Star's first dog trial is next weekend and he is entered in the nursery. Am I nervous about it? Nah, he's trained, ready and capable. He's also quite young for such a feat and I have no other expectations for him other than he will learn. This week's lessons:
- I'm right here
- Fast and fun
- You're a big dog now
Here's an excerpt:
After a rest at the truck, I sent him over the same distance again, and again he began without having seen the sheep. He started very well, but 2/3 of the way out, pulled in sharply and looked back to me. On my stop and re-direct whistle he began again strongly, soon picked up his sheep, kicked himself out and finished well at the top with a light courtesy whistle from me just to make sure. Because he became unsure, I blew that whistle just to let him know that I approved, and give him a confidence boost. Does it bother me that he is still turning in sometimes? Not even a little bit. He's 15 months old and, at this point, if he needs a little help on a 300 yard outrun, I am more than happy to supply it. The difference between the outruns on day 98 and 99 are that today I sent him blindly. It seems that when he can see his sheep from the outset, he is more confident. I will continue to give him a mix of blind and not to keep him challenged and thinking.
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