Catching tips

A

angielee001

Forums Regular
I am very interested in training my sheltie Flyball. He's 10 months old and the problem he has is that he's very skiddish. And because he's skiddish, he runs for dear life when I throw the ball up for him to catch. The other issue he has is that he doesn't realize that things even go up. I honestly believe he lives in the world of Chicken Little and if he could talk, he would tell me that the sky is falling. Any tips on overcoming these issues??
 
I'd say that first you should work on the fear and skittishness. He needs to build some confidence or catching will be the least of his issues with flyball. Flyball is a very busy, fast, crazy, and loud sport that can completely overwhelm a nervous dog. Are there clicker classes in your area? Clicker training theories are fantastic for building self confidence as they prompt the dog to think for themselves and learn to offer behaviours. They learn that THEY control when the click happens, so it is very empowering for them when they figure it out.

If he is really nervous, I would encourage you to start out with agility before trying flyball. Agility is another great confidence builder and is much less chaotic than flyball, so is a better environment for a nervous dog to get started.

As for catching, start by tossing things that he WANTS to catch ... FOOD! Sit on the floor with a handful of tasty treats. Lightly toss them to him, don't make the tosses very high or very fast. Pretend that you are lobbing a ball to a toddler. If he catches, it is self rewarding. If he misses, quickly grab up the treat before he picks it up off the floor and try again.

After he is consistently catching (or at least trying to catch) food, then switch up to a soft plush toy. They are less "scary" when tossed in the air, and if they hit him it won't startle him as much as a ball would. Again, lightly lob the ball to him, and if he catches it, reach in for a rewarding game of tug or wrestle. If he misses, quickly get the toy back before he can get it and try again. After he is catching a soft toy, then you can try the same game with a ball.
 
This is great! I've never had problem with Bacca retrieving a ball that I've thrown, but could never figure out how to get him to wait aways and catch something thrown to him!
 
Well, we attempted the treat catching (with his favorite chicken hot dog bits) and failed miserably. Yes, it was his first attempt so I will keep trying but it was very discouraging. I would even try putting the treat in front of his face and leading the treat up in the air. He would not follow the treat as it went up. For now, he will remain the champion lap dog until I diwussify him and he picks up on some catching skills. :/
 
That sounds odd that he won't raise his head to follow the treat. Is it possible there is an injury to his neck? Is there a chiropractor that works on dogs near you that could take a look at him? Even a skittish dog should be able to be lured to raise their head.
 
Oh no, nothing wrong with his neck. He was looking at me like, "ok, just give me the treat, lady". He's a normal hippity hoppity dog. :)
 
angielee001 said:
And because he's skiddish, he runs for dear life when I throw the ball up for him to catch.
Click to expand...

Have you tried bouncing the ball on the ground rather than throwing the ball at him. My Tully got the hang of catching it when it bounced after a while and now she loves it catching the ball. That way you can walk around the house/yard bouncing the ball on the ground until the sound and then movement becomes second nature. Its a long while of training before they actually have to catch the ball
 
*Caro said:
Have you tried bouncing the ball on the ground rather than throwing the ball at him. My Tully got the hang of catching it when it bounced after a while and now she loves it catching the ball. That way you can walk around the house/yard bouncing the ball on the ground until the sound and then movement becomes second nature. Its a long while of training before they actually have to catch the ball
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this. Ella most always catches the ball off the bounce but struggles to catch it in mid air. The problem is that the ball is moving a lot quicker when you throw it straight in the air, but when you bounce it off the ground the top of the arc is much closer to the dogs mouth, making it easier for them to catch it.

Try it and see if it helps. Also make sure to get some smaller tennis balls, those are easier to catch.
 
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