What to do when a dog becomes one-sided?

[Beanie]

Hmm, one-sided may not be the right term. Auggie will jump both ways over the jump... but he will only jump it if I'm on a particular side. Coming UP from the back of the yard, I'm on his right. Coming DOWN from the front of the yard, I'm on his left. No problems with that... but if I try coming UP on his left, he'll go around the jump instead of over.
I wonder if I'm giving him too much starting room? But that just seems silly... Like we're starting so far back he has time to look ahead, see the jump, and decide "Meh! I'll just go around!" instead.

I could take some video, but I don't know if it's worth it. I know there's something you can do if a dog gets one-sided about only jumping front-to-back but not back-to-front, I wonder if there's something similar here..?

Bah... I can't wait until finals are over and I can start going to classes, where his breeder is going to know RIGHT AWAY what to do, LOL...

 

[MafiaPrincess]

From the beginning have you always tried to teach things from both sides?
In classes every obstacle learned we took with dog on the right, and then a turn with dog on the left so the dog wouldn't attempt to favour one side only.
If not, you need to go back back to basics. One piece of equipment, maybe a target plate to drive to and praise like mad for doing it from each side.

 

[Beanie]

I have. I'm not sure what it is, because I only just noticed it today. =/ He did the tire jump any which way, it's just the regular jumps. He'd also do jump + tire just fine... it was jump + jump, on the approach of the first jump. Hmm... now I'm even more confused...

Maybe I'll move them tomorrow and try again in a different part of the yard, and see if he still does it? He could just be having a weird day. Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time Auggie had a weird day. ;P

 

[adojrts]

Hi
Does he do it with just one jump or with several jumps in a row? If it is more than one jump, try backchaining and targeting. Also check the footing (surface) for thorns etc especially if it is the same jump he runs around. And when he misses the jump, FREEZE your body, and see where you body is pointed (i.e. feet, knees, hips and shoulders) you maybe pushing or pulling him off the jump, in that case he should be rewarded.
Take care
Lynn

 

[Beanie]

Okay, after a few more days I think the problem is not one side or another... it's consistency. Sometimes he will do it, and sometimes he won't. He'll do it once, and then he will not repeat it a second time. Even if I take the second jump down entirely so it's not even in his field of vision - we're just focusing on ONE jump and ONE jump only - he'll go around.

Argh! I'm just confused. The worst part is he'll go around, and when I start to go back to our starting place, he'll jump over the pole on his way back, LOL. "Look, Mom, I did it!!"
I can't tell any difference between when he DOES do it, and when he won't... I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. At first I thought I was breaking away from him too soon, and when I started to veer around the jump he would take it as a cue to veer around the other side... but that didn't work, either. Even if I was heading straight at the jump, he'd start drifting away to go around. I'll think of something, try it, and it will work, and I'm like "oh!! success!" and then I try it again and it fails.

We're not going to win any trials this way, LOL.

 

[adojrts]

Hi
How have you trained jumping? Can you call your dog over a jump? Send to a jump? Or have you just had him running beside you and jumping? Can you send him out and around cones, a jump standard, a tree etc from the left side and the right?

Take care
Lynn

 

[Beanie]

I started over and worked a single jump for several days until he was totally consistent with it... we're back up to two jumps/two jumps & tire sequences and he's doing beautifully.
Is it possible he got confused because I remade the jumps? They're a different style now (they looked like this and now look pretty much like these.)
He seems to have absolutely no problems now... almost like he just got really thrown off by the jump style change and wasn't sure what to make of it, but once he figured it out it was like "Oh! Oh, duh, I know what to do!"

When we first started it was calling him over the jump... but after he was nearly a year old and we were working in OB, I moved up to running beside him to guide him through obstacles.
I'm not exactly sure if this is what you mean.. I've tried sending him to jumps, but he just looks at the jump, and then looks at me expectantly. I can lead out (now, anyway!), but not make him get moving on his own. I think I have to be moving around with him or he isn't sure what to do.
How could I work on getting him to go over a jump on his own? Would targeting help?
I haven't worked on anything dealing with contacts or targeting yet - I'm leaving that for our classes as I have NO clue how to do it and don't want to screw up or confuse him any... I've read a lot about different techniques, but sometimes reading just doesn't help. Hopefully we can start class after April 25th (date of my last final exam!!) and I can learn a few more things.

I've pretty much just been doing a Jumpers course - I have yet to introduce weaves, but AKC's jumpers + weaves will probably be where I start when we go to a trial. Just fun stuff right now... this is my first go at any of this so I'm taking it pokey slow.
But some of Auggie's littermates are already getting titles in agility! I'm jealous, because I know the only reason we aren't yet is because *I* don't know what I'm doing - not that he isn't capable of it. It makes me feel kind of... stupid. and lame. x_x I guess you have to start somewhere.

 

[adojrts]

Hi;
How we begin 'sending' training, it starts on the flat ( no jumps etc) I use just one jump standard or a cone (anything really that the dog can go around and usually higher than the dog at the start, even a wastepaper basket in the home).
You start out by closely facing the object, have your dog on either your left or right, have your dog target your hand (or you can lure with a treat in the beginning) have your dog walk around it, say Yes or click when the dog is on the opposite (backside of object) side. Reward your dog with the same hand that he/she started on. We turn as the dog goes around it (hope this makes sense lol). Once your dog is willingly moving around the object from the right and the left, move a step away and repeat (but once the dog understands fully that they are to go around the object, reward only for speed). In short, if the dog is on your left, he moves clockwise around the object, on the right he moves counter clockwise. Some dogs pick it up quickly and you can add distance, one step at a time until you are 20-30 ft away.
I mess around in my home all the time, sending my dogs out and around everything, from chairs, coffee tables to my diningroom/kitchen tables, we make a great game of it with lots of rewards. Outside I send them out around trees, bushes etc. The object doesnt matter, as long as it is safe.
When we introduce a jump, the bar is on the ground, then we add distance, once the dog is successful at distance, then we start to raise the jump bar.
Once the dog is doing all this, then I start to throw a target/toy or bait, so the dog learns not to always come back to me.

Hope this helps, but if I didn't make sense let me know and I ll try to do better!! (much easier to show people lol than to put it down in word )
I also use this method with two jumps to start Frontcross training and flips.

Take care
Lynn

 

[tessa_s212]

Whenever any of my dogs become one sided, or favor a side, I back up and do a lot of retraining. I recently experienced this problem on the weaves. I went right back to basics and retaught it all. Much of the time our OWN tendency to favor one side is programmed into the dog. Not only must you retrain your DOG, but YOURSELF as well.

Driving to obstacles is very important. Much of this comes with experience, time, and gaining confidence. It can also be taught. I do this by either having a target(lid) with treats on it, tupperware full of treats to throw, or just a toy to throw. I will actually HOLD my dog back, throw the toy, and then wait a moment before releasing. This gets the dog really pushing forward to get to that toy or treats. At first you may be only to throw or have the lid a short distance from the obstacle itself, but I increase the distance to encourage more speed running at the object. Eventually I will even add another jump, then another, until the dog is running straight away from my going over all of them to get to the target. The next step is to take away the target, and simply send them. I start this by going back to only one jump. Again holding them, and then releasing them commanding them to jump. I will run to catch up just as they are jumping to click/yes and treat right after they land. Once this can be done, I begin to move laterally away, sending the dog not only out in front, but away from me.

and remember, do this on with you on BOTH sides!

This kind of training can also be useful when training rear and front crosses. (If you have to. Some dogs just naturally understand them quite well. Others *cough*Marq*cough* need more attention in that area. )