Calling Northwest Earthdogs - Test in Turner

[bradl]

Do you live within howling distance of Turner Oregon? Come on over for a fun weekend with dirt-dogs and their people. We hope to see old Cairn friends and make new Cairn friends at the OTEEC fall earthdog test.

Enjoy corn fresh from the field. Browse the excellent raffle table for treasures. Enjoy the catered Hawaiian BBQ dinner. Laugh at the antics in the Intro den and marvel at the light 'turning on' for dogs new to the event; hold your breath for the suspense of the Senior recall; thrill to the evident joy of dogs 'on the hunt' in the Master walk-up. All this* and casual clothes Remember, a dirty dog is a happy dog.

Event details -- including test schedules, entry forms, pre-entry and dinner reservation deadlines -- are available on earthdog.net.

* As an added bonus, enjoy dahlias at their peak at the dahlia farm across the street.

[Greg P]

Brad,

See you next week!

Will this be the weekend that Kona put's it all together for his first Masters Legs?

Will Hattie work that darn rat the full 60 seconds in the Junionr Den?

It's a thrill a minute. And good food, too!

To see more about Earthdog (and see some earthdog pics) click here:

http://www.croftersdream.com/earthdog_1.htm

[bradl]

We just got back from putting in all four dens. Iron Dogs will have it tough because this time the senior and master dens are in entirely different locations. The Border Terrier national is this week and their test (Borders only) will be on Tuesday. Pre-entry in our test suggests many are sticking around so it should be a big test by our standards and a lot of fun. I checked the corn out, too. Looked great Good luck to Hattie and Kona. Master is its own reward, so he'll have fun no matter what. They all do!

[Greg P]

Brad,

Yes, separating the Iron Dogs into 2 dens just might be considered evil ! The Iron Dogs problably won't mind it......I'm worried about their handlers!

Hope to see a great cairn turn out!

Greg

[mattoleriver]

Brad,

do you know if the Border Terrier results will be posted anywhere public? It would be nice to see how they do in the new tunnels. Of course, I would never try to compare BTs to our highly trained and finely tuned rat rattling machines!

George

[bradl]

Well we had a great time. There were Cairns O' Plenty! I don't have any of the numbers and I didn't want to bother the busy test secretary for a report-out. I saw and or heard of many legs, some new titles. I know that George and Griffin earned no less than two Iron Dogs on the weekend. Awesome work.

For the Robinsend pack it was mixed results, but 100% good times. After a years-long layoff we ran Haggis (12) on Saturday and he qualified in Master. I had a heck of a time calling him off a severed hunk of Nutria but eventually he let it be and rejoined us on the hunt. He worked in the den like the champ he is. Also on Saturday, Peggy ran Barley (13 in November) in Master and while she took too long to reach the quarry, she did everything else right and had a blast. Stella ran in both Master and Senior on Saturday and qualified in Master, but not in Senior. Senior was in a different den and she did not even enter it! What a poop-head. Here she is getting her Master ribbon.

Sunday we struck out on all counts: The judge didn't like Stella's quarry indication (she passed everything else, I think). She again refused to enter the Senior den. Peggy ran Echo in Master and again the judge did not pass her quarry indication. And as expected, it also took longer than the 15 seconds allowed to extract her from the den. On the other hand, it only took 32 seconds which was better than expected.

All in all, a terrific weekend. Good dogs, good weather, good people, good food

[shergry]

Hey at least the weather held up. Sounds like you had a good time, wish we could make the time to get re-involved with earth dog. Just love reading all about you and the groups adventures. Good hunting!!

[Greg P]

The weather was great. Perhaps the freshly picked corn on the cob from field at Belden's farm was even better. Plenty of cairn qualifying legs and new titles!

Fellow cairnites eating lunch at an earthdog trial

Fresh Belden Farms corn on the cob!

Waiting for the junior den.

Greg P and Kona "Q" in Masters.

Brad L and Stella. Stella was Kona's bracemate. They both "Q'd" on Saturday!

George and Griffon were unstoppable as they completed "Irondogs" both days!

Betsy and Happy. Happy, perhaps the "cutest cairn in the West", earns his JE!

Barb and Vicki with Uno, who "Q'd" in junior earthdog on Saturday. Look at the entry badges on Vicki!

[shergry]

OMG great PICS! Just love the hair, and all the expressions! By the looks they give you would never know they smell vermin or FOOD! Thank you so much for the pics, one question...do any of you know Goosedown Kennel? My littlest girl is from there...just asking. Keep up the good hunt and show all pics....can't wait til the next.

[bradl]

Sure ... Pat's a friend and member of the local Cairn club. While not often at earthdog events, we see her regularly at shows.

[Thistle]

Looks like a lot of fun. Any idea if there are earthdog trials in Canada? Specifically Alberta (its a big country).

[PeppersMom]

Both my dogs are descended from Ch Goosedown's Tailor Made and Ch Goosedown's Sam I Am...

[mattoleriver]

>Looks like a lot of fun. Any idea if there are earthdog trials in Canada? Specifically Alberta (its a big country).

Yes, there are CKC Earthdog Trials. I was thinking of going to some trials in B.C. earlier this year but things just didn't work out. I don't know enough about CKC events to give you any specific information---I have the rule book but haven't studied it!

The following link lists no upcoming events but it does list some ongoing classes.

http://prairies.canuckdogs.com/earthdog.htm

Good luck

George

[mattoleriver]

Great pictures! I'm surprised that Brad isn't in more of them, he was everywhere!

Those of us who were lucky enough to participate in the trials owe a huge "THANK YOU!" to Brad and many others who worked all weekend (and much more!) to present a really terrific event.

Thank you

George

[Thistle]

Thank you so much for that link! One of the listings is for Okotoks which is only 25 minutes north of me.

[Greg P]

George, it was great seeing you. Are you considering Moses Lake in October? At this point I'm going.

[tomq]

Well we had a great time. There were Cairns O' Plenty! I don't have any of the numbers and I didn't want to bother the busy test secretary for a report-out. I saw and or heard of many legs, some new titles. I know that George and Griffin earned no less than two Iron Dogs on the weekend. Awesome work.

Well, your friendly neighborhood test secretary has just not had time to update anyone but the AKC on the results, until now:

Saturday there were 90 dogs entered.

4 cairns passed intro (of 9 starters). 10 total dogs passed (of 21 starting)

2 cairns passed Junior (of 11 starters), 7 total dogs passed (of 32 starting)

1 cairn passed Senior (of 3 starters), 5 total dogs passed (of 21 starting)

5 cairns passed Masters (of 7 starters), 8 total dogs passed (of 13 starting)

Sunday there were 103 dogs entered.

no cairns passed intro (of 7 starters), 2 total dogs passed (of 15 starting)

1 cairn passed Junior (of 12 starters), 5 total dogs passed (of 35 starting)

1 cairn passed Senior (of 6 starters), 8 total dogs passed (of 30 starting)

1 cairn passed Masters (of 6 starters), 4 total dogs passed (of 17 starting)

Griffin was the senior passer BOTH days, as well as passing masters BOTH days.

Happy was the Sunday junior passer for his Junior title. (He started a trend - everyone who passed Junior on Sunday got a title!)

[bradl]

Wow .. thanks for that detailed report Tom. What an inspiring turnout for Cairns. If I read it right, there were 30 Cairn entries on Saturday and 31 on Sunday. Some Cairns entered in more than one class (Intro+Junior or Master+Senior) so slightly fewer actual Cairns, but still! Well done and congrats to all who participated. Woo Hoo for legs and titles!

P.S. If you ever attend an earthdog test, be kind to your test secretary. Everybody associated with a test works hard on the day, but the secretary's job is hard before the test ever begins, and isn't over until days afterward. And on the day of the tests? Absolutely NUTS

[mattoleriver]

>George, it was great seeing you. Are you considering Moses Lake in October? At this point I'm going.

Hi Greg,

that is the same weekend as the Columbia River Cairn Terrier Club's A Match. We'll be at the A Match getting a little ring time prior to Griffin's AKC Obedience debut at the Clark County KC show. I think we'll find Obedience to be a much more humbling experience---much, much more humbling! Griffin is a real trouper but not quite as motivated by Obedience as he is by Earthdog. Whatever the outcome, I'm sure he'll make me smile.

George

[mattoleriver]

Hi Tom,

thanks for the report. You and Marie (Mrs. tomq) were certainly high up on my list of "many others" who worked so hard to make the tests a wonderful experience for everybody. I'm hoping that you, or Marie, might be interested in handling Griffin at the next OTEEC tests so I can volunteer for a more active role---I'm thinking "Rat Wrangler" has a nice sound to it!

George

[Greg P]

Tom, great report. It's impressive to see it layed out like that.

I got a kick out of your registration setup. Computer and printer...no convenience was spared. Registration was smooth and efficient. I hope you didn't get the blowing dirt and grit in your equipment.

George, Sorry we'll miss you. I was considering the match, but really want to get that last trial in.

Trial Secretary Tomq ....with a cairn by his side.

[tomq]

George: Since Brad's wife has stuck her neck out and committed to being the secretary next time, I should have a somewhat easier time of it, but you know Marie always loves to handle grif.

Greg: I got LOTS of dust in my laptop and printer. I spend some $ at Fry's on Monday for some canned air to blow it all out, then a major wipedown with screen cleaner and its as good as new(I hope)... Note that that's 2 cairns at my sides - one on each side (Urchin is just harder to see through the table leg).

And for those of you who are really hardcore, start planning for the GPDC test in Turner March 8/9 2008.

Being secretary isn't bad. There are 4 times it gets a little crazy:

1: When people start backing up at the table and pushing for things early (If your class isn't for 3 hours, and there's a line or the secretary is madly writing, don't go interrupt to check in - the secretary will be there all day and check-in order isn't important, just entry order)

2: That crazy 30 minutes between close of a class and start of the test when you have to prepare final paperwork for the judge and apprentice and make up running order lists and ... (that you can't do before closing)

3: That crazy 30 minutes right after each judge finishes judging and delivers you their paperwork and you have to prepare their official AKC summary forms for their and your signature before they can leave give awards and leave. (and you have to manage to read and transcribe every word on the entry form of every passing dog during that time into a different 1.5 x 6 inch box that'll still be readable after being photocopied the next day!).

4: The next day when you have to sort all the paperwork, shake the dirt out, put it in order, double check EVERYTHING, repeat all the counts, fill out more summary pages, etc., Copy it all, and send the originals to AKC. (They have to have them 7 calendar days after the test or you get fined!)

All the rest is just incredibly careful attention to detail. So many things have to cross-reference each other exactly so you have to do it in a fixed, meticulous fashion or you will make a mistake.

[Greg P]

(in the best Howard Cosell imitation)

Well there you have it sports fans. The complete wrap up commentary by the MVTS (most valuable test secretary) tomq. Now we're on the inside of what it takes for the AKC to recognize those elusive earthdog titles that we endure dirt storms and slog alongside our cairns in the mud with.

It's the unsung heroes like tomq that allow the rest of to go play. Think about it.....after we go home, tomq still has to clean his equipment.

Thanks, Tom!