"Flyball Dood" - It's Going to "Make Him" or "Break Him"

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

WEEK THREE UPDATE....

Today was our third Flyball class....eventful as always with Murphy.  Today was actually less about Flyball and more about Murphy's other "issues".  When we first got there I took a seat with Murph, and another owner with a Border Collie approached us.  As this dog got within a couple of feet of us, Murph attacked.  Standing right next to me was the owner of the Daycare where the classes are being held.  She responded immediately and grabbed Murph by his collar...and got right in his face.  She verbally corrected him like nothing I can really describe.  It worked....he was "put in his place".  She put him right in a down/stay....he was whining and totally submissive.  Then the class started and Murph did great.  He totally "gets" everything he has to do with Flyball...he still needs to gain speed.  He was awesome...although we had one mishap which resulted in me having a bit of a bruised and swollen finger.  He lunged for a "loose ball" while I had the slip lead wrapped around my finger....not pretty.  At the end of the class, the Daycare owner got me aside and explained her thoughts and why she reacted the way she did.  She said Murph was guarding me.  This Border Collie is his "best buddy" in Daycare....they play together all the time.  He just didn't want him getting near me.  She explained that she had to take control of this, since she is the Alpha in Daycare....and all the dogs know that.  She could not let Murph get away with this, or it would be a problem for her going forward whenever he's there for Daycare.  She also told me some things that our trainer has said, but I didn't want to hear.  She feels that Murph is considering me to be "his resource".....thus the guarding.  Ben has told me this before.  She strongly encouraged me to put an end to this.  She said I need to stop him from constantly needing to be touching me....no more petting when he puts his head in my lap....no more letting him lean on me....no more acknowledging him when he runs to me because he hears an unfamiliar sound outside....no more "lovin" except on my terms.  So now this is two trainers telling me the same thing...but it's so hard to do. 

WEEK TWO UPDATE...

Yesterday was Murphy's second Flyball class...so much fun!  He's doing great.  He had no fear of hitting the box, and he had a perfect swimmer's turn on the first try.  So now he can run the lane, take all the jumps, hit the box and retrieve the ball, make the turn, and run the ball back and drop it.  The only thing we have to work on now is speed.  He's fast, but he needs to be even faster.  He did a good job yesterday of handling his dog reactiveness, except when another dog actually had a ball....he thinks all the balls in the room are his.  That's his dominance showing through.  We're working on that.  The instructor was really happy with Murph (or "Fluffy" as she calls him) and said it took her Border Collie many more lessons to get to where Murphy is after just two classes.  Lots and lots of running for Mom...good for me I'm thinking.  So that's the latest from the "Adventures of Flyball Dood".

Today was Murph's first Flyball class, and I just can't seem to stop laughing since I got home.  It was a truly crazy experience....good, but totally nuts.  You all know more than you'd even like to about Murphy's reactiveness to other dogs.  So taking him to this class today was enough to put him right over the edge...and me right along with him.  Let's say he didn't disappoint...but not to worry, it ended well.  When we got there there were several other leashed dogs and owners getting out of their vehicles.  I "put on my big girl pants", leashed him up, and took him out of the car.  Did he react?....of course he did.  No training collars were allowed...just flat collars of slip leads.  He was on a slip lead. I managed to keep him controlled, got him inside and put him in a sit while I wrote the check...all these other dogs passing by.  Every hair on his body was standing at attention, but he did not "flip out".  So in we go and take a seat....the seats were all really close together.  I had a Boxer on my right and a Black Lab on my left....within striking distance of Murph.  At that point the sweat was starting to pour off of me and I started taking off the first few layers of clothes, while holding the slip lead with a death grip.  Murph had no idea what was going on...he just knew he was as uncomfortable as it gets.  None of these dogs were "well behaved"...they were all as nutty as Murph....and that was just the beginning.  The noise level was indescribable...every dog (except Murph) was barking.  Okay, then we start.

The first exercise was to have the instructor hold your dog back at the beginning of the "run" which was gated in and included around seven jumps.  I had to run along the side with the ball and when I got about a quarter of the way up the run call Murph...and the instructor would release him.  I'm supposed to get to the end of the run at the same time as him and then bounce the ball which he then catches.  On his first run Murph was really amazing...it was like he never even saw those jumps and he was flying.  Well that was a problem because he got to the end before I did.  At that point the instructor nicely asked me "can you run any faster?".  When I breathlessly answered..."no", she said okay well then I'll make an adjustment from my end....meaning releasing him a little later...like when I was at the end of the run.  So we made the "adjustment" and for the rest of the time it was perfect.  Murph is really fast, and beautiful to watch.  When I wasn't gasping for air, I was really proud of him.

We did that several times, and he got faster and faster....I got slower and slower.  The problem was that Murph decided he liked this so much that he wanted to be the one to run EVERY time.  So as each dog took his turn, Murph tried to get to the "starting gate" himself.  I expect to need shoulder surgery before this is over.  When I tried to discipline him, the instructor told me not to...."we want him excited and ready to go"....easy for her to say. 

He also rocked the next exercise.  The instructor was at one end of the room and Murph and I were at the other end.  She would drop the ball and I would release him.  He had to run, grab the ball, bring it right back to me and immediately drop it at my feet.  No problem...we've been working on this and he did it perfectly every time.  This was my favorite exercise....I didn't have to run at all.

He had one minor "altercation" with the Black Lab.  When Murph finished his run (before I could leash him) the Lab also finished his run and was barking and running while his owner was chasing him.  Murph went after him...barking and cornering him.  I went after Murph and the instructor told me to stop and calm down.  Her take was that Murph was just reacting to the energy, and it would be fine.  She was right....they both calmed down.  There was one bad incident when a Boxer went after a Jack Russell Terrier...there was a bite involved in this one.  It's amazing to see all these dogs at the highest level of excitement I've ever seen all in one room.

So, Murph and I are both exhausted.  I think we like it, but I'm still a bit "shell shocked".  I had to laugh when I first got there and the Boxer owner said to me "I never thought of a Poodle as a Flyball dog" (idiot).  I said, "well he's a Labradoodle, and let's wait and see if he makes a good Flyball dog".  At the end of the class she came and apologized to me.  Her Boxer would not drop the ball...hahaha.

So this is as close to "flooding" as it comes for a dog reactive guy like Murph.  He clearly loves to run, and he's definitely "in love" with the ball.  Putting him around this much excitement, noise, and other reactive dogs will either help him through his issues...or not.  If I think it's too much for him, we'll stop, but today I think he was proud of himself....and I could not be any prouder of him.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, so does Jackdoodle! He can walk faster than I can run!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

HaHaHa Carol.  I've never been known for my athletic ability so this is going to be interesting!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Wow, it sounds to me like Murph really DOES like it.  I think you may have found his niche.  I think it will be good for him because he will be so focused on the running and the ball that eventually he will not even notice the other dogs.  I have never heard of fly ball until another DKer posted about it once.  Was it Halas or Gavin???  I don't think we have anything like that in San Diego.  I guess it is time for you to go out and get some new fancy running shoes...with springs!  haha  Give Murph a huge hug and tell him we are all proud of him. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thank you, Nancie!  It was Halas.....Leslie was the one who started me thinking about this. 

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Jane, this brought tears to my eyes.  Murph did an awesome job keeping his reactiveness under control.  Having a reactive dog myself I know how nervous you must have been, but at the same time how accelerating.  It sounds like both of you had a great experience.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks, Tina.  I actually felt a little better after seeing some of the other dogs....Murph was not alone in his "reactiveness".  It is bit of a "time bomb" with all those dogs in such an excited state, but the instructor seemed to be very much in control.  When the Boxer went after the Jack Russell she was there in a flash and knew just what to do.  The class is held at our Daycare, and the owner was also there.  She knows Murphy very well, and she kept assuring me that he was not in an aggressive mindset.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Gotta applaud you for having the guts to take a dog reactive Murphy into a room full of dogs without a training collar.  That took guts on your part.  Sounds like he had a wonderful time.  Hopefully you will be able to eventually relax so you can fully enjoy it as well.  Look forward to more updates (and pictures) as well.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks, but the "jury is still out" on whether it took "guts" or just plain lunacy.

[Leslie and Halas]

Way to go, Jane and Murphy!  Halas and I knew you could do it and would love it!  Murphy did great!  They had him doing jumps and getting the ball the first day?!  That's really a lot of things to keep track of if you think about it, especially when you're really excited, so good job by Murphy keeping it all straight.  I think he's going to catch on to every additional step really quickly.  We start with just the recall, no jumps or ball.  We then go to one jump with the recall, two jumps, etc.  We do that without gates on the side.  But with the gates on the side, you guys could start right away with jumps.  That's cool.  All of your work ahead of time really paid off.  And if she was just dropping the ball instead of rolling it, that is close to a dead retrieve (ball not moving).  That's a tough step for some dogs, because a moving ball is more interesting than a still ball.  So it's great that Murphy was grabbing that ball and bringing it to you.  

Did I not mention that YOU end up doing some running, too?  I guess I left that part out, lol.  Since we're trying to keep Halas' drive going, I sometimes run all the way up to the box with him or wait at the box, and then I run back really fast to have him catch up with me.  

I think he'll learn to distinguish between flyball and other times, and he'll learn what's OK in each situation.  "At flyball, I get to bark, pull, and run as fast as I can, as long as I come back to my mom.  Other times, I have to be calm, quiet, and somewhat still."  Now you see what I mean when I say that flyball dogs LOOK like they are completely out of control, but they are actually very much under control.  It seems out of control at first, but when you think about everything the dog is doing, with all of the activity and noise going on around them, yet, every time coming back to you like they're supposed to, not running into other dogs, not running around like crazy, you realize that the dogs are under an incredible amount of control.  It takes awhile to get to that point, but that's the end result.  I think Murphy is going to love having this additional outlet for his energy.  He'll realize that there's no need to react to the other dogs, because they won't be paying any attention to him.  Even though they run right by each other when they're passing, each dog is just doing their job.  It's not a time to play with other dogs or visit or start fights.  It's a time to run fast, jump, and play ball.  They really ignore each other except to make sure they don't run into each other.

I'm so gad it went well for you.  I hope it's the start of something really fun for you and Murph.  Plus, I'll have someone to talk flyball with!

Oh, did you use the tug or treats?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks Leslie!  You made it sound like so much fun I had to give it a try.  We used treats yesterday.  When the instructor first did a "demo" with her dog and I saw that dog grab the tug while he was still in the air...and her swinging the tug AND the dog around I thought that trying this with "big Murph" could land me in the hospital.  I was very happy to use the treats for now, and Murph was fine with that.  I somehow don't picture myself ever swinging Murph through the air...LOL

[Leslie and Halas]

You may be able to switch to some other toy at some point, if you don't want to use treats.  A dog his size could definitely send you flying if grabbed that tug and went airborne.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Leslie, your comments are so intriguing. I am really excited for you, Jane and Murphy. It really sounds like Murph could be a flyball natural and it may be a way to really focus his excitability. I am thrilled for you both and hope to hear more about his escapades in flyball. Leslie, please post more about Halas' flyball fun, too!