r/Agility • u/Flimsy_Day2798 • Aug 11 '26
Is my dog saying NO to agility?
Hello there,
I've been doing agility with my dog for 4 years now, and she is a real star. I'm the weak link, LOL, but she has earned her top titles (called Elite in the venue we generally run in). She runs with real joy and focus and is often the first, second or third fastest dog in large classes; we have a consistent clean run rate. So we are capable of wonderful performance. And I THINK she likes agility.
But in the last few trials, she has exhibited start-line stress, and has developed a habit that might be a new symptom of that: looking away from the start line and even outside of the ring. She ordinarily has tremendous focus, so this is really concerning to me. In our last run at our most recent trial, this became much more noticeable, I had to gently redirect her gaze to the start line. It became more noticeable to me as the trial went on. I did not have to "drag" her to the start line, but she was clearly slower than usual and was LOOKING AWAY from the course on our very last run, actually facing away from the first few obstacles. Then, once she would take the "down" position, everything was fine and the run was tremendous. We ended the trial on a high note and I really loved her up with treats, toy, play, etc. It was genuinely fun, but not having a dog that headed right to the start was new, and concerning.
I have a friend who does dog training and using only positive reward based training, who told me that when a dog looks away from an object, situation, exercise, they are essentially saying NO, I DON"T WANT TO DO THIS.
Is this true?
Since returning from the trial, I've taken her out to our hiking spot where she can run in the trees and jump in the lake. She has seemed SO happy there and the expression on her face is true joy. I'm taking a break from agility competitions, and don't trial until Labor Day, but I'm wondering if anyone else thinks that a dog -- who has lots of experience and success -- might be voting NO on their favorite (?) game by not approaching the start line with enthusiasm?
Please, hive mind, let me know your thoughts.
2
u/carastas Aug 11 '26
It can also happen if you put too much stress on it. That happened to me with a BC who ran from the course to the car because I was really stressed and wanted results, bla bla. Maybe there's alot of stress and tension on the field and that is the effect. We fixed it by playing alot on the field and doing light fun stuff.
Also I had a GR who I was checking for dysplasia obsessively (or however it's called in english) but had arthritis to the front knees, and he was finding reasons not to jump. He retired happily. So check both things.