Can I Pick Your Brain?

Your description of it makes it sound like the dogs are bored.

Hanging around the house, hanging around the yard - it's just not enough for them. They need to have good long daily walks, preferably different directions/locations every couple of days. Have they done anything like agility training or other "job" training?

I'd LOVE to get Bailey in agility. He is very much the type of dog who would a) do well and b) needs it.

I just don't know where to find it. I've tried googling it in my area but nothing comes up except for competitive agility and I am not into that.

This probably wouldn't work in your dogs' case, but it might help someone else who has a similar problem:

My MIL's beloved poodle would go beserk each time the telephone rang. He'd bark and jump around and act all kinds of crazy for some period of time. Her phone rang a lot so it about drove her nuts.

She asked her vet for advice and he suggested putting a few coins in a can (soda, beer, etc.) and shaking it in his ear whenever he started acting up about the phone (doorbell riled him, too lol). It worked like a charm and really didn't take all that long, as I recall.

You can take Bailey for agility training without participating in the competitions.

I took my Bailey dog for agility training several years ago. We never got into competing as the travel was not something I was interested in. We participated in a couple of demonstration events at local charity fundraisers for pet charities when he was still active in training.

It definitely helped him calm down - he still likes to jump up on anything resembling a balance beam, walk up and down it, and pose at the end He's a dog who needed school and likes knowing what his "job" is. I find that a well-trained dog who gets exercise is usually a happier, calmer dog.

Sort of along the lines of the Dog Whisperer's mantra of exercise, discipline and then affection. I learned it from Timberlandko here, before I knew about the Dog WhispererI find it works.

Ha! If only it were that easy! Even the electric dog whistle didn't work after a few times.

Bailey and Zoe both had training (Professional) and this is really the only behavior we haven't been able to curb. They don't sleep on the bed or get on the furniture anymore. Minimal jumping when people come over. But man, get them near that fence....

Was it expensive?

I really think he'd be good at it.

It was cheaper than basic training had been at PetSmart. I think it's in the range of $10/class now, with 8 - 10 classes per sesion.

Wow, $180 for 8 week beginning agility classes.

Well, this one is better. 10 weeks for $120