Titles earned this month....
Link to Mookie's titles
What is a title, really? (...a must read!)
September photos are in this album!
September videos are added to this album!
September started off with a great Labor Day weekend! We did some SCENT WORK with friends, Mookie got to run with his bestie, Rhys, and he had another DOCK DIVING lesson!! This time we worked on swimming back in from a very short distance in the water and back up the ramp. He actually started swimming rather than trying to keep his feet on the ramp and then he would grab his toy and run around on the deck. (update on swimming... did it another time this month and now will hold off a bit until spring maybe.)
BARN HUNT!! Yep it started! Instinct (RATI) and Novice (RATN) titles! Such fun! He got better each day and got 4 of 6 novice legs this weekend! More info plus videos here!
We do lots of leash walking in 2 ways actually!
- When we walk down the road, it's the orange vest (we live in deer country on a country road so we both wear orange) and it's to teach him to walk next to me nicely.
- The red harness is used for pulling which he is allowed to do when we walk on the trails around our 3 acres.
Mookie's learning how to hang out with Jake for hours now without pouncing on him to play which causes him to be banished from Jake's area! They really do love each other, are happy to share a treat, and Jake has a happy look when they are together!
We entered our first
UKC Nosework trial at
For Your K9 this month and he got 3 of 4 novice legs. During the exterior search, Mookie was sourcing the odor in concrete blocks and I decided to let him figure it out to tell me FORGETTING how little time there is in novice so we timed out. Bad handler! That was the last time I did that and we got the interior, vehicle and container searches!
Of course, we continue to train at the dog club two mornings each week combining rally, obedience, scent work and other fun stuff! This has been so helpful in his interaction with (or probably more importantly and realistically, his ignoring of) other dogs. 💓
And finally we dipped our toes into an AKC Conformation show. It was a small show by the Sheboygan Kennel Club and held at a fairground so a pretty relaxed location. We hung out with friends, Mookie got Best of Breed, and we participated in the Group competition of 14 Herding dogs. The IABCA show from a few weeks ago really prepared us and Mookie handled himself quite well but clearly, it's not his favorite thing to do!
