bloo vs hurdles
So...i put it uup on the lowest height (a finger tall) put bloo on lead ran up to it encouraging him..he stopped in front of it!! He jumped once then had a mad fit as he didnt want to do it!! It will take a while i think. I want to take him agility classes next year when he is 1 year old, but i think he will freak out and throw up like he did at ringcraft. He doesnt like change. Anyone out there that does sheepie agility..did your dog start off scared of it?!  I need advice..how do i make him jump?/ |
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| LOL! I'm so happy you tried. Maybe you put too much emphasis on the jump initially. Did you do it together? |
| I dont know haha... Yes i was jumping over it and bloo sat watching me!! I just went out about an hour ago to try him at it again, he did it several times, other times he ran threw it and knocked it off!! I have a wind up torch that he likes to chase aroubnd the floor, i found this worked!!! Im thinkiing about getting a childrens tunnel (like the ones that attach to play tents) as they are cheaper, and doesnt matter if he ripps it up haha.. Hes all worn out now sitting eating his jumbone lol  Its great fun  Im glad i bought it |
I have a play tunnel (and two real ones, but anyway) that the stud dog owners of my recent litter gave me as a gift for my puppies. They've had it since they were six weeks old, I think it was, and absolutely love it. The amazing thing is that though they are little sharks with paws (they DESTROYED a full size broom the other day) the tunnel does not get abused and has held up really well. It's only 18" diameter (so about 46 cm) vrs competition ones that are 24" (approx 61 cm), which didn't stop their mom from going through it (she had to almost crawl) Their aunt, not to be outdone, threw herself in there not realizing she really had to duck and promptly got stuck for a moment, which made me laugh, evil person that I am   The jump bar - you need to build a lot of value into it. Does he like cookies? If so, it's jump, treat. Treat LOW to the ground so he doesn't get in the habit of jumping whilst looking at you, which will most likely cause him to knock bars, develop a bad jumping style. You can also use a toy (not sure about the light - I've seen a few BCs who go nuts over this, but they are mainly seriously obessive-compulsive dogs and you don't want THAT). A tug toy you can play with him with after he takes the jump will work nicely, or you can throw a ball if he likes that and have him bring it back to you, should pair the jump with "good things" in his mind and make it more attractive. Otherwise most OES are going to look at the jump and go "OK, fine, YOU jump it if you like, but what's in it for ME?" Border collies, they ain't. Thank dog. This is a thinking breed, and an opinionated one at that. Kristine |
| Yeah, BC they ain't. Thank you Kristine for some suggestions. When I had a jumper, she learned by just tucking up close to me (short leash) and off we went, she had no choice. (OK, time to fess up, I started her off in the hall with a game of keep away with DH. Little obstructions in the hall for her to cross and she madly chased the ball. No way out, if she wanted the ball, she had to learn how to cross obstacles.) Then going outside, short leash, etc was easier. She knew she could jump. Would love to watch the puppies in the tunnel.....and the big a** aunt get stuck. The sooner pups are exposed to challenges, the more creative they will be later (is that a good thing????) |
Tonks and Luna loved agility from the very first class. Butt hey didn't start with jumps; their first exercise is one you can easily do at home. A regular ladder was laid on the ground, and you had to lead your dog to walk over it, stepping between each rung. The idea was that it helped your dog to be aware of where they were placing their feet, instead of just barrelling around like some of our dogs do.  Maybe this could help Bloo; its a very low stress activity, just a stroll up the length of the ladder! |
| That's all I was thinking with the hurdle, allow the dog to learn it can go over obstructions. Maybe just laying a board on the ground to start and running over it.....finger height might have been too tall. Or Sam put too much emphasis on the jump. Just go over. Ladder sounds great. |
| I will try ladders, i bought a big long tunnel today lol Bloo went through once then ran off, and he jumps the hurdle once then ran off. He wont step foot on the grass if im out there I dont make him jump or go through the tunnel just normal playing tuggy throwing ball around. (so he can have fun too) but no he ignores me and goes back inside. lol He is just 9 months turned so hes got plenty of time left to get ussed to things better.. Ive been trying to teach him some tricks today like heel inbetween legs and roll over, i used a treat to lure him around but no he just barked at me and nipped my leg! ;P He is cheeky, im just thinking ways to excercise im and occupy his mind but he wont have none of it, he would rather go to the park and run after the ball lol Time and patience maybe one day Im trying to find his strong points, bloo is just a pet but i want to do more with him later in life. He isnt a shower, he threw up at ringcraft (i didnt like it either too strict!) and hebites the lead, agility - well...he is very nervy and unsure at the moment like `hey!Whats all this an my grass!` lol Obidience is his strong point at the moment, he can sit stay lie down and watch perfectly! It will all comeIm going back to fitz soon on sunday for open classes, to improve obidience.. moms going to phone agility classes around for march april time to see if there are any places available. Will keep you updated on bloos progress lol.. tomorrow i might take a pic of the garden and all the tunnel!! Its amazing!!!  Thanks for all your advice and opinions its helped wonders! Thankyou love from sam xx |
| Remember, he's still a pup. You can't expect older dog behavior. To do agility you'll have to have good obedience skills. First things first. He has to behave under your commands or else he won't learn the tricks. You do need to get the nipping under control! He's getting too old for that. He must learn he can show excitement without using his mouth. He must learn yes, you are fun to play with but you are in control and all play stops suddenly if he does something bad. How wonderful he still enjoys playing with the ball! |
| I understand it will all come in time He is growing up now and he does need to stop the nipping, i either push him off and say firm no, or walk away. He gets super excited when visitors come or if we visit someone else, then if the visitors ignore him he settles down. This morning he was running around the garden like a mad dog! All i did was move my foot and he ran off inside back ut again back in back ot, jumped up i pushed him down he ran off again came back then stood there panting lol He is crazy 9 month old!!Bloo is etremely dog motivated if there is another dog woosh hes off..but when there are no dogs he will quiet happily chase the squeky kong tennis ball lol Thanks for all your opinions ad help!! Sam xx |
| the tunnel is great; my girls love it. But if you are going to train him to do it on your own, he needs to have a VERY solid "sit stay". Sit him at the entrance of the tunnel; tell him to STAY. Then you go to the other side, stick your head in, maybe with a treat in your hand, and make sure he sees you. Then tell him to COME, and once he's in the tunnel say TUNNEL. Give him a treat when he's on the other side, and say GOOD TUNNEL. I'll toss our tunnel out in the yard, and integrate it into our playtimes. We'll play fetch, and when they are bringing back the ball I'll shout TUNNEL! and they'll run through it with their ball on their way back to me. I'll do the same with Jumps; I think it helps them to associate the commands with fun things! |
| lol, Its a little tunnel and on the end its like a loose flairy long bit of fabric. Its called Rosewood agility range tunnel. We went to a fun day show and they had one there exactly the same, bloo loved it! But know he has his own he wont touch it, maybe its because its in his garden i dont know. Tomorrow when its light we will do that. Mom sticks her head in one end whilst i try to get him through lol Sheeepies are so funny lol I am having no luck with this hurdle, the only thing that makes him jump it is the torch, hes obsessed with the light for some reason he wont do it for anything else, he isnt a treat dog and he wont follow a treat for anything he will just sit barking till you give in loll He will sit and stay, but at the momentim just trying to get him used to some equiptment/introduce him to it so hes readyt for agility training later on. When he gets used to it and goes through a few times i will make him sit and stay then come Its so funny.I try to put the hurdle and tunnel in with playtime but he avoids at all costs.. he doesnt come off the patio step unless i kind of push him along ?? I think hes scared of it, he gave in and went through once, came out then ran in the house!! He is a strange dog lol, Im going to see if the `tail` end of the tunnel comes off, i think its the enclosed area he doesnt like.. cant wait for a sunny day tomorrow!!  |
| the tunnel with the loose fabric at one side is the chute, if I'm not mistaken. So if you are going to give him the command to use it, you'll want to say CHUTE instead of TUNNEL. The chute can be more difficult for beginners, because you can't really lure them through by waiting at the other side where they can see you. Maybe you could pin the loose fabric back, and help make it easier for Bloo? |
| I think i will do that, might make it little bit easier for him Thanks Oh yes the chute, mind went blank lol |
| Bloo has been using his tunnel today but keeps getting stuck in the shoot Im scared incase he cant get out. He has to learn to carry on then he wont get stuck. Ive tied overlaping it to make it shorter but om said, thats the length of the show tunnels he has to learn so... Hes doing great |
| Doing shorter stages in your chute is the way to go. Having him be confident is what you want. So roll all the fabric up sand just do the barrel until he is happy and fast running through it. Then have a helper roll it part way out and hold it up - have Bloo run through. Then progress to full length with a helper holding it up. Then go to full length with it barely open, then finally go to full length and on the ground. If at any point he loses confidence, back up a few steps and get him happy again. Reward with a treat or toy helps too - that will become part of his cue to help him learn he did it right! |
| Thanks so much for that advice, i never thought of rolling it up Perfect, i will definately try that one Hlove going through it but he stops half way freaks out tries to turn around and gets all tied up and stuck |
BlooBoo wrote: Thanks so much for that advice, i never thought of rolling it up Perfect, i will definately try that one Hlove going through it but he stops half way freaks out tries to turn around and gets all tied up and stuck That is what you want to avoid ever happening. Going to fast and skipping steps can ruin a dog from liking and doing well in agility. Take your time and get a solid foundation where it's fun and your dog is confident. If you don't have classes that are proper near you - please ask!! We want you and Bloo to do this safe and have fun! |
| I think the chute is a scary thing for a dog just learning. I would save that for later...He isn't even a year old yet so be aware he will be afraid of new things...Don't push it. You want him to ahve good experiences with each phase. Low jumping is good. Wait to do higher jumping until his growth plates are stable....The tunnel, well, my dogs did the same thing - running half way and turing around! Maybe have your Mum or a friend at one end and you at the end he will be coming through so you can coax him through and reward him at your end...We started with the tunnel straight and a little shorter than normal so it wasn't so scary. I LOVE how you are so involved with your dog! I know you are young. You should be thinking of a career with dogs! |
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