question about agility training
However, my concern is the current curriculum in our Advanced Beginner class. Bella is bored. Each set has no more than 1 to 3 obstacles and she loses focus. She likes it fast and different. I totally agree that she has to have the fundamentals down. When we practice at home she is great at weaves, distance, jumps, everything. We get to class, she has to wait her turn, she's rooting in the grass for treats from the beginner class before us, we do the same obstacle over and over again, and she then just doesn't seem to care. If it's not really fun for her, is doing this class over again a good thing? When we originally did the first Advanced Beginner class, before I got hurt, we did lots of different things and she excelled. Oh well, I'm rambling and not really sure how to make it fun for her doing the same things over and over again. Willing to listen to any input. I just want to do the right thing, and want her to have fun! |
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| Advance!!!
Sybil visits too when I bore her. If Bella only gets to practice a few obstacles at a time and then gets an entire course to herself at a trial, small wonder she "runs amok". Interestingly the main thing I hear from my instructor these days is: "believe in your dog!" I say "aha, sure" and I mean it. But you have to feel it which means proving to yourself that you both can and that means doing more challenging work that will more closely approximate trial situations. You may want to consider some private lessons for a little while if they are available. With only one dog there is no down time  And what you're working on is specifically tailored to what you and your dog need. That's what I do with Sybil. If you move her up to advanced, try working with her while other dogs are working - things like heeling, fronts, finishes, drops, tricks, whatever. Something to keep her engaged and working with you.
What makes them think you lack confidence? Kristine |
| I agree with Kristine on trying a few private lessons on handling to get the confidence. It is what we are doing and it does help.
If she is running amok and visiting during lessons she isn't focused enough on you. you may want to try some obedience work during her breaks - if not actual classes to break up the agility. we are going to a focus seminar this weekend actually, because when Marley senses that I don't know what the h I am doing she goes off exploring. so we are working on it from two sides - private handling classes for me, and focus classes for her. I would also say you aren't ready to trial if she isn't focusing on you, its an easy way to teach her habits you may spend way too much time replacing. |
I don't do agility but I do train in obedience. I ran into the same problem with Melody. I felt we needed to perfect the beginner level more & more. The instructors told me my dog was getting bored & needed some more advanced work to keep her interested. I had repeated the beginner level 3 times (I'm a virgo, so was my dog & I think that was most of the problem  ). I learned to live with the fact that it was never going to be perfect. Same thing happened when it came time to enter trials. I thought I had another year to go before we were good enough. My trainers said "Now is the time. If you qualify you will place in the ribbons". They were correct! 4 trials later we had our CD with a record of 2nd, NQ, 1st & 3rd!  Like you, I had to learn to have confidence in myself & trust my dog. So listen to your instructors & also to the advice Kristine gave you. It is right on the money! |
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