down the rabbit hole

Spying gray hairs on Baxter's chinny chin chin made me realize there are still things we need to do while he is in his springy youth. Earthdogging, for one, to tingle the little kielbasa's senses and boot up his badger hound instincts.

Our first real trial won't happen til next weekend, but it seemed only fair that tiny chumley get a little practice beforehand. And so using roving can turned on its side and firmly anchored with weights on either side, with rawhide chucked deep down inside, I sat and waited to see what my little boy would do.

First, a look of incredulity, followed by copious amounts of barking. "r u kiddin me? throwin perfectly good rawhide in there? who's gonna get that?" he noisily protested to my deaf and deafened ears.

A few minutes passed, both of us locked in a battle of wills. "u get it", he barked. "No you get it," I replied. "no u get it", he woofed. "No you", I said."u"."you". Our battle soon boiled down to a shorthand that involved quick glances, first at the hole, and then to the other.

We were down to a blink off by the time temptation finally cracked the little kielbasa. "Oh okay, I'll go and check this out", he sighed, and timidly made his way ever so slowly into the can. "But I'm not gonna get in there all the way. So nyah." And Baxter managed to obtain his prize with the tippy tip toes of his hind legs still touching the floor outside the hole.

Something tells me earthdogging is gonna be something for this dainty little wiener dog.