
06/15/2025
Some weekends just don't go your way in this game.
Last weekend was a decent weekend in Missoula, where we squeaked out, some passes and came home with some ribbons.
This weekend was not so good...😋
To be fully transparent, I had a feeling my dogs were going to fall apart during their senior hunt test in Butte Mt. But arrogantly enough I thought, maybe, just maybe, I could gamble and squeak a couple of more passes. Well Fortunately and yes I said "Fortunately". That didn't happen. My dogs' cracks were exposed like Ocean Gates carbon fiber hull and by mid-morning all but one dog had imploded and we were out of Aces.
The test environment proved to be too much for my dogs. As fate would have it, their lack of fundamentals in concentration and basic obedience was unveiled.
In layman's terms, "they were all over the map".
Although there were some small successes (successes that only a well-trained and sympathetic eye would see) I left the test, realizing I've got a lot of work to do before testing these creatures again.
As famously put by Kenny Rogers "You gotta Know when to hold'em and know when to fold'em"
So I scratched them from Sunday's test to stop the bleeding, packed up, and made the 4-hour trek home.
It's days like Friday when I get throat punched, that inspire me to do better.
So the life lesson is that our successes feel good, but rarely teach us anything.
It's our failures that bring us back to earth, and force us to do the work and be better prepared.
A lesson I preach to my kids and mercifully still confront to this day.
So back to training, which, as luck would have it, is where I love to spend time with my dogs.
As for the good news.
- Friday's sunrise was Glorious
-I got to visit with folks I often only get to see once or twice a year.
-My MR heater held up and kept me toasty on a 37-degree night,
-My truck got me and the dogs to and from the test grounds safely,
-My home wasn't blown away by a Tornado and oh..,
This Boy "Tango Thompson" went 4/4 this hunt test season. Completely destroying my earlier prediction that he had a 50/50 chance of passing his 1st of 4 tests.
Proving once again my wife is right.
I have no idea what I'm talking about.