A lot less barking

This week again there is only 3 of us and Jess started so quiet I thought he had lost his voice at first but that soon changed. He also couldn' help but get distracted by the dogs in the other half of the ring. The room is divided into two we have a class in one half and there's another beginners class in the other half. 

After practising the round where he jumps over the jump then comes back round it to me for a while she wanted them to walk up the a frame the other dogs in our group are doing quite well and are quite happy to run up it and come back down and touch the yellow. Jess isn't too keen on being up their though and jumps off the the highest point so we stopped him doing that after a couple of times as we were worried he would injure himself.

He did very well at a sequence of jumps pull rounds and spins and completed the course of that several times although barking the whole time he was doing it.

He is still very far behind the others in the group due to his over excitement and us having to keep pulling him back sooner to prevent him being out of control.

Hopefully he's improving they keep saying he is but I think because I can see how far behind the others he is it' quite disheartening. I thought he would be so good before I started cos he can jump ridiculous heights you just don't realise how much discipline he needs as well I thought he loves jumping he will be perfect he will be the best one when actually his behaviour is making him the worst one.

Week 13 - hard work

This week has been tough jes has been stressed, noisy, biting and jumping. At one point I was close to taking him out the class and home he was so bad. There was only three of us this week so I went in thinking that maybe he would be more focused and better behaved like he was last week but he proved me wrong. He did really well at the jump and being pulled back round last week, this week it was the complete opposite I couldn't get him calm enough to even attempt it and when we did get him calm as soon as he tried it hyped him up again. Walking up along the plank and down was also hard he doesn't like it anyway but he would get to the top then leap off. We are really behind the other dogs who were able to complete a mini course this week I was lucky at the end with getting him to go over a jump back round through the tunnel over and round another jump back through the tunnel again before he started jumping at that was right at the end of the class and only once did he manage it. He also managed to grab his lead through his muzzle to play tug and my finger at one point as well.
The instructor and others in the class say he's getting better but I can't see it myself at the moment and it's tiring for me having to deal with it constantly for a full hour. 

Week 12

Jes has had 2 weeks break from agility due to Easter and holidays. 

We arrived this week and was one of two dogs who turned up in guessing others are away still. 

This was good for jes it meant more time could be focused on his behaviour and he got more chance to get things right in the course.

He did really well he was much quieter and less distracted as there was less dogs. 

He started doing jumps which he was really good at then he did jumps and tunnels he started to get a bit noisy and jumpy but by pulling him back it was easier to control.

We then did the A frame which she had made much taller this time he wasn't too keen and kept jumping off half way down the other side, he definitely needs more confidence with that and being up there and also making the contact before coming off.

He started misbehaving with the weaves so while the other dog got to do them we decided with jes it was best to quit while we were ahead.

Finally we practised turning and bringing him back the way he had come which again he picked up really quickly.

A lot was covered tonight he worked exceptionally hard I'm so proud of him today he had no waiting no distractions which meant he was constantly working but it seemed to be better for his behaviour this way.

I'm hoping he doesn't forget it all by next week and revert back to how he has been up til now.

Agility week 11 less noise more excitement.

So tonight Jess did his 11th week of agility.
The main issue he has had in previous weeks is being distracted by the other dogs when they are running and having their turn, resulting in him constantly barking. To help deal with this I have been getting him to focus on me and giving him normal small tasks, sit, paw, high five and my favourite as it calms him down quicker just to make him lie down.
This week saw a break through in he was less distracted and more focused on me.
However, when it was his go he got very excited barking jumping at me and trying to bite me so we took him away and therefore the only actual agility he completes in the hour class was to walk over the a frame and wait on the contact point at the bottom. For those who don't know what the a frame is it's two wide pieces of wood put together in the shape of the letter A and the contact points are at each end the dog must touch the contact points so they don't lose time in the competition.
Back to Jess the main issue is his over excitement which meant he got to do no jumps running or tunnels this week all of which he can do but his excitement got the better of him this time.
If anyone has any suggestions how to help calm him down please comment.

Much calmer waiting his turn.

The A frame, yellow bits are the contact points

Background

We rescued Jester when he was 18months old. He was bred as a police dog but never made the grade.

He was terrified of everything when we first got him didn't like being near us. After a few weeks he came out of his shell and that's when the problems began. He barks constantly at everyone who walks or drives past the house. He barks when you enter he barks and jumps when you try to leave. 

We have had various dog trainers come round to try and help him but nothing seems to have worked. My latest mission is to take him agility training to help tire him out (he has so much energy) and to help with his discipline at the time of starting this blog he has completed 10 weeks agility training he started out very well completed the courses really well but now he's got confidence in the environment he barks throughout the whole evening he can't complete the course without getting over excited then we have to stop and pull him out. 

This blog is not a dog training guide its my quest to try and provide him with some guidance discipline and exercise I will continue to document his progress week by week and hopefully one day he may compete in an agility competition.

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