Alston Peek makes his long awaited return to the podcast to recap his journey from qualifying in a NAVHDA Utility Test last year all the way to the Invitational Test held recently in New Mexico. A lot of honesty in this episode including what it's like to work so hard and fall just short of your intended target!
Playing a "game" vs. the "real thing"
The decision to retest the Utility to qualify for the '22 Invitational
Using "versatile" dogs
Mentally preparing for the Invitational Test
Going all the way back to Scout's foundation of steadiness
Training backing with bumpers?!
Baby stepping all the way to a dog that backs!
Diversify the training with new places and new dogs
Keeping it fun, real, and fresh
What its like working year around and still come up just short
The day of the test and lessons learned
Any regrets after "failing?"
Episode References:
91 Backing and Honoring
124 Backing Dummies
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