Serious obedience question - Page 5

I wake up, clean up, go to work, come home, cook, clean, check homework, get kids to bed, clean house again.....blah, blah, blah.......

Any time I have to train my dogs is "my time". I make a game of obedience and have fun. Change your frame of mind and decide to enjoy it.

Somehow my dogs know when its serious time and pull it off every time!

Xeph, where do you train? I mean do you go to a club, do you train on your own, or visit seminars?

Did watch every single video of yours to get a better idea about you and Strauss. You have a lovely musical talent there; so your brain is defenitely up to speed...lol No excuses! But you are stressing, girl, and it seems that it is about performing right. When you play the piano you tend to speed up, or "run away" like I would say. Not easy to hear in a solo, but in a duett it would stand out more.

The same pattern I see in your work with Strauss. You start out ok, and then it gets hectic, tension builds and mistakes occur. I agree with you, the tunnels did flow much better. Partial because you didnt worry about your performance. The same I could see in the group obedience, you were much much more relaxed there and you did great. And Strauss reacted to you a lot better. Watch your left shoulder, you tend to "kink" it towards Strauss, and he sits then either kinked to the left too or shows avoidance. Unintentional pressure from you. If you can, work in front of a mirror.

Now to Strauss...lol Ok, if you believe it or not, but he likes to manipulate you. Doesnt mean he is a bad guy, he just learnt that he can get away with certain things. Thats why his work is sloppy at times, even in Agility. You know why he likes it so much more? Because he is in control of the game, and the speed and running empowers him even more. The same he feels about the tug, he is tugging with you over power, and thats fun and boosts his self confidence. Something he needs as he is worried too, visible especially when you leave him (panting, nose licking, chewing, lifting one foot, looking around alot) Getting vocal in Agility is more about excitement and being confused about the signals you give.

Slow him down. He needs to adjust to the speed you want, not you to his to keep things aligned. Teach the contacts in agility, this is done with targeting. It also helps you to slow him  down and gives you a chance to better direct him to the next obstacle. It will also help him to adjust himself better torwards the next jump to get the height instead of getting flat. Teaching correct jumping is very important for a GSD, as they are "longer" then other breeds. He needs to learn how to adjust his "steps" correctly in between jumps. Very well comparable to a triple high jump sequence in horse jumping, just that the rider is responsible to judge if there should be an extra gallop step or not.

You teach that with gymnastic jumps (often 6 in a row) set at exact distance so that the dog does not take an extra step in between jumps. Sequencing is the key, not the height of the jump. Once he got it every single run right, then you start adding height, and more distance. Once he is exact on the course, then you bring in drive and speed. Makes sense?

You said you guys got your RN, congratulations to that! My boy just earned his RN last weekend, after 2 years! I know very well how frustrating things can get. My boy has severe nerve issues, which makes him frequently freak out. He can do all Rally excellent exercises, but every  run through becomes a challenge. He too enjoys agility, and has overcome a ton of fear towards the equipment. For me its more a struggle as I cant run because of a handicap, but I still enjoy it. Have you looked at the RE exercises? I admit that Novice is a little dull, but later it becomes much more interesting as it is off leash and you have many things from the regular obedience in there, like jumps, broad jump, out of motion exercises and so on. Control, team work and exactness becomes the key for a win. Oh ja, if you want to stick with the tug as reward, I would trow it, and leave the tugging to a minimum.