Proper spring pole use, and suggestions

I see this topic go up quite a bit so I thought I would put down my techniques for others to view and possibly use.
Diesel has been using a spring pole his entire life. Its by far his favorite thing and is a good part of the reason that he is in such good shape. The secret that keeps him good though is not just that we use a springpole but how we use the springpole. By combining low session and high sessions you give your dog a total workout as well as keep them insanely targeted on the SP.

A low day provides the best over all physical exertion, a true full body workout with special emphasis on the neck, shoulders, and rear...depending on how hard a shaker your dog is its great for keeping that tuck visible as well.
some examples of a low day(video)-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apRkeuJ4MB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqvJ7X9m-r0

A High day is going to serve the purpose of developing a better bite as well as explosive power in the rear... again depending on the dog shaking is going to incorporate the whole body again. With the tug out of rear the dog must launch itself to the tug and to keep from falling back down it learns that a full mouth deep bite is required.
high day video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTOFPD2PoCg

Be sure that you can Take the Springpole away to keep the dog from growing bored with it. If they have constant access to it it can ebb thier drive. With Diesels I just set it up ontop of the branch and he cant get it. This drives him crazy and this is how I get great shots like these:

When I talk about explosive power this is what I mean.

Building the springpole-
There are 100 ways that you can do it and all are pretty damn cheap. if you have a tree in your yard there should be at least one hanging from it... if not get a pole digger and drop a pole in the dirt and build one, or you can come off the side of stucture. At any rate if you do have a tree(as I do) this is the easiest way.
1. get a flat steel buckle collar and put it on the tree branch.
2. Go to menards, home depot or similar hardware store and purchase a spring. To save you som time and money you are going to want to go about 75% of your dogs weight for your spring, unless you have a really strong dog then you might want to go 85-90%. You want your dog to be able to pull the spring apart far enough to get resistance, but not so far that they can actually stretch it out. For pups you can get 20-30 lbs springs but for adults I would look at the 50-60 lb. Diesel is on a 90 lb spring now and he gives it the blues.
anyway, you take the spring and attach it to the D ring of the collar.
3. from the opposite end of the spring we attach a lenght of rope. YOu want the rope long enough so that the dog has all FOUR feet on the ground and there is no tension in the spring. The dog needs to be able to pull against the spring and getting down low is how its going to do that, you dont want to rely strictly on body weight for that you want the dog to be flexing the entire time.
4. your bite surface can be many different things: i know guys that swear by fur hide, or burlap sacks. Burlap is good but it shreds with time.
For puppies I did this:
a-b comes down to c-d and then you roll it up and bend it in half. The rope ties in the bend and then you duct tape the middle of the towel to keep it in posistion. The towel is softer and for puppies allows them to really crunch down on it, building up thier bite as well.

You can gradually lift the pole higher and higher as the dog gets better at it. No airborn stuff until the dog is at LEAST a year. before that the trauma of repeated jumping (and potentially falling) can dmage growing joints and bones. Start with all four on the floor then gradually move it up until just the rear is there, then until the rear is touching whith tention on the spring, then you can try for the high flying stuff.

Not saying this is the right way or the best way.. simply my way.

 

good post you know somw where to get fur hides

 

Great post diesel-- C. Knight. PM me and get my address. Send me some money to cover shipping and I will send you a strip of wild boar hide. It works great for spring pole or flirt pole, and it lasts a long time.

 

Those are great pictures, but one thing everyone should know first and foremost. DO NOT LET YOUR DOG JUMP THAT HIGH FOR THE SPRING POLE! He should be able to keep two feet on the ground at all times. Your dog could get serious injuries by hanging/jumping from the rope. It can't be stressed ENOUGH!

 

You took the words right out of my mouth!