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SEVEN_PETS · #1 (**permalink**) 09-02-2010, 01:06 PM

Hiya

You may know about Ollie's running off problems after rabbits in agility. I am considering whether it's fair to continue with agility with him because of a few reasons.

1. He runs off quite frequently which shows he's more interested in smells and rabbits than jumping or doing the equipment, which means he's probably not that interested in it.

2. He seems to love it when he's focused on the equipment, but his attention span is 0 and if he gets distracted for a second or he smells something for a second, his attention has gone and if he's off lead, he could run off.

3. If he runs off, he could be in danger (it's close to a road) and the fencing is not that great. It's mostly post and rail and thin hedging so if he smelt a rabbit that crossed the road, he would go after it.

4. I'm working on keeping his attention and perfecting his recall in distracting situations but will he ever choose to not chase a rabbit, and choose to come to me on first recall and do what I ask with the equipment?

Reasons to keep doing agility:

1. He seems to love it once he's focused.

2. It's good exercise for him and he gets to meet other dogs and people, so stimulating his mind as well.

3. It teaches me how to better train him and teaches me how to keep his attention and perfect his recall for similar situations in wooded areas or areas with rabbits etc.

I don't know what to do, but as I have written it down, it seems like the cons outweigh the pros. I have to think of his safety first and foremost, and if his safety is compromised by the fact of him being off lead in an unsecure area, then I have to think if I should carry on.

I am thinking about doing gundog training as his mind is clearly focused on his nose and scenting, so maybe tracking is more for him, but I can't find any close enough to attend.