The weekend of October 15 and 16 was Bee's first earthdog test, held at the Columbus All-Breed Training Center in Columbus. We had attended a practice a couple of weeks before the test and I was pretty excited about Bee's potential success as her practice was awesome.
On Saturday, October 15, both Bee and Halo were entered in Intro to Quarry (IQ) and then Bee was also entered in the Junior Earthdog test. Bee did outstanding in her IQ run, she took something like 3 seconds to reach the quarry (traveling 10 feet in the tunnel) and worked with a pro for the required 30 seconds earning a qualifying run.
Halo was entered in IQ for fun on Saturday. She is a smart girl and figured out a long time ago that she can't get to the quarry so she pretty much doesn't try anymore. The judge in the afternoon did work with her a bit and she eventually started doing some good work but it wasn't enough for a qualifying run. Halo has her Junior Earthdog title and two qualifying 'legs' towards Senior Earthdog but I don't think she will ever get that third and final titling leg for an SE title.
In Bee's Junior Earthdog runs, it ended up being three non-qualifying runs between Saturday and Sunday. Getting in the tunnels is absolutely no problem for her; she takes off like a shot - going straight into the tunnels and to the quarry, traveling 10 feet from the release point to the tunnel entrance and then 30 feet inside the tunnel and typically getting to the quarry in 10 seconds or less. What we need to work on is for her to stay and continue working until I come to retrieve her from the tunnel. I will say that she did increase her time staying at the quarry each time she ran, so I think she will get it figured out with some additional training.
We head to Dayton in November for their earthdog test so I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone does. Hildy had to take a pass at the CATC test because she had just been spayed, however she is now fully recovered from the surgery and will be able to be entered in Dayton. Hildy earned her JE title in June at the BTCA National Specialty so she will be working in the Senior Earthdog tunnels for the first time at the upcoming test.
On Saturday, October 15, both Bee and Halo were entered in Intro to Quarry (IQ) and then Bee was also entered in the Junior Earthdog test. Bee did outstanding in her IQ run, she took something like 3 seconds to reach the quarry (traveling 10 feet in the tunnel) and worked with a pro for the required 30 seconds earning a qualifying run.
Halo was entered in IQ for fun on Saturday. She is a smart girl and figured out a long time ago that she can't get to the quarry so she pretty much doesn't try anymore. The judge in the afternoon did work with her a bit and she eventually started doing some good work but it wasn't enough for a qualifying run. Halo has her Junior Earthdog title and two qualifying 'legs' towards Senior Earthdog but I don't think she will ever get that third and final titling leg for an SE title.
In Bee's Junior Earthdog runs, it ended up being three non-qualifying runs between Saturday and Sunday. Getting in the tunnels is absolutely no problem for her; she takes off like a shot - going straight into the tunnels and to the quarry, traveling 10 feet from the release point to the tunnel entrance and then 30 feet inside the tunnel and typically getting to the quarry in 10 seconds or less. What we need to work on is for her to stay and continue working until I come to retrieve her from the tunnel. I will say that she did increase her time staying at the quarry each time she ran, so I think she will get it figured out with some additional training.
We head to Dayton in November for their earthdog test so I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone does. Hildy had to take a pass at the CATC test because she had just been spayed, however she is now fully recovered from the surgery and will be able to be entered in Dayton. Hildy earned her JE title in June at the BTCA National Specialty so she will be working in the Senior Earthdog tunnels for the first time at the upcoming test.
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