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Indoors you get at least 2 people sitting stationary (couches, chairs, locked wheelchair, etc) Basically all it is is playing catch with the other person with a bigger ball than a tennis ball but small enough for the dog to grab in its mouth (nerf ball will even work, we use a child size soccer ball not inflated all the way). When each person gets the ball then they need to draw the dog over to them before they can throw it, but not let the dog get the ball. If you have a crazy dog like me (German Shorthair Pointer) then the dog will leap up in your lap almost knocking you over and they learn to jump up onto your arm right away too making it difficult to throw. If the dog is fast they will get into your lap before you have a chance to throw. We added a friends dog into the mix who is slower and outside had to try to outrun that dog because that dog just chased but wasnt as fast as my crazy puppy.
Outdoors you can do this with moving wheelchairs and it gets more fun. You can play more along the lines of rugby and use the puppies as obstacles to get through before you cross your line, or you can use the puppies on someones team. The outdoor version is played ON THE GRASS. When I play this with my boyfriend, then its him on one team alone and me and Storm (my GSP) on the other team. She is on my team because he is AB and is a bit too big to use one of my chairs. He has to only walk through and on the chair you can go any speed you want. If I have someone else playing it gets fun because one person uses one chair, the other person uses the other chair and its one on one rugby with a puppy obstacle.
Ok, if you dont have a dog then this might sound a little dull but if you have very active dogs this is a great way to interact and it is very physical, much more so than it sounds. I was trying to find a way to rough house with my puppy and this is definatly a way! So for any of you with dogs, give it a try. You can modify accordingly for your dogs actvity level such as if the dog touches the chair you lose the ball, or that you need to hold the ball for x amount of seconds before you can throw it. The way we play outdoors is that you need to hold the ball till my GSP is within 2 meters. If she touches the ball then the other person gets it.
EDIT: Forgot to add... if playing against AB not using a wheelchair then they have to carry the ball with their arms extended down, this gives the dog a chance to get the ball and also prevents them from passing above their heads. In my case with a dog that will jump right in the lap of a person in a wheelchair then that person can hold it over their heads if they want because the dog will climb up the body and can still reach it.
This post has been edited by gsp23: 05 February 2007 - 06:36 PM
