Opportunity To See A New Dog Sport - Los Angeles Area

[philospher77]

Hello!

 

If you are interested in learning about a new sport to do with your dog, there is going to be a Treibball clinic at Action Dog Sports on Dec. 19th. Here's the flyer: Work with PUSH Treibball founder, Michael McManus, on all of the skills you will need to compete and learn the game rules. Then get a chance at a mock competition. Clinic from 9am-Noon ($40), Practice Match ($5 per run). In order to get the most out of this event, your dog should already be able to push the ball at least 10 feet to you.

 

​It's $20 to audit the clinic, and free to watch the practice matches.

 

Treibball is based (loosely!) off of herding, and involves teaching the dog to go out to a group of exercise balls (weighted, in many cases, because of the wind), pick the right one, and push it to the handler. It sounds easy, but it's got a lot of finesse to it. It takes a lot of brain power on the dog's part, since they have to correct the ball's path when they have it moving, and on the handler's, in order to get the dog to the right ball and the best line of travel. I currently do this with my 9.5 lb rat terrier, and I swear that there are times when I can actually see her thinking and problem-solving when we do it! So it's a great chance to build a relationship with your dog. It's also a bit easier on them physically than agility is, but has many of the same teamwork aspects. And the equipment for training is a lot easier to come by!

 

So, if you are interested in seeing what it's like, stop by and cheer us on at the practice match!

 

Here's some video to pique your interest:

 

Pixie and I really early in our training. She's learning here to "balance" on the ball.... in other words, to keep a line between me, her, and the ball. It's the most important of the skills, since that is the line she needs to push the ball on: https://youtu.be/d-sPNQHUqTc Note the concentration she is putting into this!

 

[XTRAWLD]

Looks like fun!!

[AnneGTS]

Pixie is so cute!

 

I went to Treibball training with Spriet when she was about 10 years old. She had lots of physical problems so this was a great way to keep her busy. She loved it

 

[4My2Greys]

Anne, I immediately thought of you and Spriet when I read read the activity was Treiball.

[EllenEveBaz]

I'm so impressed with big and small!

[greysmom]

Awesome!

[BatterseaBrindl]

Lots of concentration!

Edited November 23, 2017 by BatterseaBrindl

[philospher77]

Lots of concentration, and it's something that the dog needs to figure out on their own. The first class (at least the way I was taught) consists of the handler standing still, dog on leash to start, and marking and rewarding the dog for coming in front of us. Then doing that with the dog off-leash. No commands, although we are allowed to say the dog's name. Then adding in movement... step to the side, pivot left, pivot right, move fast, move slow, big steps, small steps, so that the dog learns to move with us. Only after all that do you actually bring in a ball.

 

Now, I have the problem that when Pixie sees a bunch of balls, she looks at me, looks at the balls, and happily trots out to stand behind whichever one she thinks is the right one! Terriers definitely have minds of their own! But we have fun, and watching her little nub of a tail going a mile a minute makes me happy.