Earthdog
Earthdog Events
The American Kennel Club created the AKC Earthdog trials. Your dog follows the scent of the rat down into a small tunnel, approximately 9x9 inches. The dog has to duck and crawl along through the tunnel and at the end is a caged rat. The dog barks and digs at it to indicate the find. There are four tests, Intro to Quarry, Junior Earthdog, Senior Earthdog and Master Earthdog, and only three titles. There is no title for the Intro to Quarry.
Intro to Quarry
Intro to quarry is for beginning dogs to get acquainted with the tunnel work. They have a shorter tunnel to go through and judge is allowed to help. The tunnel is 10 feet long with one 90 degree turn.
Junior Earthdog (JE)
The junior test is harder in that the tunnel is 30 feet long with three 90 degree turns. To earn a JE title, the dog must qualify in two Junior Earthdog tests.
Senior Earthdog (SE)
The senior test has a tunnel is 30 feet long with three 90 degree turns, a false den and exit, and the handler must be able to call the dog out of the tunnel. The rat is removed from the tunnel before the handler calls the dog. To earn an SE title, the dog must first have earned a JE title to enter this class, and qualified in three Senior Earthdog tests.
Master Earthdog (ME)
The Master test has a tunnel is 30 feet long with three 90 degree turns, a false entrance, den and exit. The dog must go to the right entrance, and honor another working dog (the dog must wait and let another dog work with not being too disruptive). To earn an ME title, the dog must first have earned the SE title just to enter the ME test, and must qualify in four Master Earthdog tests.
http://www.akc.org/events/earthdog/info.cfm
http://www.earthdog.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthdog_trial
Date of last update 03/17/2010
Copyright © 2007 Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club. All Rights Reserved