Saturday was the official opening day for the GBAEC site in Gardner at the Fish and Game Club. It's a great site, and this year we dug 2 new tunnels. We now have a dedicated Master tunnel with 2 walk ups and a new IQ tunnel. We moved the IQ tunnel because it would interfere with the walk ups for the new Master tunnel. Because we were digging new tunnels and not just digging out existing tunnels, we rented a small backhoe. Thank goodness we did, since there were lots of roots and rocks that would have made for backbreaking work. As it was, it was a very long day. I pulled out of there at 4 and a few people were still there.
After the digging was done, I tried Shelby in IQ. Last week she went into the tunnel, but came right back out and wasn't too interested in the rat. This time she went in the tunnel, but came out again, so I got her to go back in and then I called her from the rat end and she came. She was staring, so I praised her and waited a second to see what she would do. We had the rats uncovered so she could see the rat. After about 30 seconds she stuck her nose in and then her paw, so I got really excited and praised her a lot. She started to whine and I got more excited! Then she actually started barking, which was great. I was screaming along with her. So then I took her out to see if she could do the whole thing. She went in and went to the end and started barking and scratching, etc. I was so happy. I haven't officially entered her for the trial, but I can enter her the day of.
Spot also got a try at Master. I was planning to just leave because it was late, but there was someone else who wanted to do it, so I stayed. Spot did well on the walk up. I think he stays a little too close sometimes, but he does go check things out on his own. He got to the entrance, and stayed for a second but didn't mark that strongly. He knew they were there, and actually saw a little space between that section and the next section and tried to go in! I went up and encouraged him to show me the entrance and he actually grabbed the bars and pulled the tunnel! He had to honor and let the other dog go first, and he did ok. He barked a bit, but I had treats and helped him stay quiet. I also got him interested in digging at a log, which I don't know if it is strictly legal, but it doesn't say anything specific in the rule book.
Once he got a chance to work, he went in and got stuck in the empty den. He then came out the entrance and went back in, only to come out the false exit, which he normally does. He went right back in and got to the rats in enough time. His working was perfect as always. When I went to get him it was a little hairy because they made the hatch open at the rat end on a hinge. I would prefer a loose cover without a hinge so you can open it any way you want. When I opened the tunnel, Spot scooted back, which surprised me. We got him to come back up and I petted him and encouraged him, finally grabbing him and removing him. It definitely was over time, but that's ok. Overall a good day.
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