First Flyball Comp

[2tollers]

Hi

My dog, Todd, is entered into his first Flyball Comp at Dandenong.

I was just wondering how your dogs coped with their first comp. Was the noise too much of a distraction? Or did all of the hyped up dogs make your dog nervous?

I've never been to a competition so I'm just wondering what to expect. I know I'll be a nervous wreck but I'm wondering how Todd will go.

Thanks

[whatevah]

Both of my dogs ran perfect at their first comp. They were so intent on the ball in the box and the job they had to do, that they tuned the other dogs barking out. My dogs don't bark in flyball. I won't be at Dandenong as I volunteered to sit out, because we don't have enough dogs for another team. Would have loved to see another toller run.

[2tollers]

I was hoping to see your dogs run Toilet Duck. Bugger Hopefully another time.

Todd doesn't bark at the club flyball and I don't think he will at a comp. I hope he's like your 2 and just focuses of the ball.

Thanks

[Guest cloverfdch]

I am sure Todd will do just fine, he is going realy great at training.

Our first comp :rolleyes: was a nightmare with Clover, she did not do even one run and ran around like an idiot, but things have changed now. Elvis' first comp he did realy well, he crossed into the other lane once and that was the first and only time he has ever done it, i think the excitment just got too much for him. Now he is a reliable good boy.

The night before El's first comp i did not sleep at all i was that worried he would be naughty. His first race ever i was shaking so much i thought i would loose a hold of him . Now i hardly sleep before a comp because i am "hyped" up about lol.

We are all there to give support 2Ts, only one week to go.

[TigerJack]

Jack was carded three times and out of the comp by lunch break!

He thought it was great fun, I was a nervous wreck. He kept getting carded for crossing over because in those days he thought it was his job to do a victory lap once he got the ball. Yes - he was distracted by all the other dogs and he wanted to run around with them.

He spent the next 4 or 5 comps going round the first jump after the box but stopped crossing over. We worked out how to fix him missing that jump and he's pretty foolproof now. It took 13 comps and lots of demos in 10 months to get him to that point.

I, on the other hand, still feel like throwing up before the first race. Once that is done, we all settle down and enjoy it.

Good luck

Jo and Jack

[Guest cloverfdch]

I, on the other hand, still feel like throwing up before the first race. Once that is done, we all settle down and enjoy it.

Oh goodness yes, such a great feeling isn't it? I still sometimes feel like that with Clover, and she has been competing for more than 4 years :rolleyes:.

[TigerJack]

Oh goodness yes, such a great feeling isn't it? I still sometimes feel like that with Clover, and she has been competing for more than 4 years .

Oh gawd - so its going to take that long before I can eat breakfast before a comp?

Edited November 4, 2005 by TigerJack

[Sparty]

LOL hey u guys u are not supposed to be scaring us!!! lol throwing up feelings for 4 years wow, im inspired now !!!!

[whatevah]

Just one thing to watch with running a green (new dog) is distractions. When Moses was coming back over the second jump this was in his 2nd comp, someone outside the ring near the fence, had a squeaky toy and was squeking it to motivate their own dog, and it distracted him big time and he ran around the jumps to check out the squeaky. Also another person in another team just left their tennis balls all around the ground and it made think oh there are balls all over the ground i will go over to the other team and check them out.

Also another team start loading balls in the box during the warm up for, their dog to practice on just as I was trying to do a recall with Moses from the box, and he ran straight to that box twice before the race started he knew then that he could get balls from the other lane, so I pulled him out of that race, because I knew he would cross lanes. What I should have done is watched the other team and not done a warm up.

He is also a lane crosser because my club only practices with one lane up. What I find frustrating is that your dog can get carded and be out of the comp after two races for crossing over. He is non agressive just wants the balls out of each box. He is also competition wise, and will run perfect in training but stuff up at comps, because he knows if the dog in the other lane is not fast enough he can get that ball out of their box, and no one will stop him.

You will find at the end of the day when the dogs are the most tired they do the most stuff ups. When I run two of my dogs, I may let one dog run 3 races in one heat and the other dog run two.

Just watch those distractions. There is another toller in Keilor Finn that may be running.

[TigerJack]

LOL hey u guys u are not supposed to be scaring us!!! lol throwing up feelings for 4 years wow, im inspired now !!!!

Didn't mean to scare you, he he. Don't worry, the violent nausea only lasts till the first heat is done, then the rest of the comp is fun. It wouldn't pay to lose breakfast in the ring, I'm sure the 'fouling in the ring' rule might apply.

Distractions are a huge problem for all dogs, not just new ones. We recently did a comp where the ring was long and narrow so the crowd was quite close. It made a couple of quite experienced dogs stuff up and it's been hard to fix.

You have to expect loose balls during races. There's no rule against leaving them around and picking them up at the end. We have taken to doing runs at training with loose balls lying in the run and with jumps deliberately knocked over so the dogs might better be able to deal with these if they occur in a comp race. (There is a rule about interference if your loose ball rolls into the other side's lane though.)

With regard to the dog that knows he can get a ball from the other lane. We need an opinion from someone who know's about 'drive' and reward for this. I would say train with two lanes running, helps with distraction and if the dog gets used to getting his reward at the end of a run in his own lane even though another lane is there, he might be less tempted in a comp to go over the line. You need to have the other lane's boxloader (and I'm talking about at practice here) block Moses from getting the ball out of the wrong box. He needs to know he only gets a ball/reward if he gets it from the correct box.

We used to only do a recall for each dog before a race but lately we do a complete run for each dog. There is time, even with a 2 minute changeover. That might help Moses, it would remind him there are balls on his side of the ring and he won't feel the need to cross over.

Don't take it too seriously, the dogs don't know the rules and they don't care about carding.

Jo

[Sayreovi]

Ohh is Finn gonna be there....i might make the effort to come and see everyone then

This is the Dandenong show right? Can someone tell me the times and where you all gonna be?

[whatevah]

Actually our club does not train using two lanes, so cannot do a thing to fix it.

All our club does is runs up and down. For Moses the reward is getting the ball out of the box, he is a retriever after all. There is nothing that is more motivating than getting a ball.

With the carding it can be very annoying especially if you travel 2 or more hours to get to a comp, your dog crosses twice, in the first heat, and you are out for the rest of the day.

Moses only crossed once at the last comp, and none the comp before. He only does it if he thinks he can beat the dog in the other lane to his reward being the ball in the box. I don't like to let the team down.

But we are giving flyball a break now probably until the cooler weather starts again. He does not cope well with the heat and feels it more than my flatcoated retriever who is black.

[whatevah]

I don't know if Finn will be there, only a maybe, but he was at Frankston's comp but not Euroa or Yarram.

[2tollers]

Thanks for all that info TD and TJ.

I guess we'll just wait and see what happens. The loose balls could be a problem for Todd because at the moment he's trying to fit as many balls into his mouth as he can (only 1 so far) and he thinks they are all his. I might try leaving a few around at training.

[TigerJack]

TD

For Moses the reward is getting the ball out of the box, he is a retriever after all. There is nothing that is more motivating than getting a ball.

This is a problem, but not unsurmountable. It's also the reason alot of dogs go down fast and come back slow. You need something that is even better than a ball from the box as a motivator. I haven't solved this completely myself with Jack yet but at least he doesn't try for the ball in the wrong lane.

Why don't you try a different ball and make it really special and he only get to play with it at flyball, never any other time, and then only after bringing a plain old tennis ball back to you. The K9 thread on drives has a good description on how to make an item into a favourite 'prey' item. Maybe one of those balls on a string. In theory he will soon learn that the only way to get the really good ball is to retrieve the plain old tennis ball and bring it back to you. If he goes to the wrong lane, then he doesn't get to play with the ball on a string.

Jo

Edited to add - I'm baffled why you'd never train with two lanes. You are always going to have problems with distraction and crossing over if the only time the dog sees two lanes running together is during a comp.

Edited November 5, 2005 by TigerJack

[whatevah]

Thanx for the tips, but to my dogs there is no other motivator more exciting than getting that tennis, we have tried everything and all sorts of differents toys. We also tried that method mentioned on the K9 drive thread, I saw this method on Susan Garratts site - how to create a motivating toy. He is motivating by toys that squeak, but they cannot be used in the ring. I asked the club why only one lane and they said they don't have the time to set up another lane. I think it is ridiculous too.

But with racing Josh, he is like clock work, I never get nervous about racing him, because he is like a robot and always does it. He looks hilarious when he runs as lollops to the side, and his tail spins around like a helicopter. He has had a few rewards for the dog having the most fun. When racing Moses more exciting because you cannot predict what will happen. But as I said last comp only crossed the lane once. Josh actually spits the ball early in training but never in a comp.