Bing Blog #16

"Agility Brainstretch" -- Feb 20, 2006

I wrote about last week’s agility lesson with Bing and how extremely quickly he picked up the ‘be quiet in the crate’ concept. Well, now I must share with you the synopsis of this week’s agility class because it was so very different from last week, and quite unexpected.

I have to say that the hour’s ride down to Philly has become very routine for us which, if you’ve been following Bing’s story, has immense implications. He was so very aroused in the crate in the car for so long, and still can be, but by setting up a routine for him, we’ve manage to make some huge strides. He MUST sit while I open the hatch and crate door and wait for me to invite him in. He gets a nice new chewie bone each week, a different sort each time. He settles immediately when the door closes (the door still is a bit of an issue, but I close it slowly when he is quiet) and is fine for the entire ride there and back. He also must sit in the crate before being allowed out of it. That way I don’t have a dog running loose around a dark, filthy parking lot.
Bing -- eating a rawhide, keeping calm.
Lot more agility photos at the end of the blog.
When I arrived at class, I found that Acacia’s class wasn’t taking place that night, but she was able to join in Bing’s class. Wow. Not only were we going to use a different space for Bing’s class (and his crate was going to be in a different spot), but his sister was going to be in the same class. This might not sound like a big deal, but it meant that he was going to have to be quiet while I ran Acacia.

I set up his crate and he, of course, flew in there and lied down. I had to walk away to hear the instruction for the class. Oops. Too much change too quickly. So I walked back and forth between the discussion group and the crate and treated each time he was quiet, which was every time. I was able to lengthen the duration of my being away from the crate (which was only a distance of about 25 feet) from 3 seconds to about 15 seconds very quickly. Acacia was tied to the chair next to him, so they were together and both got treats. Might as well reinforce Acacia’s good behavior, too, right?
Bing’s front- and rear- crosses were SMOKIN! He really has learned so much in just a few weeks, and even though I know that dogs ready body language well, I found his perception of my body language (my shoulder in particular) to be nothing short of astonishing.

I ran Acacia first because we were jumping high to low heights. I had Diane feed him if he was quiet. He was so aroused that he stopped taking her hot dogs (!!!) and he started barking (OMG! You’re running with my sister!!!!) so she covered his crate. He calmed slightly but still refused treats. When I returned he again took treats, so he recovered quickly, thankfully.
Bing -- in a more stressful moment.
The second time I ran Acacia, he was more quiet, and I suppose Diane looked away, but he managed to squeeze out of the zippered part of the top of the crate! Onlookers said it was like toothpaste squeezing out of a tube of toothpaste! He came running to me, I guided him (hands free) back to the crate, zipped him up, and returned to Acacia. He was slightly calmer then and took some treats.

The third time I ran Acacia, I didn’t realize until I was done that he was completely quiet…and Diane hadn’t been feeding him at all!!! YAY Bing!
As I mentioned, his agility skills are really doing very well. However, twice he ran to the front door, as if trying to get out. Once I was able to get him back on task and once he then ran to his crate and I zipped him up. This is a perfect illustration of what I mean when I say that he becomes quickly overwhelmed by stimuli. On our third run, a new set of dogs started entering the building, and Acacia barked at them. Sadly, it distracted Bing, who takes barking very seriously. He does not take it as in invitation to join in; rather, he takes it as it should be…as a warning. When he heard her bark, he tucked his tail and looked around. I could barely keep him focused on me. I was able to start a short sequence but he overloaded and headed for the tunnel, refusing to come out.

Poor Bing. But I do feel that this is something that he will outgrow, particularly if I am able to work him through this and use short duration training situations.

I would put money on him doing loads better next week, because the setup will be the same. The second time is so much easier. He will already have an idea in his brain about what should be happening. When it turns out that way (I hope!) he’ll be able to relax a bit and pay better attention to what he’s supposed to be doing.

Ali


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More backyard agility. The photographer likes the lighting at home in the afternoon better than at Y2K9s -- and Bing looks better on green.
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