# Focus and Energy



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

bumping up


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## kgiff (Jul 21, 2008)

My guy I always say has no endurance. He's very energetic and hyper at the start of class but by the end of class it's a lot harder to keep him focused or to do anything with speed. Now he's almost 7 so I've had 5 years to work on this and I'm tweaking what I'm doing with him. I find it's easiest to keep him motivate if I give him breaks and I keep upping the reward as class goes on. So we'll start class with food or with a low value toy. Then I switch to his flying squirrel that is much more exciting. And finally as I see his drive and focus disappearing again I pull out the tennis ball. 

What I'm noticing even with my puppy is I need to keep rewarding even basic things. Like at the beginning of the class we're rewarding sits and focus and towards the end of class, the sits don't get rewarded as much. He's expected to sit and stay and then do whatever he is asked and then gets a reward. If it's been too long since I've rewarded a sit, I stop getting sits. 

One thing I've been meaning to try with both of mine is working on tricks while we're waiting for things to keep focused. And I need to get better with variable rewards. Yes, my 7 year old knows how to sit, but if he's sat every time I've asked him in a week and that sit has never been rewarded, that sit starts to slow down. 

I'm interested to see what others have to say too as this is something I also struggle with.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Keep a really close eye on her gait when she's showing the lethargy. It's possible she's becoming uncomfortable after exercising for a while (even though she's cleared) and the discomfort is holding her back.

If the snack trick works, then it's not discomfort. But if it doesn't, you may be able to discern a change in gait that would clue you in that her body isn't cooperating.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

kgiff said:


> And I need to get better with variable rewards.


Being truly sporadic with your rewards is important. The overall frequency depends on how reliable the behavior is, but it needs to feel truly random to the dog. If the behavior starts to disappear after a certain number of repetitions, then increase the frequency a little. The minimum effective frequency is probably the best.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Three thoughts I had reading your post.
First was the possibility after a while here hips might be bothering her. I assume she is on some form of a supplement to help - glucosomine/condoitin/msm?
Second is it may simply be conditioning. She spent much time being very restricted in what she can do. She may need to work up a little slower timetable to be at 100%. And don't ever underestimate the "physcological" tireing. Sometimes it can be more devastating than the physical.
Lastly maybe she just tires/bores easy.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Thanks for the thoughts. 

We have checked for pain and she does not seem uncomfortable in any way. She is "immature" in some ways due to her long rehab, and like I said SPOILED. We have let her say "no I'm done" and be done. I want to "encourage" in a happy fun way to keep her working and focused. I use treats but not all the time. I switch with toys and she does have her "agility only" toy. 

Yes Teddi is on supplements Cosequin DS, and 1000mg of MSM, and derm cap. I worry about nutrition for her. I wish we had a good canine nutritionist around here. We can't feed her much to keep her weight down, but are we feeding what she "needs" to work. I feed a decent dog food, the highest line the company offers with no corn and quite a decent 'holistic" menu. I don't want to name the name as I have issues with food discussions. I don't mind "nutrition" discussions. On other boards I personally and seen others be blasted because we don't feed what the specific responder feeds and we are poisoning our dogs (give me a break. I don't like those discussions. I feed the best I can afford...I think. My dogs look healthy with good coats, teeth and poops. 

I do know she is a thinker, and if she doesn't understand what we are asking I am sure it confuses her. I just want to figure out how to communicate to her this will be fun and to trust me, and at the same time make her better at handling the challenges mentally, and willing to stay on task.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Even though she's young, you might want to have a thyroid panel run on her to make sure she isn't hypothyroid.


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## bizzy (Mar 30, 2007)

You may find the book Control Unleashed helpfull. I have heard it great for reving down high drive and bringing out drive.

I think you may have two issues. Physical fatigue and mental fatigue. I would deffintly do the snack idea on the two class nights. Try keeping a journal about class what you were doing-activity wise, how much "down time" their was. Also keep track of what time she seems to check out. Half an hour into class forty-five min. ect.
Lots of down time or lots of work on a "new" skill may lead her to menally check out. While lots of active time may lead her to physically tire.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Want to trade? LOL I have one that is on fire morning until night. I do have a Whippet who sounds just like your dog, though. After a few minutes he's just plain bored, and I could never get him through a full class because he isn't food or toy motivated so he just couldn't be kept interested. I had to get very creative with food that was so yummy and tempting even I wanted it, or else there was no way he'd work. He'd just lay down and go to sleep (and his joints were and are still perfect... it was pure boredom for him).


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Well after spending a week working Teddi, working on focus, playing, and we actually got her back on her treadmill. I can say I think she was much more "up" for agility class last night but we think we may have discovered a new and probably the bigger issue. 

Teddi is sound sensitive. Last night we put 2 and 2 together. A few weeks back she knocked down a plank jump. It took us FOREVER to get her back over it. The next week she was "less willing" to participate. Last week she dropped a bar and it was then she stopped jumping. Yesterday she was great her first run. We had "stinky bear" and we were excited, running around, showing energy and drive. Teddi did the first 4 obstacles great, knocked #5 and stopped jumping. We spent the rest of the night trying to get her over ANYTHING!!! At the end of class I set up a jump and jumped it two or three times with out hesitating and called it a night with lots o treats. So she is afraid of knocking the bars. If she doesn't jump them she can't knock them. Great! 

My trainer suggested putting PVC around her food bowl. Rolling it around on the floor when we play with her, eventually working toward letting us rub her with it. I plan to work her, and play with her and have it drop near her in a POSITIVE way. She needs to learn it is ok, she won't be punished nor will she be hurt in any way when they make noise. 

If any more suggestions are out there again, I am all ears. 

Thanks


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I think your trainer is right that positive conditioning is the best way to go about it. Go slowly, keep the rewards sporadic, and make sure you're rewarding _before_ the anxiety is fully triggered. Get her happy about sounds that aren't truly upsetting and then work towards more and more scary noises. Once the dog goes into anxiety lockdown, you have to work much harder to pull her out. If she never enters into that state, it's a lot easier to make those positive associations.

Maybe people who have trained gundogs can sound off? I imagine their tips and tricks would work beautifully for this situation.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Jasper is sound sensitive. He stepped on the long jump in his class and it made a loud noise. Not only did he stop going over that jump, he refused to go through the tunnel that had lead up to the jump. Plus he slipped going into the chute, so he refused that, too.

We took him back to step one and treated him like he had never seen any of these things before. I got him back over the jump and back through the tunnel, but we didn't have time before the class ended to work on the chute. We'll deal with it in his next class.

He is also afraid of skateboards, but with work and giving him a treat with the marking word (YES), he has become much less afraid of them. Though before we got to that point, his fear transferred to rollerblades, scooters, strollers and the marching band. But I think we have gotten beyond that.


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