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Flirt Pole Fun
I made a new flirt pole for one of my clients and tested it out on the girls yesterday. I believe they approved! Ignore my weird hair, that’s what happens when I try a high ponytail lolololol.
Who else likes to use toys like this for enrichment? Do you incorporate play like this I to your training sessions?
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7 Replies
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Love love love flirt poles and recommend them frequently, with some key instructions for their use.
Thanks for sharing your video, @LisaOMy !-
@virginiad what instructions do you like to instill in the process?
I had one dog who was terrified of it. No joke. He has some fear aggression, so I said, not worth it, respect the dog not wanting to, on this small thing.
My student dog, Charlie, and I played with some rules…I used it as a treat for position changes, used it as a distraction for Stays, he loved it. The one I had has a squeaky little raccoon tail with eyes. ????
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Great use of the flirt pole with Charlie, @bernerlabreclectus !
When I recommend a flirt pole, the usual things I talk about are:
- Making sure the toy skitters on the ground, rather than going airborne, especially with young pups (to protect them from leaping and landings that could cause injury)
- Teaching a strong DROP cue
- Warning them that some dogs will stretch the bungee cord to the max (I recommend the Squishy Face design) and then accidentally let go, causing the toy to spring back swiftly and possibly nail the person. Of course, a strong DROP cue protects against this, but if young kids are in the household I usually suggest they not play this particular game with the dog. (And, until the DROP is strong, they can always lay the pole on the ground so no spring-back will hit them)
- Mix the excitement of flirt pole play with calm/focused exercises so dog learns how to toggle between arousal and calm.
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Lisa, how did you make it? I bought one for my clients dogs to teach some enrichment and especially for people who may not otherwise be physically able…I got one off Chewy, but yours looks really durable and very cool. @LisaOMy
Thanks for the video! I agree that your dogs LOVE IT. They are great models, btw.????
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Hi @bernerlabreclectus ! I use a PVC tube (about $4 at a hardware store). I thread a rope through it and knot it at both ends to keep it in place. I leave a long section of rope at the end that will be the top. Then I can tie any toy I want to it. To make it pretty, I wind colorful tape around the pole itself 🙂
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Here’s me playing with my student dog, Charlie, early on…he has a big prey drive, although the two squirrels he’s actually caught in his yard, he’s dropped when asked to Drop It. Now after reading through your instructions to your clients, I know that I should be keeping it closer to the ground at all times.
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@bernerlabreclectus , it doesn’t look like Charlie makes any ‘hotdog’ maneuvers in that video. ???? Some dogs really like to leap and fling themselves around if the toy goes high, and there’s a possibility they could land badly and twist or injure a leg. Once airborne, they may also slam into the person which is no fun at all. With pups, it’s probably more important to keep it low, to avoid injury to their still-developing bodies.
I once had a BC who loved frisbee. I tried so hard to always throw it low so he was never required to leap into the air to get it. But I swear he would then just leap OVER the frisbee, despite my best efforts! Arg!
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