Fun Match Sunday

We drove over to Omaha this morning for a fun match. It's about a two-hour drive but I thought it would be worth it to do a run-through in a different building. Jackson really needs the exposure to new places and new distractions. This was good, because it was kinda like a real show, but I could do some training in the ring.

Heeling and signals - He was lagging at times, which seems to happen frequently when he is at a trial. There were a lot of distractions due to the way the ring was set up. It was open on three sides with an active ring adjacent on one of the sides, and the fourth side was a wall - but it was a wall of mirrors! His signals were good though - (first exercise passed :)

Articles - The bottom line - he got both articles, but... he circled the pile and stopped at times to survey the building. After watching him circle the pile two to three times I told him to 'get to work.' At which time he went directly to the article, picked it up and brought it back to me - both times. I definitely need to get to new and different places several times a week so he can learn to work through distractions. That's my primary training goal for next week!

Gloves - Good pivot to the number 3 glove, and as usual - fast out, sloooow back. (another exercise passed :)

Moving stand - excellent! (third exercise passed :)

And, the last exercise - Directed jumping - His go out was toward the active ring so I was surprised that it was straight and brisk. Although his sit was very, very slow. In fact on the first go out I had to give him a second sit command. But, both jumps were good. (iffy on whether or not that would have passed :)

Overall, I was pleased. It really helped me see the things that we still need to work on, but I thought he did pretty well for it being a new, distracting place. Definitely worth the trip over.

Training notes for next week -
Articles, articles, articles