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Training Tips

Puppy Stuff

Awwwwwwwwww. You got a new puppy. Isn't he cute? And, he's going to be the best flyball dog ever, because your going to start training him now! But what is flyball? It's jumping - leaping hurdles, hitting the box in a swimmer's turn, and bounding back over the jumps. But what does everybody tell you? "Puppies shouldn't jump." They shouldn't, or at least not too much, too high, onto too hard of a surface, or too repeatedly. So, how much is "too much?" No one knows. So, you are left in a quandry. You want to train the puppy, but you don't want to risk injuring him. So, what can you do with that puppy?

The truth is there is a lot you can and need to do with that puppy.

Socialization

When your dog is at tournaments, he will be around strange people, strange dogs, strange environments, strange noises. You want your dog to be comfortable and willing to perform his best in those environments, without undue stress. I know of a dog owned by one of our teammates. She is a beautiful border collie. She has a wicked box turn, can do the jumps with barely a ripple, passes with no problem, and is one of the fastes dogs in our team. She never competes in tournaments. Why? because she is too nervous. She cannot handle the environment and her brain just goes "pfffft" and she can't complete a single run. If you are lucky enough to get ahold of your flyball dog as a puppy, thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy for the opportunity to socialize that puppy while he is still young and open to new experiences. There is a window of time, in puppyhood, where they are forming their attitudes toward new people and environments. Take that puppy everywhere - pet friendly stores, walks around town, car rides, as audience in dog friendly events. Introduce him to as many new experiences and people as you can and he will tolerate.

Flyball isn't just about getting your dog to run as fast as he can to the box. You also want him to run back just as fast. Then you want to be able to catch him, and be ready to spin him around and run him again in a heartbeat. The best way to accomplish this is to build a very strong tug drive (even stronger than the ball drive) and lure him back to you with the tug. You want the dog so enthused about getting that tug, he spits out that ball and hits the tug on the fly. That way, he's going full throttle until he reaches you, and you have him firmly attached to the tug, rather than running off through the runback area and doing fun things like chasing other dogs or unathorized re-runs. So, teach your puppy to tug, and play tug with them constantly. Also, teach them to drop the tug, quickly, on command.

You may have to tease and really work the tug to get the puppy enthused, at first, but it will pay off. Also, you can throw the tug, hold the puppy back, then race it for the tug. Let him win sometimes. Play growl at him, thump him encouragingly on the side. Shake it and get more and more aggressive. Use it as a reward for obedience behavours. Don't leave the tug out, only bring it out when you are going to play with the puppy.

In any situation, you want to be able to call the dog to you and have it come to you without hesitation. This is true of any dog, not just flyball dogs:) So practice it and practice it. Always reward when he comes. Never call him to you to punish him. Don't repeatedly call him if he doesn't respond. Go get him, put him on a long line, and reinforce the recall with the long line. Do "restrain recall" exercises. Have someone hold the puppy. Move a short distance away. Call the puppy. It can help to speed up the recall if you run away from the dog. Lure it with a toy at first. Whatever works. Get a good recall on your puppy and work on it every day, even after the puppy seems to have it cold. And make it fun. Call the dog and run. Hide and call the dog. Call the dog to play a game. Call the dog to give it a treat.

Formal Training Classes

You want the puppy to be comfortable and focused when working and playing around other dogs. So, formal classes are good. Obedience, aglility, rally, whatever - you just want the puppy to be comfortable, responsive and focused with the distraction of other dogs. Also, any training you do with your puppy helps him "learn to learn." A dog that has been trained in anything, has an advantage in any further training. Plus, if you don't give him something to do, he'll find something. You don't want him to find something.

So, there is a lot you can do now to train that future flyball puppy. Now go do it. Then, again, some of us are just looking for a funny bumper sticker

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