Spring Poles

[balkis]

Hi Mike,

What's the correct way to let your dog use a spring pole?

A while back I used one with Stitch and then stopped because despite the benefits I thought it brought out too much agression. However, now that I am trying to follow your methods I have put the spring pole back up for him.

The knotted rope hangs just high enough so his back feet can touch the ground. But once he gets a hold of the rope he doesn't really swing on it but yanks it and within a few moments starts whining. To me it looks like he's just getting frustrated. The only way I can get him off the toy is to wave a piece of hot dog in front of his nose and tell him to "leave it". I realize he is getting a lot of tension out and he is "leaving it" but I think he just gets too ratcheted up.

Is there a specific process I should be following? A certain length of time I should wait before telling him to leave it? Do I have the height right?

[abndogos]

Hi,
i don;t know if there is a "correct way," except maybe for younger dogs taht haven't finished growing, as not to damage their growing bones....where I would not have the young dog jumping up to get at the toy. I would have it attached to a bungee so they can tug on it and get a good workout on it, without the extra pounding on the joints from jumping up to get it. I just throw it over a secure branch of a tree and let them have at it. This is Toro at 1.5 years and Chance at 9.5 years on a bungee with a jute bite sleeve attached having at it at the same time(on the video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L200g0h0Kow



These pics are when I first used to hold on to the other end and tease them with it by making it go up and down(this is Chance and my other dogo I had, Paulo). I would never think about having it this high off the ground with a young dog.

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

I havent personally used them much, but I like it when the back legs can touch the ground once they have a hold (after jumping) so they have the benifit of working out their thighs as they pull.

The frustration and obsession toward the spring pole is a good thing, just like it is when a police dog is obsessed with getting the toy reward during narcotic searches, etc. If the dog can never get quite enough it gives him something to obsess over besides cats, dogs, cars, etc. I used to have a pit bull that would obsess over hanging off this one flexible branch in the park where i walked her - i swear she would hang there all day if i let her, she would totally ignore all other dogs and have tunnel vision through the park until we reached that branch.

The spring pole is an awesome thing to use when training the recalls from a heavy distraction. Good to use in the phase 3 come training exercises. For anyone doing protection training - if the dog does a lighning fast recall off the spring pole, it has an incredible head start on doing the recall of the agitator (or any heavy distraction for that matter). The trick is of course to let the dog go right back most of the time. remember the dog training trinity. I think i have to write up the details of that in the members area still?

Gary's videos with Tito on the spring pole are a great example. Check these out:

You cant hear gary because of the music, but he is using the foundation style of obedience to teach the recall and using the dog training trinity.




This is the same exercise basically but on the agitator. since the recalls are predicatable and include warning and praise, tito can be comfortable on the bite until he is commanded to release. Tito is the most awesome friendly dog with both people and dogs - lives with another unneutered male pitbull. Besides having strict pack structure placed in his life from an early age, the early obsession with the spring pole helped him from developing unwanted obsessions.