Teaching "Catch" ....Dead Ball Retrieve

Do you have any suggestions on how to teach a dog to catch the ball from the box? In my case, my dog started out not able to catch anything out of the air. I ended up teaching him to catch food when thrown to him. He is getting better about that and working his way to catching the ball reliably (he's at about 50% now) but, hasn't yet made any attempt to catch the ball from the hole. Any suggestions of exercises would be greatly appreciated.
-Susan

Dog Training:Dead Ball Retrieve
Flyball Box: Introduction




This is a GREAT question! This exercise should follow after your dog is pretty good at jumping on & off the box and developing a good swimmer's turn style.

The first lesson for catching a ball is "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 your dog is 100% consistent doing dead ball retrieve AND is well developed doing the swimmer's turn, it is time to combine the two behaviors into one smooth dead ball retrieve with a swimmer's turn. For this introduction, remove the jumps. Using a piece of sticky velcro on the plunger, have the box loader place the dog's ball on the the hole that your dog will learn to catch from. The velcro will hold the ball in place with the sticky side keeping the velcro in place on the plunger. At close range, (close enough to allow the dog to jump onto the box and off again) release your dog. As soon as your dog picks up his ball, "mark" the behavior with a click. Lavish praise for retrieving off the box, especially if your dog manages to maintain the swimmer's turn while retrieving the ball.

Practice this combined box turn/dead ball retrieve several times at close range before re-introducing the jumps. In fact, wait a few days before bringing back even one jump. It's OK to practice restrained recalls over the jumps or even drag race but, while the dog is learning to retrieve a ball while doing the swimmer's turn, it's best to leave the jumps out of the picture.

Gradually, bring back the jumps one at a time. If the dog shows any regression, remove one jump at a time until the dog is successful again. Catching a ball out of the box while manuevering the swimmer's turn is a relatively complicated behavior and one you do not want to rush, unless you want your dog to "bobble" the ball alot during a real race.

When the dog is consistently jumping all four jumps, retrieving the "dead" ball from the hole of the box AND doing a decent swimmer's turn, it is time to "load" a ball for real. Give the dog three or four "warmups" with the dead ball and then load the box. If you have properly prepared your dog for this step, the ball should just "pop" into your dog's mouth as he does his swimmer's turn. He may be a little surprised at the "help" the box gives the ball as it shoots forward. Lavishly praise your dog for his efforts, even if it is not picture perfect. You want the transition from "dead" ball to "loaded" ball to be as seamless as possible.

What about a trained flyball dog that has difficulty catching? The dead ball retrieve will work for them, too. If your dog is willing to pick up a ball and bring it to you off the floor then, he can learn to catch the ball out of the box. First, determine if your dog has a preference for a smaller ball vs a full-sized tennis ball. A smaller ball is less consistent in flight and sometimes, a little bit harder to catch. After determining the proper sized ball for your dog, begin with the steps outlined above and treat your dog as though they have never played flyball before. This is re-training and you must go slowly and be patient. The problem may be that the dog learned the jumps and learned the swimmer's turn but, never really learned to catch. Using the dead ball retrieve teaches your dog to open his mouth to grab the ball wherever it is. Once your dog is consistent doing that, catching a "loaded" ball isn't really catching at all. It is having the box help the ball into your dog's mouth since he should already preparing to retrieve the ball while doing the swimmer's turn.

Box technique is a series of behaviors that, if introduced or retrained in the proper sequence, chained together should appear to be effortless. Don't be afraid to retace previous steps if your dog's technique should start to fall apart. Quite often, regression is part of the learning process. Dead ball retrieve from the box itself is the best way to insure your dog will catch consistently.

See you at practice!