TRIPLE X

by Chuck Schultz

 

On Sunday, October 28, 2012 (the day before Hurricane Sandy), my black Labrador Retriever, Cruiser, earned her third TDX, this one from ASCA. She is now

Gullwing P.T.’s Penelope Cruiser, Am/Can/ASCA TDX.

The test was offered by the Working Australian Shepherd Club of Upstate New York (WASCUNY) and was held in Gansevoort, NY (near Sarasota) on a beautiful horse farm. Overall on the day, two TDs (1 Aussie, 1 Lab) out of 4 passed, 1 TDU (Beagle) out of 2 passed and 1 TDX (us) out of 2 passed.

The track was 910 yards long, with 6 legs. Fortunately, the horses in the corral next to us stayed on the other side of the field, so they weren’t a distraction.

Cruiser has had problems with focus while tracking. So to combat that, I tried something different. I stopped tracking her back in June and started her in nosework classes in July. It’s tough to conclude whether that strategy made a big difference or not, but once she got going on this TDX track, she worked with confidence. She was just a little slower than normal, which helped her work, too. We’ll see if this approach improves her work in VST.

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