I am trying to understand what you mean. You said that your dog is
treat driven but that there is no time for that in a group class. Do
you mean no time for treats??? How long is the class session? How
many students? Is it taught by a volunteer club member or by a for
profit trainer? Is she pushing the dog up or pulling him by the
leash? How is she forcing him?
In my opinion, there is always time for rewards. My male is
fearless, so he required very little encouragement on the contacts.
My female on the other hand is nervous about the narrowness of the
dog walk and teeter. She has no issues with the A-frame. I treated
her the entire length of the dog walk when she first started it. We
are still working the teeter. You can lower the A-frame to a better
height to start with, and I would recommend that. Did your
instructor start everyone out on full-height obstacles? Another good
way to build the confidence is to work with mini-contacts. Three
short boards joined by door hinges flat on the ground, then laying
over bricks, then cinder blocks, then keep increasing the height
until you get it up to saw horse height. If you do not have much
help, put X-pens along the length of the walk at the lower heights so
he cannot jump off. Is he target trained? You could use the target
incrementally along the obstacle to lure him.
The confidence will come. I've seen big dogs balk at obstacles too.
It is something that must be worked through.
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