Need for speed (agility)

My little boy is doing great at his training and he loves it
I can handle at a bit more of a distance and he has got his weaves and contacts about 90%
only problem is his speed (which makes it easy for me to always be in the right place)
He trots quite slowly with the cutest look of concentration

But I know he can be fast
His recal out and about is ears streaming back tounge flying in the wind fast - but put jumps between me and him and its plodding
When playing with other dogs and he gets the zoomies no other dog can touch him
The other night after we had been out for a couple of hours he instigated a game of 'catch me if you can' with about 6 dogs - collies and terriers and collie crosses
and none could touch him - he ducked and dived and jumped and sprinted - it was lovely to watch
He goes pretty fast when I chuck a ball - not full pelt but faster than agility - but he wont run if there are other dogs there (he waits till they bring the ball back, he muggs them and brings the ball in to get the treat!!)

What can I do to build his speed up in agility?? silly voices, running fast, being calm, walking slow, toys and food - none of them have worked
I am sure he would get even more out of agility if he saw it as a place to run like mad too

Is it possible to take some video at training ?
Not just of him but with you in view as well so we can offer suggestions on motivating him a bit more or see what`s keeping his pace back if it`s just down to timing etc ?

[ So long as we would`nt be stepping on your trainers toes of course ]

Many dogs though while learning do tend to be very steady about it because they have a lot to concentrate on what with sorting their own strides and angles as well as concentrating on the handler, especially if the handler is still learning too, [ as opposed to already very experienced so fine tuning at training if you see what I mean ].

If the handler is not 100% confident in themselves and in their dog, the dog won`t be completely confident either so that can make them work slower than they are capable of - but once the confidence is there between both halves of the team the speed tends to switch on like a turbo booster

One like that at my club is a Border Terrier - she did everything at one speed and one only, but her handler was always looking back or sideways at her dog instead of looking to where she wanted to send her on so her body language all the time was `blocking` because it changed her shoulder angle every time so the dog did`nt know which way she was going to be sent, which meant the dog was always waiting for `confirmation` of each cue.
Once her handler was more confident in her own footwork and signals though, and me not letting her keep looking back at her dog - that`s my job as her instructor to watch for what her dog is or isn`t responding too - her dog soon got more confident in her, was able to `read` her better, and frankly did`nt want to be left behind while her owner ran off ahead when I told her to `race race race` so when it all came together, little`uns `turbo` literally switched on one day and has stayed switched on ever since

Like Patch says its difficult to know without seeing you guys in action, but my first thought would have been has he moved up the heights etc. to quickly? It might have been at the same speed as all the others in your class but from the way you explain it it sounds like he's not very confident, maybe going down to low height and really simple exercises (like a straight line of three or four jumps) and setting off together and you just run really fast without checking back at him - a bit like a game of chase.

Also if he moves quickly on the ground it might be worth having him checked by a chiropracter (sp), please dont panic by that suggestion but alot of people do take their dogs and find subtle kinks etc. that once sorted make their dogs much more comfortable. I was shocked when we first took ours, Ziggie who was the reason we went was fine but Spring who we hadnt noticed a problem with had a shoulder problem, massages and some hydrotherapy and she turned into a speed demon! It's worth considering as they use different muscles etc for jumping than just flat running.

hope that helps

x

THanks guys
Yup totaly inexperienced handler
I thought you were supposed to watch where the dog was not where he was going too
I was trying to keep my shoulders in the right direction and everything but also running and watching him??
makes sense that he would want to keep up with me if I was looking ahead - but how do I know where he has gone wrong if I am not looking and racing on??
But I think that might be it exactly cos one of the main reasons I was keeping an eye on him was cos when I took my eyes off of him its was like he had a teliport and was under my feet in no time

I was thinking about the chasing down the line of jumps - good idea

Will try the chiropractor if it dosent get better but looks like it is a cross between young dog and inexperienced handler
thankyou I feel much better

- we have been trying to get someone to film us in class cos we can all see what each other is doing wrong when things go wrong - but it would be good to see what we were doing
Bofriend refuses to be in a room of barking dogs but mum is comming to visit soon - I will get her on the camera duty

Thankyou - you guys are great

Nothing to add as I'm a complete novice. I have completely the opposite problem with Jack!