We Triebball!
Preconceived notions. We've all had them, haven't we? At least I did when we made the decision to stalk Dianna Stearns, founder of the American Triebball Association (we'd learned that she'd relocated to Maryland). You see, Gus has a penchant for bouncy balls. We learned this while visiting someone whom we now consider family in Old Lyme, Connecticut last fall. In her yard, her Sheltie, Patrick (and half-brother to Henry), played with a bouncy ball. When Gus saw the bouncy ball, life as he (and we) knew it was over. The minute we'd gotten back into town, we found it mandatory to purchase Gus his very own bouncy ball.
"The Natural" -- Gus' first encounter with a bouncy ball.
Then one bouncy ball became two. Like rabbits,they multiplied. We had balls. Red balls. Blue balls. Big balls. Small balls. Lots and lots of bouncy balls. And, Gus played with them. Played, and played, and played, and played. Sometimes he'd play for an hour or two; the length of a movie, perhaps. As he played, he developed skills.
Gus displayed an ability to move the ball and steer it with his shoulders; he displayed the ability to bring that bouncy ball right back to you, only to wait until you'd kick it again for him to retrieve. It was, at this point, that someone mentioned the word "Triebball."
What is Triebball?
Think: soccer + herding. Pronounced "Tribe-ball," Triebball originated in Germany, and is a sport centered on the communication skills between handler and dog. The game started as a way to give herding dogs a combination of mental stimulation and exercise. Triebball promotes teamwork and incorporates problem solving as one dog and one handler work together as a team as the handler directs the dog to bring eight (8) balls into a goal using verbal and hand cues. In American Triebball Association sanctioned competitions, a beginning dog and handler have seven (7) minutes to accomplish this task. The ultimate goal is a synergy between dog and handler; laser focus on one another building an amazing bond.
After much planning, the ATA and our training center My K9 Buddy were able to make a two (2) day Introduction to Triebball seminar happen this weekend. Given Gus' penchant for bouncy balls, registering him the minute we heard about the seminar at the beginning of fall was a no brainer. Gus seemed to be made for this sport. As for Henry, he never showed an interest in bouncy balls, so we dismissed enrolling him in class from the outset.
And this brings us back to those preconceived notions. This was supposed to be Gus' sport, right? Wrong. We realized this once we began the actual training part of our workshop: we worked basic commands, attention to the handler, accomplishing goals as a team. When I saw that teams were resting dogs and switching off, I had to ask if we could pay for Henry to take the class too (we'd brought him to the training center with us, because we didn't want to leave him alone all day). When the answer we received was "yes," it became clear that this class was as much for him as it was for Gus. The mental challenges and puzzles were as much Henry's thing as bouncy balls are Gus'.
Figuring out this new sport!
Surprisingly, our reactive Henry suddenly found himself in HIS element as well. So much so, that he was not reactive at all. His focus lay with us, solving puzzles. He even forgot there were other dogs in class, overcame his shyness with new people, and obliged our instructor as a demo dog.
Reactive Henry....the demo dog???? :)
In the last two days, both boys worked their hearts out for us. Bouncy balls. Learning new commands such as "Come By" and "Away." We alternated working with Henry and Gus, working on "back," "walk up," and "push." Everything we asked of them, they did without hesitation, and each excelled in his own way. Henry satiated his desire for puzzles; Gus got to play with bouncy balls. All-in-all, a win-win.
Two days of Triebball turned out to be more than I ever expected -- in a positively good way. Each Sheltie got something amazing out of it -- something which will allow them to grow into more confident dogs. And Gus, Gus learned a bit of restraint in pushing that ball on command.
I think I can say that everyone in our seminar left this weekend blown away by how much fun was had -- not only for our dogs, but for us as well. I don't think any of us knew what to expect, but I certainly know that we'll continue to practice the skills we've learned. After all, the confidence garnered from this sport will translate to other things, including agility.
Future Triebball Champion Gus proving that he can drive the ball on command.
I'm glad I was wrong about the sport, and I'm glad I was wrong about Henry. Sometimes, the best things happen when you least expect them. In my mind, only wonderful things can happen for dogs and their people as the sport of Triebball grows. For us, we may have found yet another road we look forward to following.
