# How to stop zoomies during agility (or any training)?



## nolefan

Just curious what his daily routine is like? 
How much time is he spent crated or confined while you have to work?
How much daily hard,aerobic exercise does he receive?
How much time do you have to work with him or play before class time?

A lot of us are really rushed in the evenings trying to get things done, get to class and get set up etc. I realized that I was not building enough time into my routine to allow my dog to acclimate and settle when we transitioned from home to trainingclub. I looked around and it became apparent to me that many people must be rushing home from work to change, walk the dog and scurry to class and were trying to work a dog that had been home sleeping all day and may not have had proper exercise since last Saturday. Obviously some things can't be helped but I wonder if you've thought through his routine and what you're asking of him.

Hang in there, if you keep at it, you will get through this. If your trainers are not coming up with good ideas or suggestions for this, have you tried approaching people who are clearly experienced with high energy breeds to discuss how they have handled this with their own dogs?


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## quilter

I am no great trainer, but we've been through this phase. It's partly adolescence, but I think also partly acclimation/habituation/socialization. The first time we took Casper to a dog park, he was an adolescent and he took off. But he also came back. A few times. They he got the zoomies. After a few visits though, the excitement wore off a bit. He still loves, loves, loves to run, but doesn't do the zoomies. 

Same thing at the beach. The first few times, again an adolescent, clown face-crazy eyes zoomies. On leash, ugh. But we were back at the beach last weekend, had him on a long line, and it was no big deal. Fun, exciting, interesting, but nowhere near over the top.

It's actually good that your pup took off with the cones - it's better that putting that mouth to use in other ways!

Casper and I have also worked on "off leash does not equal zoomies/running off". When ever we get home from a walk, I take off his leash and immediately do a few repetitions of easy tricks with a high rate of reinforcement. (Lots of treats.) So now he thinks, at least sometimes, "no leash means working with lots of rewards". It's definitely helped.

I do think you're going to want to find some space and work on recalls. Work up from short distances, of course. Maybe a tennis court to start? (And yes, risk the wrath of the municipal code.)


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## quilter

Another thing that really, really helped was that we found a good Control Unleashed class. Fun and amazing!


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## Ljilly28

quilter said:


> Another thing that really, really helped was that we found a good Control Unleashed class. Fun and amazing!


I so agree Control Unleashed class is awesome.

Can you find off season tennis courts and play frisbee with him or a college campus with cross country running trials? I have lived in some extremely urban environments like New Haven and still was able to find off leash space.


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## Megora

Heheh.... I'd cancel the group agility classes and stick with obedience classes on leash for maybe another 6 months. Or do private agility classes if you want to focus on agility. Give your dog time to mature, but also he doesn't get to be off leash until you are sure you are going to get the same focus and obedience off leash as you get on leash. This just takes time and training - and getting that dog so he knows the most rewarding spot is at your side and or doing the exercises. 

Obedience training and really focusing on those classes - it builds that bond with your dog. Because as opposed to agility where the dog is moving "out" and looking ahead.... obedience draws the dog's attention solely on you. They learn that being in your space is the best - it's where all good things come.

No play sessions with other dogs.

No visits with other people while on the floor.



I'll give you an example. I'm taking private obedience classes with somebody who has helped me solve a few puzzles, but she's also very inspiring to me. I had my usual class on Monday and she introduced a shoestring for heeling. 

We are not talking about a dog taking off and go spastic on me. This is just being able to really polish up off leash heeling so my dog stays precisely in heel position, etc.... 

This helps, because with Bertie when I do about turns - there a gap between my left leg and his head which would cost points. 

But going back to basics - your dog simply has to learn that when he's working, he has to be working. It just takes time to build that teamwork. Your dog has to be on leash or offleash in very controlled situations, until you get there.


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## Loisiana

Does ever have any opportunity to run outside of agility class?


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## Megora

Oh goodness, I didn't see that about your dog never being offleash... 

Even if you are going to dog parks in the off hours - your dog needs offleash time. 

I don't realize how lucky I am that my dogs have a lot of space here at home to run until I'm the road for a few days. I've gone to show sites and I'm not the only show person hiking out to open space near the show site to let my dogs RUN. 

There's a show in Chicago that I keep thinking about going to - but each time, I just dread going somewhere where there no space for dogs to be turned loose...


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## goldenenthusiast

nolefan said:


> Just curious what his daily routine is like?
> How much time is he spent crated or confined while you have to work?
> How much daily hard,aerobic exercise does he receive?
> How much time do you have to work with him or play before class time?
> 
> A lot of us are really rushed in the evenings trying to get things done, get to class and get set up etc. I realized that I was not building enough time into my routine to allow my dog to acclimate and settle when we transitioned from home to trainingclub. I looked around and it became apparent to me that many people must be rushing home from work to change, walk the dog and scurry to class and were trying to work a dog that had been home sleeping all day and may not have had proper exercise since last Saturday. Obviously some things can't be helped but I wonder if you've thought through his routine and what you're asking of him.
> 
> Hang in there, if you keep at it, you will get through this. If your trainers are not coming up with good ideas or suggestions for this, have you tried approaching people who are clearly experienced with high energy breeds to discuss how they have handled this with their own dogs?


He's never confined or alone during the day as I am currently not working. In nice +40 degrees weather I take him out for a minimum 1.5 hour walk (2 hours or more during fall and spring) plus two or three 15 min potty breaks. Obviously it's winter so we've been doing less lately but I'm thinking it's not lack of exercise. Plus he lays around lazy and sleeping most of the day.

The agility class is in the morning, and we are late risers, so I usually force him to wake up and take him straight there. That probably doesn't help as he is full of energy from a night of sleep. However, his therapy class is at night, and I notice his zoomie-ish overstimulation there too. Once, I purposely got him vaccinated, took him on a 1.5 hour walk, then a half hour play date right before his therapy class. If anything, he was more wild than ever in that class. He also does the zoomie-ish taking off thing any time of the day, regardless of exercise.

As for the high energy thing, he definitely is high energy, but in a different way than other dogs. In our agility class he calmly lays down and will even start snoozing on his side during any down time. If we are in the ring, he will just lay down on his own calmly and quietly while the instructor talks. Whereas other dogs are barking and whining for attention, jump up on their owner for a treat, always pulling on the leash, trying to sniff around the ring. Their energy is more constant, whereas my pup is either like 0 or 100 mph. I haven't seen any other owners have this problem. A new girl and her dog were in class today and commented, "Wow, he is so mellow for only 1.5 yrs." I said, "Just wait until we go in the ring."


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## goldenenthusiast

Loisiana said:


> Does ever have any opportunity to run outside of agility class?


No, unfortunately  No yard and I live in a bustling downtown area.


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## goldenenthusiast

Megora said:


> Oh goodness, I didn't see that about your dog never being offleash...
> 
> Even if you are going to dog parks in the off hours - your dog needs offleash time.
> 
> I don't realize how lucky I am that my dogs have a lot of space here at home to run until I'm the road for a few days. I've gone to show sites and I'm not the only show person hiking out to open space near the show site to let my dogs RUN.
> 
> There's a show in Chicago that I keep thinking about going to - but each time, I just dread going somewhere where there no space for dogs to be turned loose...


Oh, we are in Chicago. I am deeply envious of people with yards. I used to let him play in some of the local parks around here. None are fenced, and he used to be fine about being off leash. As a youngster I'd put him in long sit stays and call him to me and he did fine. I'd also drop the leash when his puppy friends were around, and I always used high value treats, so he (and his friends) never strayed far. Then one day around 1 year old, he decided to run out of the park and down the street, ignoring my panicked calls. Ever since then, I have been afraid to let go of his leash (Recently a well known dog in the area was hit and killed by a car). There were two incidents where he ripped the leash out of my hands and took off, and another where the leash unclipped itself, and again he took off. So as I said it's just a vicious cycle. I can't practice so he just continues to get worse.

I do know of a tiny, dirty, junky dog park in my area if you are looking for a place to run. In the middle of the day, there's a good chance it's empty because people prefer the new, shiny, clean dog parks. Our area is the highest dogs per capita in the city so all the dog parks are always packed, and any kind of open park district space is always occupied by off leash dogs. It's not a good place to practice recall  not to mention illegally off leash dogs are always harrassing mine so I'm hesitant at all to go to a park much less practice off leash.


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## goldenenthusiast

quilter said:


> I am no great trainer, but we've been through this phase. It's partly adolescence, but I think also partly acclimation/habituation/socialization. The first time we took Casper to a dog park, he was an adolescent and he took off. But he also came back. A few times. They he got the zoomies. After a few visits though, the excitement wore off a bit. He still loves, loves, loves to run, but doesn't do the zoomies.
> 
> Same thing at the beach. The first few times, again an adolescent, clown face-crazy eyes zoomies. On leash, ugh. But we were back at the beach last weekend, had him on a long line, and it was no big deal. Fun, exciting, interesting, but nowhere near over the top.
> 
> It's actually good that your pup took off with the cones - it's better that putting that mouth to use in other ways!
> 
> Casper and I have also worked on "off leash does not equal zoomies/running off". When ever we get home from a walk, I take off his leash and immediately do a few repetitions of easy tricks with a high rate of reinforcement. (Lots of treats.) So now he thinks, at least sometimes, "no leash means working with lots of rewards". It's definitely helped.
> 
> I do think you're going to want to find some space and work on recalls. Work up from short distances, of course. Maybe a tennis court to start? (And yes, risk the wrath of the municipal code.)


I definitely try to use the reward thing with using cheese when he's in the ring, and I try to get his mind to focus by doing easy tricks like shake paw. But sometimes it doesn't work and he would rather zoom than have the cheese. He's never been very food motivated to be honest, and toys will not work either because when he's very overstimulated like that, he will rapidly destroy the toy and be possessive unless you let him destroy it (this has happened). He goes to his mouth when he's stimulated and he does it as calming thing according to my behaviorist.

I agree the tennis court is a good idea. The one closest to me is open in the back though, unfortunately. I'm literally going to look up tennis courts in the city and drive to them and see which are good, haha.


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## Elsa Cholla's Mom

When I ran into the Zoomies with Elsa, and we were living on the road, lots of stressful situations for her, but no off leash opportunities, I got a 20 ft. training leash. Not only could we play fetch and give her a chance to run, but if she got the zoomies, she had basically 40 ft to run back and forth. Helped save my sanity, because her back up plan is to bite me.

I think stress triggers it. Elsa at 19 weeks went to someone else's house with me for the first time today, went to her first school ground today, (was quite scared at first), and hung out with 2 children for the first time. She was good as gold all day. A real trooper. But the second she got home, she got into bity behaviour, and I told her to stop a few times, and then she went into Zoomies in the house, up and down the furniture. I wasn't surprised. 
Kind of scary to think I could still being dealing with that at 1 1/2 years old.


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## goldenenthusiast

Where can I find a Control Unleashed class? I googled it but didn't see anything. Is it a specific program?


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## goldenenthusiast

Elsa Cholla's Mom said:


> When I ran into the Zoomies with Elsa, and we were living on the road, lots of stressful situations for her, but no off leash opportunities, I got a 20 ft. training leash. Not only could we play fetch and give her a chance to run, but if she got the zoomies, she had basically 40 ft to run back and forth. Helped save my sanity, because her back up plan is to bite me.
> 
> I think stress triggers it. Elsa at 19 weeks went to someone else's house with me for the first time today, went to her first school ground today, (was quite scared at first), and hung out with 2 children for the first time. She was good as gold all day. A real trooper. But the second she got home, she got into bity behaviour, and I told her to stop a few times, and then she went into Zoomies in the house, up and down the furniture. I wasn't surprised.
> Kind of scary to think I could still being dealing with that at 1 1/2 years old.


How old is Elsa now? My boy was really bitey around 4-5 months but suddenly stopped after that. Also, I don't think you have to worry. My pup seems to be strange in that he is regressing to a man-child as he gets older, rather than getting more mature. It seems other Goldens outgrow their behavior.


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## goldenenthusiast

Oh, I saw you said 19 weeks. That is the most bitey phase, I wouldn't worry! I couldn't touch my pup without him trying to chomp me for like 2 months around that time. Then suddenly one day he just stopped. His biting turned into kissing and now he is constantly kissing and licking me.


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## Harleysmum

I know that this is totally unhelpful but reading this thread I have developed a real affection for your mad, bad boy. How about a photo.


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## TheZ's

If you can't find a Control Unleashed class in your area (I haven't seen any close to me either) you can find the book by Leslie McDevitt in various formats and related DVDs etc. at _www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=261

_ I've had experience with zoomies during agility (and obedience ) training. I think making sure the dog is well exercised, preferably off leash, is really important. We've backed up in our training to try to really work on focus and impulse control. It's not as much fun but definitely necessary for us. We've also switched to a very experienced agility trainer whose approach is to lay a solid foundation of basic skills before ever working on the various obstacles. The maturing that happens with the passage of time and more experience also helps.


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## ceegee

One possibility would be to take a few obedience classes before embarking on agility. I've always looked at agility as an extension of obedience. Our dogs are usually in group obedience classes for at six to eight months before starting agility. Obedience is great because it allows you to work on focus in distracting situations, which is essential for agility.

The "zoomies" may be your dog's way of celebrating the fact that he's off leash and not under direct control. I know of some dogs who still "zoom" in the ring occasionally, even after many years of competing in agility. It may not go away completely. But the best way to address it is by developing your dog's ability to focus, and his off-leash obedience skills. An easy way to develop focus is to give out high-value treats at random moments. You can also teach a "look at me" command, where the dog has to look at your face. A good recall is essential. All these things can be taught initially indoors, in your home. But I'd encourage you to get him into a group obedience setting, so he'll learn to work for you with distractions.

Above all, don't feel discouraged. Dogs are sponges: they learn stuff all the time. If you'd have seen my last golden in her early obedience classes, you - like me! - would have wondered how ever we were going to get her to do anything at all that didn't involve running around like a headless chicken and stealing other dogs' treats. Yet, she went on to win one national agility championship and three provincial championships. Anything is possible. It's just a question of training and repetition. Believe me, if we did it, you can too.

Best of luck!

PS I was a bit dismayed to see that your current agility trainer gets angry at your dog and makes you crate him. If it's possible, maybe you could try to find someone who will work with you to find more creative solutions. It seems a bit counter-intuitive to crate a dog who's bursting with energy.


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## K9-Design

A few thoughts come to mind.
For the immediate classtime zoomie, a very easy and effective method at discouraging this is to have someone ELSE catch him (i.e. teacher, other student, etc). They firmly grab his collar, pull up to make him uncomfortable, and start dragging him away from you. You frantically call him. They keep pulling him away and don't let him come to you. Most dogs fall for this instantly and start panicking that they can't get back to mom. Their mindset changes from free-for-all to oh-god-I-must-get-back-to-mom. They finally release him back to you or take him back to you. Big praise when he gets to you. 

The bigger issue is this not coming when called. Not only is it affecting your hobbies (agility), but it is affecting his whole life. It is so sad to me that a dog cannot be allowed to run freely EVERY DAY. I feel it's vital to their physical and mental well-being. No wonder he goes bananas when he's free at agility class.

Get ready for a chorus of boos but look into training with an electric collar. It is BY FAR the most effective, humane way to teach a dog a reliable recall ESPECIALLY when the dog is already conditioned to go bananas when he is off leash. A friend of mine does "ecollar recall rehab" lessons for pet people, and it is AMAZING how fast (and with very little drama) these dogs who are bona fide, lifelong runaways learn to come when called -- OFF LEASH. That is the freedom your dog can earn, you have the power to teach him and offer him that. It also instantly stops zoomies in class.

Is an ecollar essential for teaching a good recall? Of course not. None of my dogs were ever taught to respond to a recall with an ecollar, nor did I "resort" to an ecollar to get them to come when called. They were conditioned to the ecollar after they were already solid on the "here" command. But it can be quite literally a lifesaver in situations like yours.

Best of luck.


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## goldenenthusiast

Harley's mom, here's a photo of my boy. He looks very regal and mature for his age, until he starts zooming! He definitely gets this delirious look in his eyes, flying ears, and a very hunched back!


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## goldenenthusiast

ceegee said:


> One possibility would be to take a few obedience classes before embarking on agility. I've always looked at agility as an extension of obedience. Our dogs are usually in group obedience classes for at six to eight months before starting agility. Obedience is great because it allows you to work on focus in distracting situations, which is essential for agility.
> 
> The "zoomies" may be your dog's way of celebrating the fact that he's off leash and not under direct control. I know of some dogs who still "zoom" in the ring occasionally, even after many years of competing in agility. It may not go away completely. But the best way to address it is by developing your dog's ability to focus, and his off-leash obedience skills. An easy way to develop focus is to give out high-value treats at random moments. You can also teach a "look at me" command, where the dog has to look at your face. A good recall is essential. All these things can be taught initially indoors, in your home. But I'd encourage you to get him into a group obedience setting, so he'll learn to work for you with distractions.
> 
> Above all, don't feel discouraged. Dogs are sponges: they learn stuff all the time. If you'd have seen my last golden in her early obedience classes, you - like me! - would have wondered how ever we were going to get her to do anything at all that didn't involve running around like a headless chicken and stealing other dogs' treats. Yet, she went on to win one national agility championship and three provincial championships. Anything is possible. It's just a question of training and repetition. Believe me, if we did it, you can too.
> 
> Best of luck!
> 
> PS I was a bit dismayed to see that your current agility trainer gets angry at your dog and makes you crate him. If it's possible, maybe you could try to find someone who will work with you to find more creative solutions. It seems a bit counter-intuitive to crate a dog who's bursting with energy.


Thanks for your encouragement! That does make me feel better. I definitely think my pup has the goods to be a rockstar. I just feel like he gets these brain spazzes that inexplicably turn him into a maniac rocket on legs. But sometimes I can see when he is so smart, precocious, focused, and I can feel how great he can be.

As for the crate thing, I wasn't too happy about that either. He immediately settled down in there becuase he actually does have a naturally calm personality despite his zoomies. Next time maybe I will speak up and suggest that it's not really working anyway.


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## Loukia

To comment on the e-collar... I know they are very controversial and some people are very against them, however, to echo what was said in a previous post, they can provide a dog safe freedom. I've seen it make all the difference for my friend's dog. We've been in obedience classes together for the last year. We attend off-leash advanced obedience together and her dog behaves perfectly. Watching her in class, you would think she would be completely obedient and focused outside off leash. However, when her dog gets outside and knows she's free, all bets are off. Her perfect recall and in-class obedience flies right out the window and she'll take off like the wind. 

After a few scary run aways, my friend decided to work with a trainer to train her dog on an e-collar. Her dog was already very well versed in the obedience commands and learned the collar within a couple of days. She also said she can set the e-collar so low that she can't feel it but it's all her dog needs to come back to her. Now her dog can run free and enjoy herself without the dangers of running away or getting injured. I know they can cause major problems if used incorrectly, however, if you work with a professional and use them correctly, I can definitely see the benefit. Her dog has such a better quality of life now.


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## ILoveMyGolden

LOL to the delirious eyes, the two pictures are priceless. Handsome guy, but there's some crazy in there!

I have nothing to offer, and while this really won't be helpful, I had to share....at my first agility trail I saw a choco in its class and only noticed because it began tearing around the ring zooming. The handler was frustrated and then burst out "you are 11 years old, we are never going to get a Q if you keep doing this!". Apparently the dog is notorious on a perfect course to begin zooming near the end of the course. Must be so frustrating, but I can't help but smirk at the silly dog. They control us, we do not have any say, haha  Good luck....and have fun with it, I think zoomies are the best, but dang when they are in the ring!


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## craigtoo

littlesnow,

How's it going? Your dog built quite a "fan base" with this thread. I hope things are working out!


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## quilter

Here's a recent blog post on zoomies during training. 

Zooming: Impulse Control or Stress? | Denise Fenzi


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## goldenenthusiast

quilter said:


> Here's a recent blog post on zoomies during training.
> 
> Zooming: Impulse Control or Stress? | Denise Fenzi


Thanks for the article, it's definitely a stress issue. My teacher even commented, "He does it as avoidance." As I said the more control I put him under such as long sit stays, long down stays, "wait" with treats on the paws, the more wild he gets when he's "free." Also he has not once run up to another dog while off leash in the ring so clearly not an impulse thing there.

Stress examples: After I get him under control and following me again, the tunnel will trigger it again. He'll run in, then instead of running straight out, he starts running around inside the tunnel, not coming out. All I see is the tunnel shaking hard and the sound of his paws thudding around maniacally in there, then he suddenly bursts out the wrong side and starts flying around the ring again. Or another time, we were trying to get him to walk the ramp. He'd approach, then dodge it and zoom around 10x, then we'd calm him down, then he'd approach, then dodge it and zoom again.

Also, at home, he does a mini version of zoomies with me every time I approach him to leash him. As soon as I approach him with the harness, he starts chasing his tail and jumping on the couches and grabbing toys, trying to escape from the harness. A couple of my city friend's dogs also try to escape their harnesses but none get crazy zoomies doing so. Is this hatred of the harness a city thing? They associate it with being restrained? Unfortunately I live downtown and with no yard we have to be leashed constantly 

Since it appears to be a stress thing, any suggestions how to fix it? The blog didn't offer anything.

I've started going to a crappy small fenced park, much smaller than a tennis court. Hardly anyone goes here because it's so junky, and I let him off leash here to get more off leash time. But it's so small, boring, and uninteresting, he doesn't zoom here. I use treats to recall him to me and then release him, "free," "go explore," as his reward. But he's like the opposite, understimulated here, and just walks around marking and wants to leave after 5 min.


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## goldenenthusiast

ILoveMyGolden said:


> LOL to the delirious eyes, the two pictures are priceless. Handsome guy, but there's some crazy in there!
> 
> I have nothing to offer, and while this really won't be helpful, I had to share....at my first agility trail I saw a choco in its class and only noticed because it began tearing around the ring zooming. The handler was frustrated and then burst out "you are 11 years old, we are never going to get a Q if you keep doing this!". Apparently the dog is notorious on a perfect course to begin zooming near the end of the course. Must be so frustrating, but I can't help but smirk at the silly dog. They control us, we do not have any say, haha  Good luck....and have fun with it, I think zoomies are the best, but dang when they are in the ring!


Thanks for the story, I'm glad to know that someone else's dog likes to zoom too, even at 11 years old!


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## little tess

I believe in a general sense, our retrivers are all athletes ; some take it more seriously than others. I remember whem Ronnie was about that age, he was off leash and took off running in BLM land...all federally owned wilderness with primitive roads. The only way to track him was to jump in the truck and go after him. When I caught up, I clocked him at 25 mph on the straightaway! He'd been running for over 2 miles by that point. I'd had NO idea a retriever could move like that! He wasn't running to get away...he was running for pure joy! He clearly couldn't figure for the life of him what took so long for me to catch up! Then he jumped in the lake and swam along the shore after the ducks for another 10 minutes and couldn't have been happier. At he end, he was in nirvanna, exhausted, but 104 lbs of pure joyful golden contentment. 

Now, Ronnie had to learn this was an invitation only activity and not one he could engage in at will; that took some time. He lets me know when I haven't "invited" him in awhile. And I've never forgotten that retrievers may have couch pototo tendencies, but they have the souls of athletes. I believe they do best when they can express it and will seek opportunities of their own to do just that!


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## TheZ's

I like _Little Tess's_ comment above. Some of these Goldens have an incredible amount of energy that needs to be channeled appropriately. Your boy sounds like he's actually going to be a great dog and is certainly handsome. Unfortunately that crazy look in the eye is something I'm familiar with. I do think if you keep working with him you're going to see improvement as he matures. Have you thought about changing trainers? We're working with an agility trainer who has recognized the possibility that Gracie might Zoom and is working around that and she seems to be getting better and more engaged. Other things you might think about are private lessons or renting a training facility on an hourly basis so you could work with your dog on things like recalls and retrieves that use up more energy. You might also try to locate a facility where he could swim or use a treadmill.


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## quilter

littlesnow said:


> Since it appears to be a stress thing, any suggestions how to fix it? The blog didn't offer anything.


That's the tricky part, I suppose, and it's individual to each dog. 

For Casper, having to work in a distraction-rich environment was stressful. He could do the work, but I had to use really high-value treats. In the end, it was still exhausting for him. Some dogs shut down, some start barking, other spins, or zoom. The zoomers attract attention, though, which makes it tougher on the handlers.


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## Laurie

If I didn't know better, I would think your guy and my guy were the same dog!!

My youngest boy is almost 4 years old. We started puppy agility when he was 6 months. He did well and had a lot of potential to be a great agility dog (he comes from a line rich in agility titles). But...he too would get zoomies at almost every agility class. Some nights were really good, others were downright embarrassing. He would do a couple of obstacles and then away he went...usually after horse poop as our classes were in a barn. Sometimes it was fence barking with another dog as there were some nights 2 other classes would be going on. 

What we tried was doing shorter sequences...ie. tunnel, jump, jump....big party!!! Put him away until next time. Then we would repeat. If he was successful, we would add in another obstacle. With him, he was good with about 6 or 7 obstacle and then would lose it. We used food (which he loves), toys, balls, etc. to keep him motivated but the environment was just more exciting than everything else. I should add too that Lexx has oodles of off leash exercise plus he goes to daycare twice a week so with him it wasn't pent up energy. As well, I am a newbie trainer and I am well aware that I made training mistakes that probably confused the poor guy.

Our instructor also used the crate when he wouldn't perform. I didn't like it but at the same time, I didn't want to hold up class for others. To make a long story short, we ended up dropping out of agility when he was almost 3. I felt that our instructors just found him to be a distraction and really didn't want to waste their time working with him to get him past his issues. It was very disappointing because I know he had it in him to be a great agility dog. 

Having said that, we also have zoomie issues in the obedience ring. The first couple of times we trialed, he would do great until the off leash heel exercise...then came the tail chasing, barking and avoidance. He is trained through utility but the ring stress is still there and preventing us from any further trialing. He does have titles in rally but the verbal encouragement goes a long way there. With him too, I believe he just needed to mature. Like I said, he will be 4 next month and I have noticed a big big change in his maturity over the last few months. I'm actually considering putting him back into agility to see where we're at but this time, we'll try a different club.

Don't give up on your guy but I would also agree that perhaps you should partake in some obedience classes so he has that foundation. And, he just may need to mature a bit more. Maybe try one on one classes with a private instructor in the interim.

Good luck!!! 

PS Your guy is very handsome!!


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## my4goldens

I have a zoomer too. He is 4, we have tried everything, including an e-collar which was suggested by our instructor after we exhausted everything else in her bag of tricks. I thought we had it under control, until a couple months ago, when he lost his mind again and took off, again. It's weird with this dog, he is the most low key dog in his Nosework classes, people can't believe he zooms, but to be honest, I have given up obedience with him, for now, lost confidence in myself as a trainer and him, off leash. We are going to stick with Nosework, he loves it, is handled by my husband which makes me happy, first dog sport my husband has become involved in. He is a good dog, just loses his mind once in a while off leash. Not a big deal.


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## goldenenthusiast

Thanks for your stories, glad to know there are other "zoomers." I dropped the agility class because I felt like my teacher hated us. Can't really afford privates right now but otherwise that sounds like a great option.

I definitely agree with the athlete comment! I can tell my golden has very high drive compared to other goldens, who are just calm and content to be a pet. I truly feel like my guy sets goals (naughty ones) and won't rest until he achieves them. If one way doesn't work, he tries 3 other different ways to get what he wants. He is endlessly patient and will remember something (naughty) longer than me. He definitely has the intelligence and focus. If only I could channel that to work in my favor....


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