Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Kili - PACE trial

Kili also attended the PACE trial and ran very well, though we continue to struggle with what just generally seems to be bad luck! On this weekend most of our errors were handler induced, but I was still really happy with my handling. I felt like I made really great decisions for our team and executed some of the hardest stuff very well. Unfortunately we would then have a small bobble or oversight (I called her too hard in one spot and cause her to take the wrong end of the tunnel, I got tongue tied and couldn't get "weave" out of my mouth quick enough, I didn't think I needed to call her in the tunnel and got an off course jump, etc) that was generally my fault.

Kili is not quite as "honest" as Kenna is. An honest dog is one that generally always looks to her handler for direction, rather than just taking what she thinks is correct and checking later. Coming out of a blind obstacle like the tunnel, Kenna generally looks to see where I am and what I am cuing next... whereas Kili will just launch over whatever is in front of her unless I call for her attention. The benefit of an honest dog is that you sometimes don't see every trap while you're walking the course. An honest dog will either just follow you regardless, or at least give you a split second to see that they are looking at a different option on course. With a dog like Kili, if you don't foresee the trap... it's usually too late by the time you realize she's seen something else!


No comments: