Would neutering improve his attention?

[Cob-Web]

Mark what would you use as high value as I wont to start agility with daisy and tips would be good  she is very food driven 

For Molo, high value rewards are livercake, tunabread, mature chedder cubes and sliced hotdog sausage - none of which he gets at any other time 

[Nicola]

I want to teach him to jump into my arms 

ooh, that'd be a good party trick!

Alfie does this to a signal command (me leaning back slightly and tapping my chest), I taught him to do it with him standing on my bed and me beside it so that if I dropped him or keeled over when he hit me we'd have a soft landing    He is flipping heavy though which is why I put it to a command and he only does it with me - 16-odd kilos of cocker smacking you in the chest isn't everyone's idea of fun  :lol

[Helen]

the trainer concerned owns/trains collies, and the only one which has a sniffing *problem* is her entire dog, hence her suggestion 

aaah.....

my response in my head when i read your first post rachel was 'only if neutering turns him into a collie....'    so bang goes that theory if she has a collie sniffer!!!!!

[debbie321]

Ben is neutered and on the agility course he did two things ................... one was watch the dog in front and copy it without me doing a thing     The other was to hoover the course 'much like a hammer head shark' so he could investigate every whiff 

On every day walks he inhales the smells of whatever has passed that way - with a helicopter like tail. He loves to sniff and I have no chance of recall if the trail is likely to lead to fox poo or a small rodent 

Neutering was the way to go with Ben and it has helped with lots of issues - but sniffing (and ignorance while doing it) is still there (it's a dog thing I guess) 

[Max X 2]

I was thinking about starting a thread - How Do I keep His Attention At Agility!!!...................& yep he's neutered.

It doesn't answer your question directly but at agility we have 2 courses set up, when we get to the 2nd one the previous owners have inevitably dropped treats  so it's a real challenge trying to get him to concentrate 
We were timed for the 1st time last week, I was later told that the course could be done in 25 seconds - It took us 1 Minute & 6 seconds!!! However I was told that we were so far round at 15 seconds & on that basis could have actually achieved the 25 seconds except Max got a whiff of something 
Got to laugh though, there's 6 in the class & 5 are spaniels so they're all the same 

[Bluebell]

Offering no answer to your question Sounds like Molo is behaving just like and normal spaniel! I would be much more interested to watch your trainers collies perform at agility amongst a flock of fluffy sheep, with or without their bits

[Cob-Web]

Offering no answer to your question Sounds like Molo is behaving just like and normal spaniel! I would be much more interested to watch your trainers collies perform at agility amongst a flock of fluffy sheep, with or without their bits

But working spaniels, and working collies, can be taught to ignore distractions......including sheep (in the case of collies) and smells (in the case of spaniels) - can you imagine if a working gundog went off on the trail of a fox during a shoot 

[Helen]

in the case of working spaniels i do feel it's because the scent of a pheasant or other game bird is far more enticing to them than a rabbit or a fox.  A lot of that is instinctual, but the gundog training focuses it....and a lot of gundogs don't make the grade. 
I know if you presented jarvis with a rabbit scent or a pheasant scent he would go for the pheasant any time, but his pheasant keen-ness at present makes him less steady than he should be so that needs to be worked on

Working cockers can be really obsessive - I see one on our walks who is totally ball obsessed and completely ignores everyone and everything except a tennis ball.  That's her 'button' (and to be honest it irritates her owner totally as she won't focus on anything else...).

Maybe you have a laid back, middle of the road boy....and there's nowt wrong with that! 

I know lots of 'failed' working collies so their behaviour cannot always be 'programmed' either.

(and what is your trainer measuring Molo's 'promise' to?  That of a collie?)

[Kimberley]

I wouldn't bother, everyone that has had there dog done at training class has commented, that it hasn't made one once of difference.

Keep your money in your pocket and keep him entire.. I would for a bitch if you are not letting her have a litter but only for reasons that my x-lab had problems latter in her years.

[PennyB]

Working cockers can be really obsessive - I see one on our walks who is totally ball obsessed and completely ignores everyone and everything except a tennis ball.  That's her 'button' (and to be honest it irritates her owner totally as she won't focus on anything else...).

Bit like a lot of collies I see on the park

[Helen]

Working cockers can be really obsessive - I see one on our walks who is totally ball obsessed and completely ignores everyone and everything except a tennis ball.  That's her 'button' (and to be honest it irritates her owner totally as she won't focus on anything else...).

Bit like a lot of collies I see on the park

yup, from one extreme to the other - would you REALLY like molo to be like this Rachel

[Top Barks]

All my three are nuetered and I think it doesn't make a jot of difference.
They like to sniff bits or no bits.
You just have to use the sniifing to your advantage.
I do this with Ollie as his major reward for attention on me is "go sniff"
Mark

Mmm, tricky to do this during agility - but I like the idea of introducing this as a reward; did you teach him the command first, Mark ?  I give Molo the "off you go" command, which releases him to go and do his own thing......

Use it at the end of a round Rachel and only let him sniff then.
build up one obstacle at a time if neccessary.
I clicked and released him with the words go sniff, i also reinforce "come away" in any split second of attention on you  during the sniff, reward with food and give the go sniff cue again.
You have to have something real high value on you when you do this to compete with the world of the smell.

Mark what would you use as high value as I wont to start agility with daisy and tips would be good   she is very food driven  

For my lot i use roast Chicken or beef and warm if possible but all dogs are different.
I have just had Bayley on the knavesmire in York and i cannot compete with the water lying on it because of all the rain.
It was too stimulating for him and He was not intersted in me one bit.
I am soooo upset that Bayley would prefer a puddle smelling of birds to me
I need to work him there more often and try and develop his self control there but it's hard as i know the reward he wants is to go sniff.
Back to the long line on there for the baylster me thinks.
Mark

[lolajays]

Maudie has been a b****r too! She goes off in her own little world sniffing around, going on the equipment as she pleases and just being totally brainless! I put it down to her hormones at the moment. She was the satr of the group and now shes the entertainment factor!!!!!

[Nicola]

in the case of working spaniels i do feel it's because the scent of a pheasant or other game bird is far more enticing to them than a rabbit or a fox. 

Alfie would only go after a fox if it had left something for him to roll in 

[Cob-Web]

Thank you for finally eliminating that little bit of self-doubt......

I don't know if I will ever compete with Molo, tbh - I am enjoying what we do each week, and in between, but sometimes don't understand what motivates Molo - who could definitely be described as a laid back, middle of the road boy 

Competing is something that the agility trainer promotes, but she isn't pushy in any way, although she does keep encouraging me to plan a trip to the mainland one weekend to get him measured "just in case"  I haven't even been to a competition, just to watch - so don't know if we would hold our own (assuming he behaves himself) or whether we would be hopelessly out of our depth......