Mr. Serious does rally novice classes

[nbrard]

Mikos had his second rally novice class last night and we are learning so much! I discovered that I can get his sits much straighter just through watching where I hold the treat when he comes in. I am looking forward to next week because we will be learning to use the box properly so that will help.

Our one difficulty at the moment is that he will not relax at class so I can't seem to get him jazzed up or to play when we do the release. Even when I try to run with him from one side of the facility to the other he won't really run and shows no excitement. There are only 5 dogs in the class and he doesn't seem concerned with any of the dogs, just seems stressed with the whole thing.

I can't complain about his effort because he is very attentive, listens well and is doing the required moves pretty good, I just wish he would get excited.
On the other hand when we got home he went crazy and did zoomies around the house like a wild man, even jumping over Brie at one point!

How do I get some of that excitement at class?

 

[corbinam]

Does he like to play with toys? Is he really food motivated?

I've seen some people get bigger treats and get the dog jazzed up by encouraging them, (using a catch phrase like "reeeeeeeeeady?!") and then tossing the treat a few feet away and running with the dog to get it. That way moving becomes positive. The faster they go, the faster they get the treat.

What excites him at home? Try to get that to carry over to class. Does he get excited when you stand up and clap your hands? Try that. I had to use Bentley's penchant for barking and herding to get him driving in agility. I push on him (he likes that) and clap my hands and allow him to jump up on me when I am trying to rile him up. I also used his natural desire to chase me as a reward.

 

[dmeyer123]

Pyper is like that during her classes. She's very guarded and serious...stressed. I think as they get more comfortable with the place, they'll relax and have more fun.

 

[Infiniti]

Nike likes to be pushed around at home, so I've taken to playing with him like that at the start line in agility class. We also do tricks he likes when waiting for our turn (spin, shake, etc), which seems to take his mind off of things.

 

[Justicemom]

One thing I have found is when I start training with a new dog is, I am a bit nervous about how they will act in public around other dogs(they do fine but I am edgy). This nervousness on my part translates to my dogs and they all have been a bit uptight at first. Couple that with the new enviornment, people, dogs etc and you have a worried dog.

First thing I do is try and relax. We don't have to be perfect in class, heck they don't even need to be excited at first. If they respond great if not I don't worry about it because it seems like the more I try to force firing them up, the more they worry. I don't know if I am explaining that right but they can tell when I am relaxed and when I am worried about them not having a good time. Ember really taught me this. I can not touch her, rev her up or push her or she stresses. It needed to come from Ember herself because she wanted to not because I did anything to excite her.

I reward attention, loose body language(wiggling, tail wagging, bouncing etc), excitement(running, moving quickly, etc) in class anytime I see it otherwise I ignore them. I randomly try different treats and note which ones get the best response. Since Birch like toys, I brought a few in my training bag and tried tugging between exercises with Birch this really loosen him up. Each week, I up the level of engagement and excitment I will reward and I reward often at first. But and here is the big but, BARKING gets you nothing! except a NRM and lost of my attention. This is super important with shelties because in rally and obedience you will lose points for barking.

Birch's first couple weeks of puppy class, he was really good but very serious. Even the instructor commented on how serious his face was. Now at 4 week, he is starting to become very exited about working, he never takes his eyes off me and his body language is very relaxed, he oftens bounces in front of me waiting for direction.

Don't worry when Mikos gets comfortable he will loosen up.

 

[nbrard]

Does he like to play with toys? Is he really food motivated?

I've seen some people get bigger treats and get the dog jazzed up by encouraging them, (using a catch phrase like "reeeeeeeeeady?!") and then tossing the treat a few feet away and running with the dog to get it. That way moving becomes positive. The faster they go, the faster they get the treat.

What excites him at home? Try to get that to carry over to class. Does he get excited when you stand up and clap your hands? Try that. I had to use Bentley's penchant for barking and herding to get him driving in agility. I push on him (he likes that) and clap my hands and allow him to jump up on me when I am trying to rile him up. I also used his natural desire to chase me as a reward.

We keep trying all the things that get him excited at home but so far we have had no luck. Not even his favourite tug has worked! We will just keep trying!

One thing I have found is when I start training with a new dog is, I am a bit nervous about how they will act in public around other dogs(they do fine but I am edgy). This nervousness on my part translates to my dogs and they all have been a bit uptight at first. Couple that with the new enviornment, people, dogs etc and you have a worried dog.

First thing I do is try and relax. We don't have to be perfect in class, heck they don't even need to be excited at first. If they respond great if not I don't worry about it because it seems like the more I try to force firing them up, the more they worry. I don't know if I am explaining that right but they can tell when I am relaxed and when I am worried about them not having a good time. Ember really taught me this. I can not touch her, rev her up or push her or she stresses. It needed to come from Ember herself because she wanted to not because I did anything to excite her.

I reward attention, loose body language(wiggling, tail wagging, bouncing etc), excitement(running, moving quickly, etc) in class anytime I see it otherwise I ignore them. I randomly try different treats and note which ones get the best response. Since Birch like toys, I brought a few in my training bag and tried tugging between exercises with Birch this really loosen him up. Each week, I up the level of engagement and excitment I will reward and I reward often at first. But and here is the big but, BARKING gets you nothing! except a NRM and lost of my attention. This is super important with shelties because in rally and obedience you will lose points for barking.

Birch's first couple weeks of puppy class, he was really good but very serious. Even the instructor commented on how serious his face was. Now at 4 week, he is starting to become very exited about working, he never takes his eyes off me and his body language is very relaxed, he oftens bounces in front of me waiting for direction.

Don't worry when Mikos gets comfortable he will loosen up.

I never thought about it but I think you might be right about Mikos getting his worry from me. I am not relaxed when I train at class because I want to make sure we get everything right so I am most likely sending out worry vibes! Our trainer is the one who tested him for his CKC Canine Good Citizen and when we did that she stopped me on our first step and said that I needed to relax and start over so that Mikos could relax. Once I did he breezed through the test with ease, so I need to do this at training.

Thanks for the feedback!