“I have been reviewing video to find areas we need to improve” What are your major strengths and weaknesses? I am fortunate that Solei is such a mature dog for her age (she will just be 3 in June) and takes her job very seriously. Even as a puppy, she was an old soul! The confidence I have in our teamwork, I think, is our biggest strength. Solei is incredibly athletic and sensible, which makes my job much easier as a handler. Our main weakness is the fact we aren’t as seasoned a team as many of the other competitors. Solei’s first trial was just over a year ago and we have only attended two major competitions (USDAA Nationals and the US Open). That said, the energized atmosphere of those big competitions doesn’t really affect her performance much, but it is still a weakness not to have a larger number of those events under our belts going into the WAO. The only other thing I would truly consider a weakness is that Solei is the first dog I have taught a running dogwalk. It is still a work in progress, learning to handle all the different scenarios we will come across and recognizing aspects we need to improve (turns!). Also, since the dogwalk we will see at the WAO is taller than those in the USA, that will be a new training aspect and something we will have to overcome. I have been training both a running and stopped performance for those times I absolutely need her to turn tightly.
USA