I see that it has been 2 months since my last post. Yikes, time flies.
The executive summary since my last post:
In a word: Training. In two words: More Training. I’ve been training for Utility with Alder and Maple and occasionally polishing Maple’s Open training. I didn’t show at all in obedience this fall. I learned my lesson with Alder in Open. Don’t show until you’re reasonably sure you have a chance at a Q.
There’s been lots and lots of hunt training with Maple. I showed her a couple of times in hunt tests. She now has 2 Junior Hunter legs (an AKC title that requires 4 legs) and 1 Started Retriever leg (a NAHRA title that also requires 4 legs). A dog can coast through the beginning hunt test titles by relying mostly on retriever instincts with enough training for reasonable control. The real training is needed for the higher titles. I plan to have Maple ready to show at the intermediate level by next spring and show simultaneously in the intermediate and beginning levels until she finishes the beginning level titles. You can do that in hunt tests; in fact, you can totally skip the lower levels if you want, which many pro handlers do. I am such a novice at hunt tests that I still learn something new about test rules and handling techniques at every trial, so I plan to get both the intermediate and beginning titles.
Here’s a picture of Maple with her Junior Hunter ribbon at Scooteney Reservoir in eastern Washington state:
