opinion on flirt pole work

pro's and con's of working your dog on a flirt pole..
does anyone have any personal experiences either good or bad? thanks

 

one of the best exercises you can do with your dog. cheap easy on you and it works almost all the muscles on the dog and helps alot with coordination. not much bad can come out of it.

 

I think its wonderful to be honest cant think of bad unless ur a moron and have ur dog doing back flips and landing on its back.....that would be bad

 

Use the pole in different parts of the keep, to "see" the pro's and con's.

 

A friend of mine who is really good at putting a dog in shape tells me to stay well away from workin a dog on the pole. Told me it does just as much harm as good..as in the dog staining it's back muscles etc when jumping for the hide.said if you must then keep the hide low to the ground an only work for small periods of time. I like the way it's Neva the same. Keeps a dog on it's toe keeps a dogs reflexs sharp an the fact they get the hide every now an then keeps a dog happy in itself,which will hav it wanting an waiting for the next time
Anyone had any injuries due to flirt pole work?

 

a few oldtimers have mentioned before that too much flirtpole is a bad thing as the turning from side to side can cause the liver to be ruptured in grown dogs.
i think its the best exercise when used for 15 minutes or less mixed in with some time of running. alot of newbies use flirtpoles because they are too lazy to take there dog out for a run or an extra long walk. i personally dont like the idea of using a flirtpole as a daily activity for the reason i listed, the purpose of the flirtpole was to put a dog in top shape for a competition not for a petbull.

 

bx i've never heard the ruptured liver theory. We do flirt work sometimes lasting 45-hr depending how far along the dog is and the weather. Never dealt with anything like that.

Pros in flirt work is that its a tremendous cardio workout and at a very high intensity.

Cons include dogs coming down, from jumping hard, could land wrong and be hard on the joints. Ive hand many land right on their back or side. Another con is being hit by an excited dog, thats never fun.

 

i think the most important thing is it helps the dog with its mobility and foot work. you can see the dogs coordination improve day to day and you would be surprised how winded a dog that works hard can get from teh flirt.
Only issue i can see is you have to use it safely bc the dogs will jump/run into anything going for it. also watch how they land....

 

yup it sucks getting hit by a dog going all out to get the flirt pole.

 

Working the flirt pole has always been a great way to work out my dogs...... Until two days ago! I was working my 13 month old dog just a little. Only five minutes max and about every other day. He loved it! However, two days ago he landed from a jump on his back leg. I heard a snap and he whimpered. This is the first time I have heard a whine from this dog. He has been cut by hogs and never let out any squeal unless it was a cry of excitement. Anyway, he wouldn't walk on it. The next day I shot an X-ray. Here it is.....

 

jus remember dogs can and will get injured doing any exercise.

 

yep... thats what i always heard.... they will get hurt.... and teeth injuries are sensless.... painful, expensive.... and i honestly feel it can damage some sort of dog psyche,,,,, hand walking!!!!!!!!

 

never used it, to much fast turning and jumping

but i see it can help for a dogs coordination and for example better calculated landings

 

lmao, yeah i've been put on my ass a couple times from having my legs taken out. not fun, but would probably make a hilarious video

 

The flirt pole is a great tool if you use common sense. To keep mine from jumping I keep the hide on the ground. Like any intense work start slow and build up. Some dogs like it so much they will hurt themselves if you let them. Also you can break it into segments with handwalking or whatever exercise you want in between. If the dog can't take a bit of twisting and turning I don't want it.

 

I still use it on my other dogs. He was just so balls out. I doubt I will use it on him again even after that leg heals up.

 

i always keep the hide on the ground and just run them in figure eights or circles. i try not to do any super-sharp turns, don't wanna bust up a knee. then every so often i let them catch it and play a bit of tug. then more running. i figure that's the safest way to do flirt. sometimes they will jump anyway, but usually just sprint. the only injuries i've ever had happen was them fanging themselves or biting a hole through the tongue, neither of which is a big deal and heals pretty quickly. i love the flirt and think it's an invaluable tool for work-outs. plus they sure do love it!

 

just go on and bump this to the #1 answer no cons if done right

 

lol that and when you get a set of ivory in your shin, hand, etc... when the dogs wanting that flirt