Entries Tagged 'Dog Training' ↓

First, let me say thank you to Larry for giving me access to post topics. I will start off by a less controversial topic as this is my first ever blog entry as the topic starter. Down the road I promise to think of something that will get the juices flowing. Shoot, even this topic could get heated depending on how strongly people feel only dogs that can run full time without issues and without fear of the dog shutting down.

So I would like to hear more about how everyone tries to help their dog(s) overcome fears so they can participate in flyball. This is a topic dear to my heart since I have a border collie that has many fears.

And if you feel you have exhausted your options and your dog is still not comfortable when do you finally say enough is enough and retire them? How long do you work on trying to make flyball fun for them? What if the dog shows some promise and is seemingly starting to enjoy the sport at times, do you continue working with said dog?

Basically, what have you done to try and help a dog overcome their fears and when do you finally just give up and allow the dog to be a loving pet only?

Kim

They are a sight to behold and a joy to handle.  Some of them are not the fastest out there but they are amazing in their own right.  They are the dogs that can run the flyball race themselves… they only have a handler out there because that’s the rules.They are the dogs that you can say “line up” to and they position themselves for a recall from the box.  They will hold their spot till you get to the back of the lane and call them. As their handler it doesn’t matter when you release… if you are early they will adjust their own pass, if you are late they are jumping out of your hands when the outbound dog is at the “right” hurdle.

As you hold them in the back of the lane you feel their energy build.  They press up against you trembling with excitement.  They know the judge’s whistle when there is an early start and you can tell because they relax, only to wind up again as the lights start their countdown again.

At the back of the lane they do their little routine with you, a few tugs and a few spins, then they turn themselves around, position themselves and focus for the next race.

They see the crates go in the car and know that practice or a tournament is on the way.  On the way to practice they lean into the turns before you’ve made them. They know they are tournament bound when you hit the freeway and they settle into a nice nap.

They train the new handlers and the green dogs.  They just love the sport and are happiest when they are out flying over the jumps being part of the action.

Connie

A flyball practice can look like total chaos to the uninitiated. The energy level is so high that it rattles some folks… others thrive in it. For me I just love seeing happy dogs using their minds and physicality … being allowed to be rowdy, loud and strong. I love to see all that animal energy focused on a task. Our modern, mostly suburban dogs don’t get to hunt or work as a pack, or even round up some sheep, but all that desire is still there in their genes. I find flyball a great outlet for them. Their teammates become their pack and they are hunting tennis balls.

So what is the best way to organize a practice so all dogs get a good workout, the humans learn stuff towards maximizing their performance and everyone makes some progress. There are probably as many opinions on this as there are flyball teams, but here is what I do:

• Identify what your goals are for that practice. Specific things that a particular dog needs to work on, or a training technique you want to use. It may be a particular dog is drawn off their lane when in a particular lane, or maybe you want to tighten a pass between two dogs.
• Gather your team before each practice to discuss team business and practice goals. I find folks do best when you let them know what is coming next.
• Practice the most mentally challenging for the canine first, before they are tired. Many folks feel this is box work. I work my trained dogs first, attempting to finesse their body placement and keep them from getting lazy about their turn. While the trained dogs rest I work my green dogs at learning their box turn.
• Full runs and passing for tournament ready dogs is next. Here we address desensitizing a dog that is intimidated by another, tightening passes till both are running with confidence, then fine tuning and taking notes on release points.
• While the tournament ready dogs rest I bring out my green dogs for hurdle running. Here is where you spend time training handlers to get the most speed out of their dogs. Also laying the foundation for the handlers on traffic flow in the ring. You also work for a clean release for the dog… where they have all their energy poised and are listening for that “ready, set, GO”
• We finish up with assorted training techniques depending on the need. It might be the “passing game” for a green dog or “eight hurdle power runs” for trained dogs or flat recalls for the puppies.

Connie

So they show up with their beloved dog who is “just ball crazy”.  If you have had a chance to communicate with them prior then they have a crate and a dog toy, hopefully some water and a leash.  The dog is probably 5 Lbs overweight and both are totally overwhelmed with all the barking dogs and what appears to them to be chaos.So how to start????

I encourage every member of my team to take some time to greet the new person, meet their dog and attempt to make the person feel comfortable.  People who are comfortable are more open to learning.

As we don’t have “beginners classes” we work their dog into our regular practice.  We give the prospective member the opportunity to come to three practices for free to get a feel for the sport, get a feel for the team and for us to get a feel for them. From this we can see if the dog has potential and if the people have the self-discipline to show up three weeks in a row.  After three weeks and all is going well we ask them to join as an associate member… which has dues attached.

The first few practice we will introduce the dog to the jumps, work on prey drive and teach how to teach conditioning training.  I tell the prospect that most of what they will be doing in the beginning will be in their homework.  I try to identify the dog’s strong points and set the person up to feel proud of their dog, but know what they need to work on.

I have found that dog owners need as much reinforcement as their dogs do and in the beginning you are really doing human training… training the human to train their dog.

A few things I’ve learned over the years…  After they’ve attended a few practices give the prospect a copy of your bylaws or some other information on what your expectations are.  (They may be intimidated to touch the equipment… unless you’ve told them that setting up/ tearing down equipment is expected of every teammate.)  If you’ve told them your expectations and they are still sitting on their camp chair while everyone else works around them and/or they have an excuse every time there is money due you will be in a position to recommend they find a different team with whom to play flyball. Everyone knowing what is expected of them leads to a more harmonious team.

I try to get an associate member to attend a tournament in the area.  They get a feel for what they are working for and what all is involved in the sport.  There is always so much to do at a tournament and they can find themselves a contributing member of the team.  With new folks you must always be VERY specific on what you want done in order to set them up for success.  You can’t say “set the jump heights”.  You must say “add one of those one inch boards lying on the ground next to the jumps to the top of the jump board on each jump and do it fast!”.  For those of us with years of experience it’s hard to remember how basic you must be.

We let the associate member know what our criteria are for becoming full members and every full member has a say in whether an associate member is accepted.  I find this gets associate members in to the habit of contributing to the team and reduces the propensity for personality conflicts.

When that new teammate finally gets into the ring for the first time and lets their dog go and the dog races the course successfully it is a moment they never forget.  I always say that the first title is the hardest title to earn.  It is reason for an entire team to celebrate.

Connie

I know from experience that it is very hard starting new teams in areas where no other teams exist. Being from a flyball growth area like Alabama, I have seen my share of all green teams. As I have mentioned before on other posts, when I started in flyball there was only one team within 250 miles of my home. It is quite a bit better now, but back in 1999, we had to travel for help and training. Having an all green team has many drawbacks, for one, just trying to put together four dogs that can complete the course can be a problem.

Of the six dogs on our all green team, we only had four dogs that could complete the course. Additionally, we had a severe shortage of height dogs, so if the height dog decided not to run or some other problem occurred with the height dog our team was not able to run. Back then, with 16-inch jump heights our large dogs would just go around the jumps if they were too high, so without a height dog, we did not run.

Ready to run

As with many all green teams, you are going to have your share of problems. Things that were not a problem in practice will be a problem in a tournament situation. It is very important that you do everything possible to test your dogs before entering them in a tournament. Finding a team that you can practice with is probably the most helpful. Even if you need to travel a distance to the closest team, testing your green team in a tournament like environment will tell you if you are ready for a real tournament.

Crossovers are the main concern and other teams running in your division will not look too kindly on your team if they are crossed over on. If you know that crossovers are going to be a problem with a dog(s) on your team, you should tell the team you are running that you will be warming-up a green dog(s) that may have a crossover problem. That way they will be prepared and may let you have the lane. If they have green dogs too, it would be common courtesy to share your warm-up time with them.

Other things to consider

It may actually be a little easier now for the all green teams to get started with the advent of the Open Class and Pickup team. Another option is Singles and Pairs in U-FLI. If you do not have a complete team that can run together, Singles and Pairs are a great way to give your green dogs some lane time. Additionally, if you know that you cannot field a complete team entering your team as an Open Class or Pickup team may be the answer. Query teams in your area or put something out on the Flyball Email List and ask if there are dogs that would like to run on your Open Class or Pickup team. Conversely, you may be able to add a couple of your green dogs to an Open Class or Pickup team. Either way, the experience you gain by doing so will be invaluable.

If anyone has other suggestions for the all green teams out there just starting in the sport, please post your comments. I am sure that any information you provide will be helpful in expanding our sport.

Larry

How do you run an all green team? I received this question from someone and I want to thank everyone that has written to me; your questions and suggestions for future post are greatly appreciated. Without your continued support, it would be hard for me to continue writing on these diverse subjects. If you would like to make suggestions or if you have a question please use the Contact form.

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