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I am just an auditor and share your frustration that the people participating who are allowed to post, aren’t, because I’m sure it would be helpful for all of us to see dogs of all types work through this. That said, my young fellow is having a blast learning this even though he basically knew how to weave already. An unexpected side benefit is that it is doing more to help him get over some sound sensitivity to have the 2x2s be of such high value than the course I am taking on working with unfocused/skittish dogs, LOL. He wants to play so much he is able to tune out the distractions better!
Donna and Zephyr
I have a question about the latest assignment and don’t know if I’m supposed to respond to your post about it, on this thread, or to start a new one. Zephyr doesn’t need counterconditioning/desensitization to dogs per se – he isn’t afraid of dogs or people, even loud dogs or people – but what upsets him mightily is best described as “tone.” Dogs can be screaming their heads off in excitement right next to him and it doesn’t bother him a bit, but if a dog on the other side of the building barks aggressively at a dog walking by its crate, Zephyr gets scared. Similarly, if the handler before us is loud and giving agility commands in an angry manner, it terrifies him. And don’t even get me started about him excitedly/happily waiting to go into the ring when a large Shepherd came around the corner behind him, SCREAMED at seeing agility, and the owner responded by swatting the dog with its toy (a ball on a strap)! I am having a hard time imagining how to countercondition him to others’ behavior which shouldn’t be happening in the first place. I can’t very well ask other people please to holler at/hit their dogs, or encourage their dogs to aggress at others during my run!
A little. I know how to do a pivot, basically, but there’s no mention of when you are doing it! Should I take it to mean, as the dog’s nose is going between the poles, no matter which side you’re doing it from?
Donna
Thanks. In the meantime might you give a written description of pivoting (when we do it and how) because I don’t see a description either and would very much like to get practicing but don’t want to be doing it wrong!
DonnaI really do not want to put him on anything for anxiety because no one would describe him as an anxious dog in general, and he is not always anxious on a course. I don’t have videos of him training but I can see if I can get some today.
I am sorry, it looks like I attached the same video twice. Here’s a run where he is acting more fearful. https://youtu.be/oh__r9DkznE
Looking forward to it!
Quick question though. I see in the instructions it says not to use a clicker or a verbal marker, but it seems like in many of the videos, the handlers are marking with a “yes”? I’m not sure if that’s something that’s never desirable, only desirable sometimes, or what.
Donna (auditor)
Sorry, here is another (I think) video. He is a little less nervous of the people at this venue but a little more nervous of the teeter. https://youtu.be/uwtzP86RxTw
Hello! My name is Donna Deal, and the dog for whom I am auditing this course is Zephyr, who is a 2 YO male Eskimo/poodle/Jack/border collie mix. Zephyr is my fourth agility dog. I became involved with both agility and rescue after adopting my first border collie or BC mix, Arrow, from a shelter in 2003. In working with Arrow, I found out about Glen Highland Farm, border collie rescue, and became a frequent fosterer, evaluator, adopter and an intake coordinator for them beginning around 2004. While I have a good bit of experience with border collies and evaluating and working with the issues common to them, Zephyr is really predominantly Spitz-y – smart as a whip and quick to learn tricks, but very independent, easily environmentally distractible and not nearly as inclined to look to me as to other dogs for information about what is and what isn’t a threat to him.
You wouldn’t say he had any fears at all if you saw him at a dog park, or anywhere with his border collie “big sister,” or where he trains in agility – he is outgoing, interested and enjoys himself thoroughly. At seminars, he often will give anyone in the ring with him a quick sniff, he might stop and scan the other dogs and participants when someone comes in or out of the building or if other dogs bark, but he will get back to work quickly, and can play and think, no serious issues. At shows, it is a very mixed bag. Sometimes, particularly on our “home court,” he is happy and very little bothers him. He has a Novice FAST title and has legs in Novice Jumpers in AKC and in PI in USDAA, also some CPE legs. Unfortunately he is very easily thrown off by anything unexpected, which started at a trial where he was the only dog in his jump height, and once he knocked a bar, which rarely happens and he doesn’t like as it is, the ring crew got up and started setting bars to the next height while he was still trying to finish. He was truly freaked out that the strangers he hadn’t paid any attention to before were now walking around, and it made it worse that they then started hollering things (e.g. Close the gate!) and were trying to catch him, which I did ask them to stop doing.
The primary issue I have now is primarily that he feels the need to go inspect nearly every ring crew person who is directly in his line of sight, even if they are on the other side of the ring. It actually makes it worse if they try to prevent it by turning their back on him, he just doesn’t know what to make of someone who is doing anything other than sitting in a chair. (One surprising thing is it is much rarer for him to be distracted by the judge, even when they are calling out numbers as in FAST class – maybe because they are not usually standing directly in line with his expected path.) Most of the time this is the quick “just checking that you are not going to do anything unexpected” kind of visit, which I expect will extinguish itself once it dawns on him that they never give him treats or pet him, but if a dog starts barking in an aggressive manner, or if a handler in another ring or one right before him has used an angry tone of voice with their own dog, or someone is doing something jarringly loud like breaking down a metal crate, he starts doing so in a near panicked manner. Additionally, he has a terrible fear of one particular couple who now compete in nearly every trial we are at, to the point where I can barely get him to come out of his crate or take a treat if they are present in the same building – with their cooperation I am working on desensitizing him to them but it is a slow go, and it makes no sense to expect him to work when showing that kind of fear. I am not sure how to attach the links but I will try. https://youtu.be/uwtzP86RxTw
