Tristan's great, his owner handler is...

Tristan is such a great dog. Too bad his handler is a total klutz. We had a really nice day at training. Tristan tracked well - very calm and steady with this nose deep in the track. I thought the track ended sooner than it did so I stopped but Tristan pushed on. He was right, of course, and took us to the real end.

Tristan also did really well in protection in spite of me. We're now starting his blind search almost by the blind opposite of the one to be searched. It's a long way to send him off across the field especially when the tasty, tempting helper is right behind him. Only once did he try to do a quick u-turn. His other searches were very good. I made a totally idiotic mistake by giving the command fuss (sit or heel by my side) instead of revier (the command to search) as I pointed to the blind. My wonderful smart dog did exactly as commanded and kept sitting there - although I think he was rolling his eyes at my incompetence.

I have to find a better voice for issuing commands. It was pointed out that I sound too stern when I give the revier command - more like I'm disciplining rather than issuing a positive command. I try to sound clear and firm to Tristan so he knows I mean business when I give a command. He's a high drive dog so I know if I'm too wimpy he's likely to blow it off. Somehow I have to find the appropiate intonation that conveys strength, direction and fun without being either too harsh or too soft.
On the way home we visited my old Miata as I needed to clear up a bit of paperwork. The new owner has done a great job of fixing its various dings and the interior looks especially great. I gave it lots of tender loving pats. The Miata was a great car for me and I had so much fun in it.