Speed

Anyone got any useful tips for speeding a dog up in agility, he just plods along like he's got all the time in the world.I have tried food and toys but cant get any speed out of him.
What can I use to motivate him, there must be something out there that will get him going.

Will he race you?

He will outside in play but we do agility inside and he's just happy to plod around at his own pace, he is quite a nervous dog and tends to be more interested in making sure there is nothing around to spook him, we have come along way dealing with his nerves and we are getting there, my next challenge is to speed him up.
I wondered if I started jogging with him whether this would help him, what do you think.

It might help, but you may have to jus except the fact he works in one gear

I remember a couple of yrs ago watching Crufts and they did agility or obedience, (can t remember) but there was a little Cairn (or similar) doing his bit,..he was hilarious , did it all at his own pace, took time out for a sit down and tea break in between his stint.

Was lovely to watch, very entertaining..

Bet your boy will be the same... sorry no help really, just smiling at the image of him taking his time round the ring you you ten feet in front of him

I would work on really basic stuff (straight line and circles) revving him up and getting a jackpot reward wn he does it a bit quicker.

I would also worjk on a special toy. It comes out for 30 seconds of OTT fun then goes away again. (Maybe 2-3 times a day) until he is getting really involved - then start to use it in conjuction with agility. It will take longer - but I would not work towards competing I would focus on really simple stuff that e enjoys - then start to introduce more complicated stuff as he gets the confidence and excitment.

I've got a BC who only has one gear, and thats very slow, until he sees a rabbit or pheasant and then he seems to find an abundance of speed and energy! In agility I cant get him to go any faster, no matter how much I try to motivate him so i've simply resigned myself to accepting that.

In fact, my oher BC is starting tomorrow and i've got higher hopes for her. I'm probably going to take Jed off agility and find another activity for him to do that he'll get more out of.

The frustrating thing is he can go fast, if we are on an outside course he gets really motivated especially if his brothers are with him and flys round, its when he's on his own and we are inside he goes into slow mode.

Make sure you do lots of fast motivating things, like 3 jumps in a line, a circle of jumps, etc. What do you do when he is slow, some dogs don't like it if you 'cheerlead' and actually slow down, when you think you are encouraging them to go faster, try just running as fast as you can and not saying anything.
My Bertie was never fast, but he won me out of Elementary (grade 1), was in 3 Starters finals (2 Dogs in Need and 1 Supadogs). He did end up in grade 4 as the year they split novice he came 6th on a really difficult course that only got 6 clear rounds. He's retired now as he's nearly 11 years old.

How long have you been training??
I thought Ben was super slow but he has been building speed with confidence which has gave me time to be a better handler

If he is fast in the park how about sneaking agility into the park
Have him do a stay then you go far away and recal, then start running
Have a great fun game when he gets to you and lots of rewards
Then once he is happily running after you with that one put a jump infront of him and do the crazy running recal

Also send out over the jump and when he turns in towards you start running away - dont look back

Just practise anything that has him running well with you and slowly add a agility obsticle into that

Also, I have noticed in class that the dogs that are not sure where they are going tend to go much slower, how about reducing the things you are asking for and rewarding far more - 1 jump, reward, 3 jumps reward, 2 jumps, reward
So it is much more fun and less pressure


Can you get anyone to film you running?? If you are looking back too much that might be slowing him down, or if you are too crazy ( ) that also may be worrying him and slowing him

I think the most important thing to have is consistency. Every training session or even competition if you want should be more about getting a confidence boost. Both my dogs started off slow- i was competing my bitch and she just wasnt that fast, but the more shows and training i did the faster she would go as she got more confidence. Now she is super quick and can beat the fastest of collies on a good day(not the easiest for a gsd!) My boy hasnt been competing for long(only done 4 shows) and he is slowly getting quicker, he started off with me easily out running him!!
Dont expect changes overnight- he needs to be confident before the speed will come.