Lexi plays at flyball

SheepOfBlue said:
(though it is still in progress even harder than don't chase the dog in the other lane :o)

FWIW to teach him to fetch I threw a ball and he brought it back. I never really did anything more.

As to trigger the box.... hmm a chance to pounce on something :lol:
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Just thought about that. Would Koji be able to learn to NOT chase the other dogs, NOT chase the dog running past him, NOT chase any loose balls. Hmmm.....

Koji fetches, but usually I have to throw the ball. He also catches, but not as good as Miko.

Maybe when I have more money, I will have to try this out. I don't have friends that teach flyball like Ashley. ;p
 
corbinam said:
Everything is going really well with the box. We moved it up just about as far as I can without it toppling over (I have it stacked on some binders). Lexi goes to get the ball and turns right every time. She brings it back, and never drops it! Of course, we play in the hallway where she can't go anywhere else! :lol:

Just curious...how do you get them to catch the ball off the real box that triggers? I'm afraid A) it will scare Lexi (though she does love chasing a ball) or B) She will wait for it to hit the ground to go get it.

Also, is it possible that she doesn't hit the box hard enough to trigger it?
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I'm learning vicariously through you since I don't have the means to try it out.
 
k9kreationz said:
Koji fetches, but usually I have to throw the ball. He also catches, but not as good as Miko.
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I was afraid Lexi wouldn't fetch something stationary. I started a while ago just getting her really excited about a toy, pulling her back (a foot or two), riling her up, and letting her go get it (sorta like a restrained recall). Eventually I built up the distance, but she figured it out quickly because she realized that as soon as she went and got it, she got to bring it to me to play!
 
In my experience catching it out of the box just comes natural to them. At first the instructor just set it on the top so he could see it. Then in the box where Sca would pounce and pick it up. But as he got better on his turn he then started to catch them once in a while. Anytime he did that meant extra cookies and good Sca's. Then it just sort of clicked and he got the majority last week. I believe that as they start 'getting' the game catching it just is quicker so they do it.

Also catching the ball is not mandatory just faster. It also means the dog is not pouncing on the box so it is better for them.
 
It took Duncan eight months to learn to trigger the box. So even if it doesn't seem like a dog can do it - they can. If 9.5 lb Duncan can do it, any dog can. We went from shaking at the sound of it to him voluntarily running to the box and pouncing on it if you accidentally let him go or he's just running around in the practice area.

To build drive, I would get Duncan revved up for the ball and roll it just a few feet away. We have a big party every time he brings me a ball. Then, I would let the ball sit there for a split second before letting him go get it. I extended the time and then the distance. I can hold him and throw it as far as possible and just hold Duncan. He will strain for it and MUST have it. I've created a monster.

Ah, love Flyball!
 
Okay, another question...should I keep practicing Lexi turning on the box without the ball? Or should I always use the ball now that she "gets it"?

I have kept practicing without the ball to make her get used to the turn, and she goes faster that way. But I don't want her to get in the habit of coming back without the ball.

What do you experts think?
 
Practice with the ball. She will get faster. Plus, when the box is triggering, she'll go faster as well. Get her in the habit of ALWAYS bringing you the ball.

As for how do you train them to catch the ball - you can practice reflex skills. I've done several ways. The best is to throw the tennis ball low on a wall and get the dog to practice catching it as it bounces off (this is tricky because you don't want to encourage a game of chase, so the pup has to be close to the wall). Another way I've done it is to toss a ball just to the side of his face (that way if he misses, I don't smack him in the face). Once he got that, I threw faster and more directly to his mouth. He is great about catching a mid-air ball now.
 
We teach catching a ball by using one on a string. You start by just guiding it into their mouth with the string pulled taut then as they get it we slacken the rope.when they don't need the rope we throw the ball from low down and gently, then front on. If u reach them the word catch its less scary as they will expect the ball, plus it makes a great party trick because u can throw food as well.
 
Lexi did her 10 minute flyball practice again last night :lol: We joked that she is on the "10 minute per week flyball plan"!

She did pretty well. We put the ball on the chute and I was able to get her to get it from behind 3 jumps. If I backed up past the 4th, she got distracted (there was a lot of agility equipment around so she'd sometimes go look for that, like the table).

I think part of her not knowing where to look is because at home I am always the one putting the ball on the box, so she sees me do it. When we were practicing, someone else put the ball on the box and she didn't really "get" that it was out there.

Might have to start setting it up outside to practice with more room between me and he box.

But, she did get the ball and bring it back over the 4 jumps a couple times, hooray!

Also, she was turning the other way last night. Is that unusual for them to not know which side they want to turn on? And this morning she was only putting her 2 front feet on the box rather than all 4, so I have to go back to working on her turns.

I'd really like to put her in a class, but the facility is 45 minutes away and we're already out there once a week.
 
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