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.
10 comments ↓
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.
I have two dogs (shepherds) that I really never played tug with. They are sometimes interested and other times not. They really love squeeky balls. Are these bad motivators? Is it imperative to get them to be tug motivated?
The only thing that I would say about squeeky balls is they may be a distraction to other dogs. I know that many people use balls as motivators and one of my older dog’s uses a ball. However, I find them to be a problem at times. I guess I’ll just leave it at that.
Any pointers on how to get a not so tug motivated dog to love it? Should I just keep up with trying to make it interesting? Funny thing is when they were pups they loved it…I just didn’t do it with them very often…now I can hardly get them to do it!
It’s somewhat like trying to retrain a box turn after the dog’s has been running a while. It will take some persistence but the key is making it fun for the dog. It may take some time but just keep working at it.
During the period that I am trying to get the dog interested in a tug, should I not play ball with them at all. So if it takes two weeks….still no ball playing? I also bought a tug that holds treats and hoping that helps…they are very food motivated!
I would play with both but individually for now. If you can get someone to hold your dog to do restrained recalls to the tug that’s what I would work on. Really make this a fun game. Later you can try adding the ball to this exercise by throwing the ball out doing dead ball retrieves to the tug.
Hi
I have a small Aussie who is doing a great swimmers turn, but she can’t trigger the ball because of her weight. Is it a box problem or is there something I can do.
Thanks
Lynda,
I also own three small aussies. (North American Shephersd/ Miniature Australian Shepherds).
I agree, it could be the box. It could be that she has such a GREAT swimmer’s turn that evenly distributes her total body weight among all four of her feet while in contact with the triggering mechanism that there is not enough “pressure” to trigger it.
What to do?
You may have to make the trigger more “sensitive”. I don’t know what kind of box you have but, nearly all of them can be adjusted. It may involve changing a few parts such as the spring strength or a smaller cocking mechanism. Flyball boxes are notorious for each of their “unique” designs and it’s hard to find any uniformity among them. BUT, the parts can usually be found at a hardware store.
Are you a “tinkerer” or know somebody who does? Do you know who designed and built your flyball box? Box makers are usually very helpful when it comes to changing designs to accomodate a specific triggering problem.
How far does the pedal have to travel before it triggers the releasing mechanism? We have a “loaded” pedal and so it only needs to travel about 1/4 of an inch before the firing mechanism fires.
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Look at the holes as well. Some teams like deep holes. My team likes a smaller hole with at least two thirds of the ball sticking out. That “design” may give your boxloader some headaches but, the dogs love it because the hammer only needs a very light “tap” to catapault the ball out of the hole. Easy on the dog who may have a light touch.
These are just a few ideas. Start asking questions at tournaments and you’ll learn a lot and maybe get someone to start tinkering with your box if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.
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