Oh dear, Molly is the worst dog there, even worse than the very butterfly brained golden retriever. Last week was our first time and being a nervous dog I knew she'd need that time to get used to the environment. Today she was a lot happier but would not listen to me. She ran around and wouldn't come back, she tried to play with the other dogs, she was the only dog that wouldn't go through the tunnel. At one point she wouldn't even sit! The trainer was telling me how to train sit, I was mortified! I'm not taking this to seriously and she's a teenager but still, what dog won't sit! Ahhh
It took us a few months before Harley became focussed on what we were there for (agility!), she thought she was there to run riots, try and play with other dogs and try ALL of the equipment before being shown how it works! When she was waiting her turn she would try and pull me around, barked and I needed to stream feed her treats to keep her sat and quiet. But, it did get better . She now waits nicely (no barking or pulling) and after having a quick 2 second run around in the arena, calms down and focuses and training. I struggle to keep up with her so am teaching her to work away from me. As you said, Molly is still a teenager and will calm down / focus once she realises what she's there to do. I don't take it seriously either......we got for fun, to train new things and to meet other dogs and owners.
Sounds familiar! We loved a bit of agility but kind of gave it up due to a change in venue and didn't get restarted. Takes a bit to get them focused and learn the course, as well as getting used to blind tunnels and such. We found the wobble board most tricky. My friend's lab is like a bullet. She just sets him off and wanders the course to the end with him whizzing through all the obstacles. Only normally needs one walk round and a practice run. He absolutely OWNS agility!
Aw bless her, throw a lovely tasty treat in the tunnel that should do it. Charlie was like a rocket when we used to go, he would leave me eating his dust, I just couldn't keep up with him on any level, he would complete the course in seconds She will get the hang of it, everything is new and exciting, focus is the key. I hope you enjoy it. xx
Thanks that's encouraging. I was a bit short with the treats as she's had a bad tummy but will take something exciting and tasty next week
This describes me at agility perfectly. Just perfectly. Several times I left and cried in the car, swearing I'd never go back. I always went back. And I'm so glad I did, Pongo grew to really love it and it helped him focus on me out of class too. I laughed so much, played so much, and had such fun (even when tripping over my own feet and landing in the mud). Our trainer was very good. She was always very clear that the point was about the dogs having fun; keeping that in mind worked for me, and helped me keep it in perspective. Pongo was never the best in the class but ohmyword he was among the most enthusiastic! The trainer said that one of the scariest times in her life were when she was crouched at the bottom of the A-frame with a treat, and Pongo was launching himself down it at top speed towards her..... He will never win any awards, but his joy in running fastfastfast and jumpingjumpingjumping and going thrrooooooooooough the tunnel was a delight to see! We stopped going only because the venue changed and the trainer changed. If it was to start up again near me I'd be there like a shot - humiliation and all!
We have never done agility classes, but we DID play with some agility tunnels at dog school. To encourage the dog in, we got them really excited for chasing a tennis ball, then bowled it through the tunnel. It worked for Coco.
