[Judy in Knife R]

Hi, I have 3 Yorkies who train with me in obedience and agility. We are also practicing for Earth Dog. One of my earlier dogs and I did obedience and agility. I have always wanted my dogs to be able to participate in what they were breed to do, chase rodents. Yorkies maybe classed as toys now but the breed was originally developed to work at rodent removal. We started going to our local Earth Dog introduction last year. My Emma who is 3 years old today caught on by the end of the summer and was working the beginner tunnel. Lilian who is 2 was busy tracking but not going into the tunnels. Winnie who was 1 in Dec comes as cheerleader and wants to play with the rats. This year Emma was into the tunnel as soon as she was released and worked the rat solidly until I removed her from the tunnel. I was told that was that a real test, she would have passed. Lilian has started entering the above ground tunnel and Winnie is still trying to be friends. I have been told by the other folks there that this is pretty representative of how the other breeds have done, it takes some maturity to get the idea. Next week we will try Emma in the senior tunnel. On Sat we have been invited to join the JRs in a fun day. I figure that it is just a matter of time before they allow us in AKC Earth Dog, after all Rat Terriers just made it in.