Another issue?

[k9kreationz]

Just needed to vent.

So, Koji was having issues getting up on the DW. Yup, he didn't want to go up. He was hesitating which was weird, because he did it in the beginning of class no problem. Then he went one way on it, but then refused to go up another way.

Trainer said when she sees what Koji is doing in almost every dog, it's because they're afraid of the teeter. We haven't done the teeter in 2 weeks and he hasn't seen one otherwise. WTH!

Great. So now I have a dog that fearful of going up the DW, but I've never seen him hesitate on the teeter.

I can't believe. I take time off to work on basics, and now Koji's got more issues on the DW. BTW, trainer also said she thinks he's confused about placement on the contact (down side). Great. Maybe I do need to go to a 2o2o. But yet, although he wouldn't go up, and I'd tried to get him to turn around, he'd turn around and get into a perfect 4-on. Bleah.

He's making me crazy.

On a happy note, we had a cool "birthday party" for one of the dogs and had lots of tasty treats. I made those cheese crisps that Sharon put in the recipe section, everyone loved them....um, to eat themselves and for the dogs. It was a fun night. Miko was there, he went in a tunnel, or two. And even went over a few bars (8" and lower). They're both out cold now. And it's time for me to go to bed.

Thanks for letting me vent (not that you guys really have any choice about it, lol). I figure you guys all can relate. I'm sure at one time or another, your dogs just went backwards, or at least I'm hoping they did.

 

[HopeShelties]

That reasoning is common with green dogs. I personally would think Koji has done it long enough not to be in that category, and if he's fine on it one way, it doesn't sound like that explanation is right.
Lark is my greenie and she fits more what your trainer said, though without the fear. First time the teeter was moved, she assumed it waste dogwalk and ran off the end.
Is he actually bothered by the teeter? I can't recall in your videos him having a teeter issue to lead me to think that was behind this.

 

[Silaria]

Cheryl, I went through a phase of this with Edan - with the A-Frame not the dog walk but the same behavior. It will pass, you just need to figure out how to make it fun for him again while still working on the skills he needs. Pull out some super yummy he's never had this before reward and ONLY use it on the dog walk. (We use liverwurst with CJ; she only gets it on the teeter. Its stinky, dogs go NUTS for it, and its actually cheaper than most dog treats for a 1/8 - 1/4 lb of it.)

I do agree that he has enough experience not to fit into the "afraid of teeter and translating it to dog walk" category. It may be more that you are stressing over his contact performance on the dog walk and he's picking up on your stress and general "disappointment" (for lack of a better word) that he doesn't 'get it'. Add into that any possible confusion over what his end behavior should be and you could easily get a pup that doesn't want to do it.

Instead of crossing the entire dog walk, work the end of the trick only to teach him the 2o2o properly. Have him get on the down ramp near the yellow contact and go down to his target. Work this till its about 90% perfected then slowly back up the ramp.

Yes, its a complete retrain but it may be better overall in the long run.

(By the way, one of the people in the class I'm taking had to do this with her Sheltie because he was totally out of control and leaping off all the contacts; and he's NOT her first agility Sheltie. It happens to many of us, not just you.)

 

[Hurtseverywhere]

YEP, as mentioned last week, Cosmo Got the A-frame adversion seemingly out of nowhere due to a funky& bad placement one night in class, 2 days of intense training later to get him over it enough to do a trail 3 days away, and even then he Blew it off in Gamblers with a solid refusal, even after running it 3 times successfully earlier in the day. Guess he just didn't like the placement .

It happens, the teeter, dogwalk thing that your trainer mentioned is very common, but probably not your issue if he's a teter lover, just keep training it, I am sure he will come around. Funny creatures these agility dogs.

 

[k9kreationz]

Now that I think about it. I wonder if his fear has more to do with the direction of the DW and where it's at. I say this because our DW is usually against one of two walls, always going in the same direction. If you recall, last week, he almost fell off. Remember, I said I had to grab him? It was on the DW, on that side of the wall, going in that direction.

When the DW is on the other side of the wall, going in that same direction, he has issues, because he's slipped off twice (in the past 6 months). Hmmmm....I'm seeing a pattern here.

Ugh. I hate to do it, but I think in class I may have to shape his entry more and slow him down. It seems like his back end is always slipping off the bottom edge of it, and I think that's what causing all these fears. I've never seen this happen in competition, even on non-rubberized contacts. Sigh.

Is he actually bothered by the teeter? I can't recall in your videos him having a teeter issue to lead me to think that was behind this.

In the beginning, Koji would fly off too. Couple of reasons. 1. I think he too thought it was the DW, 2. excitement and 3. I was doing running contacts.

However, he has been doing teeters for a year now in competition. And lately, his teeters have been awesome. He hits them fast, just gets past the pivot point, rides it down, bang, and stays (4-on as I want). It's been awesome. So, yes, that's why I don't think it's fear, but it just seems so odd.

I do agree that he has enough experience not to fit into the "afraid of teeter and translating it to dog walk" category. It may be more that you are stressing over his contact performance on the dog walk and he's picking up on your stress and general "disappointment" (for lack of a better word) that he doesn't 'get it'. Add into that any possible confusion over what his end behavior should be and you could easily get a pup that doesn't want to do it.

Sheri, it's his UP that we're having issues with. His down is actually going well. Not great (as everyone has stated, I should change to a 2o2o, versus a 4-on), but overall, it's going well. He stops in front of the DW and refuses to go up. Sigh. But glad I'm not the only one,

YEP, as mentioned last week, Cosmo Got the A-frame adversion seemingly out of nowhere due to a funky& bad placement one night in class, 2 days of intense training later to get him over it enough to do a trail 3 days away, and even then he Blew it off in Gamblers with a solid refusal, even after running it 3 times successfully earlier in the day. Guess he just didn't like the placement .

It happens, the teeter, dogwalk thing that your trainer mentioned is very common, but probably not your issue if he's a teter lover, just keep training it, I am sure he will come around. Funny creatures these agility dogs.

I can't say he's a teeter lover, but he doesn't seem to have an aversion to it anymore. Oh well. Next weekend I'll find out for sure. I have a STD run on Saturday.

Oh man, that sucks about the A-frame. Hope Cosmo gets past it fast!

 

[Sharon]

Koji

I wish you were here when Lo Baker did her DW> This would have been great for Koji.I am buying her dvd of contacts.