Feeling frustrated with agility

[Birdie Wife]

Cari's quick to pick things up but there's some things in agility that she seems to just not get at all. Like not jumping up at ME all the time... I've tried putting her in a down at occasions through the course to keep her on her toes, but it's not working very well. How can I teach her more control? She gets bored during the times we're waiting for her turn, often barks at the other dogs, and by the time it's her turn she's so hyper. We went out all day on the hill yesterday and I thought that would calm her down but she was just the same that night at agility! She does follow instruction when she can see my signals though - that is, when she's not 1" from the back of my legs!!

Anyone with similar issues? Please tell me I'm not alone!

[Max X 2]

I'm no expert so hopefully Rosie or somebody else may be along soon

How long have you been training?
Are you carrying treats or a toy in your hand?   Is that what she's trying to jump up at?

As for the getting bored whilst she's waiting, I can relate to that with Harry, he just can't wait to have a go so I try to distract him whilst others are running, although obviously impossible when I'm running my other dog, this week however I did find something that seemed to quieten him down, I'd try the "watch me" etc so put him in a sit-stay & walked away & simply kept walking past him, going back on occasion to reward him & so far this has been the most successful thing at keeping him quiet & focused on me as opposed to the dog that's running

[supergirl]

Usually when we're waiting our turn I have a tennis ball that I throw up in the air (only a couple of feet in the air) for the dogs to catch - both Roly and Misha are very ball obsessed so will do this for ages.  Unfortunately it does distract other dogs so I only do it a little bit to keep their attention.  It's also the lure that I use when going around the course.

As far as the jumping up - think you just have to give it time and soon Rosie will soon get the idea of whats expected of her.  Misha used to race ahead of me but now she is starting to pay more attention and look for directions - and she's been doing it for just under two years.  Sometimes it just seems to happen suddenly and they get what you want them to do.  Just carry on rewarding her for the good stuff.

[Bluebell]

At one of my agility classes there is a dog who barks all the time, so all the others have join in  Including my vizsla who is not usually gobby
It is usually cured by a dose of very boring 'puppy press ups'  - Sit, down, sit, down, sit, down etc - they soon get the hint

[Rosie]

Barking  is difficult - is it excitement or to get attention - a lot of the time I train Spice who barks and screams whilst waiting I have a soft crate where she waits quietly and can not see the other dogs - I get her out one dog before and do some basic obendience exercises - and warm ups - that way I get time to  watch the sequence and she is calm and quiet but that is just my choice - other options are toys etc but be careful not to devalue them if you are using them as value rewards for work - ie don't just let them havbe them as it keeps them quiet - make them work for it etc

In terms of jumping up - is it jumping and grabbing or jumping to your hand for a treat
If the former she needs to know what you want earlier - give her her directions / obstacle commands a bit early trying tyo encourage her to start looking for the next piece of equipment not relying on you.  also her work on her independence to work away / ahead of you - if she like a ball start by throwing the ball ahead as she runs ahead give her a go on command as she runs past - then do it as a recall put her in a sit throw the ball and release and as she runs past you give her a go on - that way she learns to go on ahead of you and by doing so gets a reward.  If she is food orientated use a food pot as a target ahead for her to drive to.  Once it is working away from equipment put the toy etc at the end of a line of 2 or 3 jumps (having someone to help is good as they can prevent her having the toy if she goes under/round a jump) and release her down the line of jumps - again using the go one command.
If she is jumping to your hand and treat again do the above to ake her aware that the treat does not always come from you but from driving ahead sometimes - look up target training on the internet and that may help.

[JohnW]

I wouldn't worry too much about Cari's behaviour, I've noticed alot of dogs at agility, especially younger dogs getting hyper. Usually at agility there is an array of dogs and quite alot, many younger dogs that are not used to lots of dogs in one area can show signs of excitement and stress, Cari will probably calm down the more you participate in the sport. I have noticed alot of handlers will hold a toy and play tuggy while waiting to run, or will hold a treat like a piece of cheese clenched in their fist so the dog can smell it and become quite fixated on whats in their owners hand rather than barking at everything that moves. As for Jumping up at you while running, Cari doesn't know she is there to do a job, she is just having fun with her owner, however maybe some obedience training or seek advice from your tutor may help to reduce this behaviour. But first and foremost just have fun, when you get stressed about Cali she will pick up on that too and that will never help you situation...... Hope it all works out for you both.  

[Birdie Wife]

Thanks for all your very helpful replies! The barking I think is a combination of being hyper and attention - I try to distract her with a toy or just but walking round in a small circle so it breaks the cycle. I used to train with a treat in my hand but I stopped because I thought that was waht she was jumping up at. I've set up a couple of jumps on our regular walk now and I'm getting her to work further away from me by throwing a stick instead of having a treat, which works well when we are out with no distractions but somehow it's not clicking when we're actually at the class!! She does take instruction from me, but I think she's frustrated that I'm so slow and she seems to jump at me to make me go faster!!  Thanks for the encouragement, we'll keep at it and I'll try some other excercises so she knows it's never okay to jump up at anyone. Hopefully at some point it'll click... we just need to find a happy medium balancing that joyous exuberance!

[Liz Finchett]

Hi
Kera gets bored waiting for her turn at anything so when I am doing obedience or agility I do a seriesof  little tricks to keep her focused on me, beg, stand,sit, watch, catch a ball, spin left/right etc I have also built up the time between the number of tricks before she gets rewarded so she does not always expect a reward after each treat this helps with the agility as when I first started it was a reward after a few jumps / obstacles now it varies from 3 jumps to the end of the course / sequence.

Although Kera now works mainly for a ball I started her witrh a fluffy pencil case where I could put treats into it so I could also play tuggy with it

Liz

[Rosie]

Spice does not work for toys so I use either a smalltreat pot with a screw lid or a toy that is a cler tub with ends that dispense treat- Spice willchase and retireve those and get her treat from them - useful for food orientated dogs!

[WarwickshireFlyball]

One of mine gets very excited waiting for his turn and will bark etc. I do similar things to the others and make him work for treats/toys while he is waiting - he enjoys this and we can do things a little bit away from the group like much needed waits etc and then when it is his turn he is a bit more 'zoned in' 

[jla]

Spice does not work for toys so I use either a smalltreat pot with a screw lid or a toy that is a cler tub with ends that dispense treat- Spice willchase and retireve those and get her treat from them - useful for food orientated dogs!

Rosie - where did you get the tub with the ends which dispense treats?  Reah is a bit of a food monster at training rather than toy focused so it would be good to try one of these.

[Workingcocker]

Hi,

Don't get frustrated.. sounds like my perfect dog lots of drive and enthusiasm!

Both mine are excited as they think agility is the best thing ever I can distract them but they do like to hurry the others along!

Sarah x

[Lynnf]

Sounds just like our Weimaraner Zale.  I found i had to put the treats in my pocket!

We do a bit of sit, watch, right, back, whilst we are waiting our turn and this has helped alot.  As for the jumping up well i used to come home covered in bruises, my oh thought someone was beating me up! 

If Zale jumped on me i would immediately stop and turn my back on him and wait until he sat beside me before i started off again.  Though i did find it was when i took my eye off him and i got infront of him that he jumped.  So i have worked on trying to keep him beside or infront of me and always in my view and it seems to have sorted itself out.

Good luck, its hard work but great fun