Dog Training - Playing Soccer

Geller, Tamar, and Jonathan Grotenstein. 30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog: the Loved Dog Method. Gallery Books, 2011.

12/17/17

Dogs and soccer are my two passions in life, so when I found a chapter on playing soccer with your dog, I knew I had to try it. I know she won't be able to bend it like Beckham, but teaching her how to swat the ball into a designated area will hopefully be an attainable goal. Marcy has a short attention span, but when treats are involved, she will most likely stay focused on the task at hand. 

To start off, Geller (author of 30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog) states, "Many dogs will instinctively understand the game - kick around a soccer ball for a few seconds and gently pass it to your dog" (Geller 269). Most dogs will learn from mirroring actions. As I lightly tapped on the soccer ball a few times, I held a treat out in my hand so that she would remain attentive. I later tapped the ball over to Marcy. I held the treat near the "goal." On the first time around, Marcy would leave the ball and go straight for the treat. I would then have to hide it and point to the ball. At some point, I had to slowly dribble the ball into the "goal" a few times and show her the treat at the end. 


Geller had later mentioned that it would help to have a clearly defined line for the goal. I set a colorful ribbon on the floor as the goal and started the process over. It still took a few tries for Marcy to grasp the idea of touching the soccer ball forward, but eventually she was able to swat at the ball enough times to get it over the line. As soon as she reached the goal, I rewarded her with a treat. I had her practice going through the goal several times before moving on. 

"As he begins to understand what you're asking him to do, slowly increase the distance he's got to roll the ball in order to get a reward" (Geller 269). I began starting her at a further distance from the goal, guiding her along the way so she would stay on the right track. She would often miss where the goal was located, so I used the treat to guide her instead. When she finally found the goal, I rewarded her with the treat immediately. But if she tried going for the treat while leaving the ball, I had to take it away immediately so she knew that only the ball getting over the line would get her a reward. Similarly to my previous post, I tried putting her in different rooms (like how I had given Marcy different targets) so she wouldn't get used to only doing the drill in one specific environment. 

Overall, the pace of her learning wasn't very surprising. I expected her to take quite a while to get the hang of it, but hopefully in the future she will start catching on a little sooner. She learned to play a fun activity that I could enjoy as well and do alongside her. She also learned how to work towards a fixed goal to earn a reward. This can later translate into her learning how to go to a certain place when I tell her. In my opinion, patience is key when teaching your dog new things. 

What do you think is key to teaching your dog (or anyone for that matter) something new?
If you don't play soccer, what other sports do you think you could teach your dog?
At what pace does your dog usually learn things at?