Treibball – have you ‘herd’?
Want something new to do with your dog? Have you and your dog got a bundle of energy? Do you and your dog make a great team? Well Treibball could be the game for you!
by guest blogger Hayley Swann-Ross from the British Treibball Club (BTC)
‘Treibball is a fun, competitive sport for dogs which originated in Germany. Since its introduction, its popularity has grown, so much so that lots of clubs have started to run sessions over here too.
It involves the handler and dog communicating effectively to herd 8 balls into a goal within 15 minutes, sometimes changing the order of the balls or adding obstacles to make it more challenging as both dog and handler progress.
And it’s not just for the herdy types! Any dog can take part, from Leonbergers to Lakeland Terriers – all that’s needed is great teamwork between the dog and handler.
Various cues are taught, such as directional cues (you know you’ve always wanted to call ‘come bye’ just like in one man and his dog!), targeting, positioning and obedience cues, such as ‘down stay’ – the pièce de résistance performed by the dog once all the balls are successfully penned.
Treibball is a fantastic way to increase the bond between you and your dog and encourages listening to each other in a positive, stress-free way. The game is taught using purely positive methods and, as the handler has to stay within arms reach of the goal at all times, it really does mean you and your dog have to learn to understand each other!’
If you want to find out more, please email contact@treibball.co.uk
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