I miss agility

[Toffee's Mom]

Silaria always asks me about the competitive side too, but honestly, I really don't think that's there anymore to an extent. Mostly because I've had to do a lot of retraining that last year or so, which meant, most of my run was spent walking off the course, not running it. I had to squash that competitive side to be able to walk off. And trust me, it wasn't easy.

I'll look up Sophia's Learn to Earn program. Interesting. Never heard of it, but always willing to read something. And yes, I do believe we're probably feeding off of each other now. I have started working with Koji again. And of course, it makes things worse (hopefully just in the beginning). If he knows "going on patrol" gets him treats, that's what he does. Once I put on the treat bag, and open the front door, he's already at attention. Ears up, tail up, body stiff and ready to attack. I hope that goes away as we work on the Look At That game. If I have no treats, he goes out more calmly. And before you ask, nope, no changes in me. He sees food, and he's "on". He knows he needs to work for it, so I think he's now associating being on patrol with food.

But like I said, hopefully this will change as all this is supposed to change how they react to things, right? It's only been a couple of weeks that I've been working on it daily. I see changes already, so it's good.

I have been carrying my treat pouch on me all day, never know when the opportunity comes to reward calm behaviour!
Spruce is reacting to Toffee's reactivity so I always ask for emergency downs, interrupting any explosions if there are god forbid people walking by for example lol
reactivity is a life long commitment to training and rewarding the GOOD behaviour, which is way more difficult to reward the quiet, calm than reacting yourself to the explosions... lol
Do I ever know about that!

 

[Sealtainn]

Koji loves agility

If you are missing it & have the interest, time, & $'s why not give it another attempt...
Good for you to be concerned about his reactivity, not everyone else acknowledges this in their dog(s) never mind takes the extra effort to address the issue.

Honestly, I've seen many reactive dogs at trials, & nothing you have described is anything that doesn't happen at almost every trial with more dogs than you can imagine.

The times I've seen Koji I've never had a concern, you've always been in control of your dog & he clearly loves running around the ring with you. I know contacts have been an issue, but, pssst: it's an issue for a lot of our dogs.

Dont take it too seriously & just have some fun with it & Koji will pay you back.

 

[k9kreationz]

Then how about just going to the shows and hanging out with people. Go volunteer at some shows. Then you get to be entertained by everyone else's dogs acting crazy

If you lived closer, I'd welcome you to come run Trax for me! I encourage anyone that wants to run him, to have at it.

As for acting crazy, Trax does the same thing sorta. Perhaps it's the Daval blood in them Trax doesn't lunge at dogs as we walk by, but he CANNOT be allowed to watch any dogs running the courses. He acts like a complete maniac. Hey that reminds me! Have you ever tried the Gentle Leader Calming Cap??? That's what I used on Trax and it worked wonders! Now we can at least sit at the start line for a couple of minutes and take treats without watching the ring too much. You should really check it out!

I think Trax would be running me. LOL.

I would go to shows, to watch or volunteer, but honestly, it makes me depressed since I can't run. And no more socializing, sorta, because I'm new here and know no one.

I did get a calming cap, at your suggestion, it seemed to help in certain things. Walking to the ring, not at all. Standing near the ring, nope leaving him in an uncovered crate, great. In the car, great. Tied up, lying on the mat.....mostly okay. So at least we know when and where he's over threshold.

I think I may join the clubs up here. Maybe get involved that way and go to local shows to help and/or work with Koji.

 

[k9kreationz]

I'll echo Ortegah- come run one of my dogs.....
and you can play with not so little puppy Jocu

and maybe you should return to some non-contact Nadac courses- they are way more fun than standard. and Nadac is always less stressful than Akc- at least for us

No, I won't get a puppy. Miko put up with Koji, and he was 9. No way I'd do that to him now. Especially now that he's worse than he was a year ago.

Can I just play with Jocu? Maybe I need to advertise myself as a surrogate handler. LOL.

I should see what is nearby with ASCA or NADAC. Unfortunately, I think everything here is far. Or if it's closer, maybe I'll finish up Koji's MXJ title. I have to see what they offer up here that isn't 2 hours away.

 

[k9kreationz]

Methinks you are asking wrong questions... it is not about what Koji likes... it is about whether Koji likes to be with you and likes to be active and have some job...

Start somewhere, do something and adjust as needed. I suggest start teaching Koji tricks, for one there is no downside to teaching tricks, two- there is plenty of free info ¨how to¨on the net, three- it is how you get your dog to value working with you more than lunging/ barking at other dogs even outside of agility course...

I don't agree. Only because I did agility with Miko when he was young. You could tell he did it for me. That he enjoyed being with me, but didn't care for agility, but wanted me to be happy. Seeing that, makes you realize when you shouldn't do something, just because the dog does it. Even with Rally, I know he did it for me. It's one reason I stopped after getting his RN title. It's humbling when you see a dog doing something for you, because they want to please you and because they love working with you.

Doing tricks is a good time to interact. But it's still agility I will miss. I'm think it's because it's more interactive. Meaning learn as much as Koji does.

 

[k9kreationz]

I have been carrying my treat pouch on me all day, never know when the opportunity comes to reward calm behaviour!
Spruce is reacting to Toffee's reactivity so I always ask for emergency downs, interrupting any explosions if there are god forbid people walking by for example lol
reactivity is a life long commitment to training and rewarding the GOOD behaviour, which is way more difficult to reward the quiet, calm than reacting yourself to the explosions... lol
Do I ever know about that!

Oh yikes. At least Koji isn't reacting to another dog that I have to walk. That's rough.

I have learned not to react...at least not getting stressed. I just walk away. But it's still not fun. And I know it's lifelong. I'm trying to really put time into this now. I said that last year, but didn't do much. I'm trying to do it now. Sigh.

 

[k9kreationz]

Koji loves agility

If you are missing it & have the interest, time, & $'s why not give it another attempt...
Good for you to be concerned about his reactivity, not everyone else acknowledges this in their dog(s) never mind takes the extra effort to address the issue.

Honestly, I've seen many reactive dogs at trials, & nothing you have described is anything that doesn't happen at almost every trial with more dogs than you can imagine.

The times I've seen Koji I've never had a concern, you've always been in control of your dog & he clearly loves running around the ring with you. I know contacts have been an issue, but, pssst: it's an issue for a lot of our dogs.

Dont take it too seriously & just have some fun with it & Koji will pay you back.

Thanks. I agree, I see a lot of reactive dogs at trials and the owners do nothing. I'm aware, and try to make the trial nice for everyone.

Okay, I admit, it's weird that you've seen us and I have no idea who you are. It feels good to hear that someone who has seen us, feels that I'm in control of my crazed reactive dog. Or at least it looks like I am, lol.

I'm starting to wonder if he was just getting frustrated with the 2o2o training. Especially when we would run Standard. He always seemed not as happy during those runs. Maybe no-contact runs would make us both happier. Or say screw the contacts and just take the NQ.

 

[dmeyer123]

I'm not sure how tall Lexi is, but unless she's 14" or under, she'll jump 16" in Proficient, 12" in Skilled. I doubt either of you are "seniors", but if you're 60 or older, or the dog is 7 or older, you can run Veteran's.

Non-jumping classes include the following: Touch N Go (has contacts), Tunnelers, Hoopers, and Weavers

No-contact classes include the following: Tunnelers (only tunnels), Hoopers (just hoops - kinda a game of strategy), Weavers (tunnels, hoops, weaves), and Jumpers (jumps and tunnels).

Here's a list of upcoming trials: http://www.nadac.com/afrm/trial-calendar.asp

They're not always close, but some may be closer to you than where I lived. LOL. Look into it. At least it's something you know she can do.

Lexi is 15 3/4". I jump her at 12", which is preferred in AKC agility. Her regular jump height would be 16". Lexi is only 5 1/2 years, but I am going to be 60 in Jan. I'm going to look into all these events. Thanks for the info. Pyper is only 14 1/2", but she has to jump 16". She has no problem with that, but I think it's asking a lot.

 

[ortegah]

I think Trax would be running me. LOL.

I would go to shows, to watch or volunteer, but honestly, it makes me depressed since I can't run. And no more socializing, sorta, because I'm new here and know no one.

I did get a calming cap, at your suggestion, it seemed to help in certain things. Walking to the ring, not at all. Standing near the ring, nope leaving him in an uncovered crate, great. In the car, great. Tied up, lying on the mat.....mostly okay. So at least we know when and where he's over threshold.

I think I may join the clubs up here. Maybe get involved that way and go to local shows to help and/or work with Koji.

How long has it been though? I would try again. You might be surprised at how he does! Trax has gotten much better with age and I bet you might have a better time at it too

 

[SheltieChe]

Lexi is 15 3/4". I jump her at 12", which is preferred in AKC agility. Her regular jump height would be 16". Lexi is only 5 1/2 years, but I am going to be 60 in Jan. I'm going to look into all these events. Thanks for the info. Pyper is only 14 1/2", but she has to jump 16". She has no problem with that, but I think it's asking a lot.

One of my buddies switched from USDAA to NADAC and could not be happier, her dogs run and run fast and happy. Some of it however totally different training
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7eG2mbD8J0