Ever Heard of a Dog Like This?
- Thread starter Lizmo
- Start date
I agree with all suggestions given so far. One more,,I would find myself an instructor to start from the beginning with a good Foundation class.
It sounds like you and your dogs training has been rather inconsistent and 'scattered' ? for lack of a better word.
I have one of those dogs (an aussie) who exudes confidence with people/dogs / when herding, however, get her on an agility field and she tends to lack confidence, does not like repetition, doesn't like to make a mistake or shuts down. I have to be really really "UP" and "HAPPY" (mistakes are ignored)) or she "thinks" she's done something 'wrong'.. She's not confused by what to do or how to do it, she is just, maybe the word is 'sensitive' and if I show one "off" emotion, she' picks up on it. Hard to explain.
I think if your consistent, you keep your attitude really positive and most of all find an instructor you can start from the beginning with, as in Foundation work, it will help both of you.
Hope this helps some!
diane
It sounds like you and your dogs training has been rather inconsistent and 'scattered' ? for lack of a better word.
I have one of those dogs (an aussie) who exudes confidence with people/dogs / when herding, however, get her on an agility field and she tends to lack confidence, does not like repetition, doesn't like to make a mistake or shuts down. I have to be really really "UP" and "HAPPY" (mistakes are ignored)) or she "thinks" she's done something 'wrong'.. She's not confused by what to do or how to do it, she is just, maybe the word is 'sensitive' and if I show one "off" emotion, she' picks up on it. Hard to explain.
I think if your consistent, you keep your attitude really positive and most of all find an instructor you can start from the beginning with, as in Foundation work, it will help both of you.
Hope this helps some!
diane
Lismo,
Ok, you have taken a grand total of 8 agility classes, it is wonderful that you are so keen and have some equipment at home but..............
Let me start by explaining how I run my courses and what people learn.
Foundation classes work on obedience, handling skills on the flat, which are teaching a dog to run with the handler, front crosses and figure 8 patterns around jump standards, tandum turns, send outs, target training, recalls, focus work, wobble boards, plank work and contact boards for the first stages of 2o2o, building drive and play with tugs, weave entry using channels. That generally takes 8 wks.
The next level is learning each piece of equipment, for each obstacle they are taught to recall over it, send to it and then to have run bys. The first week of class the dogs have a quick warm up and review of the skills they have already learned, then we introduce them to a straight shorten tunnel, recall over one jump, figure 8's using two jumps with the bars almost on the ground, lowered Frame (backchaining the frame), recalls through the tire (on the ground or almost on the ground), each week after that we introduce a new piece of equipment while continuing on with the equipment they have already been working on. It takes 8 wks for an intro to the equipment and how to learn to do it correctly, safely and at speed. All contact equipment is backchained and targeted, no matter what contact behaviour is taught. And we quickly teach them to do everything at top speed.
Then the next level is when we start to introduce straight line sequencing, curving sequences and some easy speed circles, while backchaining and targeting, at the sametime ensuring that students are doing their flat work for FC , RC and continued work on send outs without using equipment. By the end of this course people are able to successfully get around an easy novice course. Oh yeah we also have to always proof the dogs with distractions with each new behaviour that they have learned.
So you are thinking, wow, thats 4-5 months of training, yep it is but I also teach theroy as well, not point in doing something if you don't why or when
The training continues with working on course analysis and more handling skills and dog skills.
Body language starts with the first class and is worked on in each class. Btw, when your dog 'messes up', you freeze and note your body language, it will often be doing something wrong
It's my job as an instructor to make sure we don't get carried away and over face a dog, it's my job to encourage but sometimes curb my students a bit, to slow down (slow down the wanted progress, not the speed of the dog) and to not have unrealistic expectations of their dog and themselves etc.
Also my outline of my courses is very loose, dogs and people progress at different rates. A dog may be the class Star in one level, but may have to repeat another level, same with people. It's also my job to point out what the different critria is for each behaviour and to ensure that the students don't change it!!
In my opinion, (I'll repeat what I have already said before in this thread), there are holes in your training. Body language isn't the only one, although it can have a big impact just because it is inconsistant handling and training.
I asked you before if you had any good books, dvd's or videos and you didn't answer. Now if you don't, hey your a kid right???
I have an extra copy of Greg Derretts Great Dog, Shame about the Handler, although at this stage you need his Foundations Skills dvd. Give me an address, (doesn't have to be yours, but someone you trust and are williing for you to give me their address lol) and I ll send it to you.
I am sure if we look hard enough, someone else may have some books etc that they can share. And that is very common with dog people to share material and books etc.
If you don't like that idea, then you need to get some good material to learn by. You also need to get back into class with someone who is good. I am a bit concerned that your present instructor didn't pick up on why your dog was doing this...........at any rate those are my opinions for what they are worth.
Take care
Lynn
Ok, you have taken a grand total of 8 agility classes, it is wonderful that you are so keen and have some equipment at home but..............
Let me start by explaining how I run my courses and what people learn.
Foundation classes work on obedience, handling skills on the flat, which are teaching a dog to run with the handler, front crosses and figure 8 patterns around jump standards, tandum turns, send outs, target training, recalls, focus work, wobble boards, plank work and contact boards for the first stages of 2o2o, building drive and play with tugs, weave entry using channels. That generally takes 8 wks.
The next level is learning each piece of equipment, for each obstacle they are taught to recall over it, send to it and then to have run bys. The first week of class the dogs have a quick warm up and review of the skills they have already learned, then we introduce them to a straight shorten tunnel, recall over one jump, figure 8's using two jumps with the bars almost on the ground, lowered Frame (backchaining the frame), recalls through the tire (on the ground or almost on the ground), each week after that we introduce a new piece of equipment while continuing on with the equipment they have already been working on. It takes 8 wks for an intro to the equipment and how to learn to do it correctly, safely and at speed. All contact equipment is backchained and targeted, no matter what contact behaviour is taught. And we quickly teach them to do everything at top speed.
Then the next level is when we start to introduce straight line sequencing, curving sequences and some easy speed circles, while backchaining and targeting, at the sametime ensuring that students are doing their flat work for FC , RC and continued work on send outs without using equipment. By the end of this course people are able to successfully get around an easy novice course. Oh yeah we also have to always proof the dogs with distractions with each new behaviour that they have learned.
So you are thinking, wow, thats 4-5 months of training, yep it is but I also teach theroy as well, not point in doing something if you don't why or when
The training continues with working on course analysis and more handling skills and dog skills.
Body language starts with the first class and is worked on in each class. Btw, when your dog 'messes up', you freeze and note your body language, it will often be doing something wrong
It's my job as an instructor to make sure we don't get carried away and over face a dog, it's my job to encourage but sometimes curb my students a bit, to slow down (slow down the wanted progress, not the speed of the dog) and to not have unrealistic expectations of their dog and themselves etc.
Also my outline of my courses is very loose, dogs and people progress at different rates. A dog may be the class Star in one level, but may have to repeat another level, same with people. It's also my job to point out what the different critria is for each behaviour and to ensure that the students don't change it!!
In my opinion, (I'll repeat what I have already said before in this thread), there are holes in your training. Body language isn't the only one, although it can have a big impact just because it is inconsistant handling and training.
I asked you before if you had any good books, dvd's or videos and you didn't answer. Now if you don't, hey your a kid right???
I have an extra copy of Greg Derretts Great Dog, Shame about the Handler, although at this stage you need his Foundations Skills dvd. Give me an address, (doesn't have to be yours, but someone you trust and are williing for you to give me their address lol) and I ll send it to you.
I am sure if we look hard enough, someone else may have some books etc that they can share. And that is very common with dog people to share material and books etc.
If you don't like that idea, then you need to get some good material to learn by. You also need to get back into class with someone who is good. I am a bit concerned that your present instructor didn't pick up on why your dog was doing this...........at any rate those are my opinions for what they are worth.
Take care
Lynn
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I'm not stating I know everything or even a little amount.
Please tell me what those other "holes" are? I'm sure I am making mistakes but I drive an hour and a half to a class (only instructor around) and haven't been able to go because my trainer and I's schedule's haven't crossed with an open weekend with busy holidays.
I'm sorry, I didn't see the question in your previous posts. I have one book "Excelling at Dog Agility" book one. I will look and buy those books you recommended.
Yes, I am a kid, thankyou very much.
Your last post comes across as bashing me because I don't know as much as I should. Maybe I haven't had the "best" agility intructor in the world, but it's the only one around.
I would LOVE someday to compete with my dog. You have no idea some of the things I would like to do with her but can't because of mistakes I made with her (without knowing it was doing harm) when she was a puppy/adolesent. I've had problems building drive in her no matter how much I try/entice her. We've worked months on loose leash walking with distractions and are just to the point where she can walk most places calmly. We have had problems with putting flea meds on because she wasn't done right at a puppy, clipping toe nails, cleaning ears, all because I was dumb as dumb when she was a puppy and didn't know anything. After months of reworking through these things I can now do those.
I do thank you for all your advice you've given me and now I know some of the problems we are having and can work with a trainer on them.
Please tell me what those other "holes" are? I'm sure I am making mistakes but I drive an hour and a half to a class (only instructor around) and haven't been able to go because my trainer and I's schedule's haven't crossed with an open weekend with busy holidays.
I'm sorry, I didn't see the question in your previous posts. I have one book "Excelling at Dog Agility" book one. I will look and buy those books you recommended.
Yes, I am a kid, thankyou very much.
Your last post comes across as bashing me because I don't know as much as I should. Maybe I haven't had the "best" agility intructor in the world, but it's the only one around.
I would LOVE someday to compete with my dog. You have no idea some of the things I would like to do with her but can't because of mistakes I made with her (without knowing it was doing harm) when she was a puppy/adolesent. I've had problems building drive in her no matter how much I try/entice her. We've worked months on loose leash walking with distractions and are just to the point where she can walk most places calmly. We have had problems with putting flea meds on because she wasn't done right at a puppy, clipping toe nails, cleaning ears, all because I was dumb as dumb when she was a puppy and didn't know anything. After months of reworking through these things I can now do those.
I do thank you for all your advice you've given me and now I know some of the problems we are having and can work with a trainer on them.
Lismo,
I wasn't bashing you, nor was I trying on any level to make you feel bad. I didn't expect you to know everything and I know that you didn't claim that. Now having said that, none of us are a deepth of knowledge, there is always more to learn.
I gave you a general out line of how many people train their dogs for agility.
I did that so you could compare it with how you have trained, to give you some ideas of where your 'holes' maybe.
As for my statement 'your a kid right?', certainly wasn't meant as a bash on your age. To my knowledge many kids just don't have access to a bunch of cash and can't just whip out a credit card and purchase a lot of books, dvd's etc from Clean Run as many of us adults can do.
We have ALL made mistakes when training our dogs, I know I have and it took me years to over some of them and one that I still have a problem with.
*I* messed up my dog when training the pause table and it still haunts us to this day. It isn't possible to learn anything without making mistakes, they happen, some are worse than others but for the most part they are fixable.
Why do you think I posted in the first place?? I was trying to help you to the best of my knowledge and experience AND because I felt you were sincere in your desire to help your dog. If you were a knuckhead, regardless of age btw, I wouldn't have bothered in the first place or I would have dropped it quickly.
I know that its a problem if you don't drive yet and getting to instruction, that must be very frustrating. I actually I know it is, because my Dad wouldn't agree to lessons for me when I was a kid with the horses.
I expect you will compete and I expect you will do just fine when it happens.
Is it possible to try and find someone close to you that also competes in agility? They don't have to be an instructor to give you some help. If they are competing and especially if they are doing well.........you could certainly benefit, by picking their brains or getting rides to class etc.
Take care
Lynn
I wasn't bashing you, nor was I trying on any level to make you feel bad. I didn't expect you to know everything and I know that you didn't claim that. Now having said that, none of us are a deepth of knowledge, there is always more to learn.
I gave you a general out line of how many people train their dogs for agility.
I did that so you could compare it with how you have trained, to give you some ideas of where your 'holes' maybe.
As for my statement 'your a kid right?', certainly wasn't meant as a bash on your age. To my knowledge many kids just don't have access to a bunch of cash and can't just whip out a credit card and purchase a lot of books, dvd's etc from Clean Run as many of us adults can do.
We have ALL made mistakes when training our dogs, I know I have and it took me years to over some of them and one that I still have a problem with.
*I* messed up my dog when training the pause table and it still haunts us to this day. It isn't possible to learn anything without making mistakes, they happen, some are worse than others but for the most part they are fixable.
Why do you think I posted in the first place?? I was trying to help you to the best of my knowledge and experience AND because I felt you were sincere in your desire to help your dog. If you were a knuckhead, regardless of age btw
, I wouldn't have bothered in the first place or I would have dropped it quickly.I know that its a problem if you don't drive yet and getting to instruction, that must be very frustrating. I actually I know it is, because my Dad wouldn't agree to lessons for me when I was a kid with the horses.
I expect you will compete and I expect you will do just fine when it happens.
Is it possible to try and find someone close to you that also competes in agility? They don't have to be an instructor to give you some help. If they are competing and especially if they are doing well.........you could certainly benefit, by picking their brains or getting rides to class etc.
Take care
Lynn
I do private classes or on a rare time I do a class with a bunch of herding people that are doing agility with thier borders. No, I'm the "crazy person", so no one that I know of around here does agility.
I was totally upset over something else that had happened a few minutes before I posted and took it out on you. And, I was upset at myself too. So, for that, I apologize.
I was totally upset over something else that had happened a few minutes before I posted and took it out on you. And, I was upset at myself too. So, for that, I apologize.
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Lizmo -
I hope that you really take adojrts's advice to heart - I truly think that it came from a good place and was meant to help.
It's very difficult to do some of these things when you have limited access to experienced, knowledgeable instructors. There's so much to dog training that involves every muscle of our body, including the way we look at our dogs and the way we hold our shoulders and the way we walk/run etc. Dogs feed directly off of our body language much more than anything else, and when we don't have someone around to point out what we're doing (wrong and right) then we often go on doing the wrong things and can't figure out why our dogs are reacting in ways we don't want.
I teach advanced competition obedience and just finished a course that started in October. The next to last class, I took in my digital camera and took a bunch of photos (I don't have a video cam at this point). I had each student heel through a pattern with their dog and I clicked off several photos, and then edited the photos (for file size, brightness, etc.) and emailed the photos to them with comments. It was amazing for the students to see some of the things that I've been trying to tell them all along. Some of the things were simple, like a dropped shoulder or a poor hand position. Some of the things were more intense, like one student (a great student, loves her dogs and works hard) who was very upbeat and happy with her young dog, but looked very strict with her older dog who she expected a lot out of (showing in utility, highest level of obedience). The attitude in the dogs was apparent too - the younger dog had her head up, ears forward, prancing. The older dog was in proper heel position but showed no enthusiasm. My student was shocked at the difference between the two dogs - and in her own appearance/attitude with the two dogs. The next week she showed up and had this happy, enthusiastic, "good dog" attitude with her older dog and that dog perked up and looked the best she'd looked in weeks.
This was a student with many many years of experience in training and trialing. When you're just starting out, it's very difficult to see those little differences that can make a major difference in your dog. So when adojrts was talking about your training and body language and all that, it was meant to help you in understanding how important so much of this is. It's impossible for anyone to truly help you here as we can't see what you're doing, but if it gets you thinking about what is going on with YOU and not so much what is going on with your dog, you may discover something that makes a huge difference.
It's very possible that something happened one day that made your dog not want to do the obstacles - maybe she had a bad day, an upset tummy, or stepped on a rock and had a bit of a sore pad - whatever it was, it could have made her not want to do the obstacles that day. And then you may have acted disappointed or confused (completely normal reaction). For many dogs that are really cued into body language or human actions, a simple sigh on the part of the human can be interpreted as "I did something wrong" to the dog. It doesn't take much. And when your dog interpreted your behavior as meaning that she did something wrong, she could have further fed off of that and become stressed more than you realize.
And now, when you go out to do the obstacles, you're probably watching to see how she's going to react and she's watching to see how you're going to react, and something as simple as a turn of your head or an exhaled breath may make her feel uncomfortable - which then results in her "shutting down". I'm not saying this is it, but it certainly could be.
When my dogs get a bit "off" on behaviors, I turn the behaviors into a play session. With jumps, we race to them and over and I throw treats and praise and play (using a low jump). Same with tunnels. I use the targets and send them to a target and then run to it with treats with lots of praise and clapping and happy noises. I don't work on the behaviors as much as the attitude - everything is upbeat and happy. Same with obedience. I use a lot of grinning and pushing and playing with my dogs inbetween obedience exercises, then ask for a behavior in a really happy voice - rewarding the behavior with a bunch of play/praise/treats etc. I keep my voice enthusiastic and energetic even with the commands - almost as if I'm going to laugh when I say them.
Good luck to you and I hope you find a way to encourage your dog past these difficulties. Keeping upbeat is going to be really important for you as I'm sure she sees every tiny bit of disappointment that you feel.
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
I hope that you really take adojrts's advice to heart - I truly think that it came from a good place and was meant to help.
It's very difficult to do some of these things when you have limited access to experienced, knowledgeable instructors. There's so much to dog training that involves every muscle of our body, including the way we look at our dogs and the way we hold our shoulders and the way we walk/run etc. Dogs feed directly off of our body language much more than anything else, and when we don't have someone around to point out what we're doing (wrong and right) then we often go on doing the wrong things and can't figure out why our dogs are reacting in ways we don't want.
I teach advanced competition obedience and just finished a course that started in October. The next to last class, I took in my digital camera and took a bunch of photos (I don't have a video cam at this point). I had each student heel through a pattern with their dog and I clicked off several photos, and then edited the photos (for file size, brightness, etc.) and emailed the photos to them with comments. It was amazing for the students to see some of the things that I've been trying to tell them all along. Some of the things were simple, like a dropped shoulder or a poor hand position. Some of the things were more intense, like one student (a great student, loves her dogs and works hard) who was very upbeat and happy with her young dog, but looked very strict with her older dog who she expected a lot out of (showing in utility, highest level of obedience). The attitude in the dogs was apparent too - the younger dog had her head up, ears forward, prancing. The older dog was in proper heel position but showed no enthusiasm. My student was shocked at the difference between the two dogs - and in her own appearance/attitude with the two dogs. The next week she showed up and had this happy, enthusiastic, "good dog" attitude with her older dog and that dog perked up and looked the best she'd looked in weeks.
This was a student with many many years of experience in training and trialing. When you're just starting out, it's very difficult to see those little differences that can make a major difference in your dog. So when adojrts was talking about your training and body language and all that, it was meant to help you in understanding how important so much of this is. It's impossible for anyone to truly help you here as we can't see what you're doing, but if it gets you thinking about what is going on with YOU and not so much what is going on with your dog, you may discover something that makes a huge difference.
It's very possible that something happened one day that made your dog not want to do the obstacles - maybe she had a bad day, an upset tummy, or stepped on a rock and had a bit of a sore pad - whatever it was, it could have made her not want to do the obstacles that day. And then you may have acted disappointed or confused (completely normal reaction). For many dogs that are really cued into body language or human actions, a simple sigh on the part of the human can be interpreted as "I did something wrong" to the dog. It doesn't take much. And when your dog interpreted your behavior as meaning that she did something wrong, she could have further fed off of that and become stressed more than you realize.
And now, when you go out to do the obstacles, you're probably watching to see how she's going to react and she's watching to see how you're going to react, and something as simple as a turn of your head or an exhaled breath may make her feel uncomfortable - which then results in her "shutting down". I'm not saying this is it, but it certainly could be.
When my dogs get a bit "off" on behaviors, I turn the behaviors into a play session. With jumps, we race to them and over and I throw treats and praise and play (using a low jump). Same with tunnels. I use the targets and send them to a target and then run to it with treats with lots of praise and clapping and happy noises. I don't work on the behaviors as much as the attitude - everything is upbeat and happy. Same with obedience. I use a lot of grinning and pushing and playing with my dogs inbetween obedience exercises, then ask for a behavior in a really happy voice - rewarding the behavior with a bunch of play/praise/treats etc. I keep my voice enthusiastic and energetic even with the commands - almost as if I'm going to laugh when I say them.
Good luck to you and I hope you find a way to encourage your dog past these difficulties. Keeping upbeat is going to be really important for you as I'm sure she sees every tiny bit of disappointment that you feel.
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
Thanks again Melanie and Adojrts. I've re-read some of the things that you have said and now I see where I've have made those mistakes.
I think, tell me if I'm wrong or not, I will just start over from the beginning. First, again, trying to build a toy drive. She seems to do better with this than treats. I've got a toy, and so far she's loving it and has a lot of drive when I bring it out.
Then talk to my trainer about proper body laguage. I think I may have an idea of what I'm doing wrong. I've been more aware of what my feet/knees/head are doing when I send her to a jump (while running with her).
And I will definitely be more aware of what I'm doing, if I'm getting frustrated, sighing, ect. I know in the past I have done that.
Thank you!
I think, tell me if I'm wrong or not, I will just start over from the beginning. First, again, trying to build a toy drive. She seems to do better with this than treats. I've got a toy, and so far she's loving it and has a lot of drive when I bring it out.
Then talk to my trainer about proper body laguage. I think I may have an idea of what I'm doing wrong. I've been more aware of what my feet/knees/head are doing when I send her to a jump (while running with her).
And I will definitely be more aware of what I'm doing, if I'm getting frustrated, sighing, ect. I know in the past I have done that.
Thank you!
Lismo,
Instead of beating yourself up, think of it as a learning curve!! What is important, is number 1 you realized there was a problem, number 2 you went looking for info etc and number 3, you were willing to look at it with an open mind and willing to try some other methods etc. Kudos to you.
Have you ever played that board game Snakes and Ladders??? Well training is very much like that, you go forward, you slide back lol.
Take care
Lynn
Instead of beating yourself up, think of it as a learning curve!! What is important, is number 1 you realized there was a problem, number 2 you went looking for info etc and number 3, you were willing to look at it with an open mind and willing to try some other methods etc. Kudos to you.
Have you ever played that board game Snakes and Ladders??? Well training is very much like that, you go forward, you slide back lol.
Take care
Lynn
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I think you're taking a huge step in the right direction with just acknowledging that the problem is very possibly on your side and not hers - that's a tough step for many people to take. If a person isn't doing something obviously wrong, then it's very easy to think "oh, it's the DOG" when it still may be something on the human side. Acknowledging that you might be creating anxiety/worry in your dog is the first step to finding ways around it - good job! I've been in this position many many times over the years, realizing that I'd (accidentally) done something that made my dog nervous or tense or worried, which then led to the dog not wanting to do certain behaviors that I felt she really knew how to do.
We ALL make these mistakes - after all, we're only human! And because it's so hard for us to see what we're doing at times, even the most advanced of us tend to train with others so that they can point things out. When I had to train alone, I tried to videotape my sessions so that I could watch them later and pick out things I was doing that affected my dog in ways I didn't want.
Building a toy drive, doing lots of fun things that involve a high level of energy and encouragment in short training sessions, are great ways to build up a good working relationship with your dog. And when you do agility obstacles, try not to think of them as potential competition but just as an "in the moment" time of fun. We humans change when we start to consider something as a competitive sport instead of just fun - even if we don't think we're changing, we do. Everyone wants to win (it sure beats losing!) and there are sometimes very subtle ways that the drive to win sneaks into our training and interaction with our dogs. So the more you can not think about competing some day, and the more you CAN think about how much you love your dog and you want to have fun with your dog, the better off you both will be. If you end up competing with her, great! But if you don't, you are still going to love her and have her as your companion for many years - and that companionship is FAR more important than any ribbon or title could be.
If you can invest the time and money into several good sessions with your instructor (over a short period of time, so that you can get in some repetition on YOUR behaviors) it will probably help you tremendously. It honestly takes many months, sometimes years, of weekly classes for most people to truly build a good body language/communication with their dog for competition. There's nothing that beats having a good instructor that sees you on a very regular basis and can catch problems before they become habit. You may even be able to set up some kind of video-lesson type of communication with your instuctor. You could video a training session and send it to her, and she could assess what you're doing and send you that assessment, and then you work on that and send her a new video of your changes. It's a slow process and not as convenient as having an instructor nearby, but it would be better than no instruction for long periods of time (and would probably be cheaper, given that you'd save on gas costs and would only pay for the one-on-one time when the instructor assess your video and writes up recommendations).
The biggest thing is that you and your dog are both having fun, and if one of you isn't then there's something going on that needs to be looked into (which is why you wrote the original post). It will all come together, just may take a bit longer for you as you don't have access to classes like most of us do. Concentrate on the play drive, and maybe work on some exercises like sending her to a target (a plastic lid from a margarine tub is great for a target), teaching her a "hand" command (where you put out your hand and she touches her nose to it - and eventually learns to follow your hand as you move forward - train her to both hands with a different command for left and right), and maybe a single jump where you send her over and to the target so she learns to jump and move forward fluidly. These are all exercises that can be done in a fairly small area and done in just a few minutes so you can do them 2-3 times a days for five minutes or so. Frequent short practices are better for training purposes than long sessions (which I think you already know).
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
We ALL make these mistakes - after all, we're only human! And because it's so hard for us to see what we're doing at times, even the most advanced of us tend to train with others so that they can point things out. When I had to train alone, I tried to videotape my sessions so that I could watch them later and pick out things I was doing that affected my dog in ways I didn't want.
Building a toy drive, doing lots of fun things that involve a high level of energy and encouragment in short training sessions, are great ways to build up a good working relationship with your dog. And when you do agility obstacles, try not to think of them as potential competition but just as an "in the moment" time of fun. We humans change when we start to consider something as a competitive sport instead of just fun - even if we don't think we're changing, we do. Everyone wants to win (it sure beats losing!) and there are sometimes very subtle ways that the drive to win sneaks into our training and interaction with our dogs. So the more you can not think about competing some day, and the more you CAN think about how much you love your dog and you want to have fun with your dog, the better off you both will be. If you end up competing with her, great! But if you don't, you are still going to love her and have her as your companion for many years - and that companionship is FAR more important than any ribbon or title could be.
If you can invest the time and money into several good sessions with your instructor (over a short period of time, so that you can get in some repetition on YOUR behaviors) it will probably help you tremendously. It honestly takes many months, sometimes years, of weekly classes for most people to truly build a good body language/communication with their dog for competition. There's nothing that beats having a good instructor that sees you on a very regular basis and can catch problems before they become habit. You may even be able to set up some kind of video-lesson type of communication with your instuctor. You could video a training session and send it to her, and she could assess what you're doing and send you that assessment, and then you work on that and send her a new video of your changes. It's a slow process and not as convenient as having an instructor nearby, but it would be better than no instruction for long periods of time (and would probably be cheaper, given that you'd save on gas costs and would only pay for the one-on-one time when the instructor assess your video and writes up recommendations).
The biggest thing is that you and your dog are both having fun, and if one of you isn't then there's something going on that needs to be looked into (which is why you wrote the original post). It will all come together, just may take a bit longer for you as you don't have access to classes like most of us do. Concentrate on the play drive, and maybe work on some exercises like sending her to a target (a plastic lid from a margarine tub is great for a target), teaching her a "hand" command (where you put out your hand and she touches her nose to it - and eventually learns to follow your hand as you move forward - train her to both hands with a different command for left and right), and maybe a single jump where you send her over and to the target so she learns to jump and move forward fluidly. These are all exercises that can be done in a fairly small area and done in just a few minutes so you can do them 2-3 times a days for five minutes or so. Frequent short practices are better for training purposes than long sessions (which I think you already know).
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
How do you treat your dog when this behaviour happens. Are you inadvertantly providing a reward for her by being over-attentive, sympathetic, giving treats. I ask cause dogs can act, perfectly normal happy dogs can give the appearance of being timid for a quicker route to the reward. If you are ignore the behaviour and the dog see if this makes a difference. I know this is a bit obvious but i dont think anyone mentioned it. If i missed it im sorry.