koda2011

Thanks to everyone. I must say I feel pretty silly, because I caught the bandit in the act today, and it turns out that while we walk, the CAT is using his bed as a litter box... I threw it away just now, and hopefully he'll now go where he needs to. Even though I now have a different problem on my hands, it makes me feel better to know that Koda isn't the one doing this. Thank you all for great responses though.

So my 11 month old boy has developed a nasty habbit over the last 3 days. He will, well, take a poop in his dog bed (which he hardly ever uses, he sees the crate as his bed) and then... rub himself in it! This would not worry me if it was other animal feces, but it seems quite unnatural for him to rub in his own, doesn't it? This has happened every day for three days the moment I take my eyes off him, each time less than an hour after we return from a two hour walk where he has already popped! I swear he is saving it.. I'm wondering if he is stressed about something even though he seems fine. We just moved to a bigger place about two weeks ago and he just started agility classes. He seems to love the new place and his classes. I've been keeping my outside cat inside since the move, since I'm trying to put him out of harms way, and the introduction of the two has gone better than expected, but now I'm wondering if this only child is somehow marking his territory? He is house trained and hasnt had an accident for many months, so I'm pretty sure he is doing this intentionally. Does anyone know what could cause this and how to stop it? I'm tired of cleaning the carpet for hours and he's tired of all the baths..

Hi everyone! A little update. I decided to go with topdog agility after a couple of recommendations and we had our first class yesterday. It was remarkably different! With praise and cheesy treats Koda conquered the a-frame, tunnel and wait table. And more importantly he had fun and did not want to leave. Michael is a perfect match for us and does private lessons only which made the hour a lot more productive. We will be going here permanently. Thank you to everyone for your help!

Thank you all for your quick responses. I spoke with Jill from dog on it and classes don't open up until April/may and go on break shortly thereafter. We may just have to wait it out, after all a couple of months isn't long compared to years of great training. I believe wwbc knows someone who attends the mt dora club, so I'll wait and see what she has to say before deciding. Tampa is a stretch, but I won't rule it out, at this point I just want to find a club I can enjoy regardless of the drive. Luckily for me, Koda loves riding in the car, so long drives aren't an issue.

Hello to everyone! I just joined the forum and I'll write an introduction about myself and my pup Koda soon. As of right now I'm in need of some help: I just started Koda up for agility as he just turned 10 months. I found what seemed to be a great trainer and a great location and drove myself and him to class, excited to finally start after a six year break. We've been doing obedience since he was two months old and I've always trained with treats, praise and clicker (he's the first dog I've clicker trained). It works for both of us. This instructor believed in none of that, which should have warned me, but he seemed so good on paper that I decided to give it a chance. We showed up for class, watched other dogs run some small courses and then it was our turn. The first couple of standards went fine, as I have my own and he knew what I was asking of him. Then came the a-frame and Koda stopped and would not move. "Don't worry, he just needs his confidence built up" said the trainer, took him by the collar and dragged him up the frame. I felt my stomach sink, and should have left then. I didn't. The trainer did the same with the wait table. By the time we got back to the a-frame my puppy was scared, wiggled out of his collar and sprinted over to me, tail behind his legs. I decided class was over, even though the instructor assured me this was normal behavior and he just needed to learn that I wouldn't let anything hurt him. He also told me to get a slip collar. Horrified, I left. In this class was a 4 month old giant breed, jumping tall standards. The standards were also not adjusted, wether a shnautzer or dobberman was running them. One of the other owners even told me that my dog would only hate the trainer for about a month, and that their dogs used to be stubborn too. Help! My dog is not stubborn, he listens very well and is well adjusted to his surroundings. After this "class" he was scared of all agility equipment. It took me three intense days to get him to jump low standards and run the tunnel. I want agility to be fun for both of us, not something we both dread. I live in lake Mary, central Florida. I'm looking for very early or late evening classes, or indoor classes since summer here is insanely hot. I don't mind a long drive either. If anyone knows a good trainer, please let me know. Sorry for the rant, I just don't want to put my boy through this again. Thank you all! Camilla