Entries from July 2007 ↓

Whether you are a seasoned Flyball trainer or one just starting out, your goal should be the same, take the time to train your dog to the highest degree possible. Many people take this goal the wrong way and they think I am talking about speed. Speed is a bi-product of good training but you should be training your dog to be the best they can be. This type of training takes time and patience but it is worth it in the long run.

I have several poorly trained Flyball dogs so I am speaking from experience. When I was just starting out, my main goal was to just get the dog playing as soon as possible. I wanted to start having fun and be in the ring with my dog right away. So my first dog had no box turn and she would run full speed into the box planting her face into it. I have tried to retrain her but retraining is so much more difficult after the dog has played for some time. She loved to play the game but had to retire early because of her face planting way. She developed a cyst in her eye caused by blunt trauma and had to retire from the game she loved. So please take the time, no matter how long it takes, to train to the highest level.

Secrets of Success

• Start your sessions with a well rested and hungry dog/puppy.
• Keep sessions short and fun.
• Lay foundations and don’t take shortcuts.
• Baby steps - focus on one goal at a time.
• Be solid before moving on to the next step.
• Have fun and dog/puppy always wins.

The Three Main Goals

There are three main goals that all Flyball trainers should strive to accomplish:

The Box Turn

In my opinion this should be the most important goal for any Flyball trainer. Take the time to train your dog to do a proper box turn and don’t let them play the game until this is accomplished. It is the most important aspects of the game and one that will ensure they are playing injury free for a long time.

Conditioning

Flyball is an intensely physical sport and an overweight out of shape dog will get hurt. Before you start Flyball training with your dog make sure they are physically fit. If they are overweight, put them on a diet. If they are couch potatoes, get them off the couch. Conditioning should be something that you work on with your dog year round.

Having Fun

After all, having fun with your furry friend was probably why you wanted to play Flyball. Spend the time playing and motivating your dog. Making it fun for them is within your power. If they know that you are having fun it is very likely that they will sense this and this game will be fun for them too. No matter what type of dog you have if they are having fun they will give you 110%. Speed is also a bi-product of having fun.

Training Manual Information

This is a series of articles that I will post about Flyball training. I would ask that you please try to keep your comments to the specific topic of the each article, for there will be many others. You can see a high level outline of the topic to be covered in future post by viewing the Training Manual. Keeping the comments specific to each article will help future readers.

Please keep in mind that there are numerous methods in use but these are the ones that I use and they are some that work for me. If you have others that you would like to share, please post your comments.

I am training my Border Collie puppy, I call him a puppy but he turned 1 year old in February, and I didn’t do enough distraction training early on and now I’m paying for it. Spike is from Wayne Butler of Hope Hull, Alabama who breeds some of the best herding dogs in the southeast. So Spike has very strong herding instincts and on top of that we have 9 other dogs that he has run with just a little too much.

Spike is very fast and has a very good recall back to a tug when it’s just the two of us and a holder. However, it is a completely different story when one of our other dogs is near. He loses his mind and it’s hard for him to take his eyes off the other dog. We now only work him with another dog present and he is starting to get better but it has taken about 2 months and he is still not completely over his obsession.

I’ve found a really good article about Distraction Work with Puppies on the Sure Shot Flyball Blog. For those that are training young puppies, it might be worth a look and may save you some extra work in the long run. We are following Robbie’s (Sure Shot) suggestion to do recalls past another dog and we’re a starting to see some success. We also play a ball game with him and another dog.

We hold both dogs like we would in the run back area before the start of a race and each of us, my wife and I, have a ball and our tugs. We take turns throwing the ball out as far as we can and wait for it to stop rolling. We then send the dog out to retrieve it back to a tug. As the first dog starts to run past after retrieving their ball, the next dog’s ball is thrown and the dog is released. We are really starting to see some good results with this method.

If anyone knows of other games we can play to help in this situation, please post them.

Larry

One has to wonder just how civilized we are. Here it is the 21st century and this barbaric and disgusting activity is still prevalent in our society. What I am talking about? I almost hate to justify it by even speaking the words. I am talking about dogfighting which has been brought to the forefront with the indictment of NFL Quarterback Michael Vick.

The only good thing that can remotely come from this is the awareness that this barbaric behavior is still in existence. Maybe the people, if you can even call them people, that participate in this ugly display of inhumanity will be brought to light and prosecuted. Here is what Wayne Pacelle, the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States has to say about this scourge:

“We’ll not relent. In the end, we hope that the ugly and grisly details that have been exposed will awaken the American public to the scourge of dogfighting and steer young people away from this criminal conduct. Dogfighting is a dead end for any person participating in it, and there’s nothing hip or cool about it.”

Please consider a donation to The Human Society of the United States to help them fight this war on dogfighting and those who participate.

Larry

Other organizations where you can help Pit Bulls:

• Animal Farm Foundation, Inc.
• BAD RAP
• Pit Bull Rescue Central
• Missouri Pit Bull Rescue
• Where Angels Run

I am going to use some generalities about people in this post to make a point, and the philosophies I am talking about deal with how people train their dogs to play Flyball. Over my 7 years of playing Flyball I have experienced many different training philosophies but to simplify my point I am going to aggregate people into one of two groups. The first group I will call the Funners (I know it’s not a word) and the second group I will call the Winners.

It is not my intent to offend anyone with this analogy but it may. My main objective in even talking about this is for the sake of our four footed friends. I hope you will read this post in the spirit in which it is intended.

I have experienced firsthand the collision of these groups and I have seen what these differing philosophies can do to people you thought were your friends. Feelings run strong in this area and I am sure that this has caused the break up of many a team. Flyball can bring the best and worst out of people and many times it comes down to differing philosophies.

Let’s break it down

The Funners: This group of people says that their main objective is to have fun with their dog and that “we have created an atmosphere of camaraderie that has become the hallmark of the team.” That is great and I have no problem with this. I think that everyone started in the sport because they wanted to have fun playing with their dogs. There is nothing wrong with camaraderie and it is why teams stay together. However, what does any of this have to do with training your dog to be the best they can be?

The Funners tend to rush their dog’s training. After all, they want to start having fun as soon as possible. This group wants new people and new dogs in the ring even though they may not be ready. If the dog can go down to the box and retrieve the ball they are happy and think the dog is ready for an actual race.

The Winners: This group of people trains their new dogs to be the best they can be. They take whatever amount of time is necessary to fully train their dogs. They don’t let dogs that are not fully trained run in a Flyball race. This group also wants to have fun with their dogs but they train to win.

The collision

The Funners dislike the Winners and vice versa to some extent. After all, the Funners think that the Winners just want to run fast and win. That may be true, but what the Funners don’t see is that the Winners dogs are less prone to injure themselves or other dogs. Over time the Winners dogs will have less bone and structure problems and will continue running in the sport longer than the Funners dogs.

The Winners have put out many training articles and videos. They put on training seminars and encourage the Funners to train their dogs to have a proper box turn, to make sure their dogs do not have a crossover problem, and to make sure there are no other issues before their dogs are placed in a racing situation.

Why can’t the Funners and the Winners come together as one group? I encourage everyone to train their dogs to be the best they can be. Let’s all strive to keep our dogs injury free and to not let any dog run before they are fully trained and ready. There may be exceptions for very large dogs but most dogs no matter how fast or slow can be trained to do a proper box turn. All dogs should be tested by the team for crossover problems before they ever run their first heat in an actual race. It is up to you to make this sport the safest it can be for our furry friends’ sake.

Larry

I started off this morning thinking about the many articles I wanted to write and then I came across an essay written by Sandy Mawery. I think it was written for obedience titles but I could not find the original source. Some of you may have seen and read this before but I thought it was worth repeating here.

I have been in pursuit of titles for my dogs ever since I started in Flyball. To be honest, even though it was my dog’s accomplishments, it was also about me and my ego. After reading Sandy’s message, these accomplishments have touched me in a very different way. Some of my dogs are getting older now and one is semi-retired from the sport, and I will always cherish my dog’s titles and look at them in remembrance of the good times I’ve shared with a friend.

Enjoy and remember!

Larry

What is a Title, Really?

Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores.

A title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory, for about as long as anything in the world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard. And though the dog himself doesn’t know or care that his achievements have been noted, a title says many things in the world of humans where such things count.

A title says your dog was intelligent, adaptable, and good natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that pleased you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.

A title says that you loved your dog. That you loved to spend time with him because he was a good dog and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed and in the end your faith was justified.

A title proves that your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so few, that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return. And when that dear short life is over, the title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials after the name.

A title is nothing less than true love and respect, given and received and recorded permanently.

Written by, Sandy Mowery