Gloria tried her paw today in an Earthdog trial. What is earthdog? It’s where a dog runs underground to find the quarry (rats) at the end. Once they find the rats, who are safe in a cage, and behind big dowels to make sure they are extra safe, the dog has to bark, dig, whine, “work” the rats for 30 seconds. This is open to Terriers and Dachshunds. Well, at the start, Gloria had no intention of going into a dark, muddy, icky hole. The judge let me show her WHY she should go in the hole – I showed her the rats. Slowly her brain clicked and then she wanted the rats. They smelled, and they were furry critters! BARK BARK BARK So we went back to the den opening, and Gloria again said, “no thanks.” So the kind judge, to help Gloria understand, moved the rats closer to her. Her brain clicked again, and she ran into the den. So we tried the third time – and had her run from the start to the end and she got it. She didn’t “pass” her intro to quarry practice, and that’s ok. She was really starting to get the hang of what we were asking of her. I think with a few more practices… she will become an underground terror. As Gloria says “If your face isn’t muddy, then you haven’t really been earthdoggin’!”