Stopping dog looking back

Caro

Caro

Moderator
I have a problem with Tully looking back to see where I am instead of just following my voice commands. She tends to only do it on the contacts which is turning out to be dangerous.

She has already fallen off the A-Frame and hurt her shoulder. This week she came off the dog walk - falling on her back, knocking the wind out of her and tearing a knee tendon. This time she bounced off the seesaw and raced off to the dogwalk without me - I yelled out for her to 'go go' meaning to run to the end and she turned around to look for me while still running.

Any thoughts on how to get her to run ahead without checking on me when I yell - or should I just let her go and not say anything unless it looks like she is doing the wrong thing? I find it hard to slow her down. I try to do a wait at the end or the start of a contact so I can catch up. Ideas for while she is recovering (eg without jumping, weaving or running) would be great.
 
Some dogs take longer than others to realize they only need to give you an ear...that that you don't need them to look at them completely. (Aztec constantly runs into things around the house, because he will be looking back at me and then bam! "Who put that door there?")

I know some people in my class used to put a goody at the end of the contacts, partially so their dog would be watching their footing, and partially so that they would stop to hit the contact. Some people really want to stay away from this though, because it can encourage your dog to be looking for a treat on the A-frame all the time, rather than running.

You could also ask another handler to help you, and have you "running" behind them while they use a lead to keep her focused up front, and they can gently lead her head back if she tries to look at you...and praise her for looking forward. Eventually it will instill a habit for her to look forward, even if you are behind her.
 
*Caro said:
I have a problem with Tully looking back to see where I am instead of just following my voice commands. She tends to only do it on the contacts which is turning out to be dangerous.

She has already fallen off the A-Frame and hurt her shoulder. This week she came off the dog walk - falling on her back, knocking the wind out of her and tearing a knee tendon. This time she bounced off the seesaw and raced off to the dogwalk without me - I yelled out for her to 'go go' meaning to run to the end and she turned around to look for me while still running.

Any thoughts on how to get her to run ahead without checking on me when I yell - or should I just let her go and not say anything unless it looks like she is doing the wrong thing? I find it hard to slow her down. I try to do a wait at the end or the start of a contact so I can catch up. Ideas for while she is recovering (eg without jumping, weaving or running) would be great.
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Sounds like she's not sure of her job on the contact. My dogs are taught "touch" which is my cue for 2o2o. I would go back and retrain the contacts so they are independent. Which means she'll assume her position no matter where you are.

Ideas for while she's recovering would be Susan Garrett's crate games.
 
Sounds like a green dog who probably has some speed, gets ahead, and then isn't yet completely sure if it should be so far away from mom, and whether it's doing what you want, so feels the need to check in. I see this quite a bit in green BCs who get pretty ahead of their handlers.
 
If you haven't done so as part of your training, I'd suggest working only the END of the "trick" so the dog knows what to do since it sounds like he's about what to do.

In my training classes we did this with a small plastic lid off a container and baiting it with a treat. We'd put the lid and treat at the bottom of the contact, place the dog on the obstacle - toward the bottom, in the yellow contact zone - and issue the command "Target". The dog had to then move to the end of the contact to get the treat from the lid. (This process can be used for a 2o2o or a Running contact. For running contacts, put the lid a little further out.)

As the dog gets use to going for the treat, remove the treat from the lid and just say "Target". The dog then gets the treat as a reward for touching the target with his nose. At the same time, you train the dog to stay on the contact until you release him. You may loose a few seconds with this when running a course but it is better than an injured dog.

With this sort of training, you can tell the dog "Target" when he's on any of the contact obstacles and he should wait for you until you tell him OK, GO or some other release.

Now, I realize you probably know all this already but it really sounds like you need to go back to these basics and make sure they are solid before attempting to cross the entire dog walk or run any of the contacts again.
 
Thanks

We have her contacts down pretty tight now - after her falls off the A-Frame we worked on them. I also introduced a wait before the see-saw and table because of her speed. I'm not sure if she is looking back because of my speaking to her (I dont talk much if we are out running) or because she is addicted to the toy I bring and expects it at the end of any sequence. But I will get someone else to lead her ahead.

Next week she is allowed short walks on lead so I want to take her over the dogwalk so she doesnt fear it. I will try it then.
 
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