Slow out of the boxes
Oct 15, 2009 7:10:03 GMT 10
Post by Tom Meulman on Oct 15, 2009 7:10:03 GMT 10
Box Breaking
To break a greyhound into the boxes, and actually have a real chance of the dog becoming a really quick box dog, use the following procedure.
• With the lid open and the rear door shut, gently lift the dog backwards into the starting box.
• While holding the dog back in the box with one hand, with the other hand push the stating box lid to almost closed (seek assistance if required). You will find that as you go to shut the lid, the dog will move backwards to the rear door.
• Keep the lid open to about 150 mm (6 inches), placing your left knee on the bottom edge of the lid will assist in this regard, put your right hand under the lid and entice the dog to come forward. Pet it around the face while reassuring the dog, withdraw your hand, and then as gently as possible close the lid.
• Step to the side of the box near the front, and continue to reassure the dog, both with your voice and by tapping your hand on the grill at the base of the lid. Just before the lure gets near the starting box step backwards out of the way.
The first time the dog jumps from the box don’t expect too much as it will most likely almost walk out, and then if you have done all of your previous work correctly, chase the lure keenly around the track.
For the next two trips to the trial track use the same procedure as described in steps one to four above.
The fourth time the dog is to go into the box, use the following procedure.
• Seek the assistance of an experienced person, and preferably someone not known to the dog.
• Close the lid of the starting box, and with you down at the front of the box calling to the dog, have the stranger place the dog in the box through the rear door.
• Call the dog forward to you and when the dog has come forward to the front of the box, step to the side and again reassure the dog with your voice and by again tapping your hand on the grill at the base of the lid. Stepping backwards just before the lure gets to the box, and the box opens.
The fifth time the dog is to go into the box, use the following procedure.
• This time, you, yourself, place the dog into the box through the rear door, and as soon as you have the dog in the box and the door locked, move to the front of the box and call the dog forward.
• Then use the same procedure as previous in reassuring the dog.
All of this is designed to ensure that the dog has no fear of the starting box. It is after all a small tight space, and many dogs will panic the first time they are placed in a starting box, and unless the right procedure is used, will forever retain some of that fear when being boxed.
Under no circumstance, ever be tempted to hold a dog in an open starting box while the lure makes it run up, or slip the dog through an open box after the lure. There is no surer way of creating a bad box dog!! Anyone who advocates that particular method of box breaking a dog, or uses that procedure, has no idea at all of what they are doing.
Correcting Poor Boxing Habits
There will come a time when you have gone through the right procedure, and yet the dog is slow out of the boxes. Or as it often happens, you obtain a greyhound to train that has been poorly educated to the boxes.
Most of the dogs that are slow out of the boxes will do so for one of the following reasons:
• The dog will sit back in the box, and not come forward as the lure makes its run up.
• The dog will wait until the lid has fully opened, and then jump out.
• The dog will place one or both feet on the bottom rail of the starting box lid.
• The dog is hard to get in, and when in, kicks and throws’ itself around.
• The dog scratches at the lid of the box while the lure makes it run up.
With the right type of remedial practice items one to four can generally be corrected, while item number five can be difficult to fix.
The other problem that can occur if a dog has been incorrectly, or poorly educated to the boxes, and that is the dog turns in the boxes as soon as it is placed in from the door at the rear of the box. Again, with the right remedial practice this can be corrected.
There is one final reason for a race dog to jump slowly out of a box that is extremely difficult to correct. In this instance the dog has been hit severely by other greyhounds either during races and/or field trials while jumping from the boxes, and has completely lost confidence.
In this instance refreshing the breaking in procedure, and then running the dog against one or two other dogs in trials several times may restore its confidence.
Methods of Corrective Box Practice
As you can well understand, for a dog to get out of the boxes fast, it needs to be positioned like a runner on the Starting Blocks. In other words, head down, bum up, and all muscles tensed in a forward motion.
There is only one way of getting a dog to do this every time, and that is by convincing the dog, that the only way it can get out of the box is to open it itself, and to open it, it must push the bottom of the box lid with its nose.
If the dog is in the process of doing just that when the lids are released, it will automatically flow under the lid as it rises, and thereby come out as fast as possible.
With a little forethought you can also teach the dog that it is not possible to push the lid open until a certain event takes place. Such as the mechanical noise made by the catch as the lid is released to open.
How do we do this, you may well ask!
In the early 1970’s I was frustrated by one of my greyhounds that had sufficient ability to win his share of races, but unfortunately used to sit back in the starting box, and because of this, would invariably jump out last, and while being quick enough to still run a place, kept getting beaten.
The first idea I came up with was to cut the grill section off the bottom of a single practice box I had at home, and then made up a new very light section of grill, that was then hinged on to the box lid in place of the old grill. I then fixed the catch that held the starting box lid shut, to the lid just above the new grill section.
This meant that while the lid was held shut, the new grill section could move out and open. Then by the by virtue of a series of levers, I rigged the lid catch to release, if pressure was placed on the bottom of the new grill.
Therefore, if a dog placed in the box, pushed with its nose on the bottom of the grill, this would then release the catch and the box would open.
At the time I also had a rotary walking machine installed in my backyard, and after fixing my homemade lure with a length of nylon cord to one of the walking machine arms. I pinned the starting box to the ground in such a position, that when the walking machine was turned on, it would drag the lure past the starting box and then back out of sight, and back past the starting box again, and so on.
I then placed the dog, which box habits I was trying to correct, in the starting box, and turned on the walking machine. I must admit that after standing there watching the dog watching the lure come past for about five circuits. I got sick of the waiting and walked away to go and have a cup of coffee at the house, only to hear the box open and to then see the dog happily bouncing around the walking machine with the lure in its mouth.
Of course I reset the starting box immediately, and went to place the dog in the box, only to have pull out of my hands and run straight into the open starting box. The dog got down, and as soon as the lure came past the box it pushed the lid, bounded out of the box and grabbed the lure again.
From that day on the dog never missed the start again, and did go on to win me around fifteen races. You can teach old dogs new tricks!
The box practice starting box idea evolved from that first attempt, to a starting box now known as the Quick Start Box that is commercially available.
This box while incorporating the idea to teach a dog to push the bottom of the lid to let itself out is designed to bring the dog to this conclusion by a series of lessons, rather than the sink or swim idea used in the first place.
It works in the following manner.
The spring system that opens the lid is adjustable to the extent that the lid may be balanced in several preset positions, and when it is pushed outward by the dog it will fly open.
That will allow you to take the dog through the following practice procedure.
• Set the starting box lid to where it is balanced three quarters open. Place your lure inside the box near the door, and have an assistant move the dog into the rear of the starting box. As soon as the dog goes to move into the box pull the lure out of the box, and the dog automatically tries to follow it by ducking under the door, but cant help but push it open as it does so. Repeat this procedure twice more.
• Set the starting box lid to where it is balanced about halfway open, and repeat the same procedure as for item one.
• Set the starting box lid to where it is only open about 200 mm (8 inches). This time repeat all three practice jumps with the lure being placed in front of the box and pulled away as soon as the dog’s head nears the front of the box. At this time the dog will have learned that the lid can be pushed open easily, and in most instances will simply ignore the lid and just force itself trough.
• Set the starting box lid to where it just rests in a closed position but do not lock the catch down on the box at this time. Again, give the dog at least three practice jumps, by teasing the dog out with the lure in front of the box.
By this time the other thing that should have happened, and that is that the dog should just about jump out of your hands as it is being placed in the starting box, and run in by itself. These box practice sessions have the added benefit of removing any fear the dog may have had about going into a starting box.
Now comes the tricky bit, and that is teaching the dog that the lid can not be pushed open all the time, and will only open after a specific event.
In my own situation I had rigged up about 20 metres of straight rail. With a lure that was spring loaded in the starting position, and could be released at the same time as the starting box lid, and would run past the starting box at a fair speed. This made the task I’m about to describe a little easier.
The next thing to do is to take a tape recorder to a racetrack on trial night, place your tape recorder on the track side of the starting boxes and record:
• Dogs being placed in the boxes
• The lure run up
• And most importantly, the noise the boxes make as they open
• Place your tape recorder beside your box practice starting box ready to turn on a replay the recorded sequence. Next set the starting box lid to where it just rests in a closed position, and lock the box. Have the greyhound ready to place in the box, and place your teaser lure on the left hand side of the box near the lid, with an assistant ready to pull the lure out in front of the box.
Turn on the tape recorder, and when you hear the dogs being placed in the box. You place your greyhound into the box, and be sure to close and lock the door quickly, because the first thing that will happen is that the dog will try and push the lid open, and finding that it cant be done will come backwards immediately.
You will hear the lure run up on the tape, and when you hear the sound of the boxes being opened, unlock the box and have the assistant pull the teaser lure out in front of the box.
The dog may take a few seconds before it actually pushes the lid open and jump out to grab the lure, but if you have done the previous practice session correctly, it will do so. Regardless of how slow the dog comes out of the box at this point in time is of no concern. The most important aspect is that because the dog is pushing the box open as it comes out, it is in fact coming out at the same time as the lid comes up.
• Repeat the practice jumps as described in item 5 until the dog gets it’s timing right, and pushes the lid open as soon as you release the catch.
To break a greyhound into the boxes, and actually have a real chance of the dog becoming a really quick box dog, use the following procedure.
• With the lid open and the rear door shut, gently lift the dog backwards into the starting box.
• While holding the dog back in the box with one hand, with the other hand push the stating box lid to almost closed (seek assistance if required). You will find that as you go to shut the lid, the dog will move backwards to the rear door.
• Keep the lid open to about 150 mm (6 inches), placing your left knee on the bottom edge of the lid will assist in this regard, put your right hand under the lid and entice the dog to come forward. Pet it around the face while reassuring the dog, withdraw your hand, and then as gently as possible close the lid.
• Step to the side of the box near the front, and continue to reassure the dog, both with your voice and by tapping your hand on the grill at the base of the lid. Just before the lure gets near the starting box step backwards out of the way.
The first time the dog jumps from the box don’t expect too much as it will most likely almost walk out, and then if you have done all of your previous work correctly, chase the lure keenly around the track.
For the next two trips to the trial track use the same procedure as described in steps one to four above.
The fourth time the dog is to go into the box, use the following procedure.
• Seek the assistance of an experienced person, and preferably someone not known to the dog.
• Close the lid of the starting box, and with you down at the front of the box calling to the dog, have the stranger place the dog in the box through the rear door.
• Call the dog forward to you and when the dog has come forward to the front of the box, step to the side and again reassure the dog with your voice and by again tapping your hand on the grill at the base of the lid. Stepping backwards just before the lure gets to the box, and the box opens.
The fifth time the dog is to go into the box, use the following procedure.
• This time, you, yourself, place the dog into the box through the rear door, and as soon as you have the dog in the box and the door locked, move to the front of the box and call the dog forward.
• Then use the same procedure as previous in reassuring the dog.
All of this is designed to ensure that the dog has no fear of the starting box. It is after all a small tight space, and many dogs will panic the first time they are placed in a starting box, and unless the right procedure is used, will forever retain some of that fear when being boxed.
Under no circumstance, ever be tempted to hold a dog in an open starting box while the lure makes it run up, or slip the dog through an open box after the lure. There is no surer way of creating a bad box dog!! Anyone who advocates that particular method of box breaking a dog, or uses that procedure, has no idea at all of what they are doing.
Correcting Poor Boxing Habits
There will come a time when you have gone through the right procedure, and yet the dog is slow out of the boxes. Or as it often happens, you obtain a greyhound to train that has been poorly educated to the boxes.
Most of the dogs that are slow out of the boxes will do so for one of the following reasons:
• The dog will sit back in the box, and not come forward as the lure makes its run up.
• The dog will wait until the lid has fully opened, and then jump out.
• The dog will place one or both feet on the bottom rail of the starting box lid.
• The dog is hard to get in, and when in, kicks and throws’ itself around.
• The dog scratches at the lid of the box while the lure makes it run up.
With the right type of remedial practice items one to four can generally be corrected, while item number five can be difficult to fix.
The other problem that can occur if a dog has been incorrectly, or poorly educated to the boxes, and that is the dog turns in the boxes as soon as it is placed in from the door at the rear of the box. Again, with the right remedial practice this can be corrected.
There is one final reason for a race dog to jump slowly out of a box that is extremely difficult to correct. In this instance the dog has been hit severely by other greyhounds either during races and/or field trials while jumping from the boxes, and has completely lost confidence.
In this instance refreshing the breaking in procedure, and then running the dog against one or two other dogs in trials several times may restore its confidence.
Methods of Corrective Box Practice
As you can well understand, for a dog to get out of the boxes fast, it needs to be positioned like a runner on the Starting Blocks. In other words, head down, bum up, and all muscles tensed in a forward motion.
There is only one way of getting a dog to do this every time, and that is by convincing the dog, that the only way it can get out of the box is to open it itself, and to open it, it must push the bottom of the box lid with its nose.
If the dog is in the process of doing just that when the lids are released, it will automatically flow under the lid as it rises, and thereby come out as fast as possible.
With a little forethought you can also teach the dog that it is not possible to push the lid open until a certain event takes place. Such as the mechanical noise made by the catch as the lid is released to open.
How do we do this, you may well ask!
In the early 1970’s I was frustrated by one of my greyhounds that had sufficient ability to win his share of races, but unfortunately used to sit back in the starting box, and because of this, would invariably jump out last, and while being quick enough to still run a place, kept getting beaten.
The first idea I came up with was to cut the grill section off the bottom of a single practice box I had at home, and then made up a new very light section of grill, that was then hinged on to the box lid in place of the old grill. I then fixed the catch that held the starting box lid shut, to the lid just above the new grill section.
This meant that while the lid was held shut, the new grill section could move out and open. Then by the by virtue of a series of levers, I rigged the lid catch to release, if pressure was placed on the bottom of the new grill.
Therefore, if a dog placed in the box, pushed with its nose on the bottom of the grill, this would then release the catch and the box would open.
At the time I also had a rotary walking machine installed in my backyard, and after fixing my homemade lure with a length of nylon cord to one of the walking machine arms. I pinned the starting box to the ground in such a position, that when the walking machine was turned on, it would drag the lure past the starting box and then back out of sight, and back past the starting box again, and so on.
I then placed the dog, which box habits I was trying to correct, in the starting box, and turned on the walking machine. I must admit that after standing there watching the dog watching the lure come past for about five circuits. I got sick of the waiting and walked away to go and have a cup of coffee at the house, only to hear the box open and to then see the dog happily bouncing around the walking machine with the lure in its mouth.
Of course I reset the starting box immediately, and went to place the dog in the box, only to have pull out of my hands and run straight into the open starting box. The dog got down, and as soon as the lure came past the box it pushed the lid, bounded out of the box and grabbed the lure again.
From that day on the dog never missed the start again, and did go on to win me around fifteen races. You can teach old dogs new tricks!
The box practice starting box idea evolved from that first attempt, to a starting box now known as the Quick Start Box that is commercially available.
This box while incorporating the idea to teach a dog to push the bottom of the lid to let itself out is designed to bring the dog to this conclusion by a series of lessons, rather than the sink or swim idea used in the first place.
It works in the following manner.
The spring system that opens the lid is adjustable to the extent that the lid may be balanced in several preset positions, and when it is pushed outward by the dog it will fly open.
That will allow you to take the dog through the following practice procedure.
• Set the starting box lid to where it is balanced three quarters open. Place your lure inside the box near the door, and have an assistant move the dog into the rear of the starting box. As soon as the dog goes to move into the box pull the lure out of the box, and the dog automatically tries to follow it by ducking under the door, but cant help but push it open as it does so. Repeat this procedure twice more.
• Set the starting box lid to where it is balanced about halfway open, and repeat the same procedure as for item one.
• Set the starting box lid to where it is only open about 200 mm (8 inches). This time repeat all three practice jumps with the lure being placed in front of the box and pulled away as soon as the dog’s head nears the front of the box. At this time the dog will have learned that the lid can be pushed open easily, and in most instances will simply ignore the lid and just force itself trough.
• Set the starting box lid to where it just rests in a closed position but do not lock the catch down on the box at this time. Again, give the dog at least three practice jumps, by teasing the dog out with the lure in front of the box.
By this time the other thing that should have happened, and that is that the dog should just about jump out of your hands as it is being placed in the starting box, and run in by itself. These box practice sessions have the added benefit of removing any fear the dog may have had about going into a starting box.
Now comes the tricky bit, and that is teaching the dog that the lid can not be pushed open all the time, and will only open after a specific event.
In my own situation I had rigged up about 20 metres of straight rail. With a lure that was spring loaded in the starting position, and could be released at the same time as the starting box lid, and would run past the starting box at a fair speed. This made the task I’m about to describe a little easier.
The next thing to do is to take a tape recorder to a racetrack on trial night, place your tape recorder on the track side of the starting boxes and record:
• Dogs being placed in the boxes
• The lure run up
• And most importantly, the noise the boxes make as they open
• Place your tape recorder beside your box practice starting box ready to turn on a replay the recorded sequence. Next set the starting box lid to where it just rests in a closed position, and lock the box. Have the greyhound ready to place in the box, and place your teaser lure on the left hand side of the box near the lid, with an assistant ready to pull the lure out in front of the box.
Turn on the tape recorder, and when you hear the dogs being placed in the box. You place your greyhound into the box, and be sure to close and lock the door quickly, because the first thing that will happen is that the dog will try and push the lid open, and finding that it cant be done will come backwards immediately.
You will hear the lure run up on the tape, and when you hear the sound of the boxes being opened, unlock the box and have the assistant pull the teaser lure out in front of the box.
The dog may take a few seconds before it actually pushes the lid open and jump out to grab the lure, but if you have done the previous practice session correctly, it will do so. Regardless of how slow the dog comes out of the box at this point in time is of no concern. The most important aspect is that because the dog is pushing the box open as it comes out, it is in fact coming out at the same time as the lid comes up.
• Repeat the practice jumps as described in item 5 until the dog gets it’s timing right, and pushes the lid open as soon as you release the catch.
