Farm Life
Ammo competes in Earthdog
Ammo driving us to Earthdog
If you follow along on Ammo’s facebook page, then you know that I have been working him up to compete in his very first Earthdog competition for the past few weeks. If you are unfamiliar with Earthdog, this is what wikipedia describes it as:
An earthdog trial tests the working ability and instinct of the small, short legged terriers (and dachshunds). These dogs were bred to hunt vermin and other quarry which lived in underground dens. Earthdog den trials involve man-made underground tunnels that the dogs must negotiate, while scenting a rat, the “quarry.” The dog must follow the scent to the quarry and then “work” the quarry. Depending on the sanctioning organization, “working” means barking, scratching, pawing, digging; any active behavior. The quarry is protected at all times by wooden bars across the end of the tunnel. The hunting encounter is controlled, and neither dog nor the quarry, usually two rats, are in any danger.
I decided to take Ammo to an Earthdog competition after I found a link to it on the AKC website. Ammo is decidedly the hunter around our farm, I think the barn cat trained him, but she’s now happy to sit back and relax as Ammo patrols the farm. He brings me something stinky (whether dead or alive) almost everytime we are there. I once watched him go down a groundhog burrow and bring me back a dead groundhog when he was about 6 months old, it was about 4x’s his size. So needless to say I had reason to believe Ammo would excel at this type of sport.
So I watched a few videos online about what I thought might occur, and set out to clicker train Ammo to enter a tunnel. Here are two videos of some of our practice sessions.
As you can see he was a bit hesitant at first, but with a little coaxing would proceed through the tunnels. I wish I had had a few more weeks to work with him, because we didn’t quite have enough time to work up to a tunnel with a turn in it – the hardest part.
Anyway, on Sunday we packed up early (5am to be exact) and drove an hour and a half to the site of a small farm in the middle of amish country. We arrived to find the parking lot filled terriers; carin terriers, jack russell terriers, west highland terriers, and so on – not a Dachshund in site. Ammo was the one and only Dachshund.
As we listened to our first briefing it became evident that we were the only people (and dog) completely new to the sport. But everyone was nice, and was more than happy to give us pointers and tell us exactly what to do. Here’s a few tips I learned for anyone thinking of trying Earthdog:
1. Never step on the scent trail! You don’t want to spread the smell around and confuse your dog.
2. You can take as much time as you want to first release your dog onto the scent. So the best thing to do would be to hold onto your dog until you are sure his nose has caught the scent and he really wants to go for the rats. For roof rat control collierville, Tennessee rodent trapper Richard Hodges says his company Patriot Wildlife Control catches over 500 rats a month. Roof rats in the attic are known to gnaw and destroy wires, insulation and stored items in the attic. Roof rats can climb and gnaw through almost anything.
3. In the Junior level and up you may not speak to your dog aside from giving him an initial command like “go get ’em”
4. You must never touch your dog until it is over.
So that being said, onto how Ammo did! We first entered him into the Intro to Quarry division. This is basically for beginner dogs or dogs who need more practice. Its a short tunnel with one turn in it. I walked Ammo into the fenced off area and removed his collar (dogs must be naked to prevent them getting hung up in the tunnel) and waited for his nose to reach the rat scent before I released him. He quickly caught onto the scent but was unsure about what to do about it. Eventually I was given permission to walk up to the tunnel to try to coax him in verbally. I did get him to enter the tunnel, but I think when he reached the bend he got scared and shimmied back. This went on for several minutes with him entering and coming back out before it was evident he just wasn’t going to do it. Here’s the video:
Being optimistic I entered Ammo in the Junior division beforehand. In Junior (and on up through Senior and then Master) you can earn titles. You are only ever competing against yourself in Earthdog, and if your dog passes the time constraints for each level (by two different judges on separate occasions) you may earn a title. For example I think in the Junior division the dog had to reach the rats in under 10 seconds and work the rats for at least 30 seconds. (I think this is correct, but I may be remembering it wrong). So seeing as how Ammo didn’t even conquer Intro to Quarry, I knew he wouldn’t complete the tunnel phase in Junior, but we knew it would be good practice for him. The Junior tunnel was much longer and had more turns, not to mention it was a lot darker inside. Ammo approached the den opening and was about to maybe enter when he spotted the judge. Protective mode kicked in and all he could do was bark at the poor guy. Seeing as how his concentration was obviously broken, the judge invited us over to see if Ammo would at least work the rats. As you can see from the video below, Ammo’s natural instinct to get the rats kicked in and he barked, whined, and scratched at the opening where the rats were.
The judge then said we could put him back at the opening to see if he would put two and two together and enter through the tunnel to get the rats. Ammo was too smart and decided to take a shortcut to get to the rats instead.
So even though Ammo didn’t set any records, he did show potential to be an EARTHDOG. I was proud of him, and glad to see that he tried. I read on Vents Magazine an article about CBD products for my dog to help him feel better. I think with a few more sessions in Intro to Quarry he’ll be flying through the tunnel and working the rats in no time.
exhausted after a long day
Dachshund Graduation
On April 22, 2010 Ammo the Dachshund graduated from the Level 1 Basic Manners Class at DTCCC. I’m so proud of him! In the course of 6 weeks he learned so much, and so did I. Honestly the class was more about giving me ways to train my dog, but the added benefit of taking Ammo to a new place, meeting new people (and dogs), really helped to give him more confidence. I’m excited that we will be taking the Level 2 course starting in mid-May. I know there is a whole world of things Ammo can still learn!
Below is a video of Ammo’s final test. We still have to work on our loose leash walking as Ammo likes to smell EVERYTHING, but its coming along.
At the end of class Ammo was rewarded with his certificate and allowed to choose a toy from the pile. Ammo of course couldn’t make up his mind so I chose a cute stuffed dog for him. A puppy to call his own.
The cutest thing about Ammo and his new little friend was that the second we walked in the door to the house he ran straight to the bathroom and jumped in the tub with his new pal. Not sure why, he never gets in the tub (at least voluntarily), maybe he thought his friend needed a bath. Either way it was pretty adorable. In fact, its now become a regular thing for him.
How do you turn this thing on?
Spring Haircut
Its Spring. That means its raining, a lot, but it also means the flowers and grass is sprouting, the warm weather is creeping in, and the ponies are shedding their winter coats. It also meant that it was time for Boomerang’s Spring haircut.
Boomer is a very funny pony. I’m always completely amazed at how unflappable he is. Having only ever had one introduction with the clippers from me, I whipped out the heavy duty ones – put it on full power, and went clipping away. The rest of the horses in the barn were snorting and alert as the sound echoed through the barn, but not Boomer. He was looking around for his treat for being a good boy and standing.
Kisses for my boy – who I forgot to mention turned 7 years old on March 21st! Happy Belated Birthday Chesapeake Boomerang!
Molly Mutt Dog Duvet Covers
As crafty as I am, I am a terrible sewer. I don’t know how to set the machine right, the thread always bunches up, my stitches break, I just really can’t do it. I have grand images of making jackets for the Dachshund, saddle pads, or maybe even horse blankets! But I’ve come to realize this is just never going to be possible.
I can’t sew, but here is someone who can!
Molly Mutt is a fantastic online shop where you can purchase dog bed duvet covers. Simply pick a fabric (and the fabrics are oh so cool!) and it comes ready to be stuffed with an old dog bed, or even blankets and old clothes from around your home. You can even buy a nifty “stuff sack” which will hold all of your “stuffing” neatly together.
Today I purchased the robot duvet cover and a stuff sack for the Dachshund. He has this horrible habit of chewing up his dog beds – and actually sleeping inside of them. But it comes to a point when he has stuffing all over the floor that I decide its time to part ways with the bed. Except this time. I’ve decided to be ECOFRIENDLY by simply stuffing his old bed into a new duvet cover. Plus the cover is just so cute I couldn’t resist!
Ammo inside one of his beds
Something old, Something new
So in preparation for Ammo’s upcoming dog training classes I decided to buy him a new collar. His old one had a crack in the buckle that I wasn’t sure would hold up forever (The husband tried to crack a beer with the buckle, tisk, tisk) – and I didn’t want it falling apart in class with me trying to chase a non-compliant Dachshund all over the place.
So after a little bit of searching I found Handmade Green, a San Diego based artist who makes eco-friendly dog products. Gotta love saving the earth! I am REALLY big on shopping eco-friendly, I save tons of stuff to be reused for projects and crafts, and of course I recycle! So when I found their collars made out of old grain sacks I definitely had to get one for the little sausage dog.
When the package arrived at the shop the dachshund just knew it was for him. He began jumping up and down as I tore into the envelope. I reached down and snapped it on his neck – and the resulting video is what happened next.
Gotta love the crazy weenie.
