Which Way Does My Dog Turn?

Dog Training: Box Turns (Introduction)

Before you introduce your dog to the box, you need to know which way your dog turns. Does this really matter? Yes, it really matters. In order to teach the "Swimmer's turn" on the Flyball box, it is crucial to know ahead of time which way your dog naturally turns since the swimmer's turn puts the dog at an angle on the box in the direction of his "turn".

More races are won or lost at the box than any other element in the race. A swimmer's turn not only saves "time" at the box but, decreases your dog's chances of injury at the box. A properly taught and properly executed box turn dissipates the energy built up by a dog's speed and inertia hitting the box. A "straight on" approach puts a lot of stress on a dog's front musculature, particularly the neck and shoulders. A lot of dogs also suffer "impact" injury to their face and mouth with a straight on approach. Once a dog learns this approach, it is nearly impossible to re-train proper technique so, our goal is to never allow your dog to hit the box the wrong way!

Some dogs always turn the same direction no matter what and its easy to determine if they are lefties or righties. Others are more "ambidextrous" and may require some experimentation to learn if there's a preference.

The test is simple. Use a room with lots of floor space. While holding your dog, get your dog's attention on a ball or some other toy. It should be something they like alot so they are not thinking about how they turn. Roll or toss it a few feet away and then let your dog get it. Observe which way they turn. If after several tries, your dog seems to turn both ways, keep a score. Try this over several days. Eventually, one side will win out over the other.

A more formal approach is the dead ball retrieve. You may use jumps or not depending on your dog's age and development. You do NOT need a box or a slantboard for this. You also don't want a lot of speed with this exercise. Your dog is simply picking up a ball off the floor.

Have your "box loader" at one end of a lane. You and your dog at the other end. Have the box loader draw your dog's attention to them by calling your dog's name and waving or bouncing the ball. Once your dog's attention is on the ball, let him go to retrieve it. The box loader should place on the floor a ball for the dog to retrieve. Since there is no "box" your dog has to slow down to pick up his ball. Once the ball is picked up, both you & your box loader need to note which way your dog turns. Although your dog is learning to retrieve balls, you must prepare for his next lesson as well as the one he is learning now.

When is your dog ready to learn the box? I usually think about introducing the box when my dog is doing dead ball retrieve consistently over jumps and a dog is working in the opposing lane.

See you at practice!