Clean Run - June 2011 - 18

Part 1

ee It, N uS ow Yo

u Yo

Stress in Performance Dogs
© cindy noland

Do
n’t

By Sue Alexander, CPDT, CDBC Now you see it, then you don’t. Something isn’t right, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Something just feels like it is broken between you and your canine partner. You think you would recognize the signs if your dog was stressed, but suddenly you don’t feel quite so sure. No matter which discipline you train and compete in, sometimes stress creeps in and erodes the partnership that you have worked so hard to develop, and this is especially true at the upper levels of agility. Agility is often described as a great game and stress reliever for dogs; yet, we often see the big signs of stress in classes and trials, and afterward at home. Learning to recognize the signs of stress is one of the skill sets that successful trainers develop early. Recognizing the signs of stress can help you learn to better connect with your dog and optimize your training sessions by interspersing them with periods of rest and relaxation. Stress plays an important role in preparing dogs for situations that they will encounter, either good or bad. Great trainers know that when you stop training can be just as important as the training itself.
18

Even “Good Stress” Can Create Problems
Let’s take a look at Casey and Mary. Casey is a three-year-old Lurcher and Mary is a mid-career executive who has fallen hard for Casey and everything agility. They go to classes and practices Sundays through Thursdays in the evening, and compete two weekends out of five. Casey is about 40 lbs. of muscle and heart and almost quivers whenever he gets in the car. The car predicts agility, and Casey loves the speed, the activity, and the challenge of working with Mary. Mary loves watching Casey fly like the wind, and all the technical details of going through an agility course. They aren’t out for the nationals, but they like to do well when they compete. What started as a once a week effort at exercising Casey and getting some control over his impulsivity has become a full-blown passion for them both. Lately, Mary has begun to get that “now you see it, now you don’t” feeling that comes with a dog whose excitement is so high that he cannot easily contain himself. Casey is so keen to get to the

field, that every car ride has become a nightmare. Casey used to ride loose in the back of Mary’s SUV, but after a recent ride where Casey wiggled his way through the safety bars and got into the front seat of the vehicle, Mary has started using a crate to confine him in the car.
© www.mattallisonphotography.com

Left in a parked car near the agility ring, this dog jumps on and off the dashboard and vocalizes.
© ann clayton photographic imaging

A dog that starts being hyper-vigilant and barking at home will often start showing the same behavior in the ring.
Clean Run | June 11

http://WWW.MATTALLISONPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Clean Run - June 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - June 2011