# Zoomies at agility?



## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Lily, my 12 lb poodle mix is a whole lot of poodle, very smart, and has boundless energy. I started an agility class with her this summer and she has done very well, except for the last class where she went rogue and had an episode of zoomies!

We were doing off leash work and when it was her turn, she started to weave- but then took it upon herself to zoom around the area several times, racing through the tunnels, up and down the equipment, and around and around the circle of equipment. She eventually settled herself into a sit in from of me, and I praised her lavishly at that time. She then finished the rest of the class without incident. 

My questions are: has anybody had this happen? Should I do anything special to help her focus more? 

This was the 6th class. We have two more and then she will move onto intermediate. Afterward, the instructors coached me on how to help her slow down a bit on the equipment , LOL...and I'm thinking she needs to practice some impulse control to prevent this. I thought she had very good recall, but she was totally on a mission and did not listen to me calling her right away.

She is 4 1/2, so she is well beyond puppy stage, at least chronologically! But she will still get the zoomies once in a while at home, when she's very excited. She just has the most endearing personality. On one hand, it was very adorable as it was like she was just so excited about being there that she couldn't contain herself, and the instructor was chuckling and calling her "the fastest dog in the west!" But I would like to eventually compete with her, because she seems to have a knack for it and it is very fun

Appreciate any advice on how to coach this crazy little girl!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Although many people will look at a dog doing the zoomies and think they are just having tons of fun it is my experience that zoomies are a way of dealing with stress. I view zooming as a displacement behavior. I would look at the environment and what you are asking Lily to do and try to figure out if there is something that is overwhelming her sensibilities. I have had a zoomie Lily too. She stopped doing zoomies when she got more confidence about what she was doing both in agility and obedience. Spinning in front of obstacles has a bit of that stress aspect to it too, although is usually more a function of you being late with your cues.

Specifically you mentioned that she took off at the weave poles. Weaves are the hardest obstacle for many dogs (that's why you get 3 tries at getting them into them before the judge tells you to go on at trials). I would get weave poles at home if you don't already have them and work on your entrances. Practice your weaves every day. Also don't put any more pressure on the weaves than you need to. Lily really hates it if I crowd her at the weaves and will pop out if I do so.

Don't allow your Lily to zoom and run over obstacles without you sending her to them. Aside from letting her think it is ok to do the zoomies, it is potentially dangerous. If she zooms on you again, don't chase her. She will think it is a game. I would kneel down on knees and call her nicely. She will come back to you and you can pick her up at that point.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You don't really want to slow her down on the equipment. If you have a slow dog once you get to masters, running slow really costs points. It is more important to have good obedience with her than to slow her down. Have you done formal obedience training? It isn't necessary to compete but I think having solid obedience is really important in agility. I see lots of people walk away from dogs at the start line who turn their backs as they leave having told the dog to sit. They then have really surprised looks on their faces as the dog goes flying by them as they lead out.

You might consider rally training and trialing as an accessory activity. Rally has helped me with lots of training issues as well as giving us something to trial in while getting obedience exercises ready to be trialed.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Carolinek said:


> and the instructor was chuckling and calling her "the fastest dog in the west!"


Haha! I like your instructor. If Lily had come back to sit in front of me after a bout of the zoomies, I don't know what I'd do. I'd be too busy trying to keep from laffing out loud.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

I agree with Lily CD. Zoomies do not always equal happy dog. It very well could have been a stress response. I also second some rally work so you can get into a more trial like atmosphere. Agility trials are loud with lots going on. A perfect dog in class or even a masters level dog can sometimes get a zoomie attack. Once you are at a trial all bets are off so the more exposure you can get to that atmosphere the better. I have even taken young dogs along to agility trials and worked some short light hearted obedience just to teach them that they can think through the stress. Weave poles for home are excellent. You could even do a cheap dirty set using stakes with PVC slipped over them.

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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

CB- it was very funny, she looked like a little cartoon character zooming around:act-up: of all my dogs, she is the one that has made me laugh the most. Even when she misbehaves, she's funny. There's something very special about her. 

Lily and Poolann- thank you very much for that seasoned perspective. It makes complete sense that these zoomies would be a stress response. I have instructions to make some easy weave poles and am going to get the supplies today and put them up. I have some PVC, just need to get the Rbar. Hubby just mowed the lawn so it's a good time  Hopefully working on them at home will give her more confidence.

I have done basic obedience with her, and also worked with a behaviorist last summer to help with some of the lingering issues from her time as a stray, and whatever happened before that. She was in bad shape three years ago and needed a lot of work initially, but has come such a long way...and I think she is very close to finally being the dog she was meant to be. That is why I thought it would be a good time to start agility. Lily is not a confident dog though. Much, much better than she use to be, but your replies helped me realize that the root of this is stress and I need to create an environment in agility where she can continue to build her confidence, and she may need a little extra work with it. 

I thought of doing a CGC class with her, but decided instead to take the agility class. maybe both is a good idea- summer is when I have time to do more of this.

My friend does rally with her Cairns, I'll see if I can get involved in that too. I think Lily has the potential to do very well in agility- the first class the instructor asked if she was a "ringer"- that's how quick she catches on. I know I sound like a proud doggy mama, LOL. 

Lily works very hard to please me in any type of training and maybe I need to give her more repetition with tasks before she moves on so she can really build that confidence? It also makes sense to not encourage her to slow down; I thought that was one of her strengths initially is that she is like a little speed demon!

Thanks again for all the input!


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

I was going to say the same as lily cd and poolan. I have realised that Darcy tells me he is stressed or uncertain about what I am asking him to do by taking off and yelling at the judge / other people around the ring. In class, he used to go yell at the other dogs and handlers. Not exactly fun for me, but once I realised that was his stress reaction, I started to read his signals and now can almost always anticipate when I am asking him for too much and prevent him from taking off.

I agree with your thinking that you probably need more work on the weaves. If you're running a course and she's struggling with an item, you may just want to move on in that moment then go back to the item later. And if she zoomies off, either call her to you or walk away off course (or run if you need to). If your poodle is anything like mine, she will follow! Sometimes the only way I could get Darcy back was to run like a bat out of hell away from him. If she does take off on a prolonged run, I'm not sure I would praise her when she comes back as she might think you are rewarding the zoomies. Rather, get her on leash, take a short break, then take her to something she knows how to do so you can praise her then.

And Lily sounds just like Darcy in how hard she works to please you. He's the same, he really hates making a "mistake" so whenever we are learning something new, I always have to bear in mind what his learning style is. He has taught me so much about dog training!


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Cdnjennga said:


> I was going to say the same as lily cd and poolan. I have realised that Darcy tells me he is stressed or uncertain about what I am asking him to do by taking off and yelling at the judge / other people around the ring. In class, he used to go yell at the other dogs and handlers. Not exactly fun for me, but once I realised that was his stress reaction, I started to read his signals and now can almost always anticipate when I am asking him for too much and prevent him from taking off.
> 
> I agree with your thinking that you probably need more work on the weaves. If you're running a course and she's struggling with an item, you may just want to move on in that moment then go back to the item later. And if she zoomies off, either call her to you or walk away off course (or run if you need to). If your poodle is anything like mine, she will follow! Sometimes the only way I could get Darcy back was to run like a bat out of hell away from him. If she does take off on a prolonged run, I'm not sure I would praise her when she comes back as she might think you are rewarding the zoomies. Rather, get her on leash, take a short break, then take her to something she knows how to do so you can praise her then.
> 
> And Lily sounds just like Darcy in how hard she works to please you. He's the same, he really hates making a "mistake" so whenever we are learning something new, I always have to bear in mind what his learning style is. He has taught me so much about dog training!


I didn't even think that I was rewarding her zoomies when she came back to me, but I can see now that Lily certainly may have thought it was desired behavior when I told her what a good girl she was! I didn't think of that- thanks for pointing it out. Dog training is so interesting, and making those links sometimes just eludes me. 

I really like how you described the importance of watching the cues Darcy was giving you. He does sound a lot like Lily! That's something I need to keep working on with Lily. I've learned to manage her leash reactivity by watching her cues- which took some practice as she goes from 0 to 60 in a split second-there is no middle ground with Miss Lily. But this is now something new, and I have to figure out what is going to work for her in agility. I can see how agility can create a deeper bond with your dog and I'm looking forward to it!


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