Dog Training: Runbacks

Dog Training: Runbacks

"Runbacks" are a link in the flyball chain that we can introduce without jumps or a ball. That makes it ideal as another puppy training technique that is virtually "no-impact" on soft, growing bones and yet, if done properly, encourages a dog to return to you at top speed.

Begin by identifying your dog's motivator. I like a tugging dog so find a tug that really turns your dog on. Some have squeakers in them. Some are hard and some are plush. Some even have a ball or kong or some other toy attached. Plush might be better for a puppy who might be teething and has tender gums.

Get a helper to hold your dog until you are ready. Before you walk away, make sure you have your dog's attention on you. Step only a few feet away and then call your dog and tease him with your motivator. He should be excited and run to get his tug. If not, look for reasons why. Is your dog distracted by something? Remove the distraction. Is your dog thirsty and looking for water? Provide him water but, not too much. Some dogs exhibit thirst when actually they are "stressed" possibly because they know you want something (a behavior) but they aren't sure what it is.

Repeat this exercise several times always looking for an excited and enthusiastic return to you. Whenever you get that, reward lavishly. Make this tons of fun for your dog. Remember to let him "win" the game of tug with you!

Introducing Jumps

Before introducing jumps, you should have a fast, enthusiastic and reliable recall on your dog. Your puppy should be developed enough to safely hop over a 6" obstacle. If all this is true, you are ready for introduction to jumps.

Remove all jumps from the lane except one. Your helper should be standing close enough to that jump with your dog that your dog has no other choice but to jump that jump in order to come to you. Everything else is the same as before.

You should practice at least a dozen or more times at this close an interval before attempting to start the dog any further away. You are attempting to teach the dog that jumping jumps is FUN and part of the game. Don't move back too soon or your dog may learn that it's ok to go around a jump occasionally. That is a huge "no no" and it's best to not allow the dog to err in the first place.

Once it is clear that the dog knows to take the jump, introduce a second jump. Start as close to this second jump as you did when introducing the jump for the very first time. Take these steps s-l-o-w-l-y. By establishing early on that the jumps must be taken, you will have a dog that will choose to take the jumps during the excitement of running a race, even if he finds himself out of alignment with the jumps. This could make all the difference between winning or losing a heat, a race or even a placement.

Drag Racing

Double runbacks or "Drag Racing" as we sometimes call it is when two dogs are doing runbacks to their owners side by side in each lane. This is a good way to introduce the concept of another dog in the opposite lane. In the beginning, you will want to put up gating or some other barrier to prevent crossing over. If your dog seems to be ready to stay in his lane while racing another dog, take the gating down and station people in the middle as a precaution. Every dog is different and every dog will make a mistake at some point.

Should your dog be ahead or behind the other dog? That is a judgment call based on your experience with him. Pay close attention to the circumstances around your dog's mistake when he made it. If the dog was ahead of him, try to start them evenly or even start your dog ahead of the other dog. The reasoning is that some dogs that are clearly racing the other dog will "blow the jumps" in order to beat that dog. That's why you will allow him to beat that dog in a practice situation in order to stay on the jumps.

Some dogs will "crossover" when they are ahead in the race in order to cut off their opponent. In that circumstance, you will do the opposite. You will let the other dog get ahead before releasing the dog that likes to cross. Eventually, you will let them go closer together untill they can start together without a mistake.

Conclusion:

This is how you do runbacks and gradually work in taking jumps and racing other dogs. We will look at ways to troubleshoot dogs that seem to have issues with jumps and or crossing over later in this series. Until then,

See you at Practice!