sigh...

Had class last night and I feel like we've taken three steps back... Couldn't get Riley to focus on me very much and it was just... frustrating...

There were more dogs at class, so a longer wait between turns and as time went on, he seemed to get more reactive to the other dogs, even though I took him out for frequent breaks. There was a drop-in person at class, too, who've we've seen in other classes, and Riley really acts up when that dog is on course - or anywhere nearby. It's probably the only dog I've seen Riley have an instant dislike for, he's usually pretty friendly with every dog he meets.

Of course, we were slated to go after this person, so I couldn't take Riley out and away from the building while they were working. I tried playing the 'look at that' game and it worked to an extent, but as soon as that dog came off course and was rewarded with a loud and enthusiastic game of tug nearby, 'look at that' went out the window.

I guess the whole thing stressed Riley out because he just wanted to run around, rather than run the course... I'm not sure what to do to de-stress him (and probably me, too, so we don't feed off each other). He does fine at home (no distractions, of course) and is usually thrilled when he sees the jumps and weaves come out. I just wish we could transfer that to the class setting...

Any suggestions?

There are a couple dogs in our agility program that Lucy can't stand. They're a couple of staring wirehaired pointing griffons. They enter the room, and Lucy just loses it. I've started calling to register for classes and asking if Hattie or Gator is in the class. If they are, we don't sign up. It's too much for her at this point.

In class, she's okay most of the time except when dogs go over the a-frame. Then she sometimes loses it. If she's too far gone, I've left halfway through class a couple times, because there's no hope of getting her back focused again during the remaining class.

Do you bring good chewies during class? I stuff a few frozen kongs and 3ish bully sticks in my bag when we go. Those buy us enough time and give her enough distractions to usually make it through a class.

Hadn't thought about bringing something for him to chew on... although he doesn't like frozen kongs - too much work; he likes his thawed, thankyouverymuch! I'll try bringing something for him next class and see how it goes.

I don't think the dog Riley hates is part of the class, I think his owner just asked to attend this one to tune him up for an upcoming trial... I hope!

Are all the dogs out during the entire class? I'm trying to picture how it is set up. In our class, dogs are crated unless they are running, which works wonderfully for Meg.

What do you have for rewards during class? I am not above hitting the McDonald's drive thru on the way for a cheeseburger when I know I'm going to need some extra focus on me. If Meg was reactive to a dog running and I couldn't have her crated/out of sight, I'd be doing lots of really quick easy behaviors and rewarding the heck out of them with top notch treats. She's a food hound though, and it certainly helps.

I hope things settle down and Riley gets a chance to show what a star he is

Lessons are held in a metal building (think riding arena with the big doors at both ends) with an indoor soccer surface. Everyone gathers at one end to wait their turns and most of the dogs are out, only a couple are crated.

I carry a mixture of cubed beef roll, sliced string cheese, cubed liver and hot dog slivers but when Riley is really stressed, you could throw a steak at him and he'd ignore it. I'll take him out of the building if we have a few dogs ahead of us and walk him around, let him water every bush he can find, and play with him a little - that seemed to work in the last session but I think he's still uncomfortable with the 'new' dogs in this session.

Ok, here is what I do with stressed/reactive dogs in agility. I set up an x-pen (or 2 togethe) in the corner of the building or ring, put a chair in it for the handler and a mat for the dog (or their crate). Blankets are then hung over the x-pen limiting the dog for what they can see. Goal of the handler is to remain calm and mark (yes/click) for any calm behavior from their dog, they are also instructed to massage their dog's ears and/or body (helps to release endorphins which give a dog a pleasure high/calming effect). If the dog is relaxed enough to focus on the handler, they are instructed to teach simple behaviors like tricks or perch work (hindend awareness).
When it is your turn to train on course, other dogs are crated or with their owners in x-pens/ behind a barrier (especially any dog that the reactive dog responses negatively too). Or if the reactive dog is too focused on another dog, that dog is asked to leave for a few minutes, be crated (and covered) etc.
As the reactive dog relaxes, the full barriers are opened a crack to allow them to watch and remain calm, progressing to the visual barriers being removed over time.

If a dog is having a bad night or regressed, they are not expected to run a sequence or course, they may remain on leash and work on focus and/or relaxing during their turn. Or a simple exercise is set up at the furthest point from the other dogs and they are worked doing the exercise with the task of just getting them to focus on their handler and being able to do the exercise.

Hope that helps.

That is a lot like how it is handled in our classes. At this point (competition class with dogs who, for the most part, have been training together for years) everyone just crates between runs. But when we were starting out, x-pens were also available with the same "chair inside" set up (although not covered, which is a great idea). In the new facility our class is held in, the crates are sort of behind a half wall, but when we were in a riding arena, I would often cover Meg's crate when dogs who tend to make her uncomfortable were running.