So Sasha and I had our first Rally Trial today. Our first class went well and we would have had a qualifying score of 186/200 except I messed up and got us DQ'd. On the right pivot I took a half step forward instead of pivoting on the spot.

Our second class was going well until my girl had a meltdown. She started barking and jumping around and then diving for my feet. She actually had her teeth on my shoe a few times. I tried to give her a few more commands and carry on with the trial but she was getting more and more out of control. I finally grabbed her collar and put her into a down and made her stay there while I tied my shoe and took a few deep breaths.

I gave her a minute or so to chill out but when I let her up she went back to being a jerk again. Back into a down. Another minute or so and I let her up and had her do hand touches so I could get her out of the ring. What I *really* wanted to do was wring her neck!!!

Once out of the ring, I put her back into a down and made her stay there for about 5 minutes. When I let her up, she was back to her normal, well behaved self.

I'm not sure if she was just over-stimulated from all the dogs and people around or if she was over-tired and acting out due to that. Whatever the reason, I can't have her doing that.

I've made arrangements to go back to the same place and train there a few times this week. I'm a little worried because we are supposed to trial again next week at another new place.

Any thoughts or suggestions of what I should do should this happen again? Or something I can do to prevent it in the first place?

Hi, Debbie;

I finished/proofed my dog for her BH last month. My dog is dog reactive and a bit hyper (sharp). She is also site specific, as we don't get out much.
I was worried about how she would act in a trial environment. I decided to train at the local ballfields in the evening after work. We would get there about twenty miutes before ball practices started, and do a routine and some troubleshooting on the field. When the kids arrived, we would allow them to take the field, then mingle among all the people and sounds and smells.

That's just one idea. There may be some venues or public places near you that have not only lots of distractions, but also some dog-appropriate places where you can train. Train in as many different places as you possibly can.

Hey Duane, thanks for a completely different perspective on this.

We train in three places close to home and I never thought about her becoming "site specific". I will be making a point of finding new places to train her every day for a while.

Good advice! Just be careful of not pushing her to fast in new places. I would just play with her in different environments until Your sure she's comfortable. Then very light obedience with lots of play time in between.
Try and get to fun matches (show and go) with her and make them game time instead of another place to get a score.It used to be possible to enter those "for exhibition only". No pressure on you or the dog.

man I feel sorry for you. That is my worst nightmare. I am listening to the advice given you and taking it for myself. Train in different spots. Dogs can melt down when stressed. I want to take bindi to different matches and trials and just let her get used to the noise and stuff. But that is hard because dogs who are registered in the trial shouldn't be there. Still working on it. I have begun to take bindi to petsmart and ask her to do behaviors. I take her to a park. Training is the closest thing she gets to people and dogs milling around. I plan on going to other venue too. Baseball games good idea. My husband is going to craft fairs, my try that with her too.
Don't give up, it will work out. Hang in there.
sharon

Yes, definitely train and play (play's a part of training) in as many different places as possible. Also, try and find fun matches which are much lower keyed than than trials.

And don't over-worry about it Dabbie. This is all part of the "game." In fact a friend of mine calls this type of thing the "Embarrass the Handler" game.

My little chow mix Sport once ran her own course at an agility trial totally out of control. The dog who was normally perfect scoring and very well behaved, even off leash. What I think happened was we sat outside the ring all day instead of crating her somewhere quiet. She was watching the other dogs run and it was making her crazy (but she was quiet and never showed it.) I had no idea she would do such a thing and everybody was laughing, oh well. It was funny, I waited until she was done and escorted her out of the ring.

"Embarrass the Handler" game. Cute and definitely spot on.

Now that I've read people's thoughts on this and had some time to think things over, I've decided to still go to the trial next weekend but do some things differently.

Like Tresa's dog, Sasha was in her crate near the ring and was lying down and looked relaxed. Next time, in between matches, if I can't find a quiet place for her crate, I'll put her in the car and let her relax/sleep there.

Because she is such a low energy dog, I didn't want to tire her out practicing too much before and in between the matches but 20/20 hindsights says I should have. She would have been feeding off the higher energy in the room and that would have kept her going. In fact I think that is part of what put her over the top. I'll see if I can find some place to play tug or fetch with her and expend some energy.

In the meantime, there are a few places we go just for walks (no training) but I'll start incorporating Rally moves into our walks and be looking for some new places to go for training and walks.

The trial next weekend; I think we're still going to go, if nothing more than to put her back in a "trial environment". I'll decide when I get there if we'll actually compete or not.

Fingers crossed please!

Revision to my orginal post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyO8EVzhVU

I just watched this video Connie posted and have another new perspective on what happened yesterday. My girl was energized and wanted to play and wanted me to play with her.

 Quote: Debbie Martin

Revision to my orginal post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyO8EVzhVU

I just watched this video Connie posted and have another new perspective on what happened yesterday. My girl was energized and wanted to play and wanted me to play with her.

As I read your original post, that's what I was thinking, too. I wouldn't use the term "meltdown" to describe what she did. It sounds more like she was just feeling playful and gave in to her impulses.

I'm in a similar situation with one of my dogs who twice now has been in the rally ring and suddenly decided it would be a lot of fun to grab the leash and start playing tug. So we're working on the same issues.

eta: A DQ for taking one extra step? Yikes, the Canadian rules must be tough!

Edited by Cheri Grissom (11/10/2012 07:19 PM)
Edit reason: eta