Tag Archives: agility

Creative dog training

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Yesterday it was Torque’s turn for a lesson with our trainer Dee Lulik of All Fours Dog Training. She’s an amazing trainer. I’ve never seen her stumped when presented with a dog issue. She finds creative, positive ways to deal with any issue we’ve ever had.

So I went in to the lesson yesterday with the plea “Torque’s got this weird thing going on, so I must be doing something wrong. Please fix me!” Generally speaking, I take the blame when something’s going on with my dogs. And I’m generally right.

Torque’s been learning to walk on things, climb over things, encounter things, and generally work and play arou90915_torque_officend unusual textures, sounds, heights, motions, etc., so that he’ll be unfazed by all the sights, sounds, movements, etc. that he’ll encounter in obedience, rally, and agility competition. We want him to play and have a good time wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, including being obedient.

So we have these inflatable, squishy things that Torque’s been climbing on forever. He loves them, he’ll play tug on top of them, he’ll turn around, sit, lie down, etc. Completely calm and happy.

He would not, for any price (including cheese!), step foot on a solid board that rocks back and forth, three inches off the ground. It was the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen in his life. With much patience and lots of treats, I’d finally managed to get him to put two paws up on it, but the back feet were not leaving the floor. No way. Uh-uh. Not gonna happen.

Dee saw his avoidance behavior. And created a solution in the works. She put his beloved squishy thing on top of the board. So now it’s even more unstable – and yet Torque climbs right up, balances, plays, turns around, gets rewarded. Because he loves the squishy things and he understands his “job” when he sees them. We’ll transition the squishy thing off the board, when Torque’s ready to try it “naked.”

I learned the lesson. If something’s challenging, it’s worth trying. Just ask Torque.

Getting my stick-in-the-mud to play

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You know the old adage about the cobbler’s children having no shoes? Well, our case isn’t quiteTeddy in agility as bad as that – our dogs have all the “stuff” they need. But despite having a wealth of toys to choose among – Teddy doesn’t play with toys. He just doesn’t. Never has.

For most dogs, it probably wouldn’t be an issue. But as a firm believer that “work is play” and “play is work” in obedience/rally/agility training – it’s a source of frustration for me. Teddy would rather lie down and chew on a bone than join in the games of fetch/tug/wrestle with me and the other dogs. He’ll calmly watch a ball roll by and pretend it doesn’t exist.

The benefits of play/training are many – it helps build the bond with your dog, it helps him get focused on you, it heightens his energy level, it teaches him to think even while excited. But despite all the toys I’ve tried in the last five years (Teddy’s whole life), the only thing he really adores is food. Cheese, to be specific. Which he can’t eat too much of, because it upsets his stomach. It’s never easy.

So I’ve gotten creative in getting Teddy “hyped up” for training. I stick a quarter of a stick of string cheese in a sock and tie a knot in it. I’ve tried all the dog toys with pouches, and his French Bulldog (emphasis on the bulldog) jaw mows through all of them in minutes. So I buy a huge pack of cheap men’s work socks and go through about three of them per one hour class.

It’s not the first time I’ve had to get creative getting my dog to tug with me. My first Frenchie, Dax, was also a non-tugger at first. Her major turn-ons included vegetables, so I was the weird one in agility class toting the wilted celery stalks – the only thing I could get her to tug on, at first. Over time we were able to switch to actual, real tug toys and Dax became a champion tugger. But our instructor still tells our story. Our little piece of agility class immortality.

It really is about the journey

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teddyjumpingThis past weekend we competed at an agility trial – Hope (me) and Teddy, Fran and her boys, Tango and Booker.

Teddy is five years old now. He started in agility competition at 15 months old. He completed his Novice and Open titles in just a few tries (you have to “qualify” three times to get a title). And after that we’ve struggled. I’ll admit we haven’t competed very often in the last couple of years; time, money, and quite frankly, discouragement, have been factors. We’re not actually people that are used to great good fortune – we’re certainly not “lucky,” and everything achieved has been through hard work and persistence. But there comes a time when you have to assess the reward vs. investment.

Dog training – obedience, rally, and agility – are all things we do to have fun with our dogs. When it’s no longer fun, it’s probably time to evaluate your options. After we got home from the agility trial yesterday I was texting with a friend who also runs her French Bulldogs in agility. Unlike me, however, she’s achieved great things with her dogs, including several Agility Championships. She suggested I try running with Teddy in the “Preferred” class in agility – a class designed to be more user-friendly, allowing the dogs to jump four inches lower than their “Regular” class height. Teddy, who measures 11 1/2 inches at the withers, jumps at 12 inches in the “Regular” class. “Preferred” would allow him to jump at 8 inches.

It’s a logical choice to make. Should Teddy and I get into a regular rhythm and start performing well, we could go back to “Regular” class. My friend was quick to assure me that there’s “no shame” in “Preferred.” And I’ll probably try it and hope that we rediscover the joy in running agility. But somehow it feels like I’m giving up on our team.