brookcove
Posted : 8/24/2006 8:30:43 PM
sounds like you've got a great little guy! You can do lots of stuff before he is ready for formal training, to get him ready.
Teach him basic obedience. All the basics help him learn to consider you a teammate. Flyball is all about teamwork.
Teach him a great recall. Have a friend hold him about ten feet away while you call him. Don't use his formal recall, just make happy highpitched noises and hold out a toy. When he gets really excited, have your friend let him go. Give him something really great when he gets there. See how fast you can get him coming to you, then move farther and farther apart. Ideally, you want him coming from about seventy feet away.
Teach him to love a tug toy. Play tug with him, let him win - it's ok if he runs off with it. But if you can get him hooked on a particular toy, only bring it out for his one-on-one play with you. Later, when he learns to sit and stay, another game I like to play is to put my dog in a stay and then run away with the tug. I release the dog when I'm pretty far away, and I keep running as fast as possible!
If you are really serious about it, it's most important that you focus his attention on the tug toy rather than the ball. You can do games with the ball to familiarize him with it (don't let him use it for a chew toy, tennis balls are very bad for teeth), but it's the tug toy that will be his big motivation if you are lucky.
If you get a chance to get in a clicker training class, take the opportunity. Skills such as "touch" and "go out" will be invaluable when you start formal training.
Good luck!