Tips on getting my girl into "drive" or "work mode"

[Kay]

Hello. My girl is 2.5 years old. We have been working on obedience for a while now. She has 2 legs towards her CDX. We almost finished this past weekend, except she took a liking to walking the broad jump

The broad jump has always been a touch and go issue with her. I feel she knows it, but is deciding when she wants to actually jump it... she's messing with me. I'm going to set up some poles next to it and start from the beginning... make sure she knows it's a jump.

My MAIN issue with her is keeping her interested, she seems to get very bored when in the ring... but not all the time. When she is in "work mode", she is amazing... she'll launch over the broad jump, rush out to retrieve the dumbell like I shot her out of a cannon, and do instant finishes. Other times, she saunters when heeling, casually strolls to the dumbell and walks the broad. I'll set her up for an exercise, and when I tell her to sit she responds very slowly, and sometimes I have to say it multiple times. It's frustrating for me, and I feel she can sense it. We were in two trials in one day, and she was on in the morning, but dead in the afternoon. Even the judge said it was like I had two different dogs.

I can tell if she is going to walk the broad or not, just based on her attitude when we're in the ring. If she seems lazy, bored, and uninterested, no way she'll jump it. If she's in "work mode", she is a blast and I have nothing to worry about. I need to know how to switch her "on" and keep it that way. I know it is something I'm doing wrong, and I want to fix it. I want her to have fun

Is there something I can go back to the beginning and work on? She loves toys and food, but I can't bring those into the ring. Any help is appreciated!

[JakodaCD OA]

since she loves toys, can you get a spare dumbbell and work it as a TOY??

Ever tried blowing in her ear? LOL, my aussie used to go into nutso mode when I did that

[martemchik]

I play tug all the time. As soon as I see my boy getting flat or bored I'll pull out a tug toy to motivate him. You can do this at trials...just not inside the actual ring. I also try not to sit around at trials for too long. One time I did a Rally trial in the morning, and should've been in the obedience ring like 2 hours later (with the same judge) but he was SUPER SUPER slow and it ended up being about 5 hours later. We qualified for our CD leg...but with a super low score and 6 out of the 8 dogs NQ'd.

So if I'm at a trial, I'm constantly playing/training him every 15-30 minutes just to make sure he doesn't get tired and bored.

[4TheDawgies]

My dogs adore a good "party" is what I call it. After obedience I will throw a celebratory party about how awesome their obedience was. This involves pets, jumping up in arms, running around playing with each other. Sometimes I will throw small ones for a victory in the middle of a training session. Sometimes I will offer small hints of "keep going" with a neck scratch or a pat on the head before we start to heel.

In the ring you are allowed to share affection with your dog in between exercises within moderation. When you start throwing parties with your dog getting them amped up playing with you and goofing off, they will just build drive when you offer small hints of it.
This ends up building my dogs up throughout routines to keep them motivated to work for me.

A huge thing as well is your mood and attitude. If you run in that ring confident as ever with happy tones and playful up beat cheer to your routine, Your dog will match that tenfold and you guys will dance.
If you walk in the ring with a poor attitude, mild headache, tired, doubtful, your dog is going to reflect that and look dull and lack enthusiasm.

[onyx'girl]

Have you looked at Bridget Carlsen's site? She has some good tips about enthusiasm and engagement. You can rent some of her vids at bowwowflix