Focus is getting better

SheltieChe said:
I do not see obstacle oriented dog. Am thinking, whoever you training with is missing some info.
I see a lot of "yo, dude" attitude and not much of impulse control. As Justicemom said, try obedience and working on "mother, may I" attitude.
And I bet this behavior you are seeing not only at agility but in everyday life...
Crate games are not about liking the crate, it is about herd of wild rabbits running past said crate but if I said" sit" to my dog I expect him to sit and maintain his position...
My post is not based on criticizing you, if I was smart and videotaped my beginning agility we would look like identical twins:lol:
Dog with value for obstacles will look like that- you sit in the chair on the side gate, mention word " tunnel" and your dog starts running looking for one on agility field. Now the dog with impulse control will run and find said tunnel BUT will stop and wait for your permission to take it:razz:
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I know you intend to be helpful, but I don't think criticizing dpsheltie's instructor adds anything to the discussion.

FWIW, my advice to dpsheltie is to listen to her instructor over people on the internet, even an amateru expert like me. Her instructor has seen how this team is developing, is more familiar with how Riley and his handler learn, and is right there to provide support.

Finally, the comment about telling a dog, 'tunnel' and expecting the dog to go find a tunnel doesn't work for agility. If I tell Phebe 'tunnel', she better be in that tunnel before I finish the word. Things in agility happen much more quickly than in any other dog sport. There isn't time for a polite discussion between handler and dog, unless your intent is to make a dog slow. Impulse control is important for start lines and stopped contacts where the dog is trained to hold until released, but not for sequencing.
 
SheltieChe said:
.Dog with value for obstacles will look like that- you sit in the chair on the side gate, mention word " tunnel" and your dog starts running looking for one on agility field. Now the dog with impulse control will run and find said tunnel BUT will stop and wait for your permission to take it:razz:
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Not my dogs, if I gave them a command like "tunnel" they better be looking for a tunnel to run though ASAP. Same as any other command. Impulse control has nothing to do with it.:smile2:

Now if my dog was sitting next to me on a stay and took off for the tunnel on their own that is lack of impulse control. Diva is trained once released find the closest obstacle and do it unless I tell you not to. It is the telling them not to part( with verbal, physical, position cues etc) part which I mean obedience helps.
 
On a good day I can stand in the center of the ring and call of things like Aframe, tunnel, table, or dog walk and have him do that obstacle independently. :smile2: unfortunately good days aren't everyday!!


We do lots of obedience work.... puppy-graduate basic obedience, we started novice comp obedience classes and are starting a rally o class on Wed. Riley has 90% handler focus in class, so I'm hoping that it will eventually click over into agility. Maybe I need to wait until Riley is 3 like Diva!!!!!

Our trainer keeps saying that Riley is an awful lot like her BC and he is now awesome, so there is hope!! She is really good and definitely understands Riley (all I keep hearing is that he will be awesome when he is a little older) and apparently he's a BC in a small Sheltie package.

It's just really frustrating working so hard with him to still have the spaziest dog in class :biggrin2:
 
DPSheltie said:
.. Maybe I need to wait until Riley is 3 like Diva!!!!!
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Maybe that's the key. Maturity.:smile2: Took an awful long time to get here is Diva's case. Birch is more mature at 18 weeks than Diva was at 2yrs.:lol:

I swear in the last 6 months the rest of her brain came in the mail.
 
Focus

DPSheltie said:
On a good day I can stand in the center of the ring and call of things like Aframe, tunnel, table, or dog walk and have him do that obstacle independently. :smile2: unfortunately good days aren't everyday!!


We do lots of obedience work.... puppy-graduate basic obedience, we started novice comp obedience classes and are starting a rally o class on Wed. Riley has 90% handler focus in class, so I'm hoping that it will eventually click over into agility. Maybe I need to wait until Riley is 3 like Diva!!!!!

Our trainer keeps saying that Riley is an awful lot like her BC and he is now awesome, so there is hope!! She is really good and definitely understands Riley (all I keep hearing is that he will be awesome when he is a little older) and apparently he's a BC in a small Sheltie package.

It's just really frustrating working so hard with him to still have the spaziest dog in class :biggrin2:
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Danielle--First off he is a green baby dog and second I have to agree with what Margaret says.Listen to your teacher as she knows you and your dog best.Are you still training in Goshen and if so who is your teacher?
 
Justicemom said:
Not my dogs, if I gave them a command like "tunnel" they better be looking for a tunnel to run though ASAP. Same as any other command. Impulse control has nothing to do with it.:smile2:

Now if my dog was sitting next to me on a stay and took off for the tunnel on their own that is lack of impulse control. Diva is trained once released find the closest obstacle and do it unless I tell you not to. It is the telling them not to part( with verbal, physical, position cues etc) part which I mean obedience helps.
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I am referring to those situations when people are forced to use spelling like B-A-L-L because simple mentioning of the word sends dog into tizzy:smile2:
 
Sharon said:
Danielle--First off he is a green baby dog and second I have to agree with what Margaret says.Listen to your teacher as she knows you and your dog best.Are you still training in Goshen and if so who is your teacher?
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I am rethinking all that green baby dog stuff. Sure maturity has merit and things do change. OTOH I have seen a number of adult 3-5 year old dogs in classes who still make their own courses, backflip on jumps and run wild around the handler in circles.
It will be my observation of agility trainers, albeit finite number of them that they are in tough spot between trying to teach people what they need to know and what people actually want to do. As Zig Zagler says " The main reason for people's lack of success is giving up what they want most of all for what they want right now". People want to do sexy stuff and run courses and nobody will like teacher who will stick them at One Dumb Jump exercises class after class. As as result, we see dogs making their own fun on courses.
 
Ashley has that excellent video on One Dumb Jump exercises with recall to heel. You can probably find some references on youtube as well. Point is - your dog gives you feedback- jumping, running around in circles, checking out other obstacles is much more fun than listening to Da mama. If you dog did this behavior after one jump and you let him continue with next obstacle, guess which behavior you just reinforced? and which behavior you are going to see more and more? If you reinforce c.r.a.p you will get more c.r.a.p/ and it means Continuously Reinforced Ambiguous Performance:wink2:
And to clarify, am not trying to continue argument. Sure wish someone gave me this advise when I just started... although it is not clear to me if I would have listened then:confused2:
As Zig Zagler says “Some of us learn from other people’s mistakes and the rest of us have to be other people.” I find that I often belong to other people group, albeit am trying to change:lol:
 
I don't want to fan the flames here as everyone has had valid input. We have to remember that this is a forum. A forum is a gathering place of people from different viewpoints (and training methods!)

Anyone who posts has to analyze every bit of advice and decide for themselves whether that information is valid/worth a try or not. Danielle is capable of deciding for herself whether or not the different options or ideas are something she can try. If she values the input of her instructor, she could take these ideas to her to see what she has to say.

I only say that knowing that if I didn't listen to new ideas or internet suggestions when I was training at my previous club I would not be where I am today. Not everyone has access to a world class trainer (or even a decent one! all the time). I'm not saying that applies to the original poster, but it's something we have to remember.

I do want to agree with one thing that SheltieChe posted. I think that impulse control is a very important part of agility. And coming from me, that's saying something, since Lexi has very little herself. If I send Lexi into a tunnel and stand at the exit (no motion, no verbal, no outstretched arm) she should NOT take a jump in front of me. I have not given her permission to take that jump. This goes right back to the extension recall to heel position that Linda Mecklenburg created (and the exercise that I suggested to Danielle). Even if in extension, the dog should not blast past the owner and assume they know the direction/next obstacle.

Of course, as with everything, there is a fine line. If I am running towards a tunnel, or am giving my dog a cue, then that is different. All dogs have different commitment points, so this changes for every dog.
 
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