Earthdog last summer


Penny

New Member
We had the opportunity to go to an earthdog event in our province this past fall. A rat is used in it's own comfy cage at the end of the tunnels. The tunnels are man made with the 'roof' and 2 sides made of planks. The end of the tunnels have thick wooden dowels to keep the dog back from the cage and the rat.

The hatch is open where the cage is lifted out..


The other hatch that's closed has a slit in it for the judge to see the dog 'work' the rat, plus a handle to open the hatch and lift the dog out.

You can see the entrance for the dog at the top left...The tunnel is a right angle..


The judge checking on the dog that has made it to the end of the tunnel..


One of the ladies with her dog. This is an all breed event sponsored by the Canadian Kennel Club, CKC. The judge has his hand inside the tunnel and is making a scratching noise to entice the dog into the tunnel.



We were very fortunate to be on private property with the tunnels in a pine tree grove. Very nice!

Georgia hanging around, waiting for her turn...


Wishful thinking...


Myself with Georgia, who wanted nothing to do with going down the hole! The judge did say that the critter who digs a hole, digs the size they need, and that was a 9 inch x 9 inch hole. Georgia knows that critter is way bigger than she is. lol



Georgia with her uncle Kurt showing her how to 'work' the rat...


All of my dogs' relatives that came from the States to Canada to compete.

 

Inkeri

New Member
We tried a similar thing with a real fox once. Manu was a real hunter and tried to play with the fox... Manu wants to make love, not war, i guess. :D
Needless to say, we haven't tried again and haven't thought about going hunting either. ;)
 

vizzla

New Member
I would like to try this on Alf! Looks like fun and so great to have these events, for people to understand the dogs background :)
 
That was really informative. I'd read a bit about it, and it sounds like a really fun activity.

Are the tunnels really as short as it looks? Is it a T or just an L?

Great photos, thank you for posting this.
 

Penny

New Member
Thank you!
The photos I have are of the 'easy' tunnel, for 'Introduction to Quarry', or IQ. It is an L shape. There are flag markers where you release your dog, and they have to find the entrance, and go in. (I am not at the flags. Georgia was all over the place, sniffing squirrels! We were trying to get her interested in the tunnel, and the other dogs had the same problem) The immediate area is fenced in so they don't run off into the woods after squirrels! (That's the only way I would have let them off leash. lol) Notice, no collars on the dogs to enter the tunnels. There are certain requirements for tunnel lengths and the dog is also timed. The dog must find the entrance within a certain amount of time, and work the quarry within a certain amount of time. If you get your Junior Earthdog title, you can go on for Senior earthdog, with a more difficult tunnel system, including a den with no quarry. Of course we can't have any earthdog trials with all this snow! You can contact your local AKC dachshund group and ask what they offer. You must have an AKC or CanKC dog to be able to enter. However, if you contact an 'enthusiast' who has the land to put in their own tunnels, that would be nice. Need the quarry though. Anyone have a hamster?? lol I know folks who keep 'quarry' type pets because they have dachshunds. The quarry, when put in the tunnel which is dark, usually just sleep through the event. No worries on their part.
 

Steph

New Member
Arelus and I did this last spring! I am so pumped to try it again this year with him. It was funny to watch him try it...he'd go to the mouth of the tunnel and then back out and go again and back out. It was then that he found the judge and her assistant at the other end and ran over. He was so happy that he had "found" them and then realized that the "smelly things" were in the hole in front of them, LOL

We joined the West Highland White Terrier Club for their day long training session and then the next day for their trials. It was a fun weekend and the people were great! Not too many dachshunds there...maybe 5 including Arelus. I'm trying to encourage more dachsie people to come out and join us this year :D

These pics are from the training session, getting the dogs used to the tunnel set up above ground.
 

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Penny

New Member
Oh gosh, Steph! Thanks for replying and posting photos! Very nice!
You reminded me that I have some photos some time back when the club had an indoor event during the winter because someone had made the 'tunnels' and had to wait until spring to bury them.

Here's Engli...


Using her orange ball helped her get used to the long boards..




It's not so season specific after all!
 
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