Agility and not so charming herding behavior
We have some issues that I'm not certain how to manage. Help! Charm gets so excited during the running portion of standard or jumpers that she begins to herd, jump all over me, and we both lose focus. I've tried walking briskly to lessen her urge, flat out running to keep her more in tune to the course, and scolding to keep her off of me. Yesterday, we were thirteen obstacles into the standard course, and the judge whistled us off. She said "we cannot have that degree of biting". Mind you, she hadn't touched me with her teeth, but air snapping and loudly mouthing. I'm sure it looked worse to the judge. (Wish we could have finished the last three jumps though, only had two faults, I could smell the finish line)  I thought about this the whole way home. Not discouraged but each run gets less improved and more about keeping her from bouncing all over. Charm does get too excited if I uncrate her too early, and begins to bark excitedly. So we keep her quiet till the last second before the run. We have tried getting her out to acclimate before the run, but just intensifies her excitement. She won't even keep her start stay, which is awesome by the way  Anyone else have a similar problem in the beginning stages? Our trainer feels that it is novice behavior and she will settle into her role with more experience. In the meantime, is there anything that I can do to help? Thank you for any guidance. |
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| I've had this problem before with Mady and I have it now with Gracie. They just get so hyper-super-excited they spin around barking at me. My trainer says I should just stop, make her sit and calm her down, without much talking (or yelling!) It worked with Mady, and I'm hoping it will work with Gracie.. |
| Thanks David. I'm certain it's the herding instinct and saw some other breeds exhibiting similar behavior. If Mady and Gracie can respond to that maneuver, Charm should too. She does so beautifully otherwise, and loves it so much. I'm thinking of just running with her and when she gets excited, cue her to "settle" and reward her till it's routine. What do you think, sounds similar to your approach? |
| Yes, Brenda, try various other fun activities that you can stop when "Jaws" begins acting up. Eventually the pea brain figures out, biting/barking ends the fun, boohoo. Don't want to waste agility by having to walk out due to hyper-dog. Is there an agility play park in your area. Here dog parks are getting agility equipment that dogs and owners can play around. Saves on entry fees for training. |
Thanks Susan, that's a great idea too. We do have a park with a few agility pieces. I'll look into it now that the weather is cooler. She should like that and will probably duplicate her "enthusiasm"  |
We don't have agility equipment in our parks  |
| Fairly new concept. Some items wouldn't do well in the Canadian cold but surely there are things that would work for up there. Might get some fellow dog people and together start bugging those responsible for dog parks. |
| It's a mixed bag, maybe that's part of it. The downside to our agility equipment is that it isn't cordoned from the rest of the park. The other dogs can run and play with you at the same time, esp if you are treating good behavior. It soon becomes "trick or treat" But we are blessed to have our park, and I've met some nice dogs. |
| Yes, same here. Trying to find a time when others are not present is tough. Still working on emotion control ( ) is worth the effort. It's fine to be emotional, just don't play "snapper." Always a muzzle for training. |
| Might work, might not. When she starts the nipping and jumping, stop and put her in a sit/stay. Wait a few seconds, start again. It may take quite a few times to get through that this is not good behavior. She is getting too excited and putting her in a sit/stay may help her get re-focused. |
| Even if you don't have all the equipment at home, working with Charm at home will give you more time than classes to work on this situation. Before doing the agility, try playing with her, running for a ball or toy, to get rid of the extra energy. Then she could be more receptive to your training to be focused on the agility. Once you feel there is an improvement at home, try a run-thru (where there IS more equiment) before doing a trial. You can judge if she is ready for another trial. |
| Thanks for all of the great advice. We have started running games to replicate the behavior and the "stop-sit-still" seems to be coming along. I'll keep you posted. |
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