Winter fun

A real winter is here, plenty of snow and cold. Temperature being below -5C means IGs stay inside. By throwing cookies I can get them outside for 30sec to do what is needed. Feels strange to have a dog who loves snow and doesn't mind cold. I get my daily exercise with Kumma :)

Lots of training done with Kumma, at home and at Purina and Sporttikoirahalli. Short update:

2-on-2-off: cue has been added. I started using a toy target in front to have a better position (not crooked). I'm staying in front as well in this phase to have Kumma watching ahead. Try to change my position gradually. After some trying Kumma got the new game and made two very nice 2o2os. Good speed, full stop without hesitation, and fast release to the target. I'm reinforcing the position with cookies before releasing.

Tunnel: rear cross training. Some hesitation in the beginning, but after that fluent performance. My toy throwing and timing could have been better.

Out (going around): I've teached Kumma to go around a chair, "out" is the cue. Using this I started teaching Kumma to go around wings. Target is to teach him to go both from front to back, and back to front (having another cue). With a chair I've used distance ping ponging up to 5 meters. With wings 1-2m during first training sessions.

Backing up: this is on cue and starting to use it in other locations.

Tire: nice performance with a low tire, last time I did it with a toy target. Kumma is consistently offering tire itself, even if we have used a tire with a frame.

Recall: distraction training at home by adding a bowl with cookies between me and Kumma. Excellent work from my big puppy! He is thinking and going carefully around the bowl to show how hard he is avoiding it. Such a fun to see it :)

Down: it is much better now, I've done lots of basic reinforcement, with toys and cookies. Also some distraction training with a toy, good work at home.

Crate games: daily reinforcement at home. Door bell training is continuing, there has been some break in training, my fault. I'm now taking a crate to agility trainings as well to play the games in other locations. Crate games have been a good support for agility training. I believe all staying and releasing type of behaviours benefit from crate games. Controlled positions like sit and down, table, 2o2o... And having played crate games with distractions, I have also been able to add distractions to other stay-release behaviours pretty fast. Another group of behaviours benefiting from crate games are distance related behaviours. Having done distance ping ponging with a crate enabled doing the same with a tunnel, with going around a chair/wing, and so on. Too bad I didn't know all this 11 years ago with the IGs!

Today we had a nice training day organized by Mia, Kumma's breeder. Vappu Alatalo was instructing, both motivation and jumping. I got some good advice for playing with Kumma, to get him tugging more intensively by not accepting "weak" tugging, and to get him more excited and focused on me when other dogs are around. Yes, Kumma has realized value of friends and smells... It is good to have someone checking you every now and then, it is too easy to continue same old way especially if there are not specific problems. But you can always improve :) It was great to see Kumma's siblings and other relatives, and admire how the experienced ones jumped difficult sequences. Kumma did both basic and expanding grids, both were fluent. At the end he was really tired, and we skipped a bending exercise.