getting head back up during gaiting

I was practicing the go around and down and back with Venus, and everything was going very well. Until I tripped. Now she doesn't want to trot along side of me and keeps shuffling along with her head down. She's a very soft dog.

Movement used to be where she would really shine, but she started wanting to chase the bitch in front of her (playfully) if the bitch was one she already knew, so I thought I would practice keeping her with me. Ugh.

To work on fixing the problem, I started running backwards ahead of her so that she didn't have to run along side of me, and that seemed to help a little. I tried using treats (fresh turkey) to lure her head up. No go.

Any other ideas? We show on Sunday. It's a major. And the judge thinks she's pretty.

Would working on heeling on leash maybe help? And then pick up the pace?

You can click for head position. Just be prepared to do a lot of gaiting. Click and reward when her head is where you want it, then work on duration. ex: click after two steps of head up, 3 steps etc.

That's what I've started doing--but at a walk--off leash (so she feels more in control). She's in heat right now, making everything that much more dramatic and preventing me from changing her environment. We're pretty much stuck working in the basement. If I could take her for a couple of regular walks with squirrels to tree, I think she'd get over it pretty quickly. The joy of hormones...

Thanks for the advice. I really do appreciate it.

I would take a little bit of time to play with her and use play to get her to your side and use play to keep her at your side. If she likes tug, heave her tugging while trotting next to you. If she won't play, then treat heavily and be enthusiastic about her being at your side. Basically get her attitude and confidence at your side back up before worrying about the gaiting itself.

I would click too... but make sure you feed her the treat EXACTLY where you want her head to be. The placement of the reward can have a huge influence.

In addition to clicking for her head position, I would also take a few group classes (for whatever you want/can) so she learns that she can listen to you, and not play chase other dogs, even when other dogs are around.

I say don't press your dog. She is in heat, she has had a bad experience. Give her a break, and when she is out of season try the methods outlined above.

Red.. she has a show on the weekend. IME my girls still want to work and play when in heat.. their attention spans may be a little shorter though. I just work in shorter bursts but I keep training (if I feel like training lol). The obed club I worked with girls in heat would still come to the competition classes and do very well.

It sucks that the dog can't go outside to practise.

Oh and ground sniffing can be a stress behaviour so don't correct it! Not even a leash correction as it might increase the problem.

I understand that the dog is entered. To each his own. I don't push dogs if they have had a bad experience, and in particular if they are in season. I don't let a show entry cause me to push my dog into something he or she might not be ready for. If I WERE going to show the dog I would keep it light and fun and not worry about what ribbon I might get. That's just me, however. I got the impression from the very first post that this person was more interested in being competitive for the major than anything else. She says the dog is very soft. If it were my dog, I would not put any pressure on it. My opinion, for what it's worth.

You have my sympathies, I am going through something very similar right now with my dog. And we leave tomorrow for the regional championships in agility.

He was on the dogwalk, I was running beside it, I tripped and almost landed on him and somehow (don't know how really) connected with him with my arm/hand whatever.
He took off at a dead run away from the dogwalk and now isn't really too keen to go on it or near the contact zone (where the accident happened).
I think that he thinks, that I hit him and I have never hit him before.

Last night, I had some improvement, (lots of clicking and happy dances happening ) but I can tell that he is still somewhat worried about it.

Can I get him over it? Sure given enough time, but I don't have that now. So the question is, with all the stresses of regionals have it appear or make it worse?? Sure it can. And I didn't enter any of the warm up events because I didn't want to wear my dog out, now I really do need to get him on that different dog walk............and can't until we compete. Just ducky.

When I was practicing a trick with Lyric, (heeling backwards) I stepped on his toe and it was very difficult to get him back. When I'd try, he'd back up really fast to get away from me. He didn't act afraid. It was almost like he was being silly. But I still concluded that he was trying to avoid the possibility of getting stepped on.

I stopped doing any of that for a couple of weeks and then started over, breaking it down into just one step and click/treat. Then stop the exercise and do something else. Little by little I worked him back to two steps, then three etc.

I don't know what you can do about the show this week end. But I wouldn't want to risk pushing him too far too soon. I like the ideas presented here though for later.

That is why I suggested clicker training.. you can't 'push' with clicker training. The dog choses to play or not. I always keep training light and fun!

Yes. I agree with this for the most part.

However....sometimes I have found if I'm having trouble with one thing, even if the dog doesn't mind doing it or he chooses to do it, staying away from it for a week or so can clear his mind sort of. Like erase that bothersome trick from his thinking. And then start in again fresh. But it depends on what the reaction has been from the dog. Or horse. Sometimes any kind of training can sour an animal if it's over done. JMO.

Very true. That would kinda make it problematic with the upcoming major, but IMO, the long term attitude of the dog is much more important than one trial.

But everyone needs to decide for themselves how important a specific trial is, and majors don't come along every weekend for every breed ~ for some breeds a major might be a twice a year opportunity. So it's not an easy call to make and giving the dog a week off isn't always best.

If I had a regional championship or a rare chance at a major coming up, I'd probably keep working for the week, keeping everything very positive and as low key as possible and then I'd take a break after the trial.

Very true.. But isn't the dog in question a sighthound? IME they are very good at 'not playing' if they aren't into it. A JRT will keep going till frustrated.. The cockers just wander off and the whippets will actively leave if upset.

It is very much know your own dog.. but I can see the harm in playing around with shaping a head up gait.

Absolutely. They've all got their individual quirks and tolerance levels, drives etc for different things.

I agree. If the dog just isn't into it, he won't do very well at the trial probably anyhow and then you risk an ongoing situation. But yeah...if the dog isn't shutting down or whatever, that makes a difference.

Thanks for the replies. I have to take a couple of dogs for a vet check up, but I'll update anyone who's interested when we get back.

When I wrote the original post, I was having a face/palm moment. The dog knows what I teach her, and I, albeit accidentally, taught her that trotting beside me was dangerous. I've never used leash corrections with her (actually I don't use them with any of my dogs), so it must have been scary for her to see me tripping and to feel the sudden tightening of the collar. I was frustrated because gaiting was the one skill I never really had to teach her. She just did it naturally (and well), and then I screwed it up. And my timing was terrible.

Nice dog. Too bad about the handler.

Last night I asked Venus to heel off leash a couple of paces with me. I clicked and rewarded as we walked, and then she offered a well-positioned automatic sit when I came to a halt. We haven't worked much on the auto sit, so I marked that too, threw a big party, rewarded her with a bully stick, and called it a night. We did a little off leash heeling today, and she continued to offer the auto sit. Woohoo. I know that wasn't the skill I set out to train, but I'm flexible.

I'm not really worried about the major, but I can see how my original post gave that impression. I was just sort of kicking myself. The show is local, and a number of V's dog show friends will be there. When she's in heat, everything is exaggerated. The lows are lower, but the highs are higher. She LOVES seeing her friends when she's in heat.

I'll see how the next few days go and play it by ear.