Last weekend was the Waimate Big Easy. This is our equivalent of a Round the Bays run: a mountain-bike race/fun run/fun walk which attracts hundreds of people. The finish line and prizegiving ceremony were held in our local park, which is also a dog exercise area, so I was able to take Able along.
Most dog owners know that socialisation is crucial during the puppy’s first 3-4 months. This is true, but it doesn’t stop there. You need to keep taking your puppy out and finding new things for him to see and hear and explore regularly throughout his first year of life, or you may still end up with a dog that is nervous in strange situations.
The biggest event on the agility calendar is the NZ Dog Agility Championship (NZDAC), held at Labour Weekend every year. Over the years the NZDAC has grown larger and the atmosphere is now a bit offputting to some dogs. In particular, there’s usually a loud, echoey sound system (think racecourse) and there might be somebody talking on that right before your dog runs. There might also be lots of people applauding, which some dogs don’t like.
Border Collies in particular are prone to sound sensitivity. I’m lucky that none of mine have been bothered by anything they encountered at an agility show, but all have had some sort of phobia. Toad would hide when it thundered outside and gunshots or fireworks would turn Spring into a quivering mess. Rik grew up on a farm, and she is completely unfazed by noises from the “large bang in the sky” genre … but she gets agitated by the noises my smartphone makes.
Rik is also so bothered by the noise I make when I smack a bag of peas against the counter that she watches me carefully every time I open the freezer, and scurries out of the room as soon as she sees me pick up the frozen vegies. I introduced Able to this a couple of weeks ago, and he was completely unbothered … especially when I laughed and played a game of hand targets with him afterwards.
I’ve been keeping an eye out for opportunities for Able to hear a loud PA system ever since I got him, and the Big Easy was his first chance. It was near our house, so we walked there. He was already alert to the loud music playing from half a block away, but by the time we got into the park he had forgotten it. He was more interested in the dozens of kids: kids on mountain bikes, kids on monkey bars, kids eating lollies, kids selling bags of lollies to raise money for gymnastics …
I was so thrilled with how he handled this. He was a little over-enthusiastic about the kids, but we sat down and watched from a little distance, and he was able to calm himself down. After ten minutes he had taken it all in and he started offering the behaviour of lying on one hip and looking at me, something I have encouraged when we are near other dogs at agility club. Of course I brought lots of bikkies around so that I could pay handsomely for this, and for doing his sits and short on-lead recalls.
After half an hour it was time for prizegiving. He was a bit startled when the noise changed from music to a man reading out all the winners, but he recovered from his surprise quickly. Fingers crossed he will remember this experience when he makes it to his first NZDAC, and he won’t be frightened by any of the strange sounds.