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Thankfully they are in different jump heights but sometimes there isn’t a ton of people who show up. Last week it was just my two girls and one other dog, so no, not a lot of time between and I felt rushed.
I just wanted to get your opinion on it, I kind of already figured what my answer should be lol.
We’ve been playing find my face and she LOVES IT! I will admit we haven’t done much lately as I’m dealing with health issues with one of my other dogs. I really think the Leash Off/Engagement on will be so beneficial for us. I do worry what happens as soon as the leash comes off and she’s loose to be feral!
Hi Tracy!
I hope you have fun at the Open 🙂
Not sure if this falls in the relm of the class….BUT how would you handle running two dogs in class, especially with a problem child? I’m overwhelmed with both of them but my options for one ring classes are limited. I’ve got 6 weeks left of this session and considering taking Probie (my 7 year old) out of class to focus on Tipsy for the next session.
Tipsy just checking in!
We had class last night after a two week break, plus she is now joining her sister so I have double the trouble 🙂
Tipsy actually did pretty well considering…At the start she was pretty distracted and taking whatever obstacle she wanted to…she only visited my instructor or left me to go to her crate where her chewie was. I used Back and Forth to get her thinking again and that seemed to work! There are people and dogs sitting around the ring with no barrier, so that’s a huge accomplishment for her. She was *mostly* quiet in her crate when I ran her sister. I did not fix any mistakes, when she ran past something we just continued on. I know it’s my fault anyway for not supporting things as I should.
I’m going to start working on package 2 things this weekend.
Sorry just watched the training recording so wanted to add more lol. That was another reason I decided not to run Tipsy at the trial this past weekend, I was so anxious over her leaving me to go visit everyone that I knew it would negatively affect both of us. And talked to my classmates last night, I guess there were some murmerings about dogs being reactive at the trial, running amok in the ring, etc. Hopefully this will all blow over by the time we’re ready to trial again, but it’s definitely holding me back.
>>Which games did you feel were easiest for her, and/or that she could respond to the best?<<
The up and down game was the easiest for her. The back and forth gave her a little too much time to focus on other things before returning back to me. I waited until the other dogs were out of the area and tried again, and we were much more successful. We also did some LAT…as long as the dogs weren’t running AND barking we were ok. Once both of those happen, her arrousal goes sky high and it’s difficult to bring back down.
I wasn’t planning on being there that long but measuring took a while, so that was on me. I was also running out of snacks so we got out of there before disaster!
I’ll try using bite for the leash. Her treat drive is much stronger and I’ve been using ‘get it’ for that much longer than the leash thing.
Good morning Tracy!
I took Tipsy to an AKC trial on Saturday that she *was* entered in but I made the executive decision to not run her. Instead she got both her 2 year measurements, played her games, and watched some dogs run agility. She thinks Shelties are SO MUCH FUN! They really get her going. She handled it pretty well, she was out for over an hour and the stimulation was too much.
I even got her to tug on her leash!! One thing I realized however, I’m using “get it”
for both the thrown treat and for striking the leash. Is that going to mess her up eventually and should I change one of the words?Good morning Tracy!!
What are the next steps…taking the show on the road? She’s doing really well with both pattern games at home. I got a fun new alligator on a wand toy that she really loves (are links allowed on here? https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Fit-Life-Wand-Alligator/dp/B0B34W49WS/ref=sr_1_37?crid=STGDJRBR3CQ7&keywords=alligator+dog+toy+on+string&qid=1698154222&sprefix=alligator+dog+toy+on+string%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-37 For dogs that don’t neccessarily like to tug) She goes nuts for this thing so I’ve been using that for the dial game. No class this week for us. We resume on the 31st.
Good morning Tracy 🙂
So I’m watching everyone else’s pattern games and their dogs don’t seem as frantic as Tipsy gets…I’m using pretty low value treats and she is hyper-arroused to eat anything. Is that normal and okay? Last night she started being focused on where the treats would be thrown next, to finally offering focus to me. I haven’t started the moving one yet. The up down game is wonderful, she caught on to that pretty quickly.
She was a GOOD GIRL last night! I crated her the whole time between runs and gave her a chewie to work on and her reactivity was down a whole bunch. She was a little distracted during some runs but she didn’t visit anyone! She came back to me after doing a little loop around the ring.
She’s still not convinced about the treat hugger…I’ll keep trying.
I am going to definitely try a crate at class tonight and see how it goes!
Lotus balls are tough with her beard….the velco gets stuck and attaches like an octopus. I do have treat huggers and can try those out instead. How would you suggest to use those….throw as a reward after good behavior?
>>Can she hold her stay and ignore people in class? That will give us a place to begin planning >>
No she sure can’t. I recently switched training schools with her as well, so she’ll have new people and new dogs to work around. I tie her to a chair while I’m walking and she stays to herself. We also deal with overarrousal when other dogs are running (she is a terrier after all lol) Barking and Lunging…nonagressive just excitement.
>>If she likes toys and can stay engaged with a toy, then FEO/NFC runs are great! If not, skip trialing for a bit and we will jump into the coursework>>
She is a foodie through and through, toys are meh at class and trials. I do a lot of snuffle mat with her though to give her something to focus on.
Tracy I’ve got a question already 🙂
Do you suggest stopping trialing all together until we get further into the coursework?
No to find my face but yes to shadow handling. However I haven’t tried it at class yet so I will do that Thursday. She loves it though!
It’s because of my handling usually 😬 she doesn’t like to be wrong and when I make a mistake or she can’t answer a question presented to her…she leaves. We are making progress though, like last night she ran to the gates to leave the ring but she didn’t! She came running back to me.
I haven’t restarted trialing at all and have no recent plans to start again until we get fairly consistent at class.
I have a question about Tipsy’s visiting.
Everyone has their $0.02 about her problems lol. When she runs off to visit ring crew…is she rehearsing the behavior each time we do it? Like if we enter trials and she does it every time, is that going to become a trained behavior? Or is she just subconsciously doing it and working on the arousal will help?
Hope this makes sense!
