Ok, please forgive that this post is a week late, but Thor and Fred and I had a great weekend at the DFW Dachshund Club earthdog trials!

This was our 3rd weekend of earthdog, the first being a year ago. All the judges have been so helpful, and many have said that earthdogs are made, not born. It may be true, but Fred's definitely a natural. We have a storage shed in our back yard, and before I blocked it off with bricks, Fred would dig under in pursuit of heaven only knows what. He'd even push bricks aside to go under - a skill required in the highest level of earthdog! After reinforcement with cinder blocks, the shed is now Fred-proof, but not those tunnels!

I mentioned he needed one Q for his Junior Earthdog title and he got it on Saturday. So happy! He even got a little toy rat as the prize for his title.



A week later the rat toy is still alive and a valued commodity here. I think he is very proud of it!



Sunday, we got to try Senior Earthdog for the first time. Everyone says this is the hardest test because of the recall. Yes, after your dog works the rats, you must call him out of the tunnel and have him under control within 90 seconds! Fred has never had any formal training, which is kind of a shame, but we do a lot of recalls in everyday life and he is rewarded well for them. I figured he'd either do it right away, or he wouldn't at all.

We waited to head to the tunnel and I could tell he was excited. You have to release the dog 20 feet from the entrance, and the entrance is banked so it's not visible from the release point. No problems for Fred - he went right in. He works quietly at first, just scratching, so I wasn't sure if he'd made it to the rats. But then the rat steward gave me a thumbs up and indicated he was scratching. Then, he started a cute little howl-bark! Thor has a very distinct bark he uses when he is barking at a squirrel or rat, but Fred hadn't made this kind of noise before, so it was funny to hear!

They have to work for 90 seconds, and then they remove the rats from the tunnel. When that's done, you hear the words: "Please recall your dog." I got to the entrance and called Fred, promised him some cookies, and banged on the tunnel. In senior there's another exit than just the main entrance, and dogs can and do come out of it. Turns out, Fred came out pretty quickly from the back, and I was down there looking at the front entrance as he was trotting around above ground. Finally I looked up and saw him! I caught him and the judge and rat steward had a good laugh about it, and I did too. Luckily we were within time, but they said they were holding their breath hoping I'd see him! Good old Fred - dumb newbie handler. We need two more Senior Qs for the SE title, then onto the highest level - Master Earthdog!



Thor surprised me at these tests, in a good way. In our previous attempts, he'd been excited about rats, but unsure about the tunnels. He'd go in, take a look, and come back out. Can't Q that way! I entered him in the Intro test, a very short tunnel, as well as Junior, just for the extra practice. He also hates being picked up, a requirement, so it was a good chance to work that too.

We were one of the first Intro dogs on Saturday and the closer we got to the pasture where the tunnel was, the crazier Thor got. Like, maniac, crazytown, dragging me toward the tunnel, whining at it. Had never seen him like that before, but I guess we had that "light bulb moment" at the last trial because he went right in the tunnel, and worked right away, and quite well, for a Q! Thor is LOUD in general, but especially in the rat tunnels. He barks and barks and digs. In his JE test on Sunday, he also had the judge laughing because he was thumping his tail so hard against the wooden tunnel!

We didn't Q in Junior on Saturday because he was a little slow getting to the rats, but he worked them very well, the judge said. I was still really happy with him - that was HUGE progress, and best yet, we had the next day to try again. Try we did, and he got his first Junior Q!!!!!! I honestly never thought he would, but now I'm confident he can go all the way. The judge on Sunday called him a "most excellent worker!"



I look like a super nerd in the above pic, but if you notice, Thor is fighting me with everything he's got. The rats were 50-plus feet away, in a solid container, and he KNEW. I think the breeze was just right that weekend to carry the smells. Thor is now officially a rat maniac - a good thing, as long as you aren't a rat!

I am so proud of my hounds, most especially because they are rescues. Most of the dachshunds at the trials come from generations of dogs with titles and championships, but mine were at one point in their lives homeless. Now they are loved and they win beautiful ribbons!



Can't wait till our next trial - there's another one here in February. If you are in the U.S., you can find AKC earthdog events online. Try it - you may be surprised at how fun it is!