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Border collie becoming over excited in classes - any tips?


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Hi, I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.

I have had my 13 month old BC girl since she was 12 weeks old. I have taken her to obedience class weekly in a hall since she was tiny and also to an outdoor agility class most weeks. My concern is that as time goes on, she is getting less and less settled in both classes.

It began with barking as she wanted to get going and not wait her turn.

Then she started reacting to every excited call that other owners made and to every running dog. If there was an owner using a squeaky ball or a whistle, she was a nightmare and I was exhausted by the end of the session.

Finally, starting in an exercise where handlers weave between people and their dogs in a line, she has started jumping up at people and nipping their clothes / ?them. I'm upset by this as she has never nipped anywhere else at all. The vet confirmed that he has done several procedures on her and has never seen her turn on someone.

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised at this behaviour, she is a border collie after all! So of course she is going to react to movement. She probably finds both types of class too stimulating? I'm just not sure whether to stop going altogether, which seems a shame as believe it or not, she seems to love going and starts wagging her tail as soon as she gets out of the car and pulling to go in! Also the trainers seem to think she is naughty and one in particular has asked me to keep away from all the other dogs.

I haven't taken her to classes for the last couple of weeks and to be honest, I've enjoyed her more as she is a fab dog most places... just not in a class!

How do I teach her to ignore all the exciting things going on around her?

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Do a google search on dog reactivity or reactive dogs. I'm limited in time right now, but it's a good place to start. Also Control Unleashed (it's a book), either the puppy or regular version. LAT (look at that) and BAT (behavioral adjustment training) are training methods.

 

But basically, it takes time. Lots and lots of time.

 

My dog is pretty similar, and just about the exact same age. We've just about, now, finally, after 6 months of constant work gotten to a point where she's capable of working in class more often than wigging out.

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I have had a similar experience with my male. I took him to puppy classes and he was great! At some point he became reactive and I still feel like there was something I missed that I shouldn't have. I do show him but he is a challenge. As a puppy I thought he would be my best obedience dog yet. In a way, he is, but not at a match or trial. Control Unleashed is a really good book. If you want to continue classes with her I would search out someone who does outdoor classes (my boy is MUCH better outside) has small classes and who understands Border Collies. I'd love to do Agility classes with my guy but I haven't found anyone suitable yet.

I'd worry about stopping classes altogether in the concern that her behavior may worsen and spill over into other areas of her life. It would be best if you could work with her and find ways of altering her behaviors. Good luck.

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I would stop classes if your dog can't remain ender threshold. It's no big deal as classes are an artificial énvironment that don't teach dogs much about real life.

 

Outdoor classes may be worth a try though. It's what I'm dong with my youngster who I would néver expect to cope with an indoor class.

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What concerns me is that the one of the trainer's answers is to ask you to keep your dog away from the others!

 

How about looking for a trainer who can help you with your dog's reactivity and excitability issues instead of ignoring them? After all, trainers are supposed to be able to help people with issues as they come up.

 

If it were me I'd be looking to see if there's anyone who offers a click to calm type class or private lessons. I'd especially be asking the obedience class instructor for help here, or looking for a different one who's able to help you if this one can't.

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I would also suggest looking at Control Unleashed, when I started agility with my first dog he was 3 1/2 and was perfect in classes, but then as the dogs got faster he started lunging and barking - classic border collie motion reactivity - I had no idea what had hit me and members on this board recommended the Control Unleashed book and I started slowly working my way through some of the exercises, I could not do them all as many of them were intended for a structured class setting, but what we did really helped and eventually at agility competitions he was able to get a belly rub before entering the ring rather than being a wound up, lunging mess.

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You could also look for reactive dog classes. We are going to start our second go-round at the end of this month. All dogs are kept behind barriers and they expose them more and more throughout the session, basically using desensitization and counter conditioning, along with mat and focus games.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you all so much for your thoughts.

 

I have bought Control Unleashed and it's really interesting - I definitely plan to start LAT training.

 

As for classes, the agility class was outdoors, but on reflection, the pen where we all waited our turn was small and was right next to the agility course. This meant my dog was getting completed hyped by everything going on in front of her nose and then couldn't focus when it was her turn. I have now found another club which has a class for reactive dogs. The lady I spoke to there was so helpful and I feel positive about going.

 

I can't believe the original trainer never mentioned reactivity in dogs. I actually think she doesn't know about reactive dogs, if that's possible?! She even said to me that she didn't know why I kept coming to her class as we clearly weren't communicating well. In fact, she has never told me anything useful about handling my dog. I'm well out of there.

 

Thanks again for all your help x

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I can't believe the original trainer never mentioned reactivity in dogs. I actually think she doesn't know about reactive dogs, if that's possible?! She even said to me that she didn't know why I kept coming to her class as we clearly weren't communicating well. In fact, she has never told me anything useful about handling my dog. I'm well out of there.

x

The quality of agility training varies hugely, some people get lucky and stumble on a great trainer first time, most of us stumble through some bad trainers on our way to understanding how the game is played and knowing what to look for in a trainer. Have fun with your new club.

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When I first got my old, reactive dog, i took him to an agility traning facility. My focus was going to be using agility to further my dog's confidence and work on his reactivity. I met with the owner of the facility, and it became immediately obvious that she didn't have any interest in my dog's needs, but would be completely focused on the sport. I felt like she would see my dog as an annoyance in a class of "real" agility dogs. All of which is fine - it's her business and she doesn't have to be about special needs dogs - but it was just a sign that her classes wouldn't work for my particular dog.

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I'm a wee bit torn on the issue, to be honest with you. On one hand I very much think that the trainer should have known what reactivity is, provided you some guidance and enabled you to work with your dog on the issue. On the other, I tend to believe it's for the good of everyone if you are up front about your dog's behavior and make sure the trainer is okay having your dog in the class - for the safety and comfort of your dog, and the other dogs in your class.

 

When Molly first joined a foundations class, I was somewhat surprised by the intensity of her behavior, but I'd already informed the instructor that it was something that would be a problem. I went through the first time doing more counter conditioning work than agility, and the instructor expected that 'helping' me with the issue really amounted to providing me a corner with some barriers to stand behind at first, letting me skip exercises (a lot), and warning me when I might need to just leave, because dogs would be running directly at her no matter where we stood. Basically, she was really supportive, but it was still down to me to help my dog; she was teaching an agility class and that's what other people were there to learn.

 

Second time through, I asked again if she was okay to join because I didn't want to be a major disruption to the class. Same thing when I moved from foundations to Beginner, though things had calmed down quite a bit over the course of the class. Maybe I was over cautious, I don't know, but - it's an agility class, and for a while there I wasn't doing agility, just in the corner wrestling with my dog.

 

I DO think your initial trainer should have known what reactivity was and been able to point you toward some resources to help you help your dog, or just outright tell you that she didn't think your dog was a good fit for the class. At the same time, I understand why you weren't getting reactive dog help in a typical dog class.

 

Mostly, I'm just glad that you found somewhere that was a better fit, where you'll get more help wading through this and are feeling more positive. Well, all of that and grateful as HECK for the trainer I have and her willingness to let me do my thing and work with me in doing it.

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I DO think your initial trainer should have known what reactivity was and been able to point you toward some resources to help you help your dog, or just outright tell you that she didn't think your dog was a good fit for the class. At the same time, I understand why you weren't getting reactive dog help in a typical dog class.

 

I agree that the trainer should have known about reactivity (what trainer who charges for classes is so clueless that he or she doesn't know about reactive dogs!?). And I think he or she should have been able to offer you some help even in basic manners class/obedience or agility classes. The sad thing to my mind is that if these trainers (if it's 2 different trainers) should have been able to give you some advice early on so that it might not have progressed to this point. At the very least, they should have told you that it was outside their capabilities to help you and suggested some other alternatives for you.

 

I can understand that in some classes, the trainer wants to focus on training a particular skill set, like agility, and doesn't want to use up other people's time dealing with one client's reactive dog. But if that's the case and he or she sees the dog developing increasing reactivity, rather than ignoring it and letting it get worse, they should explain that this isn't the right venue for you and, again, suggest alternatives.

 

I hope you can find another instructor who has experience with reactive dogs. As has been mentioned, some even offer classes for dogs like that. Just be careful that they're not using harsh methods, that could make things even worse.

 

Best wishes as you work with this. I know first hand how frustrating it can be. The look at that game is big at my house. :o

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Just to clarify... I had no idea she was a reactive dog when I joined the two classes. If I had known, I would have asked if each was a suitable class for her. She was only about 15 weeks old when she started the classes and the reactivity has emerged over time and only become a significant issue over the last couple of months or so.

 

As I say, I can't believe neither trainer identified the reactivity issue for me or gave me advice on managing her, or suggested better classes to go to. In fact, after the nipping incident, the agility trainer suggested we join her gun dog class!! That is the worst thing I could have done - all those whistles, running dogs, excited owners!!! I feel bad that I put my dog through that. I did two sessions and then started to look around for advice elsewhere.......

 

Onwards and upwards!

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Oh, I so get the

 

I had no idea she was a reactive dog when I joined the two classes.

 

My reactive gal was the same way. A perfect 6 month old puppy when I adopted her and the reactivity started slowly (as with yours it started with excitability) and became full blown at a little over a year.

 

What I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is that these trainers failed you so badly . . .

 

Upward and onward, indeed! B)

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