Why do we LOVE flirt poles?

Too cold for a long walk? Exhausted after a long day at work? Limited mobility making it difficult to effectively exercise your dog? This a flirt pole may be a great solution! What exactly is a flirt pole? The flirt pole is like an extra-large cat toy but made for dogs. It consists of a pole with a rope and an unstuffed dog toy on the end.  The flirt pole is a great training toy that comes alive! As you whip and swing the toy around by holding the pole part of the toy, the dog is enticed into a game of chase. As the dog chases the toy, they have to change direction, jump and even get into a full sprint to try and catch the ‘squirrel’(or other catch prize). Be sure to let your dog catch the toy occasionally letting them be fulfilled in the game by winning! After they have celebrated their ‘kill’ be sure the drop it and the play can start again.

 Make your time count with a quick way to burn energy by working your dog’s brain and body. While chasing the squirrel your dog will be physically active and use their brain to plan and try to catch the toy. By working your dog both mentally and physically your dog will be more well-rounded and balanced. The flirt pole provides a safe outlet for natural dog behaviors that can be problematic for human households, like their desire to chase and shake. These are natural behaviors driven by your dog’s instinct. A squeaker located in the head of the unstuffy squirrel toy at the end of the rope is used to trigger their prey drive and build excitement. Using the game of chase and catch as a reward for doing different training behaviors helps build impulse control in high arousal situations making the behaviors stronger than with just treat based training. Using the training behaviors to initiate and resume the game of chase can be an amazing life reward. For example, teaching the dog not to jump or lunge at the toy and to drop it when asked otherwise the game is over, offers a pain free consequence.  Flirt poles are a favorite amongst our families with small children. It helps the children play with the dog while keeping a safe distance between them (The dog should be trained on the rules of the toy prior to children playing and adults should always supervise dog and children interactions). The flirt pole made here at Terric Canines are durable and provide a chase radius of 5.5 feet (plus your arms reach). The flirt pole gives the dog an outlet to chase but not to tug or chew therefore they should not have free access to the flirt pole, and it needs to be put away when not actively playing with a human.