Week 2, Day 3

OK, it was kind of a crazy weekend - work bled over into my personal time (imagine that!) and it was bloody, damn HOT! So the dogs got a bit of a modified schedule. Rather than doing much conditioning work, we worked primarily on agility types of activities and exercises that required them to use their minds as well as their considerable physical abilities. Good lord, are they feeling good!

It's definitely still to early to draw any conclusions, especially since I didn't do any sort of conditioning work with them in the heat this weekend. But, I am absolutely sure that they are benefiting from the new diet. Whether or not it will eliminate Gata's collapses, I can't really say.

Exercises/Activities we worked on over the weekend:
1. Bob Bailey exercise - Both dogs have it, poles are about 5-feet apart now. Both dogs work for a ball ...
2. Broad jump - working on form and distance for both, also working on going straight to a target upon completion.
3. High jump - OK, Tor has totally freaked me out on this. Freaky boy can jump 1-meter from a stand still! What have I gotten myself into?? But, he still occasionally has trouble when adding movement or a dumbbell into the equation. So, helping him with his form under those circumstances by putting a smaller jump just on either side of the high bar.

Diet Update:
1. Moved up to 3T of Corn Oil per day per dog
2. Recovery drink is 1 scoop Revive + 1 cup Sugar in 1 liter of water. Each dog gets 200 ml mixed with other goodies (meat, egg, oatmeal, pemmikan, corn oil, etc.) after exercise. They usually get this in the morning, since it has been so hot in the evenings. They both clean their bowls with this. It took them a day or two to get used to it, especially when I started adding Sugar to the mix, but it is a big hit. They wait for me with great anticipation. This may sound normal, but it's not unheard of for either of these two to prefer a ball to a meal.
3. Still waiting to get the recommendations from Auburn regarding dietary ingredients. I am starting to compile a list using other references, just in case. It may be easier to get Jay to respond to my list than to provide one of his own or from Dr. Gillette's documents.
4. Overall, the dogs are looking GREAT and acting like they feel GREAT, too. Tor's coat is developing more shine than I have previously seen on it. His coat is quite coarse, so I just thought it was the texture. I was wrong. Gata's coat still looks a little rough from me stripping it too much. But her eyes and personality are even brighter than usual. I can't really explain it, but I feel their energy level and overall vitality increasing.