| The most important thing you can do to measure your preparedness is to start running tracks that others have laid for you with no hints given about where the turns and legs are. When you are running a track you have laid, or watched being laid you very often give guidance or help to your dog that you are not aware of. You also need the practice of relying totally on your dog. I guarantee you will come to instances where you will have to decide how much you trust your dog. Definitely slow him down, if you are reigning him in on corners now, he will probably fly past them in the test since you won't know where they are to help him. Do you know how to read your dog's loss of track, and back up to give him a shot at refinding it if you've gone past the corner? Always walk behind him on the track, make him drag you if he tries to trot or run. If you drop food at various places on the track it will help him go slower and pay closer attention. When my dogs were ready to trial, they were running on practice tracks with no bait at all, and got their rewards when we got back to the truck, not on the field or at the articles. I found that once the dog is serious about the job, dropping bait breaks up the rythym and concentration on the track.  |