Reddii Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi all, I'm sure I have the only ball obsessed border collie in the world that can't catch! CK is 14 months and I've just taught him how to use the box and he's picked it up quite well. Only problem is that he really isn't great at catching the tennis ball, whether it be from the box or thrown to him. It's not an eyesight thing - he can catch a frisbee 40m from me, but just doesn't seem to be able to catch the tennis ball. Aside from heaps of practise and big praise when he gets it right does anyone have any ideas to sharpen him up? Cheers. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I taught my first flyball dog to catch with food. He was hopeless with the ball at first. I got a box of the tiniest kibble I could find (ended up using cat kibble) and stood in the kitchen and put him in a sit in front of me about a metre away. proceeded to toss kibble underhand at his head. This was instead of his usual dinner. I had several other dogs rushing to pick up the dropped kibble so he very quickly put some effort into getting to the food while it was in mid air and by the end of one single box of kibble I had a dog that could catch anything tossed in the general direction of his head. It easily transferred to a ball. Having said all that, I wouldn't just teach him to catch. That was my first dog and I did it differently with the 2nd (and less ball obsessed.) I learned more by the 2nd dog and so I back-chained the retrieve with a clicker with food rewards. Made giving the ball to me such a good thing that she will do anything to get to it and then chase me to force me to take it. The first dog's drive is to get to the ball, that is his aim. The second dog's drive is to bring it to me, faster return, doesn't get dropped. Now I just have to get her to take a tug and it will all be great. Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 How did you teach him to catch frisbee? Usually it's much harder to catch a frisbee than a tennis ball so yes you have broken bc Can he catch anything else apart from frisbee (food or other toys)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddii Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 How did you teach him to catch frisbee? Usually it's much harder to catch a frisbee than a tennis ball :p so yes you have broken bc Can he catch anything else apart from frisbee (food or other toys)? It's bizarre, we just took our time and built up the frisbee distance, now he can bounce it off his nose and still catch it. Tennis ball is proving a bit more of a challenge, although he's never been allowed to play with a ball so that might be part of the issue. Fortunately the retrieve thing is OK/really good - he brings it back to me and gets to play with his squeaky toy - nothing is better than a squeaky toy!! It's just the catch we have problems with. I might try the food idea too - he's very food motivated. We did some more practice on the box last night and he is getting better, you know those moments when a switch seems to come on in their head - last night was one of them. As for broken dog he was nearly broken last night when he started barking at some undogly hour because he had found a tennis ball and proceeded to drop it under a chair and wanted me to come and get it - not sure who the bigger idiot is - me for leaving a ball out or him for barking at me in the middle of the night to come and get a ball. Needless to say he didn't get the ball back, but it did disappear. See you Thursday Laffi. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatevah Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Tia my border collie is the hardest I have to had to train "catch", but one thing I do is in the mornings she doesn't get fed until she catches. Doesn't take that long. As soon as she catches gets her food bowl. Check out the trick section for other ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 We are only fairly new to flyball but Molly had trouble with the box so I started throwing food, and once she got better at that I would throw just to the side of her head so she had to chase the treat, then i started using the really small tennis balls you can get at $2 shops, and then gradually normal size ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrsdog Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Sit in a chair with dog in front and throw ball short distance at first making sure that it is easy to catch. Worst case scenario for the really bad catchers you gently toss the ball just a few inches straight into the dog's mouth. Any attempt to catch gets a click and reward. An actual catch can be jackpotted and big fuss made. As you progress you let the dog stand further away and also throw to the side that the dog turns, because after all this is the angle he will be catching the ball on. This is a good drill for any dog to improve ball catching skills and speed, and of course is is easy for us to just sit in a chair. BTW keep the session short, better to do it more often for less time. Noels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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