While you may have already been to obedience class, your dog obviously hasn't REALLY learned the basics or she would do it in distractions, including dogs running around, toys being thrown around and food being dropped right in front of her.
Many people get their dogs to obey indoors where there is little distraction, but the dogs go nuts when distractions are present. This isn't a trained dog. A truly trained dog will obey even if the world is caving in around it.
To get to this level, you need more obedience class work. Look for a trainer who is more advanced and can do more with you and your dog. Then, "proof" your dog's behaviors. Proofing is a word that means you slowly add distractions until your dog can do the behavior with any distractions present. Your trainer can teach you how to do this correctly.
Also, have your dog evaluated by a trainer. Many people also describe their dog as "not aggressive. He just goes nuts around other dogs." This behavior may not or it may be aggression. There are various forms of aggression that the average dog owner would recognize (traffic cop, fear aggression, herding aggression, etc.) "Going nuts" could be a type of aggression that would need to be handled. Only a trained professional could tell you the difference.
I have a student with a Canaan dog that is a traffic cop. She's doing very well in agility, but she does have a special type of aggression. Last week, this dog ran from it's owner over to another dog that a student had pulled from it's crate (even though I had told him not to do this). The Canaan dog ran up to the other dog and got in her face. The Canaan dog did not growl. In fact, she wagged her tail a bit. But, make no mistake, it was aggressive. The owner said, "Oh, she just wants to play." After seperating the dogs (there was no fight), I had to tell her what her dog was doing and why it wasn't "play."
Her dog was basically bullying the other dog. She was getting into the other dog's face and egging her on. This is what traffic cops do. They're aggression is subtle. Her tail wasn't really wagging. It was short, fast wags indicating high excitement and aggression. He ears were erect and her hackles were up. Her legs were stiff. It was very much an aggressive, bullying stance. Fortunately, the other dog wasn't up for a fight or one would have developed. The owner, not versed in doggie language, looked at the tail and thought, "she just wants to play."
People so often do not read dog body language correctly. I have another student with a dog with fear issues. It came to my yard with the tail tucked barking excitedly and loudly. This owner, too, didn't see the aggression in the problem. I had to point out to her all the signs that it was far aggression. She agreed, and is working with the dog.
I'm not saying your dog is or isn't aggressive. But, I am saying you'll need to get the situation looked at by a trainer before going to agility. Even if it's just over exhuberance, it's not acceptable on an agility field. The dogs are off-leash in agility and must be under complete control at all times. You get this by first going to an obedience class.
The long and short of it is, you need a lot more obedience before agility.
Could your dog do agility? Yes, she probably can. But you'll need to work hard to even reach the stage of starting agility. Get with a good obedience instructor who knows the obedience requirements of an agility dog. Then, get good control. Then, go begin agility!
To find an agility instructor near you, go to cleanrun.com. Go to the info center. Click on find a school or club in your area.
Good luck.
MACH Aslan RE, MX, MXJ, EAC, EJC, OCC, Wv-N, TN-N, TG-N, R-SN, J-SN, R2-CL, CGC, TDI, FFX-AG (five year old sheltie)
Jericho OA, NAJ, R1-MCL, CGC, FFX-AP (three year old sheltie)
Laika NAJ, CGC (nine year old retired American Eskimo)
I've been defrosted.
Bookmarks