Gettin' Down

(Cottonwood, AZ) The seminar site was abuzz with border terriers bright and early. There were other breeds in attendance as well but borders by far outnumbered all the other breeds put together. And almost every border terrier there was a Sunkist dog (Boogie's line). This was trouble for Mike and I as we have trouble telling them apart - guess we'll have to make sure to keep Boogie attached to us at all times!

The seminar presenter is extremely experienced, has authored the best selling Earthdog book (Earthdog Ins and Outs), and will be one of the judges this weekend.

Jo Anne Frier-Murza

She started with the totally green dogs (and people) and explained a little bit about the dog's hunting instincts.





The dogs then got introduced to rats. Some were very interested, some were scared, and some were just nonchalant about the whole thing.



They were then introduced to an above ground three foot tunnel with a rat box (with a rat in it) at the end.



Watching the different reactions of the dogs as they came out of the tunnel and found the rat box was very fun.



After this exercise, the dogs were finally introduced to an underground tunnel.

Then it was time for Boogie's group - Juniors. For this, they set up an inground Juniors course. First they spray a little bit of rat scent into the tunnel trenches...



Then the wooden tunnels are place in the trenches...



Below you can see what it looks like before it is all covered up with dirt. They set the tunnels in the ground, cover all the tunnels with cloth and then cover the entire thing with dirt. For the seminar they didn't bother putting the dirt over the top as things have to be redone for the test tomorrow. If you look at this picture, you can see the hole where the dogs enter. They go to the end, take a left turn (toward the cloth), a left at the cloth and then a right where you see the wood tunnel on the left of the picture - this is where the rats will be.



Each dog got a turn to try the course. Before each dog started their turn, the handler would tell the seminar presenter what problems they were having. When it was Boogie's turn I mentioned that the only problem I think he may have is that he sometimes stares silently instead of barking at the rats. Okay, so off we went.

I got to the line and instead of looking forward where the scent line is, Boogie just stares to where the judge is sitting next to the rats.



And for the first time ever, instead of entering the tunnel, he runs over ground to the rat area. He is blocked by the judge from getting to the rats. So we start again. This time he runs straight to the entrance and goes right in.



Like a good boy, he worked the rats for the full 60 seconds. Perfect. So his turn is over.

After all the dogs had one turn then they each got a second turn. This time Boogie stared directly at the tunnel and when I let him go he took off like a shot..



...and zoomed straight into the tunnel.



Once again Boogie worked the rats for the full 60 seconds. Turn over. Like in agility, if you do everything right then your turns are very short. But the good part is that it was very encouraging that Boogie did so well. I'm thinking that he has a pretty good chance at succeeding this weekend. Fingers crossed!

Next it was the Seniors turn. I thought I'd show you this picture just so you could see what a Senior tunnel looks like. It is just like the Junior tunnel except that there is also a false exit/entrance in one direction (far side of the picture) and in the opposite direction a false den near side of the picture with the green writing).



The entrance to the Senior tunnel is built way up with rocks and dirt so that the dogs can't see the entrance to the tunnel from the start line.



Here is Billie getting ready for her turn with Boogie's half brother, Klev'r.



Klev'r is looking for the entrance - he found it quickly.



I (along with many others) stayed around to watch all the other groups and levels so that I could learn just as much as possible.



And I do think I learned quite a bit. I did however hear from a number of people that they were a tad disappointed that there wasn't much "talking." The seminar was mostly all working. And working is great! But I think people were hoping there were be some talking explaining handling tips at the different levels and the like. We did get to learn about how hunting is done in other countries and that was very interesting.

After the seminar was over they held a game called Ratting for Ratings. They go out into the wilderness and hide seven canisters. Three canisters contain rats while the other four just contain rat bedding. The dogs have ten minutes to find as many canisters as they can. Every time the dog finds one, the handler must say whether the dog has indicated bedding or an actual rat. Each found canister is worth three points. An additional two points are given for each canister the handler identifies properly.

Boogie started off great! He found four canisters rather quickly. The first two he indicated were just bedding...and we were right! The third canister I thought he indicated a rat but it was just bedding. The fourth canister he definitely indicated as a rat and we were right. But the problem was that he then just picked up the canister and ran way out into the wilderness and laid down with it trying to get it open. We had to chase him around for quite a while before we got the canister from him. Then all he wanted to do was go back and find the canisters he'd already found - those didn't count. Finally people just had to hold the previously found canisters. That didn't work either as then he just kept jumping on the people trying to get the canisters.



In any case, he sure had a great time - and that's what it's all about!

I'm so excited for tomorrow! Sleeping is going to be hard tonight.

Debbie
4/4/08