While we're waiting for trials at the end of January and hopefully that last CDX leg, Ilsa and I have been working on the Utility exercises. I'm happy to report that my dog is a genius and things are going swimmingly.
Seriously though, she is making very quick progress, and so far it seems to me that the leap from Novice to Open is much bigger than from Open to Utility. Now, I think Ilsa progressed pretty quickly, it took her just 12 months from the start of Open training to earn 2 legs in 3 trials, but it was really really hard! I've only been working the Utility exercises off and on for a month, but she's already got the framework for go-out/directed jumping, directed retrieves, signals, and moving SFE. I haven't started scent articles yet because I just received a new set for Christmas, and I've been advised to let them air out for a month before using them.
But then I hear about dogs who cruised through Novice and Open, getting both titles in 3 tries, and then can't Q in Utility in 20 trials. What's up with that?
I'd be really interested in hearing what our more experienced competitors think (Judi, I am looking in your direction!
) Is the gap between Novice and Open wider than the gap between Open and Utility, or am I just fooling myself?