|
Canine Disc: Converting Prey to Play
by GREG TRESAN
It is no coincidence that many of the top Frisbee,
agility and flyball dogs are herding breeds or herding mixes.
Currently, the popular appeal of herding breeds, most notably the
Border Collie and Australian Shepherd, presents an ever increasing need
to redirect the strong prey drive of dogs that were bred to work stock
- dogs who have ended up living in a city or subdivision devoid of any
true necessity for their special talents. Like fish out of water, these
extremely intelligent animals flail about, often times creating work
where none is available. It is not uncommon to hear stories of dogs
chasing cats, kids and cars, racing up and down fence lines wearing
bear spots in sodded backyards and barking incessantly while their
owners are away. These aberrations of the stock dogs' natural drive are
the same reasons many of them are misunderstood and, in turn, abandoned
or given up for adoption. The challenge for the owner of an urban
herding dog is to understand the needs of the animal and, in turn,
appropriately focus the drive that is such an integral part of the
dog’s heritage.
The first issue is one of management. As strange as it may sound, an
urban herding dog is more akin to a tool than a pet. These dogs were
originally bred to help farmers or shepherds in the daily work of
running a farm or livestock operation. They save time and considerable
effort as do many valuable farm implements and, like good tools, these
animals should not be left out lest they get lost, broken or misused.
Until trained, avoiding the inherent pitfalls of owning a dog that is
high in drive requires the owner to confine the animal or "put the dog
up" when left unattended. A crate or kennel becomes, in essence, the
urban herding dog’s tool box. This will reduce the opportunities for
their "tool" to find its way into work considered unnecessary - work
many people would just assume was left undone.
The "tool" analogy applies to the care of the urban herding dog as
well. Fuel, and maintenance equate to proper nutrition and veterinary
health care. These are the key ingredients to keeping that “farm
implement” running smoothly around your house.
Along with the inherently strong prey drive, these
breeds, when properly cared for, have abundant reserves of energy and
endurance necessary for their work. The physical requirements of the
urban herding dog are demanding. The owner must meet the challenges of
giving their dog the regular exercise it truly needs. If high drive
dogs are left to their own devices, the energy these dogs possess will
work in concert with the prey drive and create a nightmare for the
unsuspecting owner! If properly channeled and given an appropriate
release, these same traits can create a bond and relationship between
dog and owner that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.
By focusing the working dog on a job, you give him
the positive mental and physical challenges he needs, creating a deep
bond with your pet. The task of harnessing or channeling the dog’s
drive toward an activity that is acceptable quickly becomes the
fundamental responsibility for the owner of an urban herding dog.
Before undertaking this process, a basic understanding of these dogs’
primary drive is helpful.
What is commonly considered "herding instinct" is,
in reality, a function of the dogs’ prey drive. Simply stated, prey
drive is a dog’s desire to pursue anything moving. The behaviors
resulting from this type of drive include pursuing, catching and
carrying a moving object. The prey drive is initiated by the flight (as
in fleeing) of the object and is measurable in terms of the dog’s
intensity. Left unchecked, the presence of this drive quickly becomes
evident in the urban herding dog through undesirable manifestations
such as chasing cars, children, cats, squirrels and bicycles.
Unfortunately for the dog, these activities are not acceptable
behaviors in our society and, at best, result in an unmanageable
animal. In the worst-case scenario, it can lead to the untimely death
of the family pet. To date, the best outlet for prey drive that I
have found (aside from taking the dog to stock on a regular basis which
can be incredibly time consuming and expensive) is turning the dog onto
the Frisbee or flying disc - replacing the fleece with the Frisbee so
to speak. It is a rather simple process for a truly driven dog and
relatively accessible with very few material requirements. Other
outlets include agility and flyball, but neither of these activities
offers such easy access as tossing your dog the Frisbee. Some people
prefer a tennis ball, and while this activity is easily accessible and
will give your dog an opportunity to focus its prey drive and expend
pent up energy, it lacks the variety and interest of the flying disc.
In addition, it is a little known fact that the colored dye used on
some tennis balls is indeed toxic. With these facts in mind, the
remainder of this article will be devoted to converting the prey drive
of an urban herding dog into a desire to play disc.
In essence, disc play with your dog is just an
elaborate game of retrieval. Retrieval can be taught with any number of
objects and many times it is appropriate to begin training with
something less intimidating than a hard plastic disc. Many people
actually turn their dogs off to the disc in the early stages of
training because they accidentally strike the animal with the disc.
Don’t make this mistake! Start out with something soft and easy for the
dog to sink its teeth into. Rope, rubber and faux fleece toys serve
this purpose quite well. Regardless of what you choose, be certain it
is something both you and your dog will be comfortable using. The
object must be easy for you to throw and for the dog to pick up.
Before you begin, choose your retrieval object and
make sure you have at least two that are very similar or identical.
Being able to exchange one item for another of equal or better value is
a crucial element in converting prey drive to play and will help you
avoid accidentally training the dog to play keep away. Once you
have decided on the appropriate retrieval object you can begin to
incite your dog to play tug-o-war through agitation. Offer one of the
objects to your dog without being intimidating and encourage the dog to
take hold. If he takes the object in his mouth, praise him verbally and
let him win a brief game of tug. Actually let the dog pluck it from
your hand. Letting him win will be contrary to his expectations (he
will expect you to want to win) and the driven dog should rejoice in
the victory. Again, contrary to the dog’s expectations that you will
want to regain control of the object, back away from it. Most dogs,
when confronted by your retreat, will follow. Stop as the dog begins to
follow and positively reinforce your dog with verbal praise and display
the second retrieval object. As soon as he drops the first object in
exchange for the second, release the second object and repeat the
exercise from the beginning.
One possible obstacle you might encounter with this
technique is a lack of interest in the retrieval object. Building drive
is a topic for another article and is rarely an issue for dogs that
display high prey drive, but this difficulty can be overcome with
patience and proper conditioning. Briefly, some suggestions for
building interest and drive include making playful gestures and noise
by lightly slapping two objects together; tossing one of the objects in
the air for yourself or for someone else; playing catch or monkey in
the middle; and, letting your dog watch another trained dog playing
retrieval while keeping your dog restrained. If you succeed in putting
an apparent value on the object and making it appear interesting to
you, it should become interesting to your dog.
Another problem that might occur is the dreaded game
of keep away. This problem can be solved with a long line attached to
the dog’s collar and by enthusiastically presenting the second object
while showing no interest in the object the dog currently holds in its
mouth. Be sure to release the second object the moment the first one is
dropped. You want the dog to think that he is causing you to deliver
the second object by dropping the first. With the hard-core keep away
artist you must be prepared to hold out and walk away from the game
after only one toss. This could go on for several sessions before this
undesirable behavior is extinguished. Remember, it takes two to play
keep away and, if you refuse to play, the game cannot start.
Having accomplished this simple retrieval exercise,
you can begin to throw the retrieval object rather than playing tug.
Make the throws short and easy for the dog to track. When the first
object is securely in the dogs mouth, say the dog’s name and show him
the second object by waving it in clear sight. Do not release the
second object until the first has been dropped. In this way, the second
retrieval object becomes the reward for releasing the first. A proper
exchange. Ideally, the dog should start to think that he is in control
of the process. He’ll say to himself, "Look at that! I drop this one
and he throws another…I’m getting him pretty well trained." If
you throw the second item in the opposite direction of the first, being
careful to keep yourself in the middle of the action, you will help
build the dog’s focus on you as the center of activity. To do this
properly you must make sure that as the dog goes for the thrown object,
you are busy picking up the one he has just dropped. Many people miss
this small detail because they are so enthralled with the work their
dog is doing, they forget to pick up the second object. You must
maintain the dog’s attention by maintaining the momentum of the game.
Don’t find yourself empty–handed, and in doing so, miss the opportunity
to continue the training. Try to make the dog think it needs to hurry
back to get another.
When this simple retrieval game becomes reliable you
can begin to put the various behaviors on cue. "Get it," "bring it,"
and "drop it" are common signals or commands for these behaviors, but
any appropriate cues will suffice. All the while you are teaching
proper retrieval, you can be conditioning your dog to the presence of
the plastic disc. The tried and true method of familiarizing your dog
with the Frisbee is to simply turn the disc upside down and use it as a
feeding dish. Be sure not to leave it down as the dog might take the
opportunity to have the disc for dessert. By feeding the dog in the
disc you are creating a positive association with the sight, smell and
feel of the disc.
When both of the steps described above have been
accomplished, the disc can be used in lieu of the aforementioned
retrieval objects. Once again you must have two identical discs. Many
people are fond of the Soft Bite Floppy Discs, which are made from a
durable cloth that is easy on the dog's mouth. Whatever type of disc
you opt to use, you will want to lower your standards and go back to
the tug-o-war retrieval game until the dog is comfortable with the disc
in its mouth. At this point there is an important
transitional technique that is used to build the dog’s confidence
before asking the dog to catch a disc in flight. This technique
requires the thrower to roll the disc instead of simply throwing it. A
rolling Frisbee allows the dogs to actually seize the disc while it is
spinning without the added difficulty of catching it in the air. Don’t
skip this step. When the dog is reliably snagging the disc while it is
in motion you are ready to start throwing the Frisbee in the air. For
the dog’s first throw, look for a day with a slight breeze blowing
consistently in one direction. After a brief warm-up, roll a disc
down wind and, as the dog is coming back for another, make a very easy
throw into the wind. Try to lead the dog with the frisbee. Make it
virtually impossible to miss. If the dog catches it or attempts to
catch it, praise the dog lavishly and repeat the exercise. If he simply
watches it and lets it fall to the ground, go back to building drive
and desire by lowering your standards to where the dog is once again
successful. Build confidence with success. Work the rollers and then go
back to attempting the throw and catch. Remember that a disc that has
fallen on the ground, no longer moving, represents very little interest
as prey. The disc has to be moving to trigger the prey drive and
maintain the dog's interest and enthusiasm. When you finally have
your dog catching and returning the disc with the expectation of
getting another one thrown, you have successfully converted prey to
play. It may not solve all your prey drive problems, but it will give
the dog a job that will satisfy many of its needs.
Converting prey to play in the urban herding dog
takes a lot of patience, coordination and management when dealing with
a highly driven animal. The commitment required has its price but the
rewards are great. As a training tool it is invaluable and the control
and attention it develops is priceless. Many people have turned to disc
play or some other type of less sophisticated retrieval game as a form
of self defense from their urban herding dog. Some people even say that
before they started playing disc with their dog they had considered
putting the dog up for adoption. And now, after focusing the dog on a
job that it can use its natural talents for, the dog is their best
friend and neither the owner nor the dog can wait to get to the field
on a nice afternoon. This story is quite common and hardly a surprise
anymore. It is simply a recurring testament to the fact that canine
disc performance is truly the salvation of the urban herding dog.
|
|
|
|
Canine Disc: Converting Prey to Play