-Innovative Conditioning-

[CRISIS]

We all know the basic methods of putting one into top shape, such as the E-Mill,Slatmill,Carpetmill,Jenny,FlirtP,SpringP,road work, ect.......

BUT....what about those of you that come up with your own way of conditioning, surely there must be a handfull of sportsmen who dont have the finances to afford every damn mill out there, especially those that are feeding sevaral hounds that eat up the income.....

so lets hear it folks...........ill share a few first..............

one method of resistance training i would do would be to toss a bumper or frisbee (or tennisball) against the current in our private creek. the water line would reach right to my boys chest creating the perfect ammount or resistance as he would run against the current chasing the bumper.

one method i had for a cardio workout took place in the local ricefields, miles of dirt road surrounded by ricefields......we would walk an approx 3 mile stretch....

during our 3 mile stretch i would use a "chuck it" ball thrower (a potential GREAT tool if applied to conditioning), approx every 100 yards i would turn around and chuck the ball behind me, forcing the dog to SPRINT back to the ball and then again run it back to me....as he would brimg it back id turn around chuck the ball behind me & proceed forward......you can imagine what the 3 mile strike turns into for the hound at the end of the day

every 100 yards i walked, the dog would sprint 200 yards (100 to sprint/chase the ball, 100 to run/trot it back to me.......for 6 miles (to & back)........aside from great cardio, it also gets the dog used to breathing hard with something in its mouth.....

im curious how these methods would serve in a real keep...........if all else fails i can say these are great maintenance excercise routines...lol


so lets hear it fellas, how creative have you gotten while working a dog???

[R2L]

i will never trow any ball for my dogs on land, unless im hoping to pay the forfeit plus 1000$ surgery because of a torn knee ligament

[FrostyPaws]

I used to do something similar with the ball. I would find a park with a baseball field. We would go onto the field, and I'd do the same as you minus the walking as I threw it. We would do that for about an hour. That same dog was run around bean and rice fields. I didn't own a mill then so the dog just ran with my car around those fields.

We had another dog that wouldn't do any of that. A friend and myself would kick a basketball back and forth while the dog chased it. That was how Mike was shaped.

I also use more resistance devices now.

[OGDOGG]

I still use the fetch method in my keeps. Find the steepest hill and throw the kong ball down that hill. After that exercise, walk them with the kong ball in their mouth.

[CRISIS]

yeah, if only i had some steep hills on my property...... but i DO have a motocross track!

[EWO]

I had a bitch once that would absolutely do nothing. She would half ass walk. First time on a mill she burned it up but would never spin it again. Pulled me on a bike like mad for one day but the next time no effort whatsoever. Either she did not see the need for it or she felt like she had already conquered that task. I am not sure but it was frustrating. She could not be motivated by foods, toys or baits. She was talented and smart. She taught me the keep starts at 8 weeks old instead of lasting 8 weeks long. Everything from 8 weeks old is preparing for show night. I found her work ethic was lacking way too late in the process.
So..I had her on a ten foot chain. I was cleaning up and the yard dog was on the other side of the fence just yapping. She would chase rocks til your arm fell off. I threw the rock and by bitch shot after her like a rocket and then ran back to me. Tried it again and the same. The light bulb went off then. I switched her to a 14 foot 5/8" log chain with a two pound weight collar. I walked around for an hour and picked up rocks. I poured those rocks out on the ground, sat on the five gallon bucket and threw rocks for nearly two hours a day for 6 weeks. She sprinted after the yard bitch like mad, never realizing the chain and the fence were between them. She would run back and wait for the next rock. So every work day I got a bucket of rocks, moved her to the heavy chain and put on the weight collar. She won in 1:01. She looked as strong and powerful at 61 as she did at the beginning. She impressed all in attendance. And when i told this same story I heard BULLSHIT more than once but it was most definitely true. From that point I figured a way to get sprinting with resistance into every program. EWO

[EWO]

I knew a guy once who had one that would not work period. She would barley keep up on a pleasant stroll down the path. Hook any weight or resistance and she would just stop. It was pitiful. In the box she was as nice as any would want. Out of the box she had no desire to do anything. He attached a swivel and snap hook to a 20ft. stick of conduit. Attached it to her collar and pushed her out in a pond. I believe she actually thought about drowning over swimming. It was sad. But she got the idea and would swim her ass off. She picked up 2 with the 'conduit and snap hook keep'.
Some dogs just will not work for whatever reason. I expose all my young dogs to work early. Nothing hard or strenuous just to help them learn to work early. It gives them the idea anyway. I think there a lot of innovative ideas when it comes to the hard keepers. Interesting thread. EWO

[CRISIS]

Thx EWO thats the stuff im talkin about!

Lets hear em fellas...

[Steeldog]

When I want to change it up and break the monotany we both get some. We go to the football field closeby and I toss a kong frisbee. While he's sprinting for that and bringing it back I'm dropping doing push-ups, lunges, squats, etc...as he returns the frisbee I'm launching the second one. Fun for the both of us.

[YELLOWJOHN]

A SOFTBALL AND A SET OF STAIRS .

[CRISIS]

Bump.......

Anybody with anything new?

[FrostyPaws]

This isn't really innovative, but it is something I like. I hook my dog to a harness, and attach 15-20lbs of weight to the harness. Once the dog is all hooked up, I throw the kong toy as far as I can. The dog sprints for all he's worth for the kong. I simply walk up to the dog, break him, and throw it again. He gets a little reward time every time he gets his mouth on the kong.

[EWO]

Used a very similar plan as well. We had a bitch that would go after a ball like none other, as long as her feet were on the ground. She had no interest in any type of mill. She walked OK and pulled OK but if she could get after that ball she pulled liked a freight train and was a blur after it. My buddy and I got about 20-30 yards apart and we played catch. She was a blur between us after that ball. The only drawback here was we had use the stick to get it back but that is a small price to pay when she works like that. We added resistance as well. Sprinting after a ball, with feet on the ground, carrying and propelling their own body weight is about as good as it gets. EWO




This isn't really innovative, but it is something I like. I hook my dog to a harness, and attach 15-20lbs of weight to the harness. Once the dog is all hooked up, I throw the kong toy as far as I can. The dog sprints for all he's worth for the kong. I simply walk up to the dog, break him, and throw it again. He gets a little reward time every time he gets his mouth on the kong.

[FrostyPaws]

EWO, last dog I worked got the weight/kong pulling. He also got resistance training AND he got some sprinting without the wts after the kong toy. His mill work was very minimal, and I can't complain at all about what kind of shape he was in, though it was my first time doing a lot more of that than the mill. So, naturally, I was a little apprehensive, but I was quite pleased with the results I saw.

[EWO]

Same here. Lots of times, great things are stumbled upon. It wasn't like one day I said I am going to forgo the mill and everything that worked in the past and go with this new way with all the money I have riding on it. Apprehensive would not begin to describe it. We had a few dogs here and there that just did not get the idea of mill work or biking, etc. etc. "Traditional" methods just did not work. It is amazing the resolve of a person when the $$$ is on the line.
The ball chasing bitch was in phenomenal shape. I too was weary going in but at the time it was the only option with her. But after seing the results we started incorporating it more and more with other dogs.
My latest invention (makes me sound important) I have a 5/16" cable strung out about 310'. (off a double pull hoist for a five story lift). I have one end to a tree and the other to a "T" bar I made to the hitch on the truck. I put stops about 10 feet from each end with stainless pulley from tank entry equipment. I have a three foot lead swivelled on both ends. It stretches along the path I live one. I hook the dog up and zing by on the four wheeler. For whatever reason they chase it like all get out. It has become a staple of the work. It works. EWO

[Officially Retired]

EWO, last dog I worked got the weight/kong pulling. He also got resistance training AND he got some sprinting without the wts after the kong toy. His mill work was very minimal, and I can't complain at all about what kind of shape he was in, though it was my first time doing a lot more of that than the mill. So, naturally, I was a little apprehensive, but I was quite pleased with the results I saw.

Waccamaw shared their interval weight pulling regimen with me back in 99, and ever since I incorporated that kind of weight pulling in the keep I sell, the people who have traditionally used the mill have *all* noticed a marked difference in performance in the animals they've applied it to. Like almost a night-and-day difference in many cases, which only makes sense, conceptually, when considering the fact that a fight involves struggle and the exertion of strength (not just "running "free" on a spinning belt).

The way Wac did it involved two people working the dog, one behind the dog adding/removing weights, and one in front of the dog baiting him with a flirt pole. If a person is working the dog solo, throwing a Kong Ball is a great idea to accomplish this, as well as to keep the work fun for the dog.

Jack

[EWO]

There is a large set of fields across from here. I do much the same. I have different weight/length of chains dropped along the edges of the fields. I use these fields for long walks with and without the chains. I promised pics in another post about brood boxes but I am digitally challenged to say the least. I will try to get a pic of the cable set up I use as well. I like the mills as much as the next guy, I like anything that works, but I have learned there is something special about a dog giving every thing he has in an all out sprint with his four feet on the ground. I 'think' it quickly separates itself from other methods. EWO

[Officially Retired]

Very well said, EWO.

[SteelyDan]

Great info here and some very funny stories lol. 20' PVC with a snap on the end...that sounded effective but made me laugh also.

[EWO]

These are the minority. I re read some of the posts, even mine, and it sounds like I have a yard full of lazy dogs. They were few and far between. Most would do whatever you introduced them to. It seems like the ones that were not willing to work taught me the most about the dogs and their individuality. The 20' conduit dog was a split hair away from choosing drowning over swimming. She was that lazy. It is funny now but it was really frustrating back then. LOL. EWO

[Officially Retired]

LMAO, that is what happened to me with Truman on my first match. The dog was game as hell, but had average ability and arguably the worst work ethic of any dog I have ever owned in 2+ decades of having dogs.

He wouldn't run. He wouldn't fetch. He wouldn't chase a hide. I tried swimming, and he was actually so lazy he did choose drowning over swimming at one point, way before exhaustion, and just decided to sink. I actually had to save him and hold him up by the belly and let him flop his legs :lol:

The only thing Truman would go apeshit over was the sight of another dog, but I didn't have a mill at the time, let alone two to face each other. In hindsight, I really should have just paid forfeit :confused:

[EWO]

Good post Jack. I was hoping I wasn't paddling that boat all alone. EWO

[FrostyPaws]

We have an indoor pool here at the new house. I can't wait to get it up and running and be able to use THAT as a tool also. Did I mention it was heated too?

[CRISIS]

thats pretty sweet frosty!

[EWO]

http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/EWO3/media/P5140136_zps225b5e0f.jpg.html

I told you all I am digitally challenged to say the least. I thought it was the pic of the setup but it is just the bar. Anyway this bar fits in hitch of the truck as you see. There is a wheel assembly with 310' of 5/16th cable. I hook it to a tree and drive off. I set up the stops at 10' away from the truck and at about the 290' mark (where the cable is damaged). This gives the dog about a 280' sprint. There is a 5/16" roller bearing pulley with a double swivel lead attached tot he pulley and the dog. I zing by on the four wheeler and they go ape shit after it. I will try to find where the pic of the wheel and cable went a repost. Not too good at this copying and pasting and uploading. EWO

[SteelyDan]

There you go ewo...

http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p674/EWO3/P5140136_zps225b5e0f.jpg (http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/EWO3/media/P5140136_zps225b5e0f.jpg.html)