DS110: Dryland Dock Diving Training- Foundation, Fitness and Fixes!

MINI GRABS

Mini Grabs are one of my favorite exercises and serve many purposes. The mini-grab is a small scale replication of the throw and catch that happens at the end of the dock during a chase method distance throw. But as a dryland exercise it's more than just teaching that catching motion off the dock and I really encourage you to watch for the details as we go through the steps.

Some of benefits include:

• Building the Teamwork for Timing and Tracking/Catching
• Teaching the dog to move forward through the toy
• Eye-Mouth coordination
• Creating confidence in reaching up for the toy
• Building muscle memory for a good jump take off
• Building a small scale pattern for a chase/catch intro on the dock
• Presents a pattern for introducing suspended toys
• Teaching the dog to move past the handler
• Isolating release cue
• Excellent exercise to include in warm up routine 

 Clearly, there are a lot of perks here- this exercise is a great bang for your buck !

I'm going to show you a 'mini grab' and then discuss it in more detail below before you try it with your dog. 

The goal of this exercise is that we will have our dog moving forward through the toy, releasing our throw at just above eye level, so that the dog has a slight reach or small hop as they grab it and stride though. I can't emphasize enough that we are NOT going for height in this exercise- we want the forward motion of the dog as our criteria here. The forward thrust through the toy is what gets a dog distance when they are jumping in a pool situation so we are patterning that. Keep your focus on the forward motion. The height of the toy toss during this exercises just enough to help build confidence in focusing on a toy vs looking at the water/ground (landing area). The timing of the tiny toss is such that your dog is able to propel through it-  so really, not too much toy motion at all. 

Things we want to avoid:

• too much height on the throw. We don't want either the dog waiting for the toy to come down to catch it OR the dog jumping wildly in the air and landing awkwardly, because this will cause them to put too much attenion on sticking a landing in the future. We want to pattern saving brain power for the jump, not the landing. 
• throwing the toy at the dog- this is not like teaching a dog to catch popcorn. The toy throw should be closer to a release than a throw and any motion of the toy should encourage the dog to move forward- through the toy- and never to pause or hesitate.
•  having too much run early in the process. Start very close to your dog! If your dog doesn't stay well, you should be able to reach out with your non-throwing hand to help them stay put while you get ready to toss with the other. If you can't reach them, you are probably too far away to start. We don't need a ton of speed or momentum when we are doing this exercise.

 Here's are a couple more examples. The next two clips have no sound attached. 

The first dog is just learning this exercise-I'm holding her back and teasing a bit before I release her, to ensure she's looking at the toy and not my face.  At the time this was filmed, Mezzy was not the most toy motivated dog, so I'm holding her back more to just keep her energy up, than anything else. This also works for a dog who's stay is questionable at this time. You can see that I am close enough that I can hold her back with the hand nearest to her,  while I hold the toy with my other hand. Watch for the slow motion section so you can see how she's getting a small amount of 'pop' but primarily the motion is forward. This is on purpose. We can easily add height at the pool, where the landing in water is unconsequential. What we want on dryland is just to introduce the concept of watching the toy and making a slight upward reach for it while continuing through. It's a baby step towards maximizing distance by having the dog learn to follow through with the toy chase and grab. 

This 2nd dog is a little more experienced at this and is in a sit stay while I am a few more steps away. She is all about the toy so I don't need to draw her attention to it as wildly.  I use a release word (which you can't hear because there is no sound with this clip, sorry!) to start her. My personal tactic is to drop my hand a bit at this same time because the motion of the hand before the actual toss adds a little bit of extra motivation. If your dog is on the verge of being unable to hold their stay, it's a wiser choice to get your hand in position, wait a moment, and then release your dog. For dogs who are a little less sure or need more motivation, you can try the hand drop with your release cue to increase excitement. 

In the screenshot below, I have noted the angle that the dog is jumping at. When we eventually start working at the pool, I can start at this  well rehearsed angle that she is familiar with, and gradually inrease it as her skills and confidence on the dock grows. But on dryland, I like that she is able to partake in this safe level of pop- she is definitely looking slightly upward at the toy and not down at her landing position- and she has the forward momentum that will result in distance. So the mission is accomplished here. 

Also note in this photo the handler's hand position in relation to the bumper. The bumper is just below the hand at the time the dog is grabbing it. This emphasizes that the throw itself is not a great distance- it's almost more like the handler releases the toy  into the dog's mouth. This is important because perfecting this helps build your timing. At the pool, with the dog eventually running the length of the dock, your timing will be a little different of course! But this is exactly how an introduction to the chase method starts, on this very small scale, at the end of the dock with minimal strides. Repeating this exercise builds your dog's confidence in your timing and the repeatability of your 'throw'. That is important because as you can tell, the dog had to commit to making their jump, before they get the bumper. Knowing with some confidence where it will be is how they decide how much power to put in a jump. You are teaching your dog that you are dependable! 

This throw style is not likely how you're going to throw for your dog at the pool, but makes the most sense for this exercise.  You may need to practice the mini-grab technique a bit without your dog before trying it with your dog (that is a really fair thing to do if you've not played this game before!)  I think using this throw style in this introductory, close up exercise is important for a few reasons, so let's talk about it in more detail. '

Your hand only moves forward  (towards the imaginary pool)- and not backwards. 

- This part is true for all types of dock diving throws. Starting with your hand 'pre-cocked' before you release your dog, means that your hand never swings back towards them. That is important because motion back towards the dog can be off-putting to some dogs. It also takes up time that you may not be able to spare with a faster dog on the dock. So- even though this particular throw may not be your style of choice in the long-run, get in the habit now of forward-motion-only with your throwing hand. 

The throwing hand is the hand furthest from the dog.  Why?

- This is to give the best visibility of the bumper to the dog and prevent having them target your hand (or for more sensitive dogs who are more careful not to bite you, it allows them to launch into the game without having to wait for you to release the toy). You always want to hold the 'meat' of your toy- the middle of it, for a firm grip, rather than holding it by the edge. But when you've got this firm grip on the middle of your toy, it means your hand is blocking the view of the toy from some angles. When we choose to use our far hand for mini grab tosses, it allows you to perform this bakchand style toss with your dominant hand,  without blocking the view of your toy at all.   This could feel awkward at first- but remember you aren't buying into this throw forever and are primarly just releasing the toy. I don't want you throwing with your non-dominant hand, so turn your body whichever way you need to in relation to your dog, so that your throwing hand is further away. 

- Using your 'furthest' hand also provides you with the easiest way to watch your dog while they are doing this exercise. You can even turn your feet so you are directly facing your dog if that is easiest to watch. 

If you are using a different type of toy, you'll want to use the same consideration in your holding technique. Can your dog see the majority of the toy based on how you are holding it? 

The holding of the toy in this exercise is a critical aspect and one that most people struggle with but using this style is very helpful -again, even if you will never throw it this way in competiton- and this is because your dog on this small scale needs to be able to see the toy and be motivated to go for it. If your hand is in the way you are either causing them to question if they should be going for it (and generally results in a dog that hesitates instead of really launching for it) or a more mighty dog might just go for it and grab your hand in the process. The other aspect is that when you release the toy, if you've held it as I'm suggesting, the follow throw of your hand doesn't interfere with the dog's view of the toy. Holding it opposite requires that your hand movement will block the view or distract the dog. The dog doesn't have a whole lot of time for hesitations or decisions in this exercise, by design. We want to pattern going for it. So it's really just easiest to practice this 'backhand' motion and use it. I promise we will train you on some actual handler throwing strategies later and by then, you will have a dog who understands the game enough that you will have more options with regards to throw style and hand placement. 

In this clip, I will show you both the 'far hand' preferred method, and the 'near hand' blocking view method. Note that I am using my dominant hand (right hand) in both clips, but I change my body position to make it near or far. You can also see how my feet are positioned, parrallel to the dog's path.

Take a few minutes to practice how you will set your dog up and position yourself, and practice some dog-less throws. It will make it much easier to have a feel for it before adding your dog. Tip: Pretend you are watching your dog while you practice your throws. In my demo video below, I've set up a stuffed dog to help me remember to watch my dog! Try it with a few different types of toys to see how it feels. You can decide with your dog which toy they like best to grab that is also among the easiest for you to throw. I tend to gravitate towards bumpers because they are the easiest to throw, are visible, there are lots of styles, sizes and textures to choose from, and most competition venues use some sort of official bumper for their speciality events. So it seems like good efficiency to use the same type of toy, as long as my dog is also very keen on it.  One of my dogs strongly prefers tennis balls and so I throw those instead. However, a tricky thing about balls is the bounce! - if the dog doesn't time their grab perfectly, the ball shoots off their face in a crazy direction and the chase might be more exciting than what the grab would have been.  So it's a bit of a joint decision based on your dog's preference and your throwing preference. 

When you are working on your mini grabs with your dog, mix these into your toy play at a rate that is comfortable for your dog. Ie - if your dog has very strong toy play skills, you can do more minigrabs in proportion to tugs and fetches. If your dog is working on their toy skills, you'll need to do a higher proportion of play. Don't sacrifice your toy play skills to work on mini-grabs, so prioritize the toy skills until you are ready for this. 

This dog has strong toy play skills - you can see how I am occassionally playing tug and mixing in throws. Sitting and staying is her least favorite- it is work. The mini-grab does reinforce her staying, because she likes that- but I am aware that every time I ask her to stay, I might be punishing her for the previous behavior (brining the toy to me or dropping it)- and so I really try to make sure I'm keeping the happy feelings high during the game. Over time, stays will earn their own happy feelings because they too will start to predict the fun of catching the bumper!