When the rain finally let up, we got out and went back into the woods where the earthdog equipment was set up. It was set for 3 turns to get to the rats.
June 26, 2003....Earthdog Practice, Metamora, Michigan
(NOTE: 6/04 Miss Molly Marie earned her first Jr. Earthdog leg at a test in Addison, MI.
5/05 Miss Molly Marie earned her Senior Earthdog title in Dayton, MI and was even shown on the AKC Website when she did it... )
8/05 Miss Molly earned her first Master leg in Metamora, MI while Glennie finally passed Intro with a lot of good barking!!
We made arrangements to go to earthdog practice with the Fox Terrier Club people. We waited all month for the time to come and, of course, bad weather threatened. But we arrived there at 5pm ready to go. As we approached the drive, raindrops started to fall. We were the first there and we waited...and watched a heavy rainfall for about 1/2 hour. Then others showed up..."rain or shine", they had said! Well, we tailgated for a bit. Molly and Glennie were in a crate in the back of the van. Oscar, our foster boy, was in another crate next to them and I sat at the end while it poured rain. We didn't think it would ever stop but after another half hour or so, it finally did. (Funny thing, Miss Molly is terrified of thunder at home but here she wasn't afraid at all. She even got out of the car and explored in the rain. She didn't even flinch when it thundered!)
When the rain finally let up, we got out and went back into the woods where the earthdog equipment was set up. It was set for 3 turns to get to the rats.
There was a cage of about 6 little rats waiting at the far end
Of course the storm left the tunnels with puddles in them but Miss Molly's skirt was perfect for mopping them out!! She went in first. She didn't much like the tunnels so we took her to the last part and she went down to the rats. When she got there, she worked them nicely!! Then, when it was his turn, Glennie tried. Glennie went down the tunnels quite well but he didn't have a clue about working the rats. He just sat there although he did seem interested in the dog cookies that were in the bottom of the rat cage!! And later, we tried Oscar. Oscar was the Westie Super Star!!! He went down that tunnel and out to the rats and worked them so well! We tried him a second time and he went even faster!! They said, "Oscar is your best earthdog!" I had to admit that he wasn't mine but that I would surely tell his adopters that they had a natural here if they want to try the sport!!!! And finally we tried Molly again. This time we got her down the full tunnel (with some effort) but once again she worked the rats, this time even better.
When we were done, we had three pretty filthy Westies!! Actually Molly was the worst and Glennie was pretty clean...typical!
Miss Molly is going to like this sport...where else can she get dirty and bark all she wants and everyone tells her she is wonderful!
Oscar, Superstar Earthdog Man
Finally when we were done we all went to the pond and watched a fox terrier named "Tugboat Willy" demonstrate his "water rescue" skills. He is just being trained.
Three little doggies slept soundly all the way home. Molly was so tired, she forgot to lay down and slept sitting up the whole way! I debated and finally decided everyone would go to bed dirty. Tomorrow they get groomed anyway and I can spend the day washing bed linens!!! We all had a good time. Before we left, the lady with the rat cage was talking and dangling the cage from her hand. Oscar did everything he could to get to those rats; Molly noticed but was more interested in sniffing a doggie butt; Glennie totally ignored the rats and came to visit me instead. Guess that just about summed up the event for us!!!
See our Earthdogs, all prettied up after grooming day!
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