1 month of 2x2

I started 2x2 weave training with Kumma 1 month ago. Today he took a jump, I made a rear cross, and he weaved 4 poles in a straight line! Next steps will be adding 3rd pair of poles, and hitting harder entries from full speed using a jump before the poles.

I don't want to hurry by progressing too fast. Kumma is a big boy, and needs time to learn to use his still developing body. He is thinking hard during training sessions, and I need to keep the sessions short. If he gets tired, he starts slowing down.

Jumping seminar

I spent a whole day at Vappu's jumping seminar. Familiar dogs and handlers, it was great to see how they had developmed since our Jan seminar. Different breeds, different jumping styles. Again I learnt a lot.

How about Kumma? Plenty of new challenges were introduced for him, and he managed them well. I'm proud of him! He thinks what and how to do. Vappu also commented that he is still unmature, and needs time to develop physically, but for his age and type (big strong bc) he does good work. He focused on his tasks really well even if he was starting to be tired mentally and physically.

New for Kumma:

• Power grid (Nice!)
• Steady 1 stride (1st try was difficult, one knocked pole and no good rhythm. 2nd try was great!)
• Double jump (Over without hesitation!)

(Mistake in video, first jump after "Double jump" title is not a double, but a single jump of 40cm)



Uncle One was also at the seminar, he performed incredibly hard exercises with such speed and precision that it was just amazing.

Kumma 13 months

Short training update for Kumma who is now 13 months old.

2x2: we started 2x2 weave training 2 weeks ago. We have had max 2 sessions a day, sometimes only 1, and several days of no training. I was planning to have videos of all sessions, but this didn't happen. I need to use short opportunities to go outside to train, and don't usually have time to find a camera, and get it ready to shoot. Kumma started to offer going through one set of poles right away, and I added 2nd set of poles only after a couple of sessions. At the moment I'm using 2 sets of poles, 4ft apart, and their position is 1o'clock - 7 o'clock. I plan to close openings slowly, always ensuring that all entry angles are managed by Kumma. His drive during these training sessions has been excellent! I should also take the poles to other locations, we have been practising only in our garden.

Jumping: jump height has been up to 40cm. For my eyes Kumma is always thinking what to do, and jumping fluently. Basic grid height has been 15cm, and I've started to add handler motion. Both distance and height estimation have been successful. This week during our group agility class Kumma had some difficulties with the basic grid. I was thinking that it was due to distractions (other pups), but only later I realized there were six jumps instead of five I have used. No wonder this was challenging for Kumma! But he managed 4th try :)

2o2o: with this I need to take a step back and build again value for 2o2o position. Then next step is to start building drive for getting into 2o2o position even if I'm behind. When I'm ahead of Kumma, he has good drive and nice 2o2o.

Handling: it is nice to have again a weekly class with an instructor. We have done drills with 3 to 4 obstacles (jumps and tunnels), and it is funny how exiting it feels to start putting puzzle parts together and see how Kumma can manage drills of several obstacles. It also feels great to do some real handling after a long break. Nothing fancy, just very basic FC and RC.

Start line stay: last but not least, I have to say that Kumma's start line stay is just perfect. I have to remind myself to reward that often.

As usual this is not all. Next Sunday we'll go to Vappu's jumping seminar!

Vet check

All three doggies visited a vet today.

Neeo: blood test, all results that were checked right away were good. Some values need to be analyzed by  a lab. No changes in his heart, a light murmur is still there. Teeth are again in bad condition, and will be cleaned soon. Weight 6.7kg.

Hoppu: fast pulse, but Hoppu was nervous. Also Hoppu's teeth need cleaning. Blood test will be taken on teeth cleaning day. Forgot to take his weight.

Kumma: vaccination was given. Rabies vaccination willl be given at the end of May. General health check was done, and everything was normal. Weight 19.5kg.

Before going to the vet I had all three on leash and we had a nice walk. It is difficult to understand that Hoppu is blind when he is on leash. He is walking so confidently, sniffing around like always. Kumma has been recently a very nice leash walking company, managing to keep loose leash most of the time. I'm really happy that the pack of three gets so well along, even now when Hoppu doesn't see anymore.

Hoppu is blind

How ironic that in my last post I wrote about how both old IGs are in good condition. Now Hoppu doesn't see any more. It was only one week ago when I noticed his vision (with one eye, other one has been blind since end of 2008) is not normal anymore. It got worse everyday, and on Thursday both IGs had their eyes checked. Hoppu's diagnosis was exactly what I anticipated, due to vitreous degeneration a retina was detached (like in the other eye earlier).

Now we'll see how the grey hurricane learns to live without seeing the world around him. He moves inside and outside, but less than usual and gets sometimes confused. Today I took all three for a walk on leash, and Hoppu was moving happily and confidently.

It is hard to understand that Hoppu will never again run free and fast.

Good news is that even if Neeo also has vitreous degeneration in his eyes, he has no early signs of retina detachment. This disease is fairly common with IGs (and whippets), but rarely the end result is blindness.