Sunday is My Fun Day

  Every now and then we get a rare glimpse into how far we have come in short time.  I have been training Tarot for Agility competition since the end of January and there are weeks when I think we are moving too slow.  Other weeks, Tarot is showing more understanding and flies forward with the next steps.  It continues like this and I never see the overall progress because I know there is more to polish.

  A friend has been holding a "Let's Work On That" class on Sunday mornings and I try to make this class as often as I can.  All of the dogs are being trialed and the class is set up for issues that have risen and need to be worked through.  Tarot and I make the attempt on the segment even though it might prove too far advanced.  Sometimes we pull it off, but most times obstacles need to be modified for success which is fine with me.

  Today was one of those "marker" days, where that glimpse into the future becomes the flood water rush into the present.  One minute you are working independent contacts or pausing to offer a reward for something done absolutely perfectly and the next minute you just ran a 13 obstacle mini-course as efficiently as your retiring Masters dog.  Better yet, you had to haul to keep up with your dog that is running twenty feet ahead or pulling in to work at six feet.

  A set of runs like this make the late night practice sessions worth driving home after 11pm for.  Experience with developing a training program, training when you are exhausted, drawing on patience, learning to support more, dealing with distance, distracted by tennis balls, suddenly all slam together in a few neat performances run at full tilt and focus.

  Do I expect tomorrow night's late night practice will go like today?  Nope.
  Tomorrow we will go back to working on our weak points while on the road to more strengths.

Tarot kicked butt on this mini-course

  Have a fun week!
  Joyce