Well...as promised (to my Laika) we went to earthdog again on Saturday and again she ROCKED! :banana: There were 3 other dachshunds there but strangely, they don't get the rat like Laika does. Two would not go underground at all and one of those didn't even seem interested in the rat sitting in a CAGE right in the GRASS. Laika showed him what to do!!!
The woman who was doing the junior tunnel said Laika is ready to enter the Junior Earthdog test if we can get her to go right in the hole from 10 feet away. She will sometimes try to just go get the rat by running on top of the tunnel.... She "worked" the rat for a full 90 seconds....(Digging barking biting the bars that guard the rat). The cool thing is, once we leave, she is her normal sweet self again. I thought that it might change her somehow...she becomes SO crazed and obsessed but it is clear she knows that she only gets rats THERE. IN fact, to me she seems even sweeter...like that satisfied some need she has and she is happier...I dunno..maybe I am imagining it.
Then today we did USDAA agility. USDAA is prob. the most challenging agility venue with fastest times and hard courses. Of course we are just in Performance 1 cuz we are just starting. Performance dogs can jump a bit lower and get a bit more time. I would only have my dogs in Performance cuz otherwise they'd have to jump 12 inches which is not gonna happen....
ANYWAY, Owen puked before his first run and my hopes of him being my USDAA dog were dashed for the day cuz he just didn't run like himself... he was slower...although at times he perked up and managed to feel good enough to LAUNCH his short self off the a-frame, missing the yellow contact area and making the judges mouth fall right open and I laughed out loud. He got 2 "Q's"; pairs and jumpers, both second place, out of 5 runs. I was happy he did the teeter twice and 12 weaves twice also very nicely. Laika qualified in just pairs. She took an off course in snooker (her own idea) and knocked a bar in Jumpers but her time was only 32.09 seconds (course time was 39) for doing 17 jumps/tunnels. She ran SO fast in pairs and did 12 weaves so fast she was hopping between the poles. I was happy despite her not qualifying most of them cuz she ran so fast and was so happy.
Salsa ran one run (jumpers) and not only wowed the crowd, but got first place!!!!!! She ran it in 32.22 seconds (since Laika knocked a bar, Salsa got first even though Laika was faster...all my dogs ran in the same class. Which was interesting. I can run 2 in a row but 3 is too much!!) Everybody was so amazed by the tiny dog running so fast and nicely. Salsa was so excited too...
I'm so so so tired cuz I had to unpack agility stuff and re-pack the truck with Illinois visit stuff that I can't take pictures tonight but when I get home I will...