ball games for border collies

(For more about target training, see Right On Target, February 2006. It works best and minimizes biting of the ball (a no-no!) Remember that border collies are designed to prevent movement and escape of sheep. Repeat until your dog moves immediately and confidently to the mat and lies down when you signal the outrun. A rope or stuffed toy may hurt their gums if you pull too hard, especially in young dogs. We have wild and dynamic play, silly play, calm play and everything in between. We got some squeaky tennis balls and devised a game in which the ball would first be squeaked a sure way to get his focus then as soon as he locked his eyes onto it, we rolled it across the ground. Anything you do with your dog, for the sake of doing things, I would think would be beneficial! Collies LOVE running after balls and toys. By This made it difficult to shift his interest from other dogs to people dogs were playmates to him, people not. I am still learning a lot about the play preferences of my 8 month old puppy. There are countless ball games that will help your collie with physical exercise and more importantly offer cognitive enrichment with training and new skills for them to learn. Its fine to let your dog win sometimes so that you dont hurt their self esteem. Even the most pampered pet pooch still has a strong herding instinct in their nature. Border collies make their best decisions when calm, so try to keep their arousal low. If he counters your move to stay across from you, click and treat in the correct spot and pat yourself on the back! Try Treibball! Resist the temptation. Repeat this process each time you change the ball to a larger size. I would have no problem having a go for fun but I would not use herding terms as my dogs do occasionally get to work sheep recreationally and understand come by and away. A treat ball or a flavored ball works best for this, so theres a stronger scent for the dog to track. Hopefully, however, weve succeeded in sparking your interest and driving you to other resources that will encourage you to go on and pursue your goal of herding big inflated balls with your eager canine partner. If a larger ball distracts him, again decrease distance to the mat and move the ball off to the side. Collies will instinctively catch small treats in their mouths. Furthermore, they are sensitive souls who are visually hyper alert. Collies love hide and seek, its one of their favorite games and with a scented, flavored dog ball you can combine the fun of fetch, hide and seek, and a tasty treat all in one. A well made rubber squeaky ball will last much longer than a soft squeaky animal, and you can throw it and play with it too. Clear editor. Collies love toys, if you throw a toy for them they will run and pick it up on their own. We've started playing this with our pup Bailey, just for fun. As in herding, the term Go bye indicates a clockwise outrun (remember, as time goes by . Continue this until you see him automatically move into position when you take one step around the ball. The handler must stay within an 18-foot radius from the center of the goal. It is also a great game to play with your dog as border collies are designed to work in a partnership and this is a true partner game. If you move too far away too quickly, you will confuse your dog and lose ground. If you are competitive, youll be ready to roll when a trial doespop up in your area. Examples of treibball dogs in action aired a few months ago on YouTube and before you could say Go bye! the game went viral in the American dog training world for good reason. Dog and handler have 15 minutes to drive all the balls into the goal. The objective is for your dog to herd large exercise balls through a small gap, emulating the task of a working sheepdog, without the need for sheep. Then I discovered many of his idiosyncrasies were actually common border collie characteristics. He is rather laid back, and wild fighting for a toy is not really his thing. When they pick up the ball, repeat the drop it command and remove the ball from their mouth yourself. You can teach your collie to drop the ball with the below steps: You can start your collie off by teaching them to catch small treats instead of balls or toys. I toss them one by one, again making sure to roll/bowl rather than throw through the air, and letting him run after them to catch them. Collies are great at catch. (Eventually you will reduce the size of the target mat until your dog no longer needs it.) If gentle body blocking doesnt prevent him from moving toward the ball, youre not ready to add the ball your dog needs more control work first. The human who has the honor to playTreppenball with him stands at the bottom of the staircase, throws the ball up and Fusion catches it. Your link has been automatically embedded. Saw this mentioned in a recent post, and I had to Google it because I had never heard of it. )Hold the ball between your knees (sitting or standing) until hes targeting to it with sufficient energy that he would easily move the ball at least a few feet if it were on the ground. Would you like to learn more? However, activities like "sheep ball" and "treibball" are just games. I didnt want to constantly chant his name, so we came up with another idea. Handlers may not shout at, punish, intimidate, or otherwise force the dog to perform. A rope and ball toy combines a rope for tug of war with a ball that wont hurt your collies teeth or gums like a soft toy could. Treibball was developed by January Nijboer in Germany (treibball is variously translated from German as blowing ball, drifting ball, or propelling ball) as a game that would occupy herding dogs. No strings attached, no training required, just playing for the fun of it. What was this strange creature I asked? Bam! This is not just a silly little Fusion game, though I have over time found that many dogs that refuse to play with balls can be enticed by not throwing, but bowling the ball close to the ground. Start with a small Jolly Ball, and reduce your distance to the target mat, setting the ball far off to the side, if necessary, until your dog will refocus on you and go lie down on his mat when you signal him to do so, even in the presence of the beloved ball. You *Can* Train More Than One Thing At A Time, Why You Should Reward Your Distracted Dog (Sort Of), Finding The Value Where Your Dog Sees It- A Story About Unusual Rewards. Luna loves tennis balls more than anything else, she was so excited when she received her giant tennis ball! If you dont have to walk them on the street, then dont. Sadly though, their nature doesnt include drop. The same applies to playing in my eyes. I would be happy to show you how to play sheep balls and I currently offer 30 minute private classes in fun activities relevant to your dog herding games, scent detection or doggy gym at Oakford. Border Collies need to control movement, yet many live in a world of movement they cannot control. Its a competitive sport for dogs of all ages and sizes. Kay teaches sheep balls a great game with a couple of balls. The outrun: The goal behavior for the outrun is to have your dog run to a target placed 15 feet away, turn to face you, lie down, and wait for your signal to begin driving the ball. When hes targeting the ball between your knees with some force, place the ball on the ground, take a couple of steps back, and cue him to touch it. individualize your training approach to suit the needs of your dog, which may be completely different from the needs of another dog. [ezoic id=25]if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'howlingandgrowling_com-leader-2','ezslot_5',182,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-howlingandgrowling_com-leader-2-0')}; Collies are very receptive to training. When he goes to the mat several times in succession and lies down without you having to cue him, back up another 6 inches and continue. You have entered an incorrect email address! As silly as it must look, these are moments of pure joy for us. Then youre ready for two steps, eventually working up to random movements around the ball. He watches in great delight as the ball travels down, where his human play mate has to pick it up and throw it back to him. My fascination with border collies began several years ago when I fostered 9 year old Becker. Playing is an aspect of dog ownership that is very important for me. Paste as plain text instead, Just as you couldnt learn all the nuances of training agility or flyball in just one article, we cant tell you everything about treibball in these few pages. Terms | It is our task to find out what type of game our dogs prefer the most. Of course the herding breeds come to mind, but its also great for many of the prey-oriented sporting dogs and terriers, and any other dogs who just like to chase things. If they drop the treat, quickly take it away and try again, so that their only reward is for a successful catch. Even dogs that show absolutely zero interest in toys can become playful in hunting their food that way. Fusion lies in top of the stairway. They have incredible peripheral vision and, news to me, peripheral vision is wired straight to the amygdala in the brain the area responsible for how we react to stimuli, especially how we react to danger. Hide the ball and let your dog search for it. ), https://www.thedoggylady.com.au/private-classes/. Imagine what traffic looks like to a border collie. Hi! Stand with your foot forward and your hand extended until your dog moves to the mat. IMO, it would be risky. My siblings are seven, six, and five years older than me. Wherever I go, my beloved collie Luna is never far behind!Learn More about me and Luna's story on the about page! Then do it with multiple balls. Collies are highly intelligent and will have as much fun learning the new commands as they will playing the game. Your collie will love chasing the flashing or glowing ball in the dark while out for walkies. Reproduction without authorization is prohibited.All trademarks are property of their respective owners.Privacy | Check out our complete guide to exercising with your collie for lots of other exercise ideas. The strong rubber Kongs are tactile and fun to play with for the dog, and you can stuff them with peanut butter or other dog treats to provide cognitive enrichment as your Collie tries to figure out how to extract the treats. The dog must do an outrun beyond the balls, stop and pause, and wait for the handlers cue before beginning to drive the balls. Comparable scenarios have since come up many times for me, and the combination of a squeaky rolling ball has turned many play refusers into very happy players for whom the ball even became a jackpot reward! Here are some ideas for types of balls your collie is sure to love: if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[970,90],'howlingandgrowling_com-banner-1','ezslot_7',172,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-howlingandgrowling_com-banner-1-0')};[ezoic id=7]. (See New Tricks for a Stick, January 2007). Trying To Talk Your Dog Into Doing ThingsDont. While she enjoys tugging and everything that goes along with wrestling over a toy very much, I found out a different game that is great fun for her: She takes a toy into her mouth and then I hardly touch her or her treasure at all instead, I myself go a little crazy. You only need a ball and some open space so once they have mastered the basics you can take a ball with you to the park and play. Welcome to Howling & Growling, my blog about all things collies. If not, help him with a body language cue, then mark and reward when he moves into position. See page 24 for more information. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hide and search is one of the best games for Collies that can be played indoors or outdoors. When you throw the treats for them, say the command Catch. You can use any cues you want, as long as they are different from all the other cues you use with your dog, and you teach him what they mean. Firstly, try to understand how it is for them in our fast paced urban environment and make a concerted effort to minimise their exposure to uncontrolled movement. Having a rope and ball toy helps protect your dogs teeth and mouth too. I've no experience at all in working sheep with a dog. Luna loves her squeaky toys, but shes also very destructive. Invest in a ball thrower to extend your throwing distance and take your dog to the park and they will have a great time chasing down the ball and bring it back to you to throw all over again. I have heard/read of border collies becoming fixated/obsessed with a particular object or pattern of behavior. The fastest team with the fewest error points wins. beachdogz, There was air-snapping at flies, ball obsession and a complete fascination with movement on the television. Eight balls are placed in a triangle (four in the first row, three in the second, one in the third) sort of like racked billiard balls. As long as it is not too inappropriate (of course I dont play with anything unsafe or breakable), we play with it. If you havent already heard of treibball (pronounced Try-ball and also known as Drive Ball), youve been napping. My intrigue is leading to obsession am I becoming border collie? Play on the saying Train the dog in front of you is the title of this post i.e. That being said, there are a few toys which collies especially love, specifically toys that require some kind of cognitive effort to use, and balls which tap in to their primal herding instincts. Encourage your collie to return to you with the ball by showing them another ball or toy. Timing starts when the handler signals the outrun (sending the dog out and around behind the balls) and stops when all the balls are in the goal and the dog is lying down in front of the handler. If you cant find a trainer in your area, gather some like-minded dog friends to start a treibball training group, and help each other learn. Sometimes cue verbally, sometimes signal; its nice to be able to use either or both. (Why? In my very amateur opinion, at best the 'sheep ball' game would be neutral. ), How to Teach your Collie to Dance (Walk on Two Legs), How to Teach your Collie to Cover Their Eyes (Peekaboo! They arent as bouncy as regular tennis balls, but they are made with stronger and thicker rubber so that your dog doesnt just rip them to shreds immediately. So I am asking this in a new post. This latest one is a humdinger, and its spreading like wildfire. He loves it and it really tires him out, so we've found it's a great thing to have in rotation, particularly if the weather is terrible outside. When your foundation control behaviors are in place, youre ready to start interacting with the ball. There must be a better way! As with many canine sports, you can train your dog to play without actually ever competing in treibball. Or the dog might need to be trained out of behaviors that it learned in 'sheep ball'. A flock of exercise balls makes an inexpensive substitute for a flock of sheep, and doesnt violate your neighborhood associations rules, either. Youre treibballing! Increase the distance that you ask him to target toward in 6-inch increments (or even smaller increments, if your dog has trouble with 6 inches), obtaining consistency at each distance until the mat is 3 feet away. I did a search on this site, but because of the nature of the search engine, I got too many results for "sheep" "ball" and "game." It can look quite boring to an outsider as a good game involves little movement. I use Swing for the left, and Right for the right. Howlingandgrowling.com 2021. Tug of war is a great way to bond with your dog. Pat is also author of several books on positive training, including her latest: Do Over Dogs: Give Your Dog a Second Chance for a First Class Life. Its great fun for any energetic dogs who work well off-leash and need a job, dogs who like to chase stuff, or dogs who like to herd and dont have sheep! The ideal target spot is just below the midline of the ball. Treibball, also known as Push Ball or Urban Herding is a competitive ball game for herding dogs. When your dog will reliably offer to move 6 inches to the target, start cuing him to lie down when he gets there. Over time he has perfected the technique with which he has to launch the ball so that it touches each step (he seems disappointed if the it arrives at the bottom too quickly). They offer endless training possibilities (which collies love) and fun physical and cognitive benefits for you and your furry friend. I often play this (as well as toy games) on walks to let the dogs experience a bit of the kick that comes with hunting, and associate this kick with me rather than squirrels . In fact, it was at least the third week before we brought out one hard plastic Jolly Ball per dog, and we still didnt play with it. Hence, there are a number of skills your dog needs to perfect before he gets to start chasing balls around the yard. lol. My Border Collie Kix is very different from Fusion loud, wild, driven and always up for a fight. With your dog on your left side, step forward on your left foot and use an underhanded bowling motion to signal your dog to move to the mat. When working sheep they do not bark, they are calm. Another game Fusion enjoys is extremely simple and effective rolling food (pieces of kibble work well for this) across the ground. Actually, youve only just begun, but its an excellent start. Tennis balls work great for this since they are quite soft on their teeth. Luna loves this game, you can hide her favorite toy (Skunky the skunk) in shoes, in envelopes, in boxes, on bags, under the carpet, behind cushions or poking out of drawers and she will find it every time. Start by facing a 2-foot square target mat about 6 inches away from you. Read more about me on the about page, or check out the categories below. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. We start with Jolly Balls because if your dog does hit them, they dont bounce around like inflated exercise balls (thus inciting more inappropriate, aroused behavior). Collies love balls and ball games because they tap in to collies herding ability and satiates their appetite for training and working. Remember, the aim for a border collie is to prevent movement! There are dozens of different ways to teach your dog to sit or heel, and we should not train a generic dog but the individual in front of us, who we know better than anyone else does. This is repeated as many times as the human is willing to (for Christmas he has been gifted with Treppenball sessions of up to 2 hours, probably the happiest days of his life). Whether its the bright color or the fuzzy texture, theres just something about tennis balls that Collies seem to love. The best option is to get tennis balls made for dogs. If youre working with a dog who loves balls, this could be a challenge. He soon started to cautiously trot a couple steps behind the rolling ball success! Here are some ball game ideas that are perfect for Collies, tapping in to their lupine herding instincts and offering them cognitive enrichment with training and new skills to learn. Now you can start working on signaling the Go bye outrun. The game consists of herding a number of large inflatable exercise balls into a soccer-like net. Collies have a great nose and a high level of intelligence. It stimulates him mentally and physically and has improved his focus, so personally we've found it to be a good thing, as a fun game to enjoy with him. So, what can we do to help them live in our world and remain calm? We dont want either outcome; if your dog is reinforced for biting/popping balls (disqualification, not to mention costly!) document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); WDJ's Training Editor Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, grew up in a family that was blessed with lots ofanimal companions: dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, goats, and more, and has maintained that model ever since.

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