Clean Run - March 2012 - 23

Foreign BODIES
By Donna Somers Standing outside the gate entrance, waiting our turn, I overheard two exhibitors talking. “I’m two dogs after the Harrier” said one. Her friend asked, “What’s a Harrier?” I smiled, looked down at my hound and said to him “at least we provide a marker!” You see, I run what I call a “foreign body.” One of those breeds that very few people know about. One of those breeds that is so far down on the AKC list of breeds that it wouldn’t hurt itself too much if it fell off its precarious position. Currently the Harrier is ranked 165 of 167 breeds. And, sadly, it has enjoyed this position for many years. At least he is with his cousins, the American Foxhound, and the English Foxhound, who are ranked 166 and 167 respectively. The Harrier is a smaller version of the English Foxhound. It is not a large Beagle. Many people just see the drop ears, tri coloring and think Beagle even though the Harrier comes in around 2122". Although some think the . Harrier is a Beagle on steroids, he is a small Foxhound. And, unlike the Beagle, the Harrier hunts with riders on horseback. The Harrier is built for speed and stamina. He can go all day. One would
March 12 | Clean Run

think that agility would be a natural ﬁt for him. In the ﬁeld, he is supposed to jump over obstacles, climb over rocks, and go through brush. Sounds like an agility course, doesn’t it? The problem is that the hound is supposed to do this without any human guidance or direction. They are supposed to ﬁgure out how to get over all the obstacles they encounter during the hunt on their own. It is actually taboo to help a hound in the ﬁeld! Therein lies the problem. The hounds are problem solvers, but the problem they solve is not necessarily the one you had in mind. At our very ﬁrst agility trial, Sam had a little trouble with the chute. He somehow managed to slip and fall while in the chute and then proceeded to twist the fabric around him. He was now completely wrapped in bright yellow fabric. His only saving grace was that the fabric was completely twisted at the barrel, thus barring a return through the entrance. Not knowing what to do, I called to Sam, and tried to sound encouraging to see if I could help him out—literally! The judge and I watched the form of a bright yellow fabric-wrapped dog move up and down, and sideways. I nervously looked at the judge who seemed intrigued by this predicament. At about the time that I was going to ask the judge what I should do, Sam backed out of the chute, shook himself and grinned at me! And off we ran to ﬁnish the course. We actually earned our ﬁrst “Q” that day with a score of 85 and ﬁrst place. Sam had used up all of his available seconds trying to extricate himself from the chute. But I was hooked! It’s not easy running a dog that doesn’t blend in with all the Border Collies, Shelties, Aussies, and Golden Retrievers. We are in uncharted waters, going where few have gone before. And we have to do it under a magnifying glass. It’s not that I look for trouble, I just sort of step in it. And with Sam, who is always up for an adventure, we are usually the ones most visible if we step out of bounds. There are times that I want to put a Border Collie costume on Sam! He’s about the same size, so it just might work. Then maybe I could blend in a little bit better. It also gives you a crash course in human psychology. For example, when people try to play “Name That Breed.”
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Clean Run - March 2012

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