Thank you very much to the Beagle Club for asking me to write this article. Of all the columns and articles I’ve written so far, this has certainly been the most enjoyable and interesting, as for me it combines my two favourite subjects; beagles and junior handling.

Beagles make for an excellent breed when competing in junior handling as when shown; look smart, can provide a good challenge and can be handled in a variety of ways. However a successful partnership between a young handler and his beagle comes at a price, the junior needs to put in double the amount of practice and possess a lot of patience.

I didn’t win the UK Junior Handler of the Year and Scottish Junior handler of the year titles, both with beagles, by taking the dog out in the garden the night before to practice! To make the most of my handling, I would attend at least one Ringcraft class every week with my beagle, practice in the garden by setting up my own ring and getting other family members involved with other beagles and of course attending shows to get real hands-on experience. When in the garden, I would also set aside a lot of play-time with the dogs too, this is very important to build up rapport. Sometimes I will set-up some wellies with a pole across and try some mini agility or play football with them, it’s amazing what beagles will do when you have tit bits in your bum bag!

Then there is cuddles time, where I’d either snuggle up with the pack in their kennel, or in the utility room, where the hum of the washing machine would send anyone to sleep! All of these things; training, cuddling and walks all build rapport with your beagle which is essential when competing successfully in competition. The rapport is the vibe between the handler and the dog. A good rapport will mean that the dog will listen to the handlers instructions and that they will move together in harmony.

I always suggest that young people starting out in junior handling, whether they are 6 years old or 16 years of age to start practicing with an older beagle, ideally a veteran show dog, as they are normally slower, more reserved and unlikely to make any sudden moves. Then when the handler feels more confident with this dog, try perhaps a beagle at say 4-5 years, who will provide more of a challenge as they will be a bit more spritely and the handler can use their expertise to control the dog better. Never train with a puppy unless you are experienced. I was only allowed to train a puppy from 8 weeks when I had been handling for about 4 years.

The beagle is so versatile for a junior handler when either standing in show pose or when on the move. When standing the dog for the judge in the line-up, the handler can either ‘top and tail’ the dog whilst kneeling down (remember to have both knees down on the floor so to look neat and tidy) or free-stand the dog. Or you can stand the dog by holding the choke up behind the dogs ears in your right hand and with your left hand, neatly holding the tip of the tail. This way is how I use to show my beagle in junior handling competitions, it looks much more ‘showy’ than the other two ways, plus it’s easier to walk round the dog when shadowing.

When holding a beagles tail in junior handling competitions, do not ever cover up the tail with your hand, always hold the tail by squeezing the few strands of hair at the tip, between your forefingers. This way, the dogs tail is fully upright, looks neat and tidy and shows off the beagles graceful outline.

When moving a beagle for a judge in a junior handling class, you can either walk fast or run at a slow jogging pace. Any faster, and the beagle won’t be able to keep up. Remember he is a small, compact and merry breed, he doesn’t need to race round the ring like a German shepherd dog! I always changed the pace of my beagle, depending on the size of the ring and type of competition. If the ring was very small, I would move the dog in a fast walk, slowing down slightly on the corners of a triangle or up and down so they can be tight and show precision. If I was handling at Crufts or a big handling event (where there is always huge rings), I would move at jogging pace because it looks more impressive to a judge. Luckily my beagles were always very good-moving dogs and enjoyed the competition so they would go as fast as I wanted!

A beagle junior handler needs to pick a correct outfit to complement the colour of their beagle. As beagles come in many different shades, it’s actually very difficult to wear a colour that complements the colour of your dog. Red trousers behind a tan and white beagle actually gives the impression that the colour look ginger, whereas pastel pinks or blues go well. Never wear white with a white beagle as not only will your white trousers make the dog’s white colour look dirty, no matter how clean the dog is, his outline will also blend in, which will make it harder for the judge to see his shape. Always think about your top half as well, colour-wise, as remember that part of you will be standing behind the beagle when he is being assessed on the table.

I used to mainly wear a peach coloured suit jacket with black trousers and a black top and black shoes when I handled in competition but sometimes I changed into white trousers at the same show when I had to handle another one of our beagles, who was a black blanketed tri.

A good junior handler should always understand the basic anatomy of the beagle, e.g., where the stop, occiput or pasterns are. And what they were bred for, as sometimes handling judges will ask this in a junior handling class to split the decision on placings. So be prepared to answer the question ‘What is your breed bred for?’, like this ‘ The beagle is bred to hunt hare, on foot, by following a scent’. More detailed information and research can be found in books on the beagle.

At the end of the day, a good junior handler should be able to minimise the dog’s faults and show off the dogs good points. For example, if the beagle has a poor top-line, stretch the dog out slightly; or if the dog is ‘knuckling over’ with its front legs, don’t free-stand it, place the feet into position. You should always have the breed standard in the back of your mind. Remember the judge isn’t judging the dog but you, the handler. If you demonstrate that you can handle a beagle to the best of your ability whilst being happy and kind to your dog, you should go far.

January 2008

Article by Marina Scott (nee White), author of Junior Handling The White Way and junior columnist for Our Dogs and Dogs Monthly.

www.juniorhandling.co.uk