Gaining Momentum

Moto is almost six months old now and beginning to come into his own. Tracking by far is his favorite sport and the progress he is making continues to amaze me. In just three week's time he has learned to track, down at the articles and can do turns in any direction without working the corner. He is such a confident quick worker and it is thrilling to watch him.
Even Obedience is picking up the pace. He now comes to the dumbbell and takes it so now we can work on going lower and lower until it is on the ground. He is giving me nice attention for a good length of time. We are working turns (left and right) and circles, stops and starts. Those laterals are now translating into lateral fronts and he is understanding the "close" command now. I still would like him to go deeper on the swing finish and if I present it as something to figure out he does it so I am thrilled. He is most consistent with an "around" finish in terms of being straight.
He loves utility signals! We are now working on go-outs and directed jumping. Of course the jumps are only at 8". I have the jumps close together so that he cannot fail unless he works hard at it.
He is learning so fast I need to train more than twice a day. I am hoping by our club's March Obedience trial that I can have him in the Pre-Novice class. We will see but I am really encouraged by the rapid progress he is making. Motivation is still my biggest challenge but as our bond is getting better, I see more effort and less challenging of me.
I am becoming encouraged by him. He has been my most difficult dog so far!