I can’t believe it’s already been two years! I still vividly remember the moment I got a message from his breeder, Mirja Lapanja, right after finishing my late-night agility training. Four beautiful males had been born, and there was one for me! I sat in my car, and oddly, the car’s clock wasn’t working properly—it was showing my birthday, 21.10, instead of the correct date, 14.12. It might sound crazy, but I felt like it was a sign that someone very special was about to come into my life.
Tiger’s puppy days are finally behind us, and he no longer looks like his ears and legs are running in opposite directions. We’ve come to embrace his unique tail—it only wags up and down when he’s happy, though he does manage side-to-side wags during weaving, for example.
Over the past year, Tiger has made incredible progress. He’s started learning advanced agility skills and even mastered swimming! He’s finally figured out how to control his footwork in the water, moving past his earlier habit of paddling frantically with his front legs while holding his head straight up. During the August heatwave, swimming became his favourite way to burn off energy! Well, almost perfect—until one unfortunate ball toss into the lake resulted in an awkward move that injured his biceps tendon.
Thankfully, we had access to the best physio so the injury was quickly diagnosed and we began with treatment immediately. Looking back, I see this injury as a blessing in disguise. With his exercise restricted and running off-limits, I decided to get him a pulling harness to channel his natural love for pulling. The transformation in his body was incredible! Combined with the physio-prescribed fitness exercises, Tiger gained 2 kg of muscle—even though he was already quite strong before.
The most noticeable change came when he resumed jumping. Before the injury, he had a tendency to keep his head up while jumping and running. Pulling, however, requires keeping the head down, and I think this adjustment greatly improved his jumping style. Another key factor was the knowledge I gained from jumping expert Alenka Škrabec, which I incorporated into his training. For two months, we focused exclusively on single-jump skills, like soft turns and outs, and it made a significant difference. Here’s a video from just three days ago—it’s his very first sequence training since August!
Tiger has grown into such a strong, confident, and incredibly handsome dog. I guess he’s officially an adult now! My wish for him in the years ahead is simple: to keep his ever-positive mindset and continue living up to his name—Eye of the Tiger—where no challenge is too big to conquer. And, of course, to stay as healthy as possible!
