The count down has started to the Draft Test this weekend. When I signed up for the "Carting with your Dog" workshop this spring, my aspirations were simple. a) hang out with my friends and have some fun b) hang out with my dog and have some fun. Well I can honestly say that those goals have been met ten fold. You can see by Reese's face she enjoys it to.
It is time to change gears, dig in and pull together as a team.
These pictures were all taken at the Draft Dog Fun match about 2 weeks ago, even little 15wk old Draft Dog wannabe Nugget was on hand to cheer Reese on.
The Draft Test fun match was a chance for us to find out what the real thing will be like. We were all put through our paces and I came away with the knowledge of what we needed to work on.
The big thing was the ring exercises, I was to fumbly putting the harness on and the judge found a few twists in the harness...not good. I need to make the harnessing smoother. My off leash pattern was pretty good, but there is always room for improvement . On the 1 minute stand stay, Reese sat with 5 secs left. That is an automatic NQ, so practise, practise, practise Reese did great on the 3 minute group down stay, which has been a problem, so this was great success. . Once I was harnessed and hitched, the cart manuevering went well. The freight haul went well except for a spot where we were going up hill. We got bogged down, because I slowed down to decide which angle I was going to approach at. I should have had that figured out in the walk through and would not have needed to slow down and loose momentum.
I am very happy with how Reese and I have developed as a draft team and feel that we are well prepared for the test. I am sure there will be a few anxious moments, but I I have a wonderful partner and that is the most important thing.
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