need help in the obedience ring

[gsdmama]

I need the help. you do have any suggestions on how to over come my nervousness. Elsa really picked up on my nerves and she started barking mad in the ring and well we did qualify.

I got a magazine called "dog sport" and I read a article called 7 steps to improve your potential. it has helped me. i made notes and have been working on all 7 steps, but now I am worried that Elsa will bark like mad in the ring. I have been doing everything on leash, but the part where she started barking was when I took her off leash.

tia
anna

[JessicaR]

have you tried deep breathing exercises? Owning a german shepherd it will be hard to fool him they are so intuned to their owners moods. I know as guide dogs they can only be placed with confident people as any nervousness can really affect the way they work.

[Jr_K9_Expert]

How about gathering up some friends and family members and put on a little obedience trail. Should help with practice and getting your familiar to being watched.

[Shara]

I am sorry to hear you are having anxiety in the ring, I am a newbie and only been in the ring 7 times, and the thing that gets me through is these steps:

Before going in the ring, do step and sits with your dog. Step and sits gets your dog focused, if you just walk in the ring without doing this it seems they are too 'scatter brained'. Everyone I know does this like a ritual, doesnt matter if old or new handler. What you do is simply go near the entrance to the ring right before you go in and take a step and make your dog sit just like in a hault. Do at least 3.

When going to the starting position for the heel work, I talk to my lil Shara like she was a puppy. The judges get a kick out of it and it really sets the mood. You are allowed to talk to your dog up till the point where the judge asks 'are you ready' and you reply 'yes' If you are NOT ready, if your dog is not focused, you can say 'no' and reposition or tell your dog to 'watch me' or anything. It really makes her confident and she knows we are going to have fun. When I do not do this, she usually lags on the offleash and does quarky things.

The thing is to be comfortable. Tell yourself YOU paid for this its YOUR time in the ring. So dont do anything untill YOU are ready. Dont make the mistake of thinking you cannot pause before an exercise or ask questions. The judge is there and wants you to succeed.

Most important is to BREATH! Take a deep breath, throughout the exercise.

The thing I do when offleash training is to get a peice of yarn as my leash, the dog will feel offleash, but you can correct issues like barking or forging/lagging.

If you find she always barks in the ring, you will have to teach 'speak' and 'quiet' and right before you do the offleash exercise you can say 'quiet' or anything really till 'are you ready?" 'yes' part. :D

[gsdmama]

Hi and thanks for the advice. well taken and will put it to work. I found a dog group that will be having a workshop to help those just starting out in the ring or for first timers competing. I am happy that the workshop is right before her next trial on 1/30.

even at training a lot is expected of Elsa since she is the only one competing so that makes me nervous.

[lucysnewmum]

stiff gin and tonic always worked for me! (but dont breathe on the judge!);)

[Shara]

Hi and thanks for the advice. well taken and will put it to work. I found a dog group that will be having a workshop to help those just starting out in the ring or for first timers competing. I am happy that the workshop is right before her next trial on 1/30.

even at training a lot is expected of Elsa since she is the only one competing so that makes me nervous.


Its a team sport! People make mistakes just as much as the dog. You will talk to people and hear some silly mistakes they have made in the ring. Once you have been in the ring a few times you will relax, I promise!

I am glad you found a workshop, Shara and I will be back in the ring the 30th and 31st so I will be sending good vibes your way!

[Shara]

stiff gin and tonic always worked for me! (but dont breathe on the judge!);)


You crack me up!!!! What a spiffy idea...I will try that next trial...and if I get in trouble I'll blame you! mwahahhahah!!!!!!!!!!!!:p :p :p

[gsdmama]

you guys are so funny!:p thanks!

anna

[lucysnewmum]

You crack me up!!!! What a spiffy idea...I will try that next trial...and if I get in trouble I'll blame you! mwahahhahah!!!!!!!!!!!!:p :p :p

hahaha...you do that...i can take the shame!!!! lol

[gsdmama]

i'm a vodka person myself!! so a few martini's please!!!

[speedwayspringer]

GSD,

The yarn trick is a great tool to use, you still have some sort of control but the dog will think she is off leash. Are you staring at her when she starts barking off-leash???? She could be barking at your expression not so much you. Remeber to look forward when heeling and smile like you are enjoying your walk together.
My Dale was a lagger, like 10 ft behind me kinda of lagger, but my trainer started making me walk in heel postion without looking at her. I just had to relie on the fact that she was with me and keep my pace consistent. well low and behold it has worked wonders for us.
we did our training class last monday and i tripped over her doing my left turn because I"M not used to her actually heeling by my side. It has taking alot of trust and training on both our parts. now we actually move as a team she is very attentive and reads my body very well now.
We will be competing next weekend to via for her CD title, i'm hoping for high scores.
As for nerves, I always take a few minutes to watch the other classes and relax and enjoy the show, then I go and spend a few minutes warming up us as a team for our turn in the ring. I treat the heck out of her for every little thing she does correct but she never knows when the treats are coming so when we go into the ring to perform she is in the groove and then she gets the jackpot when we are done.
Suck on some peppermints before going into the ring, this takes the nervous smell away from you...yes this does work:)
Just keep practicing everyday, do 10-15 minute sessions, keep it light and fun. And the training class with a group will help. do alot of off-leash work and don't worry so much about the on leash stuff that will come natrually.

Best of luck my friend

[gsdmama]

i have a question then for all of you! my trainer said to never take her off leash. they said that when dogs are 100% on-leash then they will be 100% off leash! do you agree?
where do you work your dogs off leash?
should I work her in the yard where she starts to bark?
or the other yard where she thinks it's playtime and wants to go for a swim?

before i work her off leash should I start on leash and then leave her on leash and then let go of the leash and move her to a traffic leash and then take her completely off??

[speedwayspringer]

I will start out warming up my girls on leash so they know it is work time, then i will unclip them and work them off- leash as well, doing the same pattern of work that i did on leash. all this is done in a controlled, confined area,so if they decide to run for the hills they can't get far.

my guys are also 5yr and 3yrs old. my 1.5 yr old GSP I can now work off leash thanks to alot of recall and off-leash work in a controled area. I do alot of my field work in a fenced in area.
Recalls are my biggest thing that i work on with all of them, i know that if they were to get away from me i can bet $$$ that i can call them back to me no matter what.
GSD- if you dog is young then yes do alot of on leash work with her, let her know that barking while working is not acceptable. Do not give her any kind of reward if she starts barking, this may encougre her to keep doing it and we don't want that:(
what do you use as her "working collar"? is it different from her normal collar?

[Shara]

Oh ya, working collars vs plain collars can have a very profound effect on a working dog.

My dogs wear pinch OR a special choak, when I put it on they go into 'working mode' because I condition it. Putting on a "working" collar I first give a treat (positive) then I do a quick, "get back" (heel position) and correction. This does 2 things, makes them excited to see their work collar, but also my doxie goes straight into 'get back' position and looking up at me, because it is automatic thing after 200 times... hehe. and she will walk right beside me like glue after that.

I also just suggest right now using yarn or other light weight to get the feeling of off leash. This is so you can get corrections. Another thing is this: http://www.max200.com/max_storefront/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=172

You might want to look into this, it will make your dog focus on the armband/number band and will help out.

I have a friend that does earth dog trials with her terriers, you put a buckle collar on her dog and he wants to go ratting. Funniest thing ever...all because everytime she puts the collar on, he is sent into a tunnel to go for rats =P So collar "conditioning" is a real thing and can effect your dog in anyway you want. So use this as a positive and conditioning thing...=)

[gsdmama]

Elsa only wears a nylon collar in the house. When I walk or work with Elsa I use a pinch. I have been switching between a choke and pinch so she can get use to the choke, since you can't use a pinch in the ring. she is doing better on the choke.

i was told not to work my dogs at home, because it is their safe haven! have you heard of this? I was told to take them somewhere else to work them. But how can you teach them off leash if you can't take them off leash??

Tonight I went to a obedience workshop with a dog club. Again my nerves got the best of me. I was thinking about what happens if she starts acting up again in the ring....so as soon as she jumped up, man oh man did I correct her. not in a harsh way but a firm way to let her know that her behavior was unacceptable. then i put a 12" lead and she did fine.

she did great on her long sit and long down. The people there were very nice and helpful. The trainer did tell me that the dogs act a certain way just before they start to act up. She said that I need to figure out what Elsa's is and correct her just before she is going to act up.

on saturday there is another workshop with another dog club that I will be going to. This will be good for me.

[gsdmama]

thanks for the website. I saw this at the practice match last month and was planning on getting it. This will really help with her forging and lagging!!:)

[Shara]

I am doing the same thing with the pinch and choke since she can have the choke in the ring. Honestly I dont need the pinch on Shara anymore...now that I think about it...lol

I am glad you are going to so many workshops, I wish I was so lucky! I do think the armband will help you, I think Elsa and Tigger are on the same page when it comes to acting hyper and not in heel possition, I know how you feel.

I work my dogs in the house, its a calm familiar environment that you can train and correct to start out. Then go to unfamilar places...

Training is training...when you are training for competition, the rules are "these rules apply regardless of where you are" if you cannot controll your dog in your own house, then why would you expect him/her to listen to you in a unfamiliar place with major distractions.

Training is reptitions. Reptitions with CONSISTANCY...So I totally disagree with your trainer telling you some of the things so far...

I am training Shara on her stays by making her sit up in a comfortable spot, or lay down on an odd place such as on top of a chair, sit up in on bed, recliners...and even the counter top and kichen table (shes a doxie so I can do this hahaha...) We have conquered her shaking unconfortably...we will see if it transfers over to an unfamiliar ring...

I would not work any dog offleash near streets or open park...I go to a fenced school yard to work offleash. I would suggest finding something similar to work with Elsa, I would be scared to death of her running off for some reason. If you dont have a place like that, work in your backyard, belive me you will get plenty of opportunities for correction. Esp if they think 'this is my back yard' senario happens...hehe.

[gsdmama]

I think that is why she barks at us when we let her out to go potty. she thinks that it is her yard. i have been letting joey out first and she has to wait, then I let her out and sometimes she barks at me and sometimes she doesn't. since it rained their yard is so muddy that I let them out in another area and she doesn't bark. I can use the patio area because when she goes there she wants to run to the pool to go for a dip.

but I was told last night not to work them at home to go somewhere else to train?

i wish i had a school where i can go but they lock them up and will call the police for trespassing.

[gsdmama]

Elsa had a bad day in the beginning. I took her out in the backyard on the patio and did her off leash work. then i dropped the leash and continued to work her. I then took the leash off and had the handle hanging from my pocket. i then completely hid the leash so she couldn't see it. she did ok then she took off and was running. well at first she had to go to the bathroom. then when she was done I told her good girl and called her to me. well she took off running. i did everything i could to get her to come to me. then when she got very close up she started to bark and bare her teeth and jump and all sorts of stuff. just like what she did in the ring at her trial which got her a dq. well then hubby came out and we corraled her and her hung her up good. I then put the leash back on and took her inside. I waited about 10 mins and i took her outside and worked her on leash and the took her off leash and she did the same thing. boy when i got a hold of her i hung her up real good and corrected her and told her she was a bad girl:mad: i was mad! i then put her in a down stay on leash. hubby and i were talking about how our trainer told us to let her run around outside and let her do her thing and such. i told hubby that i can't have this and if he isn't going to help then we need to find someone who will. you can let a dog outside and as soon as it goes out to have it start barking at you like a mad women. i told hubby that if this problem doesn't get solved then i will have to pull Elsa from the trials and won't be able to compete with her. i was so sad:(. i really want to compete with her but i can't have her doing this if she does the same thing in the ring.

so anyways, i put her back on leash and walked her outside to the pool. we have the perfect pool. rectangle to work on turns and recalls and such. so i had her on leash and very time i would tell her to do something i gave her a little pop with the leash to get her attention. we did 1/4 turns, about turns, sits, downs, sit on a halt, forward, fast, slow everything. then i let go of the leash and did the exact same thing. alot of praise no treats just a lot of good girls and good job. she did fine with that. i then took off the leash and kept it in my left and we did the exact same thing. she did fine. i then hid the leash in my pocket and did this while we were doing a turn so she couldn't see the lead anymore. i worked on close recalls and finishes and she did great! i ended it on a good happy note!:D

i called hubby to tell him what i did and how she did. i also told him that since i work with her most often that HE needs to work with her too since all this barking and nonsense actually started with him. so starting tomorrow we are going to work her together. he will work with her while i call out the commands.

how can you tell a dog owner to ignore their dog while it runs and barks and acts all crazy like in the yard??

[Shara]

First, you need to let Elsa out to go do her bussiness before starting any work.

No Else should not be doing this behavior. It is saying LOOK AT ME DO WHAT I WANT TO DO, LETS PLAY...

For Tigger, I grab his muzzle, and spin him around, then lift him up by the collar/muzzle till he calms down. I tell him 'KNOCK IT OFF' in a stern momma tone. This works on agression issues as well.

What I think you need to do is put Elsa on heel position, take one step with her watching you, stop and treat from mouth. Do this 5 times, one step halts. Then go to 2 steps and hault. Elsa does not have attention down, and I feel you are rushing her.

Litterally take it one step at a time. Before going into the ring a good rule of thumb is your dog should be able to look at you for 2 mins solid without looking away.

I would also 'proof' her by having her sit in heel position and have your husband throw balls at her feet, this is time you hit her with a correction. Make him throw treats as well...and even come up behind you clapping his hands. These are all proofing methods we use at the club, we even have electronic toys we use including a remote controll car. hehe...

[Shara]

I honestly do not like the advice your trainer is giving, does she have any OTCH titled dogs, or is she more of a general dog trainer. If she has OTCH dogs and is giving this advice, it might work on her dogs, for some reason...but for the rest of us, I doubt her advice works.

Elsa is kinda is tellin you whos boss...in a round about way with the barking.
its not agression its just saying look at me lets play, I want to play, I want to do this.

Tigger did this for a short time at about 14 months old, he all sudden did the bark thing, where I couldnt get him to stop, and like i said, you grab the muzzle, spin the dog usually counter clockwise, and lift up as if you were grabbing him to give a kiss and not let go till you feel the dog is relaxed.

You are right now ghost leashing Elsa, and kinda tricking her, but she does not know that heel means stay beside me regardless of leash or not. I fear that when you take off the leash in the ring, she will see this and wont perform, this is why I have not taken Tigger into the ring yet, he would forge so heavy.

I think its great your husband will work Elsa, but make sure he is doing the exact thing you are, even moving shoulders can be a cue to the dog, minute arm or hand movements also can be read...so be very carefull and observant.

[gsdmama]

she has never done this before and it started with my hubby in October, so how do I break her of this when i can't even catch her. I don't want to chase her as I was told not to chase her but to run away from her, but when I do walk away she comes over and starts barking. i had a feeling that is was more of getting attention to play and not aggression and that is why our trainer said to ignore her and walk away, but even when i let her out and close the door and walk away she barks. I always let her go potty before we work. for some reason she had to go again.

I always work her on leash. I haven't take her off leash till today. I wanted to see what she would do and she did it.