Lessons Learned

Blitz is recovering nicely after his surgery. He is walking well and seems to have no discomfort from his neuter. Now I'm monitoring him closely to see if the surgery did help (seems to) and infection from the stitches. So far, so good. He isn't 100% himself yet but heck, he's on pain meds and it said "may cause drowsiness". This disease is hell and I'd put it up there with cancer in the emotional toll it takes watching your dog slip away. But, he is still a happy guy and as long as he has that sparkle in his eye we'll keep plugging along.
Over the weekend I learned several lessons regarding training. On Saturday I took Moto tracking and laid a long track, several turns, aged 45 minutes with food every 15 paces. Even though we've worked corners pretty hard he still stresses at the corners. He really wants to be right and is visibly relieved when he finds the turn. Lesson learned: he needs easy, motivational tracks interspersed with these harder ones, and I need to back chain to semi-circle turns which are easier to work.
With this reminder that Moto is still an immature, insecure dog who really wants to be right, we went to an obedience fun match Sunday morning. We got there plenty early and walked around the show site, treated so he'd get a good association, and walked around the ring when it wasn't in use so he could get used to the sights and sounds in the area he would be working. This paid off big-time with another fantastic performance. He worked confidently with a wonderful attitude. Just a few minor things to work on at home. If he brings into a show what I had on Sunday, I might actually be able to dream of an OTCH. His heeling was nothing other than lovely.
A few hours rest and we were off to our herding lesson. Moto was thrilled to see sheep and ran to his stock and yet again turned in a wonderful working session. He rated his stock beautifully and his balancing was to die for. We had a nice "walk in the park session" and ended it on that high note. But here's where the other Lesson Learned comes in: I got greedy. Erik worked Daisy and they did great. I thought heck, we'll go in for just one more quick session and work on his Away side more (his weak side). BIG no-no. Moto turned into a silly puppy who raced at the sheep and he didn't give a hoot when he lost them. After a few gentle corrections he did a gather/fetch and we called it a day.
Overall lesson: this is not a drivey dog who will work all day, simply for the joy of working. He's immature and short sessions are still the most productive. The time will come when we can push hard and work hard, but that's not in the books for now.
But, I have one helluva dog who can do great things.
Just not now.