Jerry Herzog Posted December 31, 2000 Report Share Posted December 31, 2000 I started agiltiy with my smooth hair border collie last summer and have entered one novice trial, where she ran without any course faults but was terribly slow. She doesn't have any drive and others advised she was a "soft dog". My wife says she does agility just to please me, but I got into it because I thought she needed a chalenge as I was told BC's are so smart etc. Should I just give up if she's not reallly enjoying it, or keep spending money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koby2 Posted December 31, 2000 Report Share Posted December 31, 2000 Does she have a spark in her eyes when it is time to work? I just got my bc, he is 7 months old, but when it is time to learn something new, he sparks up, and is excited. Perhaps she is just bored with the activity you have chosen for her. Or perhaps it isn't enough of a challenge for her. I am new with this border collie experience, so I have no real advise to give you. Good luck with your girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted December 31, 2000 Report Share Posted December 31, 2000 Jerry: I probably shouldn't reply to this....I'm sure there are folks out there who would tell you 'I' should have quit a long time ago.....but I didn't, and I'm glad. And this got kinda long... You don't say how old your dog is - that may (or may not...) make a difference. What do you use for motivation? rewards? (They ARE different!) What turns your dog on more than anything else in the world - chasing a ball or frisbee? eating liver treats? getting praise from you? You really need ONE of these things to work best, though you should, theoretically, be using all of them. Here's my story: Sophie was about 2 years old when I "discovered" agility. We made some funky backyard equipment, took a few lessons (125 miles away....), and entered our first trial. She was amazing! All the distractions, some equipment she'd never really learned, and she was FAST!!! She qualified in her jumpers runs, and got her jumpers title that first weekend. OK, she didn't really care about the ribbons or the title; but it sure hooked me. She did OK for part of the next year...then, got really slow, seemingly really bored, always clean but ever so slow. I persisted, cuz 'I' was hooked on agility. I wasted a LOT of money, got really embarrassed a number of times (thankfully, judges were kind, and even when we were double the course time, they never whistled us of....). I gave her about three months off one winter (working with my Malamute/Shepherd mix...now THERE'S a challenge!); tried again, with about the same results; gave her almost six months off, with just an occasional trial, little or not training; same results. I'd just about decided, like you, I should give it up, as difficult as that was. The bottom line should ("don't do as I did, do as I say!") always be: THE DOG MUST HAVE FUN! That's actually why I kept it up with the mix - he had a GREAT time, even if he rarely performed well. THEN - and you won't want to hear this! - I adopted a three year old DRIVEN border collie. She took to agility like....a BC to sheep...a lab to water...a husky to snow...whatever. She absolutely loves it, is the kind you see on TV (OK you haven't seen her YET!), and loves to work. I started working her first, then the mix, then the slow-poke. It took about six months, but suddenly, slow-poke seems to have a rekindled interest in agility! She'll never be fast, she'll never be a champion, but she does seem to be enjoying it more now. Her most favorite thing in the world is chasing squirrels or rabbits...some of my friends thought I should wear squirrel-tail slippers on the courses to speed her up! So - dunno what to tell you. Try a different motivation. Try a "break." Try getting another dog! Also, if you are really serious, there was a series of article in Clean Run magazine (www.cleanrun.com) about a year or two ago, on "making your dog run faster." You might contact them about getting that. Hope that helps. Best of luck. diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Herzog Posted January 1, 2001 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2001 Diane, thanks for the interesting reply. Jamie is just over two years old and is crazy about tennis balls, but when I use one as an incentive, she just ignores the agility jumps etc. and just wants to chase the ball. Ths history of your slow dog is not too encouageing however. We'll keep trying for a while yet I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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