Dog frequently scratches
Hi! I am about to enter my dog into his first live novice rally and beginner novice obedience trials and I would like some advice on how to handle itching, from a try not to lose too many points perspective.
My dog fairly frequently will stop to scratch his neck. There’s a combination of factors here, he almost completely stops if I do a practice run with no leash or collar so I think he’s somewhat bothered by that, everyone always says displacement, I’m sure that’s happening, and he also genuinely is a dog with chronic allergies that is on medication to manage but has good and bad days.
So with all of that in mind, usually what happens is it’ll be when he is asked to sit, or front, etc, he’ll just start scratching and sometimes it’s a quick itch but usually he will just keep going for 15+ seconds. Not looking for suggestions on the itching we are trying lots of things with collars, training, and his vet.
How can I deal with this in the ring???
I know if I tug at him a little bit I can sometimes get him back on track, or clapping, or calling him but I know that any tight leash will lose me points in either event, and obedience is stricter on saying anything to your dog. So is my best bet to just do the tug, lose the points, keep it moving? Or wait him out? Any other suggestions?