# Zoomies- what to do?



## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Lily has been taking agility classes for a bit over a year now. She still gets zoomies almost every class. She is about 6, so she is no puppy. The trainer says that it seems to happen when I lose concentration for a moment and then she isn't sure what to do, wants to keep moving, and takes it upon herself to do that! The trainer is supportive and doesn't seem worried. I guess she's seen enough new handlers who lose their dog's concentration and then the dogs go off course. 

We are in a class with three other people and dogs who are a lot more experienced than I am and she is definitely the greenest dog in the bunch. Which is good because I am learning a lot from them. But we are doing long courses (23 obstacles or so) that are complex and I still struggle with remembering the whole course, although that is slowly coming along. Last class, the trainer, who is wonderful, suggested using a sing-song rhythm to remember a figure eight pattern, and that worked well.

Does anyone have any tips for either remembering the courses or dealing with the zoomies? Or should I stop worrying about the zoomies and just accept that it takes time to learn how to handle your dog through long courses? Will the zoomies go away as I get better as a handler?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

It is nice to see you posting again! I am guessing your dissertation is just about done with.

I agree with the class instructor about why Lily does the zoomies. A fast moving dog needs direction or will get frustrated and take off to do what ever they want.

If you forget the course just tell her anything even if it is the wrong course to keep her getting information and feedback from you.

As to remembering the course, be an obsessive walker. When we have two ring trials near home we are generally using one judge. The course that is not being judged is available once the course has been set for obsessive walkers. So there is a fairly regular bunch of us who walk over and over and over. Some of us are trying different things to figure out the best way to handle and others of us are trying to memorize the course. For me it is usually a bit of both. I do the same thing with rally courses if they are complex. Also when I walk I take my invisible (always Qs) dog with me and tell it what to do. I make the pace changes I need, stop when I need, do crosses, etc. In other words I try to give myself as much muscle memory of the course as I can.

My trainer always gives us essentially masters/excellent courses to run even though we aren't in those classes. If you train for the end then the middle should go better once you are trialing. As Lily learns to read you better and you get better at giving her information the zoomies will go away on their own. My Lily has gone from being a wild woman to being a dog who will read cues with layering and who can manage difficult weave entries, etc. We haven't Qd in open yet, but we've had quite a number of 2R runs (you can only have one R in open) and I am optimistic that we should pull it together this fall.


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Catherine-
Thanks for your informative response, and the reassurance. Yes, my doctoral journey is almost done and I have time to post!

It's good to hear another center does it the same way. I was wondering if I should step down a level, but I see the logic in training for the eventual course. I liked your description of how you walk the course. I think I need to actively play out the actual steps, with the turns, hand signals- everything with an imaginary dog. Just walking it is kind of like passive learning- not effective. So that's a change I'll make this week.

Lily is a very fast dog, I've never had a dog with as much energy. I really have to run to keep up with her. So even though she's 6- I think I have some time to get this under my belt, as she shows no signs of slowing down. We took her hiking up a pretty difficult mountain this summer and she did beautifully- like a little mountain goat. I saw a lot of other dogs that looked pretty winded, but she just kept scampering up the trail in her little pink harness. I get such a kick out of her - and agility is just perfect for her.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Actually I am fortunate to be able to train in a private location with a top national handler and new AKC agility judge, so I am the beneficiary of a wealth of knowledge there. I take all three of the dogs these days. My Lily gets the full masters course. Peeves is getting foundations for jumpers and Javelin is getting baby dog foundations.

If you decide you want to make things a bit easier on your Lily for jumps and contacts down the road you can move her to preferred for a lower jump height or show in CPE at a lower jump height.

Down the road you won't have to worry about running to every obstacle with her. She will be confident to run and work away from you and it will be easier on your knees!


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Sounds like you have happened on a great place. How fortunate to have such resources at your fingertips.

I am looking forward to being able to send her to obstacles. She's not there yet but we are moving ahead. I would like to compete someday, but if it doesn't happen, that's OK too. The class has been a great thing for Lily- and I'm having a lot of fun!


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