I screwed up with the Flirt Pole

JackandMattie · 03-07-2013, 12:54 PM

It was So great, at first, but clearly I need to do some more research on how to use the flirt pole.

On our first session, Jack took a shortcut through the circle and took me down. My elbow still hurts.

On our second session, I whipped it up too fast, and Jack jumped, flipped over and landed solidly on his back. THUD. He righted himself and would have kept right on going (I stopped), but two days later I'm Still feeling guilty.

He turns 2 1/2 on Saturday, and I just know that 10-12 years from now I'm gonna see a slowdown and blame it on that back landing. Doh.

Guess it's time to hit YouTube.

Stevenzachsmom · 03-07-2013, 12:57 PM

Ouch! Sorry about your elbow. Jack will be fine. They heal much more quickly than we do. LOL!

Nigel · 03-07-2013, 03:30 PM

I had one incident where my dog slid on her side and halfway under our chain link fence, luckily no injuries. I'm more aware of how she reacts and I try maneuvering it accordingly. It's hard to explain, but if she cuts across the middle for instance, I know she'll have to turn sharply at some point as I come around in an arc so ill slow it way down so its easy for her to catch it. I try to keep it on the ground unless she is on a straight run and I know she can jump safely. Like I said, its hard to expain, I guess I could sum it by saying I moderate the speed and position carefully relative to her speed/position and i let her win if it looks like she could slip or be tempted to jump when its not safe.

JackandMattie · 03-08-2013, 10:21 AM

I took the way too heavy wubba off the end of the lunge whip, and replaced it with one of my favorite dishtowels (don't ask why I chose a favorite, doh!)...

That solved my problem with being able to maneuver the flirt pole quickly and keep it hovered just above the ground easily.

We had several successful short play sessions, and extended our sitstay in between rounds!

This is a dream come true.

And at the end of the evening, this is what I earned:

One Exhausted Dog. I win

I had to go over and make sure he was still breathing, haha. I got this grateful little submission. I swear he hasn't been this content since we switched to a raw diet and he was like, "Now you Get it!"

Blanketback · 03-08-2013, 10:29 AM

He's gorgeous, and I'm glad everything ended well

When I read you'd attached a wubba, my breath caught in my throat, lol. NO! I've hit myself in the face with my flirtpole in the heat of play, lmao! But that's just a de-stuffed toy, nothing heavy.

JackandMattie · 03-08-2013, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blanketback

He's gorgeous, and I'm glad everything ended well

When I read you'd attached a wubba, my breath caught in my throat, lol. NO! I've hit myself in the face with my flirtpole in the heat of play, lmao! But that's just a de-stuffed toy, nothing heavy.

Yep. It's so embarrassingly obvious to me now why we struggled through our first two sessions.

Only a dumdum would put a big heavy wubba of the end of a whip and swing it around, LOL

gmcwife1 · 03-10-2013, 10:30 PM

Ohhhh nice - a tired dog is a happy owner

Hipcheck2012 · 03-10-2013, 10:39 PM

I had to read this to see what a flirt pole was... Laughed when I saw lunge whip with a dish towel! I've been doing that for years, I didn't know it was a "thing"!

It started out as a joke in the barn, but became useful when I had an energetic dog to tire out...

Definitely glad I stumbled upon this, because I recently adopted a gsd who has been driving me nuts... and he wasn't at my dads (the farm) until this weekend.. I'll have to take one of my whips home with me!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

**Liesje** · 03-10-2013, 10:44 PM

Keep it low (on the ground). You don't want to whip it around so much as give them a target to chase, if that makes sense? If your dog is too big/too fast you might have to backtie him to something. I get dizzy if I try to play this for more than ten seconds!

Nikon had a bad fall jumping to catch a ball and has a permanent injury

No matter how careful we try to be sometimes it happens!

Anitsisqua · 03-11-2013, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hipcheck2012

I had to read this to see what a flirt pole was... Laughed when I saw lunge whip with a dish towel!

That is EXACTLY what mine is! And I love how easily it wears him out, and he loves that flirt pole more than anything!

03-07-2013, 12:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
JackandMattie Master Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Deep East Texas Posts: 613	I screwed up with the Flirt Pole It was So great, at first, but clearly I need to do some more research on how to use the flirt pole. On our first session, Jack took a shortcut through the circle and took me down. My elbow still hurts. On our second session, I whipped it up too fast, and Jack jumped, flipped over and landed solidly on his back. THUD. He righted himself and would have kept right on going (I stopped), but two days later I'm Still feeling guilty. He turns 2 1/2 on Saturday, and I just know that 10-12 years from now I'm gonna see a slowdown and blame it on that back landing. Doh. Guess it's time to hit YouTube.

03-07-2013, 12:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
Stevenzachsmom Knighted Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,359	Ouch! Sorry about your elbow. Jack will be fine. They heal much more quickly than we do. LOL! __________________ Jan Natty Boh 6-27-12 Annie 1998 - 8-2-12 RIP

03-08-2013, 10:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
JackandMattie Master Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Deep East Texas Posts: 613	Success!!!!!!!! I took the way too heavy wubba off the end of the lunge whip, and replaced it with one of my favorite dishtowels (don't ask why I chose a favorite, doh!)... That solved my problem with being able to maneuver the flirt pole quickly and keep it hovered just above the ground easily. We had several successful short play sessions, and extended our sitstay in between rounds! This is a dream come true. And at the end of the evening, this is what I earned: One Exhausted Dog. I win I had to go over and make sure he was still breathing, haha. I got this grateful little submission. I swear he hasn't been this content since we switched to a raw diet and he was like, "Now you Get it!"

03-10-2013, 10:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
gmcwife1 Elite Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Washington State Posts: 1,394	Ohhhh nice - a tired dog is a happy owner __________________ ~ Dori ~ Kenai - 10 yr old Samoyed Koda - 8 yr old Samoyed Max - 4 yr old rescue Persian Nita - 01/26/2012 GSD

03-10-2013, 10:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
Hipcheck2012 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 36	I screwed up with the Flirt Pole I had to read this to see what a flirt pole was... Laughed when I saw lunge whip with a dish towel! I've been doing that for years, I didn't know it was a "thing"! It started out as a joke in the barn, but became useful when I had an energetic dog to tire out... Definitely glad I stumbled upon this, because I recently adopted a gsd who has been driving me nuts... and he wasn't at my dads (the farm) until this weekend.. I'll have to take one of my whips home with me! Sent from Petguide.com Free App

03-07-2013, 03:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
Nigel Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 1,470	I had one incident where my dog slid on her side and halfway under our chain link fence, luckily no injuries. I'm more aware of how she reacts and I try maneuvering it accordingly. It's hard to explain, but if she cuts across the middle for instance, I know she'll have to turn sharply at some point as I come around in an arc so ill slow it way down so its easy for her to catch it. I try to keep it on the ground unless she is on a straight run and I know she can jump safely. Like I said, its hard to expain, I guess I could sum it by saying I moderate the speed and position carefully relative to her speed/position and i let her win if it looks like she could slip or be tempted to jump when its not safe.

03-08-2013, 10:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
Blanketback Elite Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 1,375	He's gorgeous, and I'm glad everything ended well When I read you'd attached a wubba, my breath caught in my throat, lol. NO! I've hit myself in the face with my flirtpole in the heat of play, lmao! But that's just a de-stuffed toy, nothing heavy.

03-10-2013, 10:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
Liesje Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 16,257	Keep it low (on the ground). You don't want to whip it around so much as give them a target to chase, if that makes sense? If your dog is too big/too fast you might have to backtie him to something. I get dizzy if I try to play this for more than ten seconds! Nikon had a bad fall jumping to catch a ball and has a permanent injury No matter how careful we try to be sometimes it happens! __________________ Liesje & the K9s Nikon (GSD) U-CH SG Alta-Tollhaus Bono SchH1 KKL T1 FO PA TF-III FDCh-S CL1-R UJJ U-CA HIT TT CGC Coke (All-American) VPC's Coca-Cola CGC, couch warmer extraordinaire Indy (All-American) Blue Horizon's Indigo Girl, flyball star in training Rainbow Bridge Kenya (GSD) U-CH Alta-Tollhaus-Krieger Lamb Chop CL1-R CL1-F RA HIT TDI TT CGC vom Blauen Horizont / Blue Horizon GSDs

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
German Shepherd Advertisement