My achievements during my year of being six were not high in number but some are big in quality. Mom says as we all move up in our sports, the number of titles may go down, but the ones we earn are earned by a lot of hard work and are well deserved. Lets start with my travels.
Travel To New States
This past year I only added three new states. I’ve visited twenty five states total, so have half of the USA.
West Virginia is the first state that is new to me. We stopped in Charleston for a short walk and found this mural.
After West Virginia, we drove through Virginia. It is a state for lovers we found out. None of us had a lover along, but we find the slogan cute.
The third and last new state for me is North Carolina. We got to do nose work in this great state and we did well. Our visit to Mayberry was also a lot of fun.
I’m a bit miffed that I didn’t get to go with everyone to Montana since I have never been there. Why Mom thought Bailie might like such a trip is something I really can’t understand. I guess it means we will need to take another trip out that way one of these days.
Sports Achievements
The first new title, Masters Buried Hides in AKC Scent Work, is a huge surprise. Mom figured it would take forever because most dogs struggle with it, but I did not. I even got a pink ribbon for my new title! I now have two Masters Titles and I need two more.
Now for the best achievement ever. When I was five, I earned my first NW3 nose work title. Mom said she didn’t think I would ever earn one, or the three needed for NW3 Elite. In October, we had a local NW3 trial. Mom and I worked really hard, but even though we felt good about our work, we didn’t know if we were missing hides or not. Well, at the end of the day it turns out we found all the hides with no mistakes and I earned my second NW3 Title! It was so exciting for both of us and a big surprise.
In North Carolina, the weather was terrible on my trial day, cold, and pouring rain. A long time blog fan even came to see me and spent the day in the rain to watch me do nose work. I was really over the weather! At the end of the day, we missed one hide and I earned a leg. Two legs makes a title.
A month later, in March, I had another NW3 trial here at home. It is the school I had my very first NW3 trial at in November 2019. Three years later I was in my nineteenth NW3 trial at the school. Mom and I were having a good time together searching but we were not sure that I was finding all the hides.
At the end of the day, it turns out we missed one hide in the last container search. Team Pink earned another leg and two legs make a title. This day is the day I earned my third NW3 Title which is also an NW3 Elite Title! Three years and nineteen trials and finally we did it! Mom has never worked so hard and waited so long for any achievements we have in dog sports. She had tears in her eyes!
These are some pretty expensive ribbons but Mom and I did grow as a team over time. Our last three trials we either earned a leg or a title, and after waiting until the fourteenth try for our first NW3 title, it is truly something special and a sign that our team is getting better. Even if I had no other achievements this past year, this one would be plenty!
Those are my achievements while being six. Of course, I have some points in some sports and some Q’s, and maybe they will turn into titles when I am seven. Six hit some big milestones and it has made me really proud of my work.