Mym Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) ROFLOL....Meea, have a disturbingly vivid picture in my head of singing to my dog That is brilliant! So JulesP - I have worked on using the ball in our crate games to send him out to the ball on the ground. This is a variation of throwing the ball as a reward for him going over the jump. How we actually got him jumping in the first place was that we worked on transferring his love of the ball to the jump, and I have to say that this has been a big success. I had considered working on him driving more to the ball but for reasons I am yet to get, he is losing interest. My guess is that he is extremely motivated by the movement of the ball. Will let you all know how our 'sock' rope gets on. Edited August 28, 2009 by Mym Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 horses for courses I think - I don't do it - my ACD is too enthused about agility to care about tugging - if he was any more reved up he'd be psycho and my hounds are way too well mannered to do anything so uncouth as tug!! Maybe you need to find something else for your chap - the more embarrasing the better probably. I used to have a hound who got exited when I sang! Damn him. Try that at a trial At least you can sing in the ring!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) I am also interested to know that not every agility dog tugs....how important do people feel tugging is? I don't think it is really all that important. What is important is finding what turns your dog on and using that. eg: Tugging at flyball is meant to be the be all and end all - neither of my dogs tug in the ring and they are both pretty wound up in there. I think having a motivator for your dog (not just a reward for correct behaviour, something that really turns them on.) is essential. Someone once told me about a dog that loved bubbles - they got bubbles as their reward. No reason you can't be creative. BTW Mym - where do you train? Edited August 28, 2009 by Agility Dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Mym, is there any chance you are a little more self conscious at training? I know a few dogs who will tug (and do agility) with heaps of motivation at home, but not out in public. Sometimes it is the dog reacting to the environment, but often it is the handler who is unable to let loose in public as they can at home. The dog is often responding to a different energy from the handler.A way to test this is to have a game of tug with your dog at home as you normally would. Then do it again, but this time video it, with the intention of putting it on the internet for others to see. Just an idea, I may be on the wrong track, but it is something I have seen a lot in agility. I have exactly the same problem! Kaos will tug like no tomorrow at home but not anywhere else - won't even look at it at the park! I think my problem is that I am more self conscious about tugging in public, and Kaos picks up on that. So it is more my problem than his as is part of our issue with him running differently at trials to training. Nerves and self consciousness on my part. Hopefully I can overcome that. Also he knows he gets his favourite squeaky toy at the park and training. While I would like him to tug, I am happy with the fact that he likes his squeaky so at least I have a toy reward I can use at agility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 OK, here we go again. I just worked out who you are.......from your other post. You have done an AWESOME job with your boy. When I saw him the other night I just couldn't believe it was the same dog that paddled off after getting bitten by an ant last time you came. I reckon keep on doing what you are doing and the tug will transfer in time. The other thing you could try with him (something I want to do more of in your class) is some restrained recalls - that way he gets the movement (you) and then by the time he gets to you he will be hyped up enough not to worry about what was going on around him. Hope that helps. See you Tuesday. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seita Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I have trialled 3 dogs in agility and not one have I ever used any form of motivating toy etc at the start line. I've always had rock solid start line stays and really fast keen runs. I haven't trialled in a few years now but I can't see why it would be any different to 5-10 years ago when nobody did much in the way of 'razzing' a dog up before a run. I may have on occasions used exciting voice tones to stir a dog up a bit but most of the time my guys have been excited to just DO agility! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mym Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) Ah! What a small world - I know you too! (What Tony refers to is my dog's phobic nature to a lot of things...dogwalk, tunnel, then cloth tunnel...list went on) After my last visit a few months ago, I just decided to get back to really basic things. I bought Moe Strenfel's Foundation Agility and watched it about three times And we do that on a daily basis now, even if it is for five minutes. More than anything, I feel like by going back, we have redefined out communication - if that doesn't sound too out there. I really feel like it has made a difference to how I handle my dog. So are you off to Tivoli tomorrow Tony? If not - shall see you Tuesday! Oh and Seita, funny you mention the rock solid sit stays....I am finding that to be great training with both my dogs. It is almost like by sit/staying they begin to wait for the release. Like Tony said, some controlled releases would probably be fun too. Edited August 28, 2009 by Mym Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I also think that some dogs will not tug outside of home because they don't really have the value for tugging and there are more interesting things to look at. One of the most frustrating things I have to teach at school is toy release. Getting those pups to play in the first place is very painful!!! If your collie likes movement you could try attaching the tug to a bit of rope and pulling it along the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Ah! What a small world - I know you too! (What Tony refers to is my dog's phobic nature to a lot of things...dogwalk, tunnel, then cloth tunnel...list went on)After my last visit a few months ago, I just decided to get back to really basic things. I bought Moe Strenfel's Foundation Agility and watched it about three times And we do that on a daily basis now, even if it is for five minutes. More than anything, I feel like by going back, we have redefined out communication - if that doesn't sound too out there. I really feel like it has made a difference to how I handle my dog. So are you off to Tivoli tomorrow Tony? If not - shall see you Tuesday! Oh and Seita, funny you mention the rock solid sit stays....I am finding that to be great training with both my dogs. It is almost like by sit/staying they begin to wait for the release. Like Tony said, some controlled releases would probably be fun too. No, no Tivoli for me. I've been out both days every weekend for the last 2 months - REALLY need a break. I love it, but I also love being able to see the colour of the floors at home and walk through grass less than knee deep. See you on Tuesday. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I am also interested to know that not every agility dog tugs....how important do people feel tugging is? There are lots of amazing agility dogs who don't tug. I don't think it's the be all & end all, but I think you more types of rewards you have up your sleeve the better. One of my dogs would not take food as a reward for agility, she would simply turn her head away. She LOVES food & would normally take it anywhere, just not around equipment as it did not rate as highly for her as the course. I did a seminar a few years ago & the instructor recommended that I work on getting her to take food in training sessions. Her theory was that there will be some things we would work on where tug would be best, some where throwing something would be best & some where feeding from the hand would be best. It took a little while to get her to take the food, she even went through a period where she would take it but then spit it to the side , but we worked through it & now I have another way to reward my dog in agility training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 horses for courses I think - I don't do it - my ACD is too enthused about agility to care about tugging - if he was any more reved up he'd be psycho yes but you still need to be able to reward with something...that is what I use tug for, not to rev them up, but to reward the performance I want in training. There are people who use tug to rev their dogs up before a run, but it is not just for getting them revved up. Most people I know who tug before a run do so to get the dog warmed up & focussed. Tug can settle a pyscho dog and get it thinking & in tune with the handler. Tug can be great for dogs who are a bit nervous of other dogs or for dogs who are stressed by the environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mym Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Okay....just got offered the one of the socks again....think that for me to waggle the sock at my dog is up there with singing to him.... ;) Don't you just love dogs? :cool: Maybe the lesson is to reward like no one is watching you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now