I'm okay when Lucky starts to act up. I just let him be a fool and tug on the leash. I usually stand in one position and let him "brave the storms". After he's tugged himself out, I make him sit. Then, I'll pet him. When he's freaking out, I usually shorten the lead so that even if he does tug around and sniff like crazy, he won't wander far off That reminds me, do you think eating a mint or chewing gum would help ease his worries? I remember that in the show ring, you're often recommended to eat a few mints before you enter the ring because the dog can sense your tension. I forgot about the Alpha thing...Thanks for reminding me!

See, the problem is we live 2 miles away from any decently busy place. The roads here are quiet like heck. I think a total of five cars pass our house daily. So in order to work on his anxiety, we'd have to drive 5 minutes each way up and down a hill, which, last time, very easily shortened our car's lifespan, LOL. I really want to work on his anxiety everyday, but this neighborhood is freakishly quiet and calm.

Do you think we could start an agility class without at least 80% fixing his anxiety? Because his social anxiety transfers into separation anxiety, his Stays are non-existant. He also doesn't sit and absolutely will not go into a Down position because he often feels threatened by passing feet. But if you've tried agility without totally curing your dog's anxiety, I'd be glad to try it out. We've bought the Cautious Canine in the meantime. Have you read it?