I've had a very busy day today, so I needed to just grab something fast. Our snow has melted now, and has revealed our poor ugly lawn, along with half a dozen gopher holes in the backyard. Gracie was more than happy to do her work and find the tunnels for my husband to insert the smoke bombs. On the left, she has actually got her nose down the tunnel...and on the right, she's got a hunk of grass in her mouth. She goes at this very vigorously, and doesn't like to be interrupted, or stopped from her "work". Ralph has decided it is just easier to let her dig to the tunnel, rather than looking for it himself. Sometimes they are a foot underground. Gracie doesn't depend on a new digging or mound, she can smell them underground. She thinks going outside is scratch and sniff time. When she locates a scent, then its digging time.
I didn't know those little dogs had that kind of an instinct!
ReplyDeletewhat a smart dog.
ReplyDeleteDog instincts are amazing. She looks like she loves to work :)
ReplyDeleteAwww... What a good (and cute) little helper! : )
ReplyDeleteWorker dog ... good job, I guess. I just can't stand to see my yard dug up looking for varmits. Then again, can't stand to see moles dig up my yard ... just can't win. :)
ReplyDeleteJust want to add another little comment myself....These gophers will ruin the yard. We live right next to a canal and they are flourishing there. They will dig under the fence into our lower backyard where we have a garden. We have to kill them one way or another. Before we had Dachshunds, my husband really made a mess digging around those mounds, looking for the tunnel. So Gracie digging them out is really better. Sometimes she misses the mark so she will make little divits about three ins across and an inch deep, but when sahe's got the scent, she pulls up the grass and digs right to the tunnel in a 6-8 inch area. Once we put the smoke bomb in there, then we put the dirt back, and the chunks of grass, and it fills in pretty well come summer. The worst part of it all is that Gracie needs her face, front legs and underside washed before I can let her loose in the house.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE a dog with a job! I raise Australian Shepherds and there is nothing more exciting for me than to see a young pup instinctively do what they are bred to do without any guidance or training from me. We fostered a Dachshund for a while, and I fell in love with her. I very well could end up with one sometime in the future because they are a big dog in a little package and have so much character and personality. I love this series of pictures of her doing what she loves and was bred to do.
ReplyDelete