Earthdog brag - new JE

[bradl]

New Junior Earthdog

Robinsend Still Echoing JE (AKA Stella) had fun at the Puget Sound Earthdog Club test this weekend. She used every one of her allotted 30 seconds to slowly but deliberately reach the quarry, and then nearly deafened the judge with 60 seconds of terrific work. Earning her JE entitled her to enter her first Senior den the following day. She was eager to go but was hunting like a sight-hound rather than with her nose, and the more difficult senior entrance stymied her. She scoured the den area without finding the entrance; when the judge used her clipboard to shoo her away from the the quarry end, Stella stood on top of a mound of dirt and barked at the judge in frustration, before renewing her hunt. It was hilarious. With the judge's indulgence, she eventually entered the den at my direction and found her way past the bedding den and false exit to reach the quarry. She didn't work the full 90 seconds. On the other hand, she recalled out of the den beautifully, which is a promising sign for future attempts at the challenging Senior test. All in all, a terrific weekend and a good start on the next level for little Stella.

[abe's dad]

Congratulations to Stella and her Trainers Sounds like a lot of fun was had by all involved.

[Cairns2]

Wow! That is awesome! Great job Stella! Congrats!

[SARpartner]

Congradulations! I know you must be so proud. It is so much fun to watch these little guys work.

[magadog]

Well done, (Stella) Frances from her (self-anointed) fairy dog-mother (me) and from her Great Aunt MagaDog, who finds the earthdog thing incredibly silly but says, "Whatever floats your boat. . ." and finds it within herself to be supportive. Grandpa Geordie is a proud as Grandpa Hagfish (Haggis)-- and they would be happy, I'm sure, to duke it out over which grandpa is more proud of her. Both S. Frances's grandpas are Masters and both her mom and dad are Senior Earthdogs.

Ah, I hope that you rewarded S. Frances handsomely, even though it would be gravy-- how does groundhog gravy sound to you? You've got a real earthdog, again-- to add to your collection. Two MEs, a SE, and now a JE-- and those are all the Cairns you have. Not bad.

We rejoice with you and Peggy.

Jill, Aunt Maggie, Grandpa Geordie, and Larry. . .

[toomanypaws]

Brag away! Way to go Stella! That sure sounds exciting, something I would have loved to get involved in. I guess watching it on the Animal Planet is as close to it as I'll get. I do think Kiara would have enjoyed that. I love Stella's picture. She looks so proud.

Nevermind, I just went back and read the rules and I think the sentence below would disqualify Kiara.

Dogs which cannot be removed from the den without digging up the dens shall not pass,

[Greg]

Excellent!......

[bradl]

Give it a whirl toomanypaws - indeed I encourage everyone with a small terrier to let their dogs experience this sport. It's inspiring to see them give expression to their hereditary instincts, and their joy in their work is palpable.

And don't be discouraged if your dog doesn't seem to get it at first. 'Not passing' is all part of the game, too. Just because she enjoyed it so much, we took Barley to test after test for three years before she ever passed Junior - then one day she just decided to do it 'by the book' and earned her title in one weekend. From that terribly slow start she eventually continued on to become a Master earthdog! Never would have predicted that in those early days.

[savannahsmom35]

Great job to Stella and to you Brad!! You are definately entitled to some bragging rights!

[magadog]

I just had to add this story about my "I'm not a dog" Maggie, whose nose permanently turns up at such a "plebian" activity:

And the Award for Best Actress in a Sub-ratting Role Goes to. . .

But she allows me to take her to tests as long as I SWEAR never to run her again.

Can you believe she is Stella Frances's Great Aunt-- on both sides?

Jill