Onward and upward

Roc and I are so happy! We got our Scent Articles for Utility obedience yesterday! I ordered them last month while we were at the Kentuckiana Cluster dog shows - despite the fact that we didn't qualify at all in Open.

I figured that Roc could be getting a bit bored in training - he loves training and doing the work. So far, he just won't do it in public! So, it's time to add a little spice to our routine and add the Utility exercises to our training regime.

I picked up some kids' gardening gloves at Target a few weeks ago - they're bright yellow, so they won't do for competition, but they're fine to train with. And for only $1 per pair, I can let him (and Dax) play tug with them and learn that the "Directed Retrieve" is a fun game! I know there are people who say you should never let your dog play with the gloves and articles, but for me, obedience is my hobby, and hobbies are supposed to be fun.

Anyway, last night I couldn't wait to try out the Scent Articles. I know enough to just let the leather articles air out for a while, so I got out my extra metal article. I had no idea how Roc would react. He loves getting his plastic dumbbell in Open, and he loves licking peanut butter off a metal butter knife, but would he put it together? One of the biggest problems many people have in obedience is getting their dogs to pick up the metal article.

I'm thrilled to report that Roc hesitated for only the briefest moment and then picked up that article and brought it to me like a... well - an Obedience dog!