leash tugging in the ring after the run

[seareed]

My young and very enthusiastic dog finishes his runs and promptly grabs his leash to tug--he is so amped after his run that he will not or cannot drop his leash on command.  Trials are the  only time this happens---I cannot duplicate the situation at home or at agility class, and I don't want to pattern train him any more for this behavior.  Any suggestions would be so welcomed.
Thanks,
            Thea

[Lin Battaglia]

Hi Thea. I don't know all the particulars of this dog but here are some suggestions. Perhaps in training class  start having him come directly back to you after the last obstacle and do a trick i.e. sit, down, wave, shake paw etc. (something without much movement) to get a treat. It may get him off thinking about that leash and biting something. Stop the forward motion and you stop the brain. So the sit would get him to breath and stop moving. Also let the leash runner bring you the leash at a trial. You stop moving and call him to you. If he is the type of dog that wants something in his mouth to bite when excited, I would eliminate that tugging behavior as his treat. Getting him to think about something after the last obstacle rather than his leash is what you want. I would also make the leash tugging go away everyplace else in his world for now. The last thing I would ever do is tug with an over the top excited dog. Good luck. Have fun. 

LinB
mdt-Agility Ability LLC
Nevada

[MoabDiane]

This may not help, but here goes. My dog, who does love to tug, would rarely if ever do it after a run.  All he wants to do at that point is jump up at me. So our default at the end of the run is for him to lie down.  He does it willingly, and it only needs to be for a second or two, before he has got his brain back.  I don't know if that's an option for you, but it might be worth a try!
Diane

[Maureen deHaan]

I agree with Diane - my Kiva gets so high after her run that she will dive at my feet (which is a game we play at home - my bad) but .... if I tell her to lie down she will do so as a reflex action, - when the dogs are that high they do not think about what they are doing they just react and go into a default behavior or something they have muscle memory for (thank you to a Sharon Nelson seminar - taught by Arlene Courtney for that lesson!) - thankfully Kiva can react/reflex  into a down    

Personally - from a puppy I do not allow/teach my dogs to tug on the leash nor do I really let them tug with me at all in the agility environment (maybe once and a while well away from the ring and only Kiva because she can handle it).

I say go for a down behavior at the end of your run so your dog can get into it's thinking brain

PS: I also think staying very very calm at the end of your run might help - I stay really calm and quite and barely touch my dog at the end of the run -I tell her she's a good girl and give her a quick pet then we leave -  when we get out of the ring is when I smother her with love - I think sometimes the human adrenaline can influence the dog as well

Good luck!

[seareed]

Thanks for the great suggestions!  Unfortunately we are already following much of the advice. We never never leash tug ever for any reason.   He does a perfect down after the last jump, and all is fine until I slip on his leash--he will remain in his down and tug!  and tug.  and tug.  This is a dog who holds start line and all contacts and tries very hard in the ring. He just gets so worked up by the end.  He is a 20+ dog,  he does not jump on me  or nip,  it's just the tugging.
                                                                                                                                        thanks again,
                                                                                                                                                           Thea

[mymixkc]

Thinking a bit further outside the box here, as that's where my dogs often put me.
Could you switch over to using an over the head single buckle harness like the Julius-K9? (love mine!)
With a 20+ dog you could get by with just a short, short leash (basically just a handle) and it would be up over his shoulders and behind his field of vision, out of reach.
Sounds like he's well enough behaved that you could get one of these on no problem (they can be tricky for wiggly dogs).
I'd suggest practicing "your" leashing skills before trying it at a trial... that buckle can be a little elusive for us humans when we're under pressure to leash up and keep things moving. Or maybe that's just me.
Diane B

[Sharon Nelson]

Thanks for the great suggestions!  Unfortunately we are already following much of the advice. We never never leash tug ever for any reason.   He does a perfect down after the last jump, and all is fine until I slip on his leash--he will remain in his down and tug!  and tug.  and tug.  This is a dog who holds start line and all contacts and tries very hard in the ring. He just gets so worked up by the end.  He is a 20+ dog,  he does not jump on me  or nip,  it's just the tugging.
                                                                                                                                        thanks again,
                                                                                                                                                           Thea

Just spray something on the leash that he finds offensive.  Bitter apple or hot pepper, or Lysol, or whatever.  He will teach himself that he doesn't like grabbing the leash. 

If he is totally conditioned to grab something at the end of the run and he no longer has the leash as the option, the next option might be you...... so make sure you understand "why" he is so adamant about having the leash in his mouth when overly stimulated.  If it has nothing to do with the leash (it is just convenient) then he will replace the leash with something "new".   

I know the dog you are talking about and this is not a subtle behavior....... many who are offering advice might give different advice if they saw the dog in person......  He has a bit more than just a "leash holding" behavior when excited.... 

Teaching him not to grab the leash might work for you.  If not, then you need to dig a bit deeper into any possible psychological issues that require him to have his personal "pacifier" when he gets stimulated!

I would hate to see you teach him to leave his leash alone just to have him decide to attach himself onto a different target, which could be "you" instead of that leash....

Sharon

[seareed]

More thanks for More great suggestions, I cannot always remember writing everything I have done so far, in my posts---I have tried a halti--getting it on him is a bit tough at the end of the run.  I have sprayed his leash with bitter apple, citronella,etc.  He doesn't care.  What I am trying right now (with hopeful success)  is a comfort chain leash--it is a chain leash interwoven with canvas, and a bit heavy but he does not seem to enjoy grabbing it.  I will be trying this in other venues, as, although it is legal to tug, I do not want him over the top tugging in any trial ring.  He seems to focus well on the next "task" so when leashing him up I will say "let's go find the toy" which of course will be outside the ring a ways, and will be a soft ball.   I am pretty sure that this type of leash is not illegal in NADAC, correct?          Thanks, Thea 

[Fonz N. Bob]

I had this problem too.  Not to say that you should not train to modify the behavior, but what I did was change the leash to a really skinny (breed show) leash clipped to a slip over the head collar.  He found grabbing the skinny leash and holding on was not possible. 

[Lin Battaglia]

Hmm....that sounds like a pretty good idea too. I'll remember that incase someone might need it. Miss seeing you and your wonderful dogs Joyce.

LinB
mdt-Agility Ability LLC