So let’s get started. In this lesson we will start to lay the foundation that was talked about in the previous post (Laying a good Foundation). Please note that you should not move on to other lessons until you are confident your dog is performing the exercises in this lesson and giving you that 110%. There is no time limit for this lesson and it will take as long as it takes. It really depends on you and how you interact with your dog. You should know when your dog is ready to move to the next lesson.
A good motivator is made not found
A tug or Frisbee is the preferred motivator, but whatever you pick you should stay with. Play with your dog daily with it and make it a fun game for him. Much of this is teaching the dog that it is fun to play with you and the motivator. This will help the dog’s focus and keep him on task. If the dog is focused on you and the motivator he will be less likely to get in trouble.
When starting with a new motivator, a good game to play is the keep away game. You can start this game being excited about the motivator. Hold the motivator high enough so the dog can’t get it or run around with it because the dog will almost always want what they can’t have. Show your dog how much fun the motivator is. If you are starting with a puppy you may have to start having him follow your hand or food and slowly work toward transitioning to the motivator. Tugging is a natural behavior for most dogs so this should not be a problem.
Play Time
Sometimes the dog may not want to play and this is okay. If this is the case put your motivator up and don’t play. Your dog must want to play rather than being aggravated to play. Only play with the dog when the dog is giving 110%. At the first sign of fatigue or disinterest the play should end.
Keep your motivator out of sight when you are not playing with your dog. As soon as your dog sees the motivator they should react and know that this is play time. This is a good indicator that the dog is ready to move on to the next lesson.
Keep your play sessions short. I cannot stress this enough. Longer sessions are not better. Keeping your play sessions short insures that the energy level of the dog will be high. A dog that just woke from a nap may not be ready to play. If you normally feed at a certain time the best time to play may be right before feeding time.
Try to always end your play sessions with the dog wanting more.
The Way You Feel
If you are feeling depressed or stressed don’t start a play session. If you get stressed or upset during the play session, try to end on a happy note and quit the play session. It is just as important for you to be at 110% as it is for the dog.
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.
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I would add that if you are introducing a new “step” or challenge and the dog is starting to get it, but then starts to fall apart or lose interest, back up to the last step that is well mastered, execute that well and end the play. I never want to end a training session with the dog feeling confused, frustrated or that I am disappointed in him/her.
To add to Larry’s lesson. When the dog is at the “learning to respond to the Motivator” level (and continuing throughout his/her flyball career)we do something called the toy exchange game. Once you have them tugging then give them several
tugs, mix in a ball and a frisbee and/or other favorite toy. Play with each toy, get the dog crazy about the toy, then drop it and move to the next toy, get them crazy for that toy, then move to the next and then the next. this helps the dog learn that it is not the toy…. but you attached to the toy that makes it wonderful. This is useful for really ball motivated dogs. You do not want a dog that considers the ball the prize… cause when they hit the box and get their ball it’s game over. There is no drive to return to you. You want them to be driven to return to get some really big time fun play.
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