Jackie and I began treibball this week. Also known as urban herding, the goal of treibbal is for the handler and dog to work as a team. The dog plays at a distance around a set of balls to push them into a gaol one by one. In competition, the dog is timed. Distance, time, and the number of balls are some of the variables in the game.
Jackie's learning how to nose touch a ball very low on the ball and with the nose only. Foundational skills include nose touching my hand, transferred to nose touching a sticky note in my hand, transferred to nose touching a sticky note on an object.
We're playing foundation "Go to your place!" that will also be used for treibball. Tossing a food lure underneath the ball reinforces Jackie for keeping her nose low and using only her head to push the ball -- as opposed to using her paws, mouth, or other body parts.
Pearls:
- Treibball is a fun sport not just for herding breeds
- "Go to your place!" and "Push!" are foundation behaviors that will be used in playing treibball.
- The National Association of Treibball Enthusiasts, or NATE, promotes treibball as a fun, safe, and challenging sport for all dogs that endorses dog-friendly training that supports the best qualities of the human-dog relationship.
Jackie playing foundation ball nose touch:
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