The Complaint of the Day

OK, today is one of those days where I seriously consider retiring Katie. I had this fairy tale dream that after you get your UD, you should be able to just practice, tweak a few things, but otherwise just continue to reinforce all that good training you have done. I know this is totally unrealistic. For those who have not given utility a try, it is this endless cycle of exercises falling apart. After you fix a problem, something your dog completely understood yesterday is no longer understood. You fix that and then it is something new. So today was one of those days where I am feeling a little burnt out, but was going to train anyway and Katie had problems with her articles again. Only this time, it has been a problem for almost 2 months and its starting to wear me down. Katie's scent articles have been very reliable for probably a year up until 2 months ago. I have done a month of remedial work. Things are better, but the mistakes are still happening especially if there is any stress or pressure involved. I'm at the point where I'm simply doing obedience for fun, but its not fun. I'm not really trying to get a UDX, so when its not fun, its hard to push through it when there is not a big goal to go after. I really really really hope that she does well at the NY dog show. If she does, I will be revitalized for sure. If not, it might be what finally does it for me.