My Weekend

My apologies to those of you who have already seen this on facebook etc!

This weekend Steel and I traveled to TN and I was very pleased that he passed his TDX test Sunday morning with a wonderful track. It was sunny and COLD and we drew the first track of the day. There were 6 TDX tracks total and 2 of us passed. He was also the only Rottweiler there and he was the youngest dog to compete.

I would like to take some credit but I seriously did nothing except follow behind Steel and watch him work. Really. I sent him towards the start article and he dropped into a down on it, gave it a good sniffing and it was off to the races. He was fast and drively on the easy sections and slowed himself down and worked carefully and methodically through the the hard sections. He dropped perfectly on each article and just BEAMED at me each time.

I will be interested in seeing the map because it seemed like we made about 20 turns but I am sure it was less! I didnt know if I was coming or going. At one point a leg ran parallel to a large strip of dry tall grass. We came up to what turned out to be the intersection of a cross track coming out of that tall grass. There was nothing but very short grass to the front and left of me and an ALLEYWAY of a track in the tall grass to the right. Steel worked the intersection, got sucked into that alleyway and started down it with me following. He got a short distance down it, slammed on the brakes and spun around and raced past me back to the intersection, worked the area some more and headed in a new direction. I remember thinking in the back of my head, as I blindly followed him, "I wonder how far along they will let me get before they blow the whistle" LOL.

Then the end of the track came out of a field, into a patch of dirt, across a narrow dirt road, through another patch of dirt and into an area of tall grass. Steel came trucking through the field up to the road, got halfway across the road and realized that all the spectators are a VERY short distance up the road. Anyone who has ever met Steel knows what a challenge that is. Fortunately the wind was not coming from the people and he was content with a few smiles and waves to his adoring fans before getting back to work. However being out in the middle of all that dirt made that a challenge, he did it though and then as we got into the tall grass he caught the scent from the final glove and found it and then did his traditional "yngo roll" at the end of the track - in the mud. Then the photographer came running up and offered to take a pic.

To say I am pleased with my sweet boy is an understatement - he was seriously sick for quite a bit of January and it has taken a while to get his stamina back. When we got to the third article yesterday I let him rest and gave him some water and kissed him on the head and whispered in his ear that I couldnt be any happier with him than I was right then,regardless of how the last section went.

Here is a pic of the muddy happy boy (along with me wearing my 15 layers of clothing) - think he doesnt look proud of himself?!