Yesterday Kumma was introduced to sheep. For my 100% unexperienced eyes he looked like a professional sheepdog with them. Well, perhaps a little too excited momentarily. It is impossible for me to explain more due to my lack of knowledge of herding and related vocabulary. All I can say it that Kumma enjoyed and seemed to have potential.
Also brother Viiru and sister Peak were there. Viiru was a novice as well, Peak had had some sessions earlier. At the end of the evening litter mates had a good run together.
tiistai 21. kesäkuuta 2011
keskiviikko 8. kesäkuuta 2011
Agility class
Yesterday we had a good agility class with Kumma.
We started by having some fast pace tunnel entries from different angles with a U-shaped tunnel. Kumma found the entry easily even from behind.
Next we tested 2-on-2-off (dogwalk ramp on the table). I run past Kumma. Three repetitions. He offered excellent 2o2o every time. I released to a thrown toy. Once I went back and rewarded with treats the 2o2o position. Kumma also made a full dogwalk twice. The first one was a bit slow, I run ahead too fast. The 2nd one was better, Kumma needs still me being close when he is going over the dogwalk. But he is relaxed and not hesitating. Speed will come with confidence. Nice 2o2o, and release to the thrown toy. Homework: decide how to train upside contacts, and START TRAINING. I cannot postpone this anymore... Kumma has done only a few reps on the full dogwalk, and I have already seen that the upside has to be trained...
Handling theme was a pull through. Simple exercise with two parallel jumps. I haven't made this with Kumma, only some preparation training with one jump. Kumma reacted well to changing hand, even if I didn't use any verbal cue. From right to left push through was excellent, but from left to right we struggled. Partly due to Kumma getting tired. Partly due to me getting tired :) It was great to have an instructor, even if this is a very basic handling exercise. Getting on the spot comments and advice on my own timing and movement is really valuable.
The last exercise was about speed and fun: three jumps in a line and a U-shaped tunnel. Plan was to take off together with the dog, and encourage him to go on. This worked well when we took two jumps and the tunnel, but when taking all three jumps, Kumma started slowing down slightly before the tunnel. Homework: teach a go on cue.
After the class Kumma run and played together with girls Rinna and Sätkä. Idyllic warm summer evening. Suddenly Kumma disappeared into bushes. He responded well to my recall, but it was too late. He was smelling %#*%#. Evening shower, I tried to hold my breath.
We started by having some fast pace tunnel entries from different angles with a U-shaped tunnel. Kumma found the entry easily even from behind.
Next we tested 2-on-2-off (dogwalk ramp on the table). I run past Kumma. Three repetitions. He offered excellent 2o2o every time. I released to a thrown toy. Once I went back and rewarded with treats the 2o2o position. Kumma also made a full dogwalk twice. The first one was a bit slow, I run ahead too fast. The 2nd one was better, Kumma needs still me being close when he is going over the dogwalk. But he is relaxed and not hesitating. Speed will come with confidence. Nice 2o2o, and release to the thrown toy. Homework: decide how to train upside contacts, and START TRAINING. I cannot postpone this anymore... Kumma has done only a few reps on the full dogwalk, and I have already seen that the upside has to be trained...
Handling theme was a pull through. Simple exercise with two parallel jumps. I haven't made this with Kumma, only some preparation training with one jump. Kumma reacted well to changing hand, even if I didn't use any verbal cue. From right to left push through was excellent, but from left to right we struggled. Partly due to Kumma getting tired. Partly due to me getting tired :) It was great to have an instructor, even if this is a very basic handling exercise. Getting on the spot comments and advice on my own timing and movement is really valuable.
The last exercise was about speed and fun: three jumps in a line and a U-shaped tunnel. Plan was to take off together with the dog, and encourage him to go on. This worked well when we took two jumps and the tunnel, but when taking all three jumps, Kumma started slowing down slightly before the tunnel. Homework: teach a go on cue.
After the class Kumma run and played together with girls Rinna and Sätkä. Idyllic warm summer evening. Suddenly Kumma disappeared into bushes. He responded well to my recall, but it was too late. He was smelling %#*%#. Evening shower, I tried to hold my breath.
Health care
All three visited the vet last week.
Hoppu: Weight 7.5kg. Teeth were cleaned. X-ray was taken prior to operation, and there was a unpleasent surprise. Hoppu's upper jaw bone has a fracture. Also one of the teeth was broken, it was carefully removed. It is likely that he has hit himself against something causing these two injuries. Poor Hoppu, learning to live without seeing. I haven't noticed him showing any signs of pain. Luckily the jaw fracture is such that it should heal by itself. Only advice was to give soft food for 6 weeks. And avoid further accidents... A new X-ray will be taken in 3 months. If everything looks normal, then two additional teeth will be removed. The vet told that this case was a good example how important it is to have X-ray taken before cleaning and removing teeth. The broken jaw could have been seriously damaged if teeth had been removed closeby.
Neeo: Weight 6.9kg. Teeth cleaning. No surprises. One tooth was removed.
Kumma: Weight 20kg. Basic vet check and rabies vaccination.
Hoppu: Weight 7.5kg. Teeth were cleaned. X-ray was taken prior to operation, and there was a unpleasent surprise. Hoppu's upper jaw bone has a fracture. Also one of the teeth was broken, it was carefully removed. It is likely that he has hit himself against something causing these two injuries. Poor Hoppu, learning to live without seeing. I haven't noticed him showing any signs of pain. Luckily the jaw fracture is such that it should heal by itself. Only advice was to give soft food for 6 weeks. And avoid further accidents... A new X-ray will be taken in 3 months. If everything looks normal, then two additional teeth will be removed. The vet told that this case was a good example how important it is to have X-ray taken before cleaning and removing teeth. The broken jaw could have been seriously damaged if teeth had been removed closeby.
Neeo: Weight 6.9kg. Teeth cleaning. No surprises. One tooth was removed.
Kumma: Weight 20kg. Basic vet check and rabies vaccination.
lauantai 28. toukokuuta 2011
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.
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.
sunnuntai 8. toukokuuta 2011
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:
Uncle One was also at the seminar, he performed incredibly hard exercises with such speed and precision that it was just amazing.
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!)
Uncle One was also at the seminar, he performed incredibly hard exercises with such speed and precision that it was just amazing.
torstai 5. toukokuuta 2011
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!
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.
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.
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