Class situation -- how should I handle this?

Phebe*DD said:
This handler has a reputation of being a difficult person, and I can say that she's always come across as very self-absorbed when I've had to deal with her at trials, so I don't expect that me talking to her would have a positive result.
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I have found that a lot of people are pretty dense when it comes to their own dog's issues. Sometimes if you say something it just makes them mad, and nothing gets done about it.
 
SheepOfBlue said:
How would you recommend getting the dog to stop/reduce the behavior if you were an instructor? It might be she can be helped to help you by constructive and kind feedback. Of course the ability to do so varies by person. I know Mr Sca has gotten TERRIBLE at flyball. He is fine when dogs run, he is fine running, then after he runs he goes crazy if any other dog runs :o It is getting terrible and I would gladly take feedback on how to settle his behavior, who knows the owner might also :wink2:
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I am dealing now with Leo having similar problem and that is what we are doing. Leo has huge motion sensitivity so when dogs do obedience he is good but when it comes to agility runs- forget it, we are flying to the moon.
It seems Mr Sca once he gets revved up goes to the same place:biggrin2:
Most important trick is auto check in/ see Susanne Clothier/
You need to be able to have a relationship with your dog when your dog is asking for approval of his behavior. You do not start at flyball session, start somewhere quiet without distractions, every time pup looks at you- you reward... then go somewhere with minimal distraction- dog has a choice, either go for the distraction or turn to you for cookie, then to flyball session but far away, then closer, then rev him up...
in your case all it might take is to remove Sca out of the room, do few focus exercises, settle command and see if returning back but in quieter state of mind will be fine...
I can see lightbulb going on in Leo's brain when we have cars passing by- " shall I go after car or turn to mommy for the treat?" we finally at the point when slower moving cars at regular streets are not a problem anymore... now we need to cover highway speed and trucks:no:
as far as to class with barking dog... hmm, one agility class we are taking is right next to daycare room which is separated by thin board, sometimes noise is so defeaning I can not hear what instructor says, does not bother Che though... am sure Leo whose sensitivity to noise is much higher going to go ballistic for few sessions
 
Update -- The weather here turned very cold and all outside classes are canceled for the week. BUT, I did have a private lesson with a different instructor on Monday. She teaches an Agility Foundations class inside at the same time the Wednesday class on the field outside. When she asked me what we needed to work on this week, I told her how much sound was affecting Phebe. She said something like, "Oh yes. I remember that dog. He was driving us crazy inside, too."

Anyway, Donna gave me some good ideas on desensitizing Phebe -- really everything we already know, rewarding her for maintaining focus on me when the teeter bangs, etc. I also discovered another way to train that at home.

Phebe was with me in the kitchen when I was unloading the dishwasher and I dropped a baking pan on the floor. It was very loud and she startled. Then I put her in a sit and hit the pan with my foot, rewarding her for maintaining focus. It's a work in progress, but she understands what I want and is trying overcome her flight reaction.
 
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Maia was terrified of the teeter too, even a buja board that made noise! I had a private class do deal with that too. Basically we paired the noise with a positive. The instructor would make a slight noise, I would click and treat. She use a pot and a stick, or a buja board then we progressed to the teeter. I had Maia just walk near the teeter or the instructor while the instructor would bang the teeter down, not too close at first, and I would just click and treat. Before I knew it, she did not mind the noise anymore. Now she loves the teeter. She is still very noise sensitive and will startle and hide if she is unexpectadly frightened, but then, do we not all? :yes:
Sounds like you are on the right track with Phebe!
 
I completely understand what you're going through. Bailey is agility noise sensitive too. She gets scared by the teeter and when a fast dog runs through the tunnel, a-frame or dog walk.

I would feed Bailey as soon as I noticed a dog approaching one of these and I kept feeding her the entire time the dog was using that equipment. Then I started treating her for watching me. It really seems to be helping her. She's getting a lot better.

Phebe will get over it. You just have to desensitize her.
 
This is an issue that the Instructor should have controlled right away. When I owned Paws 'N Effect Canine Training Center, and we had a dog that barked in the crate while waiting his turn, we REMOVED the crate and dog to another area....actually to the ladies room. It is distracting to the other people and their dogs, and it escalates the anxiety of the dog barking. Dogs should settle between runs, so they can focus when on the course. It's like a kid running around and screaming, and then asking them to sit and take a test.
 
I had an issue with a motion/sound reactive dog in one of my classes. I asked the owner to remove the dog into our crate room when it reacted and, if necessary, close the door; basic removal technique. Once the dog calmed down, they could come out.

We never got very far with them because the dog would not learn to settle down. I felt really bad for the owner because when the dog would stay calm, it was VERY good and learned things quickly.
 
missjenneygirl said:
This is an issue that the Instructor should have controlled right away. When I owned Paws 'N Effect Canine Training Center, and we had a dog that barked in the crate while waiting his turn, we REMOVED the crate and dog to another area....actually to the ladies room. It is distracting to the other people and their dogs, and it escalates the anxiety of the dog barking. Dogs should settle between runs, so they can focus when on the course. It's like a kid running around and screaming, and then asking them to sit and take a test.
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I agree with you 100 percent.I did not know you owned Paws 'N Effect.I love that place.I have a trial there end of Feb.
 
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