BusyDog

Case Study - Nipping Agility Aussie

In October of 2005, I received the following email in response to an article that I wrote for the Aussie Times. I have shortened it a little from the original version.

Hi Allison,

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa.

I am taking this opportunity to write to you with the hope that perhaps you could give me a few pointers to try with my Aussie girl of 2 and a bit.

Since we started competing (earlier this year) I have had a problem with her jumping up at me in the ring – she does not nip when she jumps – she literally bounces off me and our rounds are an absolute nightmare. I’m actually becoming so disillusioned about continuing agility with her as I just cannot get on top of this problem. I fear that it has gone on for too long now which is such a pity as she really does have a fabulous drive, and, on those few and far between times when she does get moving and focused on the obstacles, she is a sight to behold. Sadly the other hiccup is the weave poles. At home/practice she moves steadily through the weaves but again when it comes to a trial I just cannot get her in without such a struggle which leaves me frustrated and at my wits end. I always give loads of verbal praise and clap etc. for good work and when I do this I can see how her body language changes knowing that “Mom” really liked that. If she doesn’t get something right I withhold the toy and try again … my personality is such that I cannot bring myself to be harsh .. so I will just give a uh uh etc. and try again.

My obedience coach has agreed that she does have a very dominant personality and with his help have been working hard to get the heirarchy issues under control.

Going back to your article .. in . training I alternate her rewards with food and toys. In the competition ring I have tried (on other’s advice) to leave the ring when she jumps at me or get her by the scruff and with a very stern NO, try and regain her focus, then continue which has worked sometimes. Also, I must add here that I am not expecting too much of her … my only aim/desire is to get around the course with a lovely smooth run, both of us having fun and without her trying to perch on my shoulders. After a round, however dismal, I do try and focus on the good points … like a good stay at the start … good contacts etc. but at the end of the day her jumping up at me is filling me with trepidation & I truly have to ask myself is it worth all this effort & stress, especially when I see other folk who started agility with me having exceptionally glorious rounds??

I know this is probably going to be a difficult one for you to advise on not having seen the dog and it’s personality etc. but I am hoping (very much) that perhaps you may have encountered a similar problem before and that you will be able to advise me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,
Di

My recommendation:

Unfortunately, jumping on and nipping the handler is a common problem in Aussies. I have seen it in several dogs I have had as students. In addition, my first agility dog was this way as well. The good news is that I have lots of suggestions on how to fix the problem.

Why does the dog do this?

For dogs like this, the main problem is not that the dog is jumping on the handler. It’s not that the dog is dominant or bad. The main problem is that the dog is not seeking out the obstacles and is too handler focused.

Some Aussies don’t seem to mind when they end up too close to the handler and the next obstacle isn’t obvious. The course flow stops, and they don’t mind wondering what comes next. But some Aussies get really upset when they don’t know FAR in advance what the next obstacle is. Some Aussies are very impatient and want advance notice of where to go next. When the handler doesn’t tell the dog where to go next in a timely fashion, the Aussie gets frustrated and takes his frustration out on the handler. For dogs with personalities like this, if the handler is a nanosecond late, it ruins the entire run.

This is a common problem in our breed. Some Aussies who are fast, high drive and who have a low tolerance for ambiguity are the ones that may jump on and even bite their handler if the handler is late with their commands.

How do you fix this?

Easy. But it will take a very large change to the approach in training and handling. Often dogs are trained to do an agility course by the handler telling them where to go after each obstacle. This creates a dog that is always checking in with the handler before they take any obstacles. If the handler is late telling the dog where to go, the dog may get frustrated. The dog has to wait till the handler tells them where to go next. While the dog is waiting, they come closer to the handler. Sometimes close enough to jump up and bite. Some dogs don’t like to wait for instructions. If they have to wait, they get mad and take it out on their handler.

For dogs like this, pointing out every individual obstacle is not the optimal handling method. The handling strategy should change from handler focus to obstacle focus. The dog should seek out the obstacles and perform whatever obstacle they are looking at without asking the handler for permission. It is the handler’s job to turn the dog’s head to look at the correct obstacle. The dog’s job is to just keep going and do what is in front of him. If the handler is late turning the dog’s head and the dog goes off course, it’s the handler’s fault. The dog should be allowed to keep going. The dog should not know that something has gone wrong (since it wasn’t his fault.)

Clicker training should be used for dogs like this. They should be taught to work at a distance. (They should be comfortable sending to an obstacle 20 feet away.) If the dog is not close to the handler, he can’t jump on the handler.

Use the clicker to teach the dog to send to obstacles. While you are teaching distance work, don’t run with the dog. Stand and send the dog. You want the dog to seek out the obstacle and move away from you to earn his rewards. Continue with clicker work until you can send the dog to any obstacle from 20 feet away.

Being able to send your dog from a distance is so important for dogs that are impatient. You can tell your dog where to go next, even if the obstacle is far away. Once your dog starts moving towards the obstacle, you have a lot of time to get ready for the next command. If you have to run next to your dog for each obstacle, he is close enough to have the opportunity to bark or jump on you the entire course. He’s not looking for an obstacle, he’s looking at you!

Once you have some distance on your dog, you can start working on small courses. Set up an easy course. For example a circle of jumps is a good start. The jumps should be close together in the beginning. (See ‘small circle of jumps’ course layout.) This way, the dog doesn’t have to look far for the next obstacle. Send your dog around the jumps and slowly fade into the center of the jumps, building up the distance between the two of you. If your dog misses a jump, don’t go back to correct it. Continue sending the dog around the circle. Concentrate on smooth flow, don’t worry about the obstacles. If you miss an obstacle, try harder the next time around to influence the dog to move out to the obstacle. Be sure you aren’t asking for too much distance before the dog is ready.

As the dog gets better going smoothly around the circle of jumps, you should start to move the jumps farther apart to create a larger circle. (Move the jumps a few feet out after each successful session.) You can also include a tunnel in the circle of jumps as well. (See ‘big circle of jumps’ layout.) To reduce wear and tear on your dog, you can set the jumps to a much lower height. The purpose of this exercise is to teach sending, not jumping skills.

The reason I don’t go back to correct missed jumps (when working on this type of problem) is because stopping to correct the missed jump would allow the dog to come in close to me and jump on me. I want to continue to send him forward towards obstacles. I don’t want to give him any reason to come in to me.

When rewarding your dog, you can also reinforce distance work. When sending a dog to an obstacle, you can throw a toy beyond him in the direction he is already traveling. This encourages him to continue to move away from you. In the course layout shown here, the dog is sent to one jump. As he is landing from that jump, the handler throws a ball so it lands beyond a second jump. This encourages the dog to move away from the handler to earn his reward. At first you can use the throwing of the ball as a ‘lure’ to make the dog move away from you. After a few successful performances, try to wait until the dog offers the second jump before throwing the reward.

You can also use targets with treats on them to encourage your dog to move away from you. Instead of throwing the ball, put a treat on a target beyond a jump.

The dog is not always to blame for a break down in course flow. Sometimes, when performing handling maneuvers, the handler gets in the dog’s way. Whether front crossing or rear crossing, be sure that you aren’t distracting your dog. For dogs that like to jump on their handlers, you should cross to the other side of your dog without being close to him. If you cross too close to your dog, it gives him the chance to jump on you. It also takes his focus off the obstacles and redirects it to you.

In the two ‘crossing’ examples provided, the sequence on the right shows the handler crossing very close to the dog. In this example, the closest thing to the dog is the handler, so naturally, he will focus on the handler, not the upcoming jump. The sequence on the left, shows more distance between the dog and the handler. The handler crossed to the other side of the dog AFTER the dog went ahead of the handler. This allows sufficient space between the dog and handler. The dog can remain focused on the upcoming jump and not be distracted by the handler.

An impatient Aussie is not the easiest agility partner, but with a few changes to your handling and training, the team usually can produce some fantastic fast runs. Just remember these few tips:
1. Maintain good flow on course. Never go back to fix a missed obstacle. Keep the dog constantly moving forward to the next obstacle.
2. Always train by encouraging your dog to ‘offer’ obstacles instead of waiting to be told what to do.
3. Reward your dog for moving away from you by throwing toys or using targets.
4. Be sure to use the clicker so you can pinpoint the correct behavior even though it is far away from you.
5. Be careful when executing crosses on course. Make sure that you aren’t getting in your dog’s way or diverting his attention from the obstacles towards you.

The owner of the dog also included a photo of her dog running a course. Of course, it’s just a snapshot of an entire course, but I did notice a couple things. The handler is ahead of the dog. It appears that the handler is turned a little bit towards the dog. I’m not sure what the sequence of obstacles was at this point, but if the handler always runs ahead of the dog, that might be keeping the dog from focusing on the next obstacle. (Especially, if the handler has constant eye contact with the dog.) I would recommend trying to handle from beside (laterally from a distance), or behind the dog. As the team works on distance work, they should also try to incorporate rear crosses to allow the handler to be less visible to the dog.

This dog and handler appear to be quite athletic. I think by incorporating some distance work in their training routine, they will be a very competitive team!

Update from February 20th, 2006:

Dear Ally,

I’m so happy to report that after a weekend of mostly frustrating and disappointing agility trials, Moya and I finally made a break through. It all came together in the last round of jumping. A lovely open course where I was able to get some distance between us – it was an absolutely fabulous round and so exciting to feel what I have dreamed and wanted for so long now – to run a flowing course with her. My husband said we had him on the edge of his seat … & it looked real good! Unfortunately she knocked the wing of jump 14 which was at a tight angle before the home straight – before that were the weaves (12) jump (13) also slightly angled. So with that we got 5 faults but we ended up in 2nd place!!!! It was fast, fluid and a fantastic high for me to end a long and challenging weekend. I definitely could see a vast improvement in the other rounds of agility and jumping but they were not fluid as she did jump and bark at me where she got the opportunity and the weaves are definitely a concern – just got to get our confidence up to be able to send her in from a distance. I also didn’t ask her to wait at the start – seems to work a lot better for her. Is this really a bad thing? I am probably the only handler that doesn’t get a wait at the start line!

I just cannot begin to tell you how much this round meant to me. After several negative comments from folk who have no idea how hard I have been trying to rectify my problems with her jumping up at me etc, I was so proud of her and I just hope she sensed my elation.

We’ve got another trial next weekend … will let you know how we fare there.

Ally, once again THANK YOU for your advice and help.

Kind Regards,
Di

Update from May 2, 2006

Hi Ally,

At long long last I have wonderful news for you…

Moya finally has notched up her very first qualification and with it an amazing 1st place in agility and 3rd place with a couple of faults in her jumping round over the weekend.

Her ‘starts’ are still non-existent but in both runs I managed to keep her working away from me and it was sheer magic. So, so delighted. It was the most amazing feeling watching her unleash her potential at long long last and for the very first time I felt that yes, she enjoyed herself.

Kind Regards,
Di