What is a dog tribal ball?

The owners of shepherd dogs were worried that their four-legged wards were beginning to lose their grip, as they had practically ceased to have direct contact with real sheep. Therefore, the way out was the created system of exercises, which allowed the pets to maintain their shepherd instincts at the proper level.

Competitions and rules

The first tribal competition was held in 2007. Today it is played not only in Germany, but also in various European countries, including Russia, as well as in the USA.

According to the rules of the tribal ball, the four-legged shepherd “herds” not sheep, but large inflatable balls – eight pieces, obeying the commands of the owner. His main and only task is to drive them into the gate. The owner is allowed to stand near the corral and give voice commands: “Left!”, “Right!”, “Forward!”, “Back!”. He can also use gestures, a whistle, all other manipulations are prohibited and fined.

The easiest version of the game is when the balls are located on the starting line in the shape of a triangle. The “sportsman” must drive these balls into the “corral” gate. The dog can push the sports equipment into the goal with its paws, muzzle – as you like, but it is important not to make a hole in the sports equipment.

A difficult option involves rolling balls according to the established order: for example, blue-yellow-orange.

Pleasant and interesting

It should be noted that tribal in terms of sports achievements is somewhat similar to the Olympic Games, the main thing here is not victory, but participation, a pleasant, interesting and useful pastime for the dog and the owner. After all, almost any dog, regardless of breed, can roll the ball across the clearing for pleasure. And the dominant feature in the competition here is not the sports component, but the contact and mutual understanding between owners and dogs.

In this sport, there are no age restrictions for either dogs or their owners. And it does not require much physical effort.

Training

You don’t need a lot of space or expensive equipment to practice. You can train with one or more balls.

The first thing to do is to teach your dog to be calm about balls. She must lie down on command and remain in this position, even if the ball rolls past. But it cannot be directed directly at the ward, otherwise he may be frightened.

Training is best done with clicker training. Click the clicker to encourage the correct actions of the dog. The ball should only be an object that the “sportsman” must deliver from point A to point B, while he must not play with the ball, but must “paste” it – push and roll.

Next, you should teach the dog to adjust the balls to the owner, but only on command, otherwise it will run away with a sports equipment, thinking that this is a game. It is necessary to achieve strict and precise obedience, without the dog showing independence. When this is achieved, you can put the gate so that she drives the balls already into them. After that, it remains only to increase the speed and accuracy of defeating the gate.