I've been emailing with our local flyball club here in Portland and I really think Rowdy would enjoy it. To help prepare Rowdy for training, the club president recommended a couple different things. I will, for starters, be enrolling him in an obedience class. He is a well-behaved dog, but we need to work on developing a reliable recall. That is one of his biggest weaknesses and I know it will be very important.
One thing recommended was to practice "deadball" fetches. This means he should fetch a ball that is not thrown, but, rather, just motionless many feet away. Has anyone worked with inspiring their dog to do this? Any ideas to inspire interest in a deadball?
Also, it's suggested to have a "lure"- a toy reward. Rowdy does really like his toys, but how do you go about choosing a select one as a lure? They suggest a tuggy style toy, but Rowdy isn't always a huge fan of those. He really like loofah dogs, but we always have them laying around for the other dogs, so it wouldn't be a very good reward style toy. If you've done this before, how did you choose the toy? And what did you choose?
The other suggestions for me were to make sure Rowdy is comfortable around other active dogs (which has never been a problem with him) and run, run, run him. And, since he is my regular running partner, he is getting lots of running already.
Thanks for you're help and suggestions, everyone! I can't wait to get him enrolled in classes and then the training course for flyball. Even if he's not spectacular at it, I think it will be a great activity for the exercise, socialization, and stimulation for him. |