shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 My calm reserved Eddie has turned into a lunatic since we introduced him to jumps and agility! He starts off enthusiastic, but after a little while starts to get so revved up that he barks and nips at the back of our legs and when we walk off on him he circles us barking and nipping At the moment I am either putting him in a drop for a minute or so (for a first offence) or taking him off the course completely and tethering him for 10 minutes or so Is there anything else I can do? I am also practising running with him, and praising and treating for runs which don't include jumping and lead biting and nipping Its really quite bizaar as he not the type to get so excited - we have always called him our Mr Serious! He seems to be twice as bad when we do jumps, just one jump with set him off going mental Here is a pic of the boy happy yesterday doing the seesaw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 He looks like he has found something he loves ... must be his way of telling you to move faster and lets do some more Definately a very cute boy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 (edited) lol yep he is definitely being a brat and telling me he loves it, just wish he wasn't quite so enthusiastic about it! Its funny/strange too that he follows me around, when you would think he would stay near the equipment cos thats what he loves? I'm not quite sure what it is he thinks he wants me to do? Though its probably just because of all the focus work we do Guess its better than him running the equipment on his own! Edited October 16, 2006 by shoemonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peibe Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 LOL, should not laugh, but sounds like Mr Serious is a hoot My boy also gets over excited at jumping, nothing else just the jumps. I find if my OH does it instead of me he does not nip me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 mmmm Mr Serious is a Serious pain in the butt! Completely undermotivated at obedience and over motivated at agility! I had OH run him a few times yesterday, he still nips and barks, though possible not as much, but I don't know if its because OH is a novelty cos he doesn't train him I did a few runs yesterday when I started off heeling normal pace then pciked it up til we were running and he was quite good, I guess it will just take a bit of practise for him to realise the nipping isn't going to get him anywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Barking and nipping often happens when the dog isn't getting clear enough direction, it can be a frustration thing ... make sure you get your foundation work in, where you learn to work with each other as a team and read each other's body language ... the Greg Derrett foundation DVD is a great start - well both GD DVDs are excellent. Otherwise as you are doing sounds like a good approach. But do make sure you are doing your part of the partnership, that is, training him to understand your direction, and giving him clear direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 lol yep he is definitely being a brat and telling me he loves it, just wish he wasn't quite so enthusiastic about it!Its funny/strange too that he follows me around, when you would think he would stay near the equipment cos thats what he loves? I'm not quite sure what it is he thinks he wants me to do? Though its probably just because of all the focus work we do Guess its better than him running the equipment on his own! he's probably waiting for you to do the jumps with him :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheres my rock Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 your dogs not psycho though i do agree he prbbaaly needs a lot more foundation work and less course time at present Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 If he's undermotivated at obediance, what about using the agility course as a reward for the obedience part?? I did it with my "can't be fagged , OH there's a dog to get aggro with" boy and he learnt after two weeks that he got the agility course as a reward. Worth a try, maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 lol yeah maybe he does want me to do it with him How do I do foundation jumping when just getting him to jump one jump from a sit stay makes him go stupid? He will do different parts of the course no problems, it seems to be the jumps and the weavers that really get him going I have watxhed a couple of agility dvd's (Stella which ones were they again???) and they were good, but don't really go into dogs that are too excited, more into dogs that aren't motivated enough Alpha, I've just started doing heeling off to the side of the agility ring and it is going well!! I don't really ever do more than 2 pieces of equipment at a time, and more often than not only one piece at a time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiera Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Lovely dog ! Not being negative but can I ask why the lead is between the dogs legs and attached to a chain martingale ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 I wondered if anyone would ask about the lead when I put the pic up, he wouldn't normally have the lead unless I was holding it, but he does have his normally have the collar on I didn't think the martingale could be a problem, only that a check chain would be unsafe? If I'm wrong I will change his collar, but the instructor never said anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiera Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Agility rules are flat collar only. I'd be worried about the eye of the martingale getting caught on equipment and potentially choking or giving him a neck injury. I'm surprised you instructor hasn't said anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Oh ok, I didn't think of that - only thought check chains were out cos they could strangle them Thanks for letting me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 (edited) Foundation work typically includes a whole bunch of really useful stuff that will help you get around an agility course, but which doesn't include equipment. As well as some stuff on things like contact planks, wobble boards, and so on. ETA: I'd be extending on the "heeling" work and including circles, post turns and front crosses, working up to both of you running in sync but with no agility equipment - great for working out body language for coursework but without equipment so that you can concentrate on working as a team without having to worry about extras. Edited October 16, 2006 by sidoney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 (edited) And the dvd's you mentioned above focus mainly on foundation work? I will google it The dvd's I watched were mainly teaching them the actual equipment, and not so much on the direction Actually one that I watched was more on equipment but the first one I watched was Great dog shame about the handler and it was good with foundation work - but cos I watched it before we started it didn't make as much sense as if I'd watched it now I guess! (I only remembered what it was called because I googled Greg Derret, I will have to borrow it again) Edited October 16, 2006 by shoemonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Just read your edit too, I will start adding those into our heeling and running practise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 "Great dog" is the second Greg Derrett DVD - the foundation one is the first one - get that if at all possible, you will find it very very useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Cool, I will Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 (edited) BTW as you progress rewatch "great dog..", I've been to a couple of Greg Derrett camps and really like his way of handling, it works very well for us. Note that something he, Susan Garrett and some others worked out after using the methods for a while, and not specifically referred to in the video (as it came later), is that their younger dogs were better than their older ones, and that these dogs were cueing where to go from the handler's position on course - they are calling it "positional handling" - so be very aware of the "do your turn as close as possible to the next obstacle" principle (or somewhere along the line joining the inner wings/sides of each obstacle if you can't get that far ahead) - Greg was saying that in his opinion, handler position for the turn, relative to the obstacles, was more important than timing of the turn - since the position gives clear direction to the dog. Edited October 16, 2006 by sidoney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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