if it’s not slippery.
Get in the swim
Doggy-style swimming is one of
the best exercises your Beagle can engage in. A dip in a pond or pool gives
your dog’s joints, ligaments, and muscles a terrific workout without causing
the strain that weight-bearing exercises such as walking and jogging may entail
— a benefit that’s especially helpful for dogs who are overweight, arthritic,
or recovering from surgery or injury.
Your local pond or nearby creek
can serve as a puppy pool. You can also find an honest-to-goodness heated pool
(but probably not your local public pool) for your Beagle to execute his water
ballet moves in: Just log onto any Internet search engine and type dog hydrotherapy
and United States. You’ll come up with plenty of results. (Some
places require referral from a veterinarian.)
But no matter where you take your
Beagle to swim, make sure that the experience is positive for him. Swimming is
great for any dog, including a Beagle — but some dogs take longer than others
to appreciate this activity. If your Snoopy-dog is a skittish swimmer, give him
time to get used to the pool or pond. Have him wear a doggy life jacket to help
him stay afloat, and throw floatable treats such as oyster crackers into the
pool to give him a reason to start paddling. In a pond or creek, go in ahead of
him, and use a treat or toy to coax him to come to you and into the water.
Great Sports for You and Your Beagle
Wanna go beyond everyday
athletics with your Beagle? This section’s for you. Here are descriptions of
all kinds of doggy sports
Goin’ to the show
The oldest and best known of the
organized dog sports is the dog show, which is known more formally as conformation.
That formal term makes a great deal of sense, because dog shows measure how
well each dog conforms to the standard of his breed — that blueprint for a
perfect Beagle or other dog breed that I describe in Chapter The Incredible, Lovable Beagle.
Does your dog have what it takes
to excel in the show ring? Maybe yes, maybe no. If you’re a dog-show novice,
take your Beagle to a reputable breeder and have her evaluate him. She can
examine your little hound and tell you how he stacks up against the Beagle breed
standard. Attend a few local dog shows, too, and get a feeling for how they
work. (Flip to the color section to see Beagles participating in a dog show.)
Tip
If you’ve already spayed or neutered your Beagle, forget about showing him. The American Kennel Club, which sponsors many dog shows, does not permit the exhibition of a dog who has been snipped.
If your Beagle does have the
stuff — and if you haven’t neutered him yet (or spayed your female) — you can
read up on the dogshow world. Two books to start with are Dog Showing for
Beginners by Lynn Hall (Howell Book House) and The Absolute Beginner’s Guide
to Showing Your Dog by Cheryl S. Smith (Three Rivers Press). The resources
section at the end of this book lists magazines that can help you pilot your
Beagle’s show-dog career, or just decide whether you want to start it in the
first place.
Stay the (agility) course
Does your Beagle like to race
around the house, jump atop the couch, or burrow underneath it? Can he turn
corners on a dime while barely slowing down? Then your dog may be a fine
candidate for the increasingly popular, exciting canine sport of agility.
In agility, a human handler
directs her dog through an obstacle course that consists of tunnels
(under-the-couch burrowers should find these a cinch to navigate),
teeter-totters, hurdles, weave poles, A-frames, and balance beams. Almost any
breed can learn this sport, but you may find it tough to teach your dog
yourself. Not to worry, though. Plenty of professional dog trainers hold
You can also supplement your
class work with reading. If you think you may want to enter your Beagle in
agility competitions, check out All About Agility by Jacqueline O’Neil
(Howell Book House). If, however, you think you just want your Beagle to do
agility for kicks, browse through Having Fun with Agility by Margaret H.
Bonham (Howell Book House). You can get even more info about agility from the
American Kennel Club (www.akc.org); the North American
Dog Agility Council (www.nadac.com); and the
United States Dog Agility Association (www.usdaa.com).
Fetch that flyball
If your Beagle wants to get in
touch with his inner Retriever, you and he may want to take up flyball, a
sport that’s as exciting and fast-paced as agility.
Flyball is a relay race that
requires each dog on a team to run to a box-shaped ball launcher. The dog
presses his paw on a lever that activates a spring inside the box and releases
the ball. After the dog catches the ball, he races over hurdles back to the
starting point. The next dog in line starts the cycle all over again. The fastest
team wins the competition.
The North American Flyball
Association sponsors flyball competitions, and its Web site is www.flyball.org.
Here you can find general information about the sport. If you’re looking for
more specific info, such as where to find a flyball class, log onto the Flyball
Home Page at www.flyballdogs.com. There you can find a comprehensive, searchable
database of teams from all over the United States — including, in all
likelihood, a team that trains in your area. Many of these teams offer classes
for prospective flyball pooches and their people.
Opt for obedience
Obedience is exactly what it
sounds like: an activity that tests a dog’s ability to obey commands amid
numerous distractions (for example, a bunch of other dogs and people nearby). In
obedience trials, a judge scores a dog for each command the dog performs. If a
dog earns at least 150 out of a possible 200 points in a
Not surprisingly, Beagles don’t
dominate most lists of top obedience dogs. The independent, easily distracted
Snoopy-dog may have more trouble than other breeds when he tries to execute commands
precisely or perform mistake-free maneuvers. But so what? Winning isn’t
everything. No matter where your Beagle places, obedience can certainly help
build the bond between the two of you, and can keep your dog sharp as a tack.
Info about the world of competitive obedience is available from the American Kennel
Club at www.akc.org/events/obedience.
Rally-ho!
Some people — and probably, their
Beagles, too — consider the world of competitive obedience to be incredibly
dull. They find the precisely scripted exercises to be too difficult and too
yawn-inducing to be any fun. At the same time, though, they find agility too strenuous,
particularly if the dog is older or the person doesn’t have the energy to run
all over the agility course alongside the dog. They’d love to find a sport
that’s more interesting than obedience but less active than agility.
That sport has arrived, and it’s
called rally obedience. In this sport, a dog and handler complete a
course of 10 to 20 stations that’s been designed by the rally judge. At each
station, a sign tells the team what the dog needs to do there. For example,
your Beagle may perform a Sit or walk a figure 8 around the sign. The judge scores
the team on how well it performs the maneuvers.
Rally obedience is a great
activity for a Beagle and his person. Although the Beagle’s independence and
distractibility can make this sport more of a challenge for him than for other
breeds, he can still do well. In fact, three Beagles accumulated national
ranking points during 2005, the most recent year that such information was
available when this book was written.
Two organizations — the American
Kennel Club and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers — sponsor rally obedience
competitions and titles. Information about the AKC Rally program is available at
the AKC Web site at www.akc.org/events/rally.
To find out more about the Association of Pet Dog Trainers’s Rally Obedience
program, log onto www.apdt.com/po/rally.
Dance with me: Canine freestyle
Are you musically inclined? Do
you like to trip the light fantastic? Is dancing your idea of heaven? Well,
surprisingly, you can dance with a four-footed partner — your Beagle — in the
relatively new sport of canine freestyle. In canine freestyle, you and
your Beagle perform maneuvers that are set to music. Your dog might circle around
you, spin, or perform a flip in response to your signals and in time to the
music.
After you and your dog take some
classes in canine freestyle and determine whether this sport is for the two of
you, check out the info offered by two groups that promote this rhythmic
pursuit. The World Canine Freestyle Organization (WCFO) was founded by Patie Ventre,
a dog lover who once was a competitive ballroom dancer. The WCFO Web site is www.worldcaninefreestyle.org.
The other group is the Canine Freestyle Federation Inc. This group’s Web site
includes a list of nationwide organizations that hold canine freestyle classes.
Find out more by logging onto www.canine-freestyle.org.
Join the hunt: Field trials
The Beagle’s original reason for
being was to hunt rabbits and other small animals — and today’s dog still has
the stuff needed to do just that. And although you may not need your little
hound to help you hunt your own food, you can still give him a chance to tap into
his deepest instincts by introducing him to field trials.
Technical Stuff
The American Kennel Club has devised field trials for almost every type of hunting dog or hound dog. For example, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and other retriever breeds can participate in events that test their ability to bring water fowl back to their handlers under various conditions. Other breeds, such as the Dachshund, the Basset Hound, as well as all Spaniels and Pointers, have similar opportunities to get back in touch with their roots.
Field trials for Beagles measure
the dogs’ abilities to track and trail rabbits and other small game. These
events have many forms:
- Brace: Determines the hunting ability of a pair of Beagles
- Small pack: Measures the talent of a group of as many as nine Beagles
- Large pack: Rates the performance of between 30 and 60 dogs
- Gun dog brace: Ascertains how a pair of dogs reacts to the sound of gunfire
Field trials for Beagles are
classified by height and gender. Thirteen-inch Beagles run only with other
13-inch Beagles; the same is true with 15-inchers. Dogs also are separated by
sex — no co-ed field trials for Snoopy-dogs! Female dogs in heat may not
participate (just think of how distracted all those male dogs would be!).
Spayed or neutered dogs may not participate, either, because field trials, like
conformation (see the “Goin’ to the Show” section in this chapter), aim to
showcase the best breeding stock.
The event starts with the
flushing out of a rabbit. When a rabbit is sighted, the cry “Tallyho!” is
sounded. The dogs are expected to pick up the scent of the rabbit and bark, at
which point they’re let off leash to track the bunny. Judges assess each
participant’s tracking ability, determination, and intensity. Certain mistakes,
such as going the wrong way and quitting altogether, result in a dog’s
elimination from its pack until a winner eventually emerges.
More info on Beagle field trials
is available from the American Kennel Club at www.akc.org/events/field_trials/beagles.Another
place to find out more is at the American Rabbit Hound Association, which you
can find on the World Wide Web at www.arha.com.
Get on the right track
Although Beagles were built to
hunt rabbits and hares, their incredibly sensitive noses allow them to find
just about anything. To harness this ability without involving those sweet
little bunnies, Beagle owners may find competing in tracking events to
be a worthwhile pursuit. Unlike field trials, tracking events are open to all
breeds. The objective is to measure a dog’s ability to recognize and follow a
human scent until the person is found.
The American Kennel Club offers
three tracking titles:
- Tracking Dog (TD): For following a track of up to 440 to 500 yards with several turns
- Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX): For following an older track of up to 1,000 yards with more turns
- Variable Surface Tracking (VST): For tracking a scent for up to 800 yards over at least three different surfaces A dog who earns all three titles is awarded the title of Champion Tracker (CT). More information about tracking is available from the American Kennel Club at www.akc.org/events/tracking.
Adjusting for Age
Exercise is as good for senior
Beagles as it is for their younger counterparts, but that doesn’t mean that
they should conduct their workouts the same way that youthful hounds do. Older
dogs are more likely to have special health issues that can limit their endurance
or their ability to engage in certain activities. And even senior Snoopy-dogs
who don’t have specific health issues need to adjust their physical activities
to fit the limitations that aging may impose. Here are some ways to do just
that:
- Go softer. If you and your Beagle have always jogged on sidewalks or streets, move to softer terrain that will be easier on his hips and joints. Grass is good as long as it’s not wet (and slippery); so are roadside or trailside shoulders.
- Limber up. A warm-up (such as a slow walk before beginning to jog) will help keep your senior dog from getting injured or overworking his muscles and joints.
- Have water at the ready. Your Beagle needs water to prevent dehydration. Bring some along with you.
- Work out regularly. Regular exercise is the key to minimizing your senior fitness fanatic’s pain and strain. Plan to work out with him at least three to four times every week.
- Adjust for the weather. An older dog feels warmth or cold more keenly than a young one does, so don’t exercise your senior when the weather is either very hot or very cold.
- Watch your Beagle. Let your dog tell you when he’s had enough exercise for now. If he’s lagging behind, slowing his pace, and panting heavily, it’s time for him to quit.
by Susan McCullough
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