Wow, is it that time already?
When I first started training Tangle I had no intentions of having him in the ring so soon. I wanted to take my time training him and enjoy the ride. Funny thing is, I did take my time AND am enjoying the ride. Tangle was just so quick to pick up on his training and I think with the third dog I am a better trainer.
So, here he is, first trial! Our goals were simple, have fun and keep everything motivating! I didn't care about Q's, wrong courses, dropped bars, just make sure it was fun!
I signed Tangle up for all the runs, figuring I would only run him each day until his novice brain exploded. After all, first time in the ring you never know exactly when that is. Never did explode! Tangle was mentally in the game the whole weekend. I am still amazed. Actually, he came home and still wanted to play.
Tangle ran jumpers, standard, gamblers, snakes and ladders (game with tunnels, weaves, and contacts), and North American Challenge. He was not the fastest dog out there, but he knew his job for sure! He stayed at the start line, stayed on course, and kept all the bars up! Good boy! We had several sequences that we had never done before, but he handled them beautifully! He has never turned into a tunnel from a contact, he had never turned from a tunnel to a contact, and has never had to cross one end of a tunnel to take the opposite end.
So, what do we need to work on? He had several occasions where he didn't fully go into a 2o2o at the end of the dog walk, he leaped the AFrame once, and he was cautious always trying to do the right thing. I am not concerned about the contacts, he does know his job, we just need to proof a couple of other things in terms of contacts.
What I want most for Tangle is that he gets to the point where the game is so addictingly fun! That is what we will work on!
p.s. His stats for the weekend were 9 runs, 9 Q's, several firsts, and qualified in the Intern class for DOCNA Nationals next year in Denver.
