Hi. Ive got Alfie a male 2 year old collie who is very very laid back in normal everyday life. We have started entering some agility shows and the problem is that he gets so excited watching the agility he shakes all over, bounces and nothing distracts him.Ive tried treats, turning and walking away, blocking him. watching from a distance and waiting untill there is no one else in the queue but nothing will distract his attention and his excitement.Once in the ring he will do everything but at 100mph. I have noticed towards the end of the day he tires himself out and becomes much more managleble. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions, I have thought about calming pills but dont know enough about them. Any suggestions please. Thanks

I think the more times he does these shows the better he will become. Perhaps build a mini one at home so its not such a novelty for him.

Hi

There is nothing wrong with him getting excited! As most Collies ive seen go bonkers over agility! I agree with last post, the more you enter the quicker his novelty factor will wear off!

I wouldnt start going down the calming pills line, as you dont want to calm him down so much that he starts slowing down! As agility is against the clock!

Glad he enjoys it though!

Sarah X

Im no expert but you say he starts to calm down nearer the end as he is becoming tired. Have you tried to let him burn off some (NOT ALL, as you will need a good bit) of his energy before you go to agility?

i agree with the de-sensitisation. Everyhting is exciting for everyone when iys first apparent but over time becomes a bit dull.

Some reinforcers are calming, for example food. But it has to be lots of it. Have you tryid to give him lot of delicious food (when his hungry)?

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I think you should try building a course at home or somewhere really quiet where theres no other action and ignoring him when hes going mad. Only take him round when hes quiet and if he gets too manic just stop and wait for him to calm again. Slowly introduce a bit of action. I dont agree that the more he goes to shows the quieter he will become. Collies get a thrill from making things move, he may think that him barking is making everything move and he will never ever get bored of the thrill he gets. i.e dogs never get bored of barking at the postman do they? Also, little you can give him (treats etc) will ever compete with the high he gives himself.

If you can harness that enthusiasm you'll be pleased that hes belting round that fast.

I like what Sasarund said.

Try teaching him the ''settle'' exercise

Put your foot on the lead so he can't move and jump about, but still has room to stand up.
As soon as he sits or lies down, drop a treat by his feet.

We have been doing this at class and if i took my pup anywhere he would jump about and now he will settle on command

x

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Hi,

My friend has a simular problem. Her collie goes completely looney watching the others in the ring. They tend to keep him in his crate in the van until about two dogs before he is due to go, as they find that him watching two gets him ready to go but means he isn't so overexcited that he looses his focus.
Another friend has this also to a lesser extend and she put her collie on a down whilst they are waiting and just drops treats by his nose, does "leaves" with them etc and she says that tends to do the trick.

I know some people who also play tug to distract their dogs.

It's most likely the movement that drives them mad, plus their wanting to be out there in the ring. Collies are bred to be really sensitive to movement. I have taught my collie a "watch me" command which works well but I have yet to use it in an agility competition environment as we are still in training (working on contacts in particular) .

Hope that helps

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