Therapeutic Agility

[Root Beer]

This is a concept that I have long held myself - that Agility (or other dog sport, such as Freestyle) - can be used as a way to enhance the overall quality of a dog's life. As therapy, really, particularly for dogs who are anxious, fearful, reactive, getting over a difficult past, etc.

 

This seems a bit pricey at $33.00 for 100 pages, but it does look very interesting.

 

Therepeutic Agiilty

 

If anyone does get hold of a copy of this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!!

[Crawford Dogs]

Interesting. I do agility with Rose because it helps her build confidence and helps us build a relationship. Rose used to be a frightened Border Collie who nipped and bit repeatedly whenever she interacted with people at all. The shelter had her for 3 months before I decided to give her a chance at a new life. I just couldn't leave behind such a terrified dog that was borderline on ever trusting anyone again. I've had her almost 5 years now. She still gets worried and has days where she hides. I have to have dog kennels set up at all times or Rose gets very upset/anxious. But, she is overall a happy outgoing girl. She loves people and loves to do things with people. We went to an agility trial this fall to continue building confidence. She did great and had a lot of fun. We'll never be that fabulous team but we have fun. Rose does need low jump heights and can't do all obstacles as they irritate her spinal/back end issues. But, in the end titles and fabulous runs mean very little. My klutzy self plus a happy Ro-ro "roo-ing" her way around a course is a million times better than any ribbon.

[beachdogz]

I don't need a book to tell me that it is wonderful therapy for my dogs. I started my last rescue dog in it to bring out confidence, and it certainly has made a tremendous difference; he really started to "blossom" after a month or so in class. After that, starting my second girl gave her something to look forward to. I am not exaggerating when I say that her eyes literally light-up when she enters the building and looks at the equipment; her tail starts wagging so hard her rear-end wiggles. We have had two weeks off for the Holidays, and I can tell they are itching to get back to class.

 

And if I were to be totally truthful, I would tell you that I also started back into the dog world and agility during a very difficult time in my personal life. The book can also be written about agility being great therapy for humans. I used to walk into class and say, "I'm here for pet therapy!" It got me through one of the worst times in my life...just 3 hours a week of classes and working at home with the dogs gave me a wonderful break from reality and a release for all the stress.

 

I do not plan on showing...just wanted to get back to what I truly loved - working with my dogs. It has been great therapy for us all.

[Root Beer]

I don't need a book to tell me that it is wonderful therapy for my dogs.

 

I can't say that I do, either. I have certainly lived Agility as therapy with Dean, and Musical Freestyle as therapy with Speedy.

 

It would be interesting, I think, to hear another perspective on the subject. Perhaps glean some additional insight.

 

And I agree - I believe that training/dog sports can be therapy for humans, as well, whether competition is part of the picture or not.

 

It's hard to explain, but from what I've experienced, it goes even beyond confidence and trust building, and I would hope that the book explores the subject beyond that, and I would be very disappointed if it didn't. I think that's why I'm reluctant to shell out $33.00 before getting more information.

[alligande]

I have a feeling Kristine you would be disappointed, my guess is the book is about persuading people that agility is a good therapy for dogs. You have a so much knowledge already.

 

I have witnessed the power of agility though. A sheltie used to train with us. She is a timid dog with a less than active human, they started in obedience which she loved but of course she was always beside her person. Jim decided that she needed more exercise and started agility, but their first experience scared her. He persisted and found a new trainer, and over time she mastered all the obstacles and even Qd in a trial. She actually got to the point where it was the human part of the team holding her back because he was not in any way fit and he still did not really believe that she was so comfortable. It was so much fun to watch her progress over 2 plus years. They have moved now so we do not see them any more.

[mum24dog]

I have witnessed the power of agility though. A sheltie used to train with us. She is a timid dog with a less than active human

 

The latest is one of our newcomers who only started to keep her ambitious daughter with her young GSD company. They were both ready to give up after only 1 session because the dogs kept running to each other but we persuaded them to try for a bit longer.

 

She herself only has one lung and can't run and her dog is (or rather was) a nervous 7 year old JRT.

 

I have to admit that I was rather taken aback when after only a few weeks she asked me how to get her dog registered with the KC because she thought she might like to try a few competitions as he was doing so well.

 

They'll never set the agility world on fire but what does that matter if the dog's confidence has increased and his owner is pushing herself to do things she never thought she could?

 

The handlers who really bug me are the ones who insist that their dog can't do X Y or Z because it's nervous. It won't if that's the way they think. It may take a different approach to achieve the desired outcome but it needs the handler to believe in their dog.

[Root Beer]

The handlers who really bug me are the ones who insist that their dog can't do X Y or Z because it's nervous. It won't if that's the way they think. It may take a different approach to achieve the desired outcome but it needs the handler to believe in their dog.

 

I think a lot of the difficulty of this situation is that in a case where a dog truly has a deep seated fear, the handler needs to have some knowledge of how to help the dog learn how to get from point A (fear) to point B (confidence, enthusiasm, joy).

 

I can say firsthand that it is tough to believe in a dog that melts into a puddle in the face of certain triggers. It is a major leap of faith to put in weeks, months, sometimes years of work, when you don't actually know if the dog truly is capable of overcoming a certain fear.

 

That's why I see such a great value in using Agility (or other sports) as therapy - as something that will benefit the dog deeply in life beyond the sport. If Dean never goes to competitions and slams teeters happily, that's perfectly fine because the work we have done building his teeter slamming ability has been part of helping him cope better with his noise phobia, which is much more of a life issue for him than an Agility issue.

 

But I do know where those who are reluctant to try things with fearful dogs are coming from. Honestly, I find that belief in my dogs who have various fear issues has grown in stages. First I have had to make the choice to believe that the dog will benefit in some way through the foundation work needed, without any guarantee that the result that I desire most will actually come about. Then, I have had to come to believe that a certain level of progress is possible. And once we have done a good bit of work and milestones have been reached, I finally start to believe in the dog, since I am very familiar with the dog's abilities and limitations and I have a pretty good idea of what can really be expected. That's the good part.

[mum24dog]

I think a lot of the difficulty of this situation is that in a case where a dog truly has a deep seated fear, the handler needs to have some knowledge of how to help the dog learn how to get from point A (fear) to point B (confidence, enthusiasm, joy).

 

Of course; that's why they come to classes where help is offered, but not always trusted.

 

I can say firsthand that it is tough to believe in a dog that melts into a puddle in the face of certain triggers.

 

So can I - several in fact.

Ross who would pee in submission if anyone looked at him, was terrified of doing the wrong thing and hated to be apart from me.

Eddie who just gets stage fright in a competition situation.

Cedar who fears canine violence above all things.

 

I don't make excuses. They have all made great progress from their worst days and are happy dogs under most circumstances but could have been better in competition if I had put more work into them. My lack of committment, nothing else.

 

But I do know where those who are reluctant to try things with fearful dogs are coming from. Honestly, I find that belief in my dogs who have various fear issues has grown in stages.

 

But I don't think it is just a question of having belief in the dog, more of having a can do attitude to life and faith in yourself. Dog's pick up so quickly on any hint of negativity.

[Root Beer]

Of course; that's why they come to classes where help is offered, but not always trusted.

 

And sometimes rightly so. I'm not saying in your case, of course.

 

But I know I've had to stand my ground when well meaning instructors insist that flooding or trying to "make the dog get over it" is the way to go when I know that a different approach is needed for a particular dog. Of course, I have had excellent instructors, too, who have really given me solid insight. As a handler I've had to learn to be discerning - sometimes the instructor needs to earn the handler's trust, as much as we need to earn our dog's trust.

 

There is definitely a fine line between acknowledging the concerns of the handler - who lives with the dog and always knows things about the dog that the instructor does not, and presenting new techniques and approaches to a handler who really is mistaken about how a given situation could be handled to maximize the dog's well being.

 

I've found that when people balk, there is usually something to it. And if I can find a way to present a new concept in a way that makes the handler more comfortable, that usually pays off. Once I've earned a student's trust, the student is usually a lot more open to taking bigger steps.

 

I don't make excuses.

 

I don't make excuses, either. But I do acknowledge realities.

 

Fears, phobias, anxieties, etc. - they exist, just as much as physical disabilities and limitations. It's no more an "excuse" to say, "my dog has a fear of _______" than it is to say, "my dog has kidney disease". Of course there are some who do make excuses out of such things - just as some make an excuse out of the fact that a dog is a Border Collie (and so . . . must be hyper, must "herd" children, etc.)

 

But, I've found that straightforward and unflinching acknowledgment of these realities has actually helped me to formulate strategies and put training and behavior modification plans into effect.

 

If I am working with someone and that handler says, "my dog can't do this because he/she is nervous/fearful/etc.", I see that as an opportunity to give the handler a way to take just one baby step forward. I don't really see such statements as excuses (unless the handler flatly refuses to do anything at all), but as explanations that help identify starting places.

 

But I don't think it is just a question of having belief in the dog, more of having a can do attitude to life and faith in yourself. Dog's pick up so quickly on any hint of negativity.

 

But some people aren't like that. And some of those people own fearful dogs. And it is unlikely that a person who doesn't have a can do attitude in life or faith in his or herself is going to change that for the sake of a dog. Some may, not all.

 

I'm not 100% confident all the time. I have my moments of doubt and I can be a complete and utter wreck.

 

I was like that the weekend Dean and I were going for his ARCH title. I knew something big was on the line, and that if we didn't do it that weekend, I would have to wait a long time to finish (or perhaps would not be able to due to the sale of the organization). While I had made the choice to be grateful for whatever we did, my emotions simply didn't cooperate.

 

I also knew that Dean can't handle that kind of pressure, but I also didn't feel at all capable of faking confidence. So, I told him that, and apologized for it, but all I could do was acknowledge that I was a pile of nerves, and go out there and do our best.

 

Dean rose to the occasion like he has never done in his life. I think I was prouder of him for putting his best forward when I was dealing with flying emotions than I was of the title (of which I am pretty darn proud!!). Where one might expect that he would have been scattered and nervous and slightly hyper (which was how I was feeling) because I was, he was calm, focused, and on his game.

 

Yes, dogs pick up on negativity, but I also believe that our dogs accept us for who we are to a greater degree than we accept one another. 99% of the time, I am able to keep my focus on Dean's well being and keep my emotions in check. This time I couldn't - and I'll tell you, he earned my belief in him in a way he never had before. He took it in stride, and he was amazing. And, to a great degree, that is something that sports (primarily Agility) has done for him. He has learned a resilience that goes far beyond what I would have expected when we first started. That carries over into life beyond sports, for him.

 

Belief in the dog, belief in oneself, having a can do attitude, having a positive outlook - for some people those things come after years of work and experience with dogs who have fear issues. I'm still working on getting there, although I'm way farther along than I was when I started out with Speedy. I'm seeing it all come together now, with my fourth performance dog, the third with fear issues.