Kingdom of Pets

Posted by Riette-Mohr
Oct 4, 2010

I’ve got a two year old North American Shepherd, called Kel-C. We compete in Agility for the past six months and she worked like a superstar, she is fast and very focus, but my problem started about two months again when she start to shut down at big shows where there is a lot of noise and people / dogs moving around. When I put her down at the start line she will start to tremble, turn on her back and then run back to her crate.

I don't know if she is picking up on my nerves at these big events because when we train at club she is her normal self.

Any advise will be appreciated.

Regards

Posted by KOPCaroline
Oct 4, 2010

Hey Riette,

Kel-C's nerves are a bit understandable, all that noise and so many people has to be intimidating!

Your best bet, in my opinion, would be desensitization. Take her places with loud noises, big crowds, play loud TV programs at home. Ignore her when she behaves anxiously or gets scared. The more you expose her in various environments, the better she'll handle it because she will get used to it. When she doesn't react or is calm, reward her A LOT. She should know being calm in whatever situation is a great way to act!

Once she can sit calmly during whatever noise, you can start on giving her commands during the "training" times too. It will help her to still listen to you in big shows. Have friends come over and make as much noise as possible while you train with her in the backyard. Continuing her training and rewarding her for doing well will help her keep her confidence up, and make her anxiety naturally decrease.

As far as what triggered her sudden switch in behaviour, did something happen at one of the shows? Get her tail caught in something, get yelled at directly, etc? If you can try to pinpoint what started the anxiety, you should be able to fix it easily.

The important thing, at her age, is to keep exposing her to loud, crowded situations, otherwise her anxiety will become engraved as her only response to these experiences. I'm sure she'll be able to work through it with your help, good luck!

Posted by KOPCaroline
Oct 4, 2010

y Riette,

Kel-C's nerves are a bit understandable, all that noise and so many people has to be intimidating!

Your best bet, in my opinion, would be desensitization. Take her places with loud noises, big crowds, play loud TV programs at home. Ignore her when she behaves anxiously or gets scared. The more you expose her in various environments, the better she'll handle it because she will get used to it. When she doesn't react or is calm, reward her A LOT. She should know being calm in whatever situation is a great way to act!

Once she can sit calmly during whatever noise, you can start on giving her commands during the "training" times too. It will help her to still listen to you in big shows. Have friends come over and make as much noise as possible while you train with her in the backyard. Continuing her training and rewarding her for doing well will help her keep her confidence up, and make her anxiety naturally decrease.

As far as what triggered her sudden switch in behaviour, did something happen at one of the shows? Get her tail caught in something, get yelled at directly, etc? If you can try to pinpoint what started the anxiety, you should be able to fix it easily.

The important thing, at her age, is to keep exposing her to loud, crowded situations, otherwise her anxiety will become engraved as her only response to these experiences. I'm sure she'll be able to work through it with your help, good luck!

Posted by kjd
Oct 4, 2010

Say, Riette,

When you first start training her with noises, you might begin inside the house with the TV or radio tuned to a sports game. That will give her the crowd noise ~~you can start with the volume down, then gradually increase it. If you have a large-screen TV, it is even better~~ she'll have sounds and sights!

kjd

Agility Nerves