Review: Boomer Ball

Out at the agility field today, I found a Boomer Ball (http://www.boomerball.com/) that someone left behind.   Lexi loves to play with soccer balls, and this ball is supposed to be somewhat indestructible, and built specifically for dogs.

It is made of a durable plastic that is supposed to withstand chewing.  But, I found that the plastic was too hard for a little dog.  Lexi didn't seem to mind, but I was uncomfortable with her banging her head against it all the time as she herded it around the field.  Also, I was afraid that it would hurt her if she ran in front of it when I kicked it to get it moving.  But, she did love it, as she loves any big ball she can nose around.

All in all, I'd rather stick with a cheap $2 ball from Wal-Mart or a cheap soccer ball.

Days 22 and 23

More belated updates--oops!  Weather here has either been hot or rainy, so we're having a hard time getting outside to work.  You'll note in the second video that it's so humid out that the camera lens kept fogging up!

Today we had a chance to try the dogwalk at full height during some short sequencing in class.  Bentley did well--didn't miss either of the two times.

Day 22 Video


Stats
Reps: 30
% Success:  87%

Thoughts:
1.  Directions.  We started adding some directions in.  It's critical that we give him information really early.  I read that some people would even say "Climb...left" or whatever, to show that the dog needed to go left after climbing.  Personally, I'm not sure Bentley's memory is that good, so the aim is to tell him as he gets to the flat board (obviously we don't do this often in the video)

Day 23 Video


Stats
Reps: 30
% Success:  90%

Thoughts:
1.  Speed.  He's still right around 2.1 seconds.  I'm happy with that, and don't want to push him anymore.  We would have to sacrifice accuracy.

Treat Review

I know this is unrelated, but I had to post some treat reviews here for anyone who's curious.  We had been using Wellness WellBites.  We loved them.  One of the few treats that were soft enough to easily break into tiny pieces during training.  I hate that some treats are too small to be broken (but not small enough for very repetitive training), and I hate that some treats can't be broken.  So these were great.

Then we switched to these to try something new.  Also, they're grain free, so less filler.  Bentley likes them, but they are SO hard to break, and I'm not comfortable giving him a full piece.  Also, not only are they hard to break up, but it takes Bentley longer to chew them, and it's really hard to quickly move on in training since you're waiting for him to chew.  So I won't be buying these again.  Back to the WellBites for us!