Wiener Dog Racing

It was a few days after Christmas when my son and I made the mistake of walking into the pet store at the mall. The mistake turned out to be genius because we got Chester. I know there are some of you with mouth agape at the horror that we bought a dog at the pet store. For you, all I can say is this, we didn't mean to, but he hooked us with those eyes and we've never looked back. Chester is this maniac Dachshund who is so cuddly and adorable that he steals the show from our other two dogs (that we rescued). He is a lover!! We enjoy his every personality quirk and antic. So, imagine our excitement, when we heard that there is such a thing as Wiener Dog Racing. Our friend Dani races her dog Zoey and gave us the hot tip on the next race in our area. It was with unbelievable anticipation, better than Christmas morning that we packed up the car and headed to Old World Village in Huntington Beach, California for the best day ever.

Ok, so maybe Chester didn't see it that way. First of all he doesn't like car rides. And, then there's the fact that he's more of a one-on-one dog. He knows how to wield his personality to get any human or animal to pay attention to him. I just don't think he feels the same personal power in a group situation. He looked a little bug-eyed when we first arrived but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm. We registered him and got his racing number. After sizing up the competition, we headed to the track. Other people were familiarizing their dogs with the racecourse so we figured we'd better do the same. Either Chester didn't understand that he was supposed to go from one end to the other or he didn't care. Knowing him, it was probably the latter. The crowd started building. The anticipation was palpable in the air. There it was, over the megaphone, "And in lane 2 we have Chester." OMG!!! Our turn. We went to the starting gate and put him in the slot. The other dog looked like a bull waiting for the gate to open. The gate went up, the other dog darted forward and...Chester started his Sunday stroll. He gingerly made his way to the other end, glancing on each side at the crowd almost as if he knew they were there just to enjoy the sight of him. Thank goodness for double elimination. We would be racing against a dog that lost the other race. Maybe then, we'd have a shot. Not so. Although Chester picked up his speed and looked pleased with his performance, this may not be the sport for him.

Zoey on the other hand was a fierce competitor. Not only did she win the first and second heat, she almost took out her competition, literally. She ran so fast down that lane and then made a sharp turn around the gate and up the next lane, angry that it was a somewhat close race. She was not happy with that other dog. All and all, she had a great showing although she didn't place in the top three.

Some of these dogs and their owners take this wiener dog racing very seriously. I can only imagine what their training regimen looks like. For Chester, he's decided to take the slow path in life and enjoy long afternoons in the sun. We support him wholeheartedly.

If you've had fun reading about Wiener Dog Racing, you might like my other hub about my mother's crazy dog photography.

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