Dogs not wanting to do agility

[take4roll10]

I too love to see people having "FUN" with their dogs and bonding but making them run an agility course when it is clear they don't like it or are stressed it is painfull to watch.This is a whole other thread so I won't comment on it anymore unless there is another thread started.

I absolutely agree with that! They really need to spend more time getting their dog comfortable in class and alone before competing.

 

[Silaria]

I have to agree with what others said. Just because the dog shuts down doesn't mean it doesn't want to do agility. There can be any number of other issues at play here; insecurity, anxiety, a medical issue or something else.

I have a yellow Lab in my Intro to Agility class currently who does not like tunnels. He is a rescue from a puppy mill who was kept in a crate too small for him with a 2nd smaller dog in the same crate. He doesn't like the confined space. HOWEVER he's doing relatively well, albeit at a slow pace, with everything else. 6 weeks into an 8 week class, the dog is just beginning to, very cautiously, offer the tunnel.

You already stated this dog is a rescue. Not knowing the situation the dog was rescued from, it's difficult to really judge why the dog is shutting down. The owner/handler is out working with the dog trying to improve it's life and confidence. That's more than I can say for the majority of dog owners out there. I applaud this handler for working with her dog.

 

[DPSheltie]

Simple answer is no. Complicated answer it depends on circumstances. Is the dog fearful in general? Does dog has physical issues? Is this sudden change? Is trainer using positive methods of training? Does dog normally shuts down as response to any stress situation? Does it have to do anything with agility or it is behavioral issue?
What I often see in pet agility classes is that handler takes no time to play with dog to arouse dog to the level of performance they want, as a result that poor animal walks, trots, barely stepping over the obstacles. Not every breed build genetically to have joy from working and not even every dog within the breed gets joy from working. Sometime it is a skill that needs to be build first and with some dogs it is harder than with others.

I'm not sure if it is really simple sometimes. Our class only has about 2 dogs (Riley and his BFF Jamie) left from the original 8 who started a year ago. Now most of them were the owners deciding that they did not feel like continuing, but there were a few interesting dogs.

One (a golden doodle) was not motivated by her owner AT ALL to play the game, so she would run off or try to play with everyone else rather than do the equipment. She would work beautifully when he actually rewarded her with her ball, but he was not consistent about encouraging her to love the class. They quit agility, and now Quinn is excelling in nose work and obedience. (Exactly the lack of owner motivation/arousal you mentioned)

The other one was a little Aussie. She was a very 'soft' dog whose owner was very gentle with (she only needed a stern look as a reprimand EVER). She was doing great in agility UNTIL we started doing more off leash work. Suddenly the dog would run and hide under a chair, or roll over and lay there completely shutting down. The owner tried everything, including some really awesome treats to get her to work even over just one fence, but nothing. She would do the jumps and go thru the tunnel with her tail wagging is she was on leash (and get super reinforced), but shut down off leash (and she was an experienced rally o dog who could perform off leash with no issues). She loved the other dogs too, so no fear issues with them or the people. They quit agility and stayed in Rally....where she will do the jump off leash with no issues????

 

[Sharon]

Agility

I have to agree with what others said. Just because the dog shuts down doesn't mean it doesn't want to do agility. There can be any number of other issues at play here; insecurity, anxiety, a medical issue or something else.

I have a yellow Lab in my Intro to Agility class currently who does not like tunnels. He is a rescue from a puppy mill who was kept in a crate too small for him with a 2nd smaller dog in the same crate. He doesn't like the confined space. HOWEVER he's doing relatively well, albeit at a slow pace, with everything else. 6 weeks into an 8 week class, the dog is just beginning to, very cautiously, offer the tunnel.

You already stated this dog is a rescue. Not knowing the situation the dog was rescued from, it's difficult to really judge why the dog is shutting down. The owner/handler is out working with the dog trying to improve it's life and confidence. That's more than I can say for the majority of dog owners out there. I applaud this handler for working with her dog.

The dog does not want to do agility.For me any dog that trots around a ring or barely runs is not enjoying themselves.They are doing it because they have no choice,The owners want them to do it.This is JMO.

 

[Chris]

I don't do agility, but I have had experience with Rally Obedience. Beckon, who is somewhat fear-aggressive and quite shy, has really come out of his shell with ring work. However, I learned his signals that he's becoming overwhelmed or worn, and then we go home.

Our show routine is for him to stay in his crate except for a walk, number of times depending on how long we're waiting. I try to keep him away from other dogs completely.
2. Shortly before we compete, I take him out a cuddle, praise, and genrally get him energized.
3. When we enter the ring, he's totally pumped -- prances like crazy! I praise him for everything and smile, laugh and make the whole event a fun fest.

In class, we try to do the same, though he is allowed to interact more with the other dogs. We try to do 2-3 rounds. But when he starts missing commands or performing them slooooowly, I laugh and say, "You're done!"

But the day I see him unhappy or reluctant to get in the car to go to class or do a show, that's the day we retire from Rally!

 

[k9kreationz]

My class on Monday there was a conversation going on about dogs not wanting to do agility.If a dog is shutting down in class and refusing obstacles wouldn't you say the dog doesnt want to do it?

I've come to learn that nothing is ever cut and dry in dog training (just like with humans). Rarely is one answer the answer for everything.

So, IMO, no. I don't believe that a dog who shuts down and refuses obstacles doesn't want to do agility. I also don't believe that slow dogs don't want to do agility either.

Sharon: Had to show you this though. It'll make you cringe. Feel free to watch all 1 second of it since I know you won't make it further,
http://youtu.be/pOdfUrCDxjY And yes, this dog enjoys doing agility, obedience, rally-o, and tracking. I doubt it enjoys doing a lot of "runs" though, hehehe.

 

[SheltieChe]

Gotta give credit to people. Sure when an agility competitior choses their next dog they try to choose well, most outgoing, bold, not sound sensitive, etc
but what happens with other puppies, those that are shy, fearful, never looking at human to communicate, dogs with behavioral issues do get adopted/bought by pet parents too and then pet owners come to realization that they want to do something with the dog...
When SAR unit or Guide for blind people chooses dogs for their programs they do lots of testing... and they know how to train...
when pet parent gets unsuitable dog for performance and they have no training skills... well we get what we get...kudos to them for trying...
It is different story when someone sucks the life out of dog by " training" them but it sounds like not the issue...

 

[Silaria]

I'm not sure if it is really simple sometimes. Our class only has about 2 dogs (Riley and his BFF Jamie) left from the original 8 who started a year ago. Now most of them were the owners deciding that they did not feel like continuing, but there were a few interesting dogs.

One (a golden doodle) was not motivated by her owner AT ALL to play the game, so she would run off or try to play with everyone else rather than do the equipment. She would work beautifully when he actually rewarded her with her ball, but he was not consistent about encouraging her to love the class. They quit agility, and now Quinn is excelling in nose work and obedience. (Exactly the lack of owner motivation/arousal you mentioned)

The other one was a little Aussie. She was a very 'soft' dog whose owner was very gentle with (she only needed a stern look as a reprimand EVER). She was doing great in agility UNTIL we started doing more off leash work. Suddenly the dog would run and hide under a chair, or roll over and lay there completely shutting down. The owner tried everything, including some really awesome treats to get her to work even over just one fence, but nothing. She would do the jumps and go thru the tunnel with her tail wagging is she was on leash (and get super reinforced), but shut down off leash (and she was an experienced rally o dog who could perform off leash with no issues). She loved the other dogs too, so no fear issues with them or the people. They quit agility and stayed in Rally....where she will do the jump off leash with no issues????

Like with everything else, I won't give a definite that 'all dogs' will love agility; no, I've seen my share of dogs who don't want anything to do with it or do it because their handler is asking them to perform even though it's not their favorite thing to do.

Why would a dog be fine off leash in Rally versus Agility, who knows. Maybe it's sounds? Maybe its atmosphere? Maybe it's that the dog doesn't enjoy the activity.

Yes, I'll agree that SOME dogs don't enjoy the sport but I will not agree that just because a dog shuts down or refuses an obstacle they don't like the it. There could be other issues, such as those we've already listed, at play.

Heck, if you watch CJ run, it would be just as easy to mark her with the same stamp Sharon is using here for 'all dogs who refuse to play'. BUT if you watch her, she grows in confidence and you can see the joy in her body language. And in training, she's so full of energy to play and interact with Glen that she even sasses him when he doesn't give her the correct instruction. We'd have missed all this joy with her if we'd have given up early on and assumed she 'didn't like' agility versus having to build her confidence.

Sorry, I can't agree, without knowing the full story behind this dog, that it simply doesn't like agility. Could it be true, sure; but it could also be true that the dog simply needs more time. Either way, let the dog and handler have their time together. The life of our companions is too short to dictate who can and can't play certain sports with their dogs.

 

[SheltieChe]

The dog does not want to do agility.For me any dog that trots around a ring or barely runs is not enjoying themselves.They are doing it because they have no choice,The owners want them to do it.This is JMO.

I agree that dog that barely trots is probably not having fun, because if there was squirrel present am sure nobody would have asked that dog to chase it twice and we all would have been amazed at a speed that dog runs...
am sure when dog is running off to play with other dogs or hide under the chair - dog does give feedback that there is no value in what he/she is asked to do.
But it is more often than not a problem of the handler, not the dog IMHO

 

[k9kreationz]

I agree that dog that barely trots is probably not having fun, because if there was squirrel present am sure nobody would have asked that dog to chase it twice and we all would have been amazed at a speed that dog runs...
am sure when dog is running off to play with other dogs or hide under the chair - dog does give feedback that there is no value in what he/she is asked to do.
But it is more often than not a problem of the handler, not the dog IMHO

I was thinking about this a lot and asking myself, is that true? For some dogs, I'd say a definite yet. But then I thought of my own dog. Koji was uber slow when we first started. Did he not want to do agility. Maybe so. He loved to do the jumps, you could see him having fun with it, but you could also see he was unsure and yes, basically trotting. At the time he also refused to do everything else and would shut down fast.

i think of Koji and how fast he is when he has the zoomies or when we're at a dog park and he's chasing after dogs (probably not the best way to play though) and I think that's why I always think he's soooooo slow in agility.

So, in the beginning, would you say, then, that Koji didn't want to do agility? Even though he was afraid of everything?
And now, would you say he still doesn't want to do agility since he doesn't run full out through a course?

I truly am curious about your thoughts because Koji could fall into this category. Am I holding him back, to a point yes, but in that same breath, he's still not running full out (as if he was chasing a squirrel).