Falling is part of the game and there are ways to minimize the impact and risk for the dogs.
Mishaps are part of my dogs training from the start of there puppy learning games. Two things will make a fall worst:
- If the dogs panics
- When the dogs wont stop
By practicing controlled intentional falls (on skis and bike) I have given a chance for my dogs to learn what I expect of them: Stop! …and don’t panic.
In “practice falls” I call back the dogs to me as soon as I am on the ground, if they are coming towards me, they are not running away from me.
Its also important to always make a happy deal from a fall. The event itself seems brutal and negative, its stressful for the dogs. By sending happy, joyful signals I am releasing the tension. I never get going before my dogs are clearly calm and confident. If the stress is too high, they get set free or we have a little play session.
This fall was not intentional but the dogs do exactly what they learnt, they turn around towards me and they relax. I do exactly what they expect from me, I let them know we are still having fun and that what they are doing is good.
Even when I get hurt, its so much into the routine that cheering/praising my dogs is always the first thing I do. Making sure my dogs maintain a positive mindset is always my priority, even when things go bad.
Note M’Opus shaking at the end of the video. Shaking is a stress relief for dogs. Momo is the more nervous one of the two girls, I’m happy to see her shake it off. M.E. shows me right away she’s ready to go again, while Momo needed a bit more time before she willingly lined out again. Thats ok, by the time we went again, everyone was relaxed and happy to go.
As for what happened here, I must have burped air out of my front tire , as very little air was left in it. When I entered the turn I felt something was wrong, too late to slow down enough.