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.

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I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

tracking sounds good if you can find one close to you. If not would you consider changing your agility classes to somewhere that is more secure?
What about something like flyball? x

even if i change my agility class, shows are mostly outdoors with no netting around the rings so it's not secure there. it's a possibility and just do agility for fun, and go to shows that are just indoors.

flyball looks fun but he's not hugely interested in tennis balls (sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't), he's more food orientated.

__________________
I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

Where abouts are you and how far would you travel?

be honest i think you should get your recall sorted first (trust me it has taken me 3 years...) then find something he loves!!

my millie was a swine for running off but she was sooo focused on agility it was amazing... (a bomb could have gone off and that dog would have kept jumping)...

just a thought?

dont giv eup just yet - work on his re-call then try agility again - if not - tracking?

What's your trainer said about it?

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Use your brain, not a choke chain.

Some people who run terriers teach a no-hunt command you might be able to teach him something similar. If he's so scent orientated put him in tracking trials I'm sure he'd do great

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"A dog is not "almost human," and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such."
John Holmes

Owned by Buster cairn terrier mix and Leo netherland dwarf mix bunny

I live in Harrow and would travel up to half an hour away.

I don't want to give it up, but even if I get his recall sorted, he's still going to be scent orietanted. He can only be let off lead in my local park and the beach. Any wooded areas are on long line only as he runs off after rabbits. His recall has never been 100% and I've spent so much time and effort into his recall, and it's still not 100%. In the park, his recall is pretty good so I can risk letting him off, but woods, it's only about 50%, and if he catches a scent, it's about 10%.

My trainers are being great, they are really helping with the problem by teaching me how to keep his attention and focus but it's not enough and he will run off from time to time even if I've got his focus. It only takes one time for him to run off for something awful to happen and I don't know if I want to risk it anymore.

I've contacted a club close by to see if they do indoor training. If they do, that'll be great and I think of switching to them.

__________________
I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

yeh good idea about the indoor...

we trained in an indoor....which is goodbut when you want to compete outside - your back to square 1 sadly.

yeah, this is a problem, but I suppose I'll just do it for fun and if any indoor shows come along, i'll do those for fun too.

__________________
I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011