Earthdog Season is Upon Us!

  And with a test in 2 weeks, I'm getting creative in training for the Scotties.  Jackson doesn't enter the tunnel quickly, but I don't have a yard large enough to put in even a small IQ tunnel for practice. So we will have to travel for the majority of his training.
  Wager's challenges are easier to work with at home. He gets to the quarry fairly quickly (but could be better), but he ponders, stares, considers his options, and runs detailed cost/benefit analyses before deciding to work. What can I do in a small yard without live rats?
  I borrowed some ideas from Nosework! I have a couple of old plastic milk crates. I bought a frozen reptile-food rat at PetCo. I'll explain more about that later. The idea was for the dogs to use their nose to find which crate held the quarry, to work the quarry even though they didn't have direct contact with the cage, and to be rewarded for that work when I lifted the crate. Here's a condensed version of our session this morning:

  Wager didn't begin to work for several minutes, which I edited out for brevity's sake. He sat and looked around. Since this was only his first session, I hope to decrease the sitting/staring time in the coming weeks. I don't expect him to be ready for AKC by August 14, but he might pass AWTA on the 13th.
  Doing foundation training at home will benefit Wager, who gets distracted in outside environments.

  Why do I use dead quarry in training? First because I don't want to care for a live rat. I don't have a safe place to keep it, and I have enough zoological responsibility as it is. When our training session is done, the quarry gets popped back in the freezer.  Second because I don't want to dispose of a live rat. I agree with Jo Ann Frier-Murza, who says that a dog doesn't need to kill quarry to be game and succeed at AKC earthdog tests. Third because I let my dogs get very physical with the cage during training, and a live rat could be injured. I believe that if my dogs will work dead quarry, they will certainly work live quarry. So far, that's been true!