Advice needed - A Frame woes

[bella15]

Tess has only been doing Agility for a short time so I know she has lots of time to learn and get better at doing Agility.The main problem  at the moment is with the A frame.The first time we tried the A frame (not at full height) she only put her front paws on the touch points and refused to go any higher.The following week she went up and over the  A frame twice -thought I had cracked it.The trainer then went away on holiday so we missed a week,when we went back she reverted to her front paws only on the touch points.So the trainer had me lift her onto the boards just above the touch points and get her to sit & wait there .She seems to be the only one to be  doing it this way,everyone elses dogs seem to be coping fine with doing the frame -how can I get her to be more at ease,,as I 'm sure some of it must be me worrying when she does not do it.

[Becky and Wilson]

My girl Paisley was scared of the A-Frame for a while, refused to go up it and we had to resort to lifting her halfway up it and then she would walk down to the contact section for a treat!  We managed to get her up and over on the same lesson but then went back to square one the following week for a while until she really got it and felt safe on it!  Now she LOVES it and it is quite hard to call her off it on courses when it's a trap! 

Don't worry about her not being as keen on the A-Frame as the others, you'll probably come across other things in the future that she loves but the other dogs aren't as keen on!  They all learn at different rates!

[Jessie_Pup]

When I used to do agility with my two,  with nervous dogs they used to start with the A-frame almost flat on the floor and take them over, then slowly raise it higher as they became used to it.

[Becky and Wilson]

When I used to do agility with my two,  with nervous dogs they used to start with the A-frame almost flat on the floor and take them over, then slowly raise it higher as they became used to it.

Yes that's also an option, our club does this with the dog walk to get them used to walking over that type of surface.

[Rosie]

One option may be if you have a couple of steps in the back garden - step out the back door - is to make a small ramp out of it and lure with treats till she runs up and down it confidently.

Also I would ask if you can do any one to one time and have the A frame lowered to a height where she is happy to run over it - evenb if it is nearly on the floor - lots of praise and reward for all attempts to go up and down whatever the height and she will grow in confidence.  You could lift her on at various heights and ask her to run down but I would be reluctant to drag / force her up the A Frame she needs to feel confident to do it in her own time.

You could also make a mini A frame - well two ramps and practice running her over them at low heights to build her confidence.

Good luck

Rosie

[mcphee]

Rufus was a natural climber so did A frame ok. However, I knew when he had an "ouch" ( a pain in his leg/hip) as he would refuse. You might want to check her legs are ok if it continues. Several dogs in our class like the a frame the least. I suppose it is like gymnasts, they all have their favourite piece of equipment.

[Lumi]

Our trainer didn't let us go up the A frame for a few weeks. We started off just at the bottom, getting the contact right. She said we could practise at home on steps and get Dyl to just pause with his back legs on the step and his front legs on the ground, to get used to being at that angle. Once he was used to that, we'd go over the A frame with a lead...if that's of any help...

[mcphee]

We went over the A frame after a few weeks, when our dogs were confident on the jumps and tunnels and tyre and started with the dog walk. We had two leads, one each side and the trainer  took the other one. Some dogs took several weeks to be able to do it on their own. Rufus was a natural climber, and just wasn't too concerned with the contact points. Different trainers have different techniques. Our class has separate trainers for day courses. It helps because you can then find out which is the best command for your dog, and how best to approach the A frame, with different combinations of equipment.

[bella15]

Thank you for all your advise - I am sure we will get it right one day 
Just have to keep on trying

[supergirl]

Will she follow another dog who is quite happy to go over the "A" frame.  Sometime dogs will follow a more confident dog over obstacles - I know this works for my two sometimes (they terrible copycats  )  - might be worth a try.  We do it with horses who are not so confident and get them to follow (take a lead) from another more confident horse over a jump.  Maybe if you follow a couple of metres behind, and don't give her the opportunity to think about it.  Do a few other obstables to establish that she's following the other dog without hesitation and then do the "A" frame without any hesitation.

[6thSense]

When I used to do agility with my two,  with nervous dogs they used to start with the A-frame almost flat on the floor and take them over, then slowly raise it higher as they became used to it.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Also what reward do you use at the opposite end as I use a touch pad with treats at first and then a tennis ball as reward when the release command is given. It's just that my two love the contact equipment sometimes to much as they get a yummy reward at the other end. Neither of them have ever had any probs with the contact equipment, but we did start with it low at first and on lead to stop them going wrong from the beginning. I hope that's a help.