Frustrating

I had a frustrating class with Phlox this afternoon. From the outside Phlox looked great but to me he was slow and unfocused, even if he did look up at me the entire time. Every little thing he did bugged me. To me he even played tug wrong today.

I know I shouldn't be so hard on him. I think at times like this I am actually getting frustrated at myself. I can see all the tiny holes in my training, in my ability to train. There in that little black dog all my short comings are set out for every one to see. To judge.

Rather than brush the day off as a failure I decided to really dissect it.
What today showed me is that my training has been slow and unfocused. I have been doing too much of the same thing and not pushing forward, becoming bored with the whole process.

My plan of action
Move on to more advanced exercises- I'm brunt out on heel, stand, stay, come, sit and down.
Train more often- it's hard to make changes and improvements when you only work once a week.
Train in new places- new environments are challenging and stimulating.
Keep the big picture in mind- Everything we are doing is leading up to our final goal.

Phlox will be doing his first match this month and I'm hoping for a very positive reaction to his training. Because I train mostly on my own shows and matches are the only time I get feedback from other exhibitors and judges. If there are any gaping holes in my training they are sure to be pointed out.