C.C. turned 2 in June, so she is just reaching the age when I feel like we can start training more seriously. I know there are a lot of people who compete in agility with dogs much younger than she is, but I have really found that the hounds aren’t ready for serious training and competition until they are closer to 3.
At this time of year, it gets hard to practice agility much. We have the equipment, but it’s dark when I get home from work. Our club practices are outside, so we don’t have those in the fall and winter. In my small basement training area I have 6 weave poles with wires, so getting C.C. doing those independently is a goal for this winter. I would love to have her ready for novice agility at the PBGV national in May, but it will depend on how often I can work her on the teeter this winter. I’ll try to go to as many run throughs as possible, but our weekends are mostly booked. Maybe she will at least be able to do jumpers.
C.C. has her rally advanced title, but the newer excellent signs are pretty tricky, so she needs a bit more training and confidence before we try that. Her stays have gotten much better, she is even joining the older dogs when they do sit or down stays while I make their breakfast in the morning. I think she is ready to show in Beginner Novice obedience, but will probably hold off until the specialty in May.
Tracking is going pretty well when I can get out in daylight. This week was frustrating because I had a day off and headed over to my usual tracking grounds only to discover 2 unattended loose dogs there. I wasn’t about to let the kids get pounced on while they were tracking, so we headed home without working.
We have some hunt tests coming up in November, so I’m hoping that C.C. will time her heat cycle around those. She’s the only one in the pack who doesn’t have her junior hunter, so maybe we can get that done this fall. I plan to breed her to Wally this winter so she can have a litter before we start getting serious about competing in agility.
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