Coming from a perspective of someone who has watched so many different types of dogs do agility over the years I don't think it is necessarily a negative that you don't see your dog getting as excited or enthusiastic as other dogs. Some dogs will just never get as outwardly excited about running a course as others will. She may be one of these dogs who simply goes out there and runs the course because of what she knows she will get at the end of it...this is not a bad thing, in fact it can only be seen as positive - she wants to work to get the rewards - you've obviously made the rewards so positive for her. The mere act of getting out and about with her, taking her to trials. socialising with other people and dogs is quite clearly a positive and bonding experience for the both of you. The question is though how much fun and enjoyment do you get from training and trialling her? She has fun and enjoys herself coming out to trials, she looks forward to the rewards at the end of her runs. If you get enjoyment as well from the interaction you have with her and others then why stop?

My other suggestion would be to give her some time. I've seen some dogs start out in Novice that I've watched and thought - well they're well trained and doing everything but they don't *love* or *obsess*  about doing the course like some dogs do. I've then seen these dogs move through the classes and as they've moved up I've seen them start to get more and more excited as they move up to the start line. They can get really switched onto it after a certain length of time. Not all of then do but some certainly can.

Hope this helps

Simone 

I'm curious what breed of dog you have (or what mix).  Different breeds also act differently and show their enthusiasm in different ways - generalizing of course.

There's things you can do that will help her enjoy it more too.  Most dogs play off their person - so her enjoyment will be strongly affected by you.

Be silly, be exciting, rev her up, play a game  (or do tricks) before running a course.  During the run, give her a big "you go girl" and be exciting.  Most likely if you're having fun and are light about it, she will play off you.

Ask others if they see that you are "fun."  If your friends don't see a lot of enthusiasm from you - most likely your dog doesn't either.  If you put a lot of pressure to run clean - not fun!  If you correct your dog on course - not fun!  If your dog does something wrong on course and you get excited and say - "hey, let's go crazy" and run the rest for kicks - lots of fun!

Especially when starting out.  Your dog really doesn't know everything yet and will make mistakes.  It's not wrong for her since she just doesn't know it all yet.  Don't train her at a trial.  Run her having 100% fun and see where your training needs to focus on.

 It will be work for her if that's what you make of it.  Most dogs out there having fun have been taught "fun."  You can progress to more serious (keeping it light) as you progress and she'll see the fun in that as she'll be confident in what she's doing.  I don't know many (any?) dogs who just find it fun if the handler isn't making it fun for the dogs.

I run an Aussie and BC.  I'm sure my neighbors think I'm a total loon when they hear me working my dogs.  I'm always laughing and acting totally goofy, playing with toys, etc.  These are both high drive dogs and LOVE agility.  But, it's been 90% play and 10% work for them always.  At trials, it's 100% play.

I'd like to know how she does in the future.  Oh, also 2.5 is a tough age for a dog.  They settle into themselves at 3 or so.

Renee

I run a 6yo greyhound with several titles to her name.  She was also my very first agility dog and I have learned a lot and made mistakes with her.  I used to think she was very frustrating to run because she is either switched ON completely or switched OFF completely, but I have come to realise that she is how she is, and that keeping her happy and interested in agility is my main objective - but for whatever reasons it doesn't always happen. 

Learning to conceal my dissappointment was a major hurdle that we have now overcome and she has been running more consistantly of late.  Training at home with her is probably 98% play with 2% work, while my other dog is 90% play and 10% work (as from Renee's eg). 

She is very smart, learns quickly and gets bored easily but she loves to play - especially tugging and I have found that I can't simply play with her at home only, when I started to play with her at trials more (not just before or after a run) I noticed an improvement in her interest in running agility.  Our dogs are all individuals just like we are, and while my greyhound certainly shows off when she thinks she's had a great run, my Italian is always more subdued but I still feel he enjoys it.

 angela

My dog was a huge challenge (northern breed) to get interested in agility. I spent sooo much energy just trying to get him into the game> I swear for the first year he didn't even break a trot! Finally though, I stopped stressing about him being so slow and decided to just have fun and he started to loosen up a lot. I found and find still that as he is learning new things he is stressed and needs very short lessons, we can't do things more than 2 or 3 times in a row. As soon as he completely understands something he loosens up and gains momentum.

 I train with so much treats that my dog missis meals on training days. It makes him work so it works for us. I also employ the use of a food bag as a reward system that has been a great help in getting him motivated off of my hands. I've clickered him to tug it and retrieve it so we can play a bit more now than just using food.

Good luck

kara