We are in our third year of riding the ups and downs of Summit Trials. Just when you think you have it figured out, you fall flat on your nose. We had a great time at our trial in Michigan but it didn’t go at all as we had planned. Just a few weeks earlier we earned our second Summit Title, this time no title.
Summit trials are two full days with four searches per day. The searches are challenging, some areas are very large and often full of things we need to search. For Team Orange, the challenges are fun but also frustrating at times. Day one was hot and sunny, day two was cold and pouring rain. Both weather scenarios change the odor picture and also how we feel. We are not sure why I missed some pretty easy hides. Mom didn’t call two hides I found as she didn’t think I was alerting. Lots of small errors add up to lots of points missed at the end of the two days.
Two days of serious searching really wears a girl out. This was me the second morning, wishing I could sleep a bit longer. Once we get to the trial I’m ready to go, tired or not but I do sleep more and more as the two days progress. Sniffing is an exhausting mental challenge for dogs but we sure do love it!
If you bring siblings, they are bored to death. Nelson just sleeps most of the time, especially on day two when it rained and Mom didn’t want to take him for a walk.
In the end, we got first place in one of our eight searches. As long as we go home with something we feel better about things. My last few Summit trials I have had a couple times where I barely missed a title. A dog can do three Summits a year and I have one left now for the fall. Mom and I had a lot of fun sniffing together and that is the best thing. Another title will come out way, we just need to keep on practicing.
My GBGV Life is happy, so we’re joining Comedy Plus for Happy Tuesday!