I have a big decision to make before this weekend :(
Should I pull Kort from the obedience trial? He has been struggling with the retrieve over the high jump for some time now, he refused it in Medicine Hat in May & has not done it once in Fun Matches.
I finally have my own jumps built & he will not jump them in the yard or in the building we practice in. He will go over it for food, or if I run along side him, but give him a formal "over" to take him dumbbell, nope :( He isn't jumping.
Soooo, putting him the ring at this point I think will just demote him even more, he is a dog that likes to please me for the most part, but for some reason he just doesn't get this.
He is not doing it on purpose, dogs don't think that way, "maybe I'll screw with moms head today & refuse to jump over & over again until she wants to stab herself :) "
Anyway, you get the picture, training has gone wrong somewhere & he needs to have his confidence built up again.
I still have scenthurdling to do on Sat. night, & I have lots of friends competing with their dogs that I can watch, but it will be hard & I will be sad.
I will take the summer to re train, he has another trial at the end of July, we will see how training has progressed & take it from there.
7 comments:
There has to be a reason for his refusal to jump on command. I guess perhaps the first thing to remember is that he is only 3--he's young and you have plenty of time to master this and go on in obedience. As well,I was reading some stuff recently about collies and performance activities, and the author suggested that obedience isn't always something collies like to do. It's too boring and repetitive and not enough of a mental challenge. That might be part of the problem. On the other hand is there a physical reason why he doesn't like to jump the obedience high jump? Maybe taking a break from it would be good? And don't be sad--there are lots of matches ahead! ♥
It's super hard to pull from trials, been there! Like Dianne said, though, there are lots of trials and he is still young.
My obedience trainer says she used to work with a handler who did obedience with her collies. In Utility, she had to show the dog the cooler of treats before they went into the ring, then she'd do her work, then she'd go out and get her treats from the cooler. My collie girl was like that too, I had to SHOW her the bag of treats, then we'd work, then she'd go get her bag. LOL she's a goof.
But my collie boy, Levi, was more willing to work than that.
I think that's a great idea. He just sounds like he needs to be proofed more and not have the opportunity to make the same mistake at the show where you can't correct him. He'll get it. He just needs more time and to be 100% successful in training before going to the trial where it is so much harder. Once he gets it he'll probably always do it.
If he was my dog and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to perform one of the exercises correctly, I would pull him from the trial..
It seems so weird, given that he does agility!!
Have you watched Janice Gunn's DVD on open/utility? If not, you should watch the section on jump conditioning - I am starting that process with Cava this summer. There is also some good stuff on jump training on Chris Bach's DVDs. I think if he were my dog, I'd go right back to the basics of early jump training, using your new high jump at a very low height (like maybe 6")
just thought about this some more.... and perhaps it is BECAUSE you do agility with him - he is so used to you running beside him when he jumps - so the idea of going over the jump while you stand still is perhaps what the stumbling block is? My advice is still the same though - go back to basic jump conditioning to train him to jump even when you are stationary, but leave the dumbell out of the equation for now.
thanks everyone!, I have such supportive friends :)
I was wondering the same thing that Liz mentioned--that in agility you run along side and he has become used to that and likes it!!??
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