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How Did You Train Your Puppy? |
The Question:
. . . I'm new to Border Collies and flyball. I have a 9 month old BC who is wonderful. Anyone know of any flyball activities in my area, or what I might do to get involved if there is no team here? Thanks a lot. . . .
Activity vs. Game
The day we brought our Border Collie puppy home, we started to play games with him.It was never a "fetch-type" activity - we wanted a very strong recall, we played "chase-type" games. Fetch implies getting an object. We wanted to place the emphasis on fast returns to the handler (the handler is the reward!).
The flyball season hadn't started (it was agility season) so we did a lot of work on our own. The exercises we did helped our puppy in both flyball and agility.
Once he started formal flyball lessons with the team, the benefits of practising on our own became apparent. He did fast tight turns almost from day 1, he was faster returning than going and he was completely focused on the task.
What we did
- Played lots of chase games (get me!, chase me!) where he ran after the handler. Put in lots of changes of directions - wear old clothes as the paws are always on you.
- In the house we did a lot of "find me" games. The handler would hide somewhere in the house and I would send the puppy looking for her. This was invaluable. We used it to get the dog's attention onto the handler in all kinds of situations - chasing squirrels, getting distracted in the park, on walks in the woods etc. (We still use this game, and the dog is now 4.)
- We then transferred the "find me game" to a different location - outside during walks. Probably the second best thing we ever did.
- We only used a tennis ball as a toy whenever we were working on a flyball related exercise. The dog never played with a tennis ball inside the house or outside when it was a play session.
- We did a lot (probably a
million - I jest but . . .) of dead ball pickups.
**This is the most important thing we did**.
Our game of dead-ball pickup consisted of:
- place the ball on the ground at your feet (feet placed in a V - heels together, toes apart)
- the handler holds the dog say 5 feet from the ball. Increase the distance as the dog gets proficient.
- the handler releases the dog (after the appropriate "get it, get it" mantra)
- the moment he touches the ball (takes a little work to get this right), the handler shouts "come" and takes off. Make sure that your back is to the dog, don't look back and run like mad.
- Our dog is now four, is absolutely reliable (well almost absolute - he messed up on one heat in the last tournament) and we still use this exercise.
We didn't use a box, we played enthusiastically with the dog every time he came to us, we did this often but of short durations, we had more fun than the dog.
Hope this helps you - remember Borders (in fact all dogs) need mental stimulation as much as physical exercise and introduce your pup to agility type activities at the same time. Lie down, sit, stay, go around (both around your body in both directions and around objects - trees, garbage cans), get out, directionals. But use body language and a clicker.
This method (fast recalls, dead-ball pick-up) taught our dog the golden grail of flyball - a swimmer's turn.
Enjoy your pup and above all both of you have fun.