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Frothing at mouth and flirt pole time

Discussion in 'Sports & Activities' started by RedRiot, Nov 29, 2016.

  1. RedRiot

    RedRiot Pup

    Recently discovered my girl is obsessed with the flirt pole and will froth excessively at the mouth while chasing it, the temperature outside is around 5 degrees celcius this time of year, frost on the ground and everything so she's not over heating. Anything to be concerned about? We will typically flirt pole for 15 minutes, head over to a stream to get a drink, play fetch at a full out sprint for 15 minutes, drink again, flirt pole again, drink and then fetch again. We're out for about an hour during this time non stop full steam ahead action but only froths at the mouth while chasing the flirt pole not while playing fetch, is she just really into it?

    Another thing is I've never seen anyone advise more than 15 minutes on the flirt pole until a few days ago where I read someone say go until the dog begins to lose interest or you can see signs of exhaustion. My girl easily goes for half an hour non stop using the flirt pole, honestly she could probably go for 1 hour but I max her out at half an hour. What's your take on the maximum time for flirt pole use? Keep it to a certain time frame or keep going til the dog's had enough?

    And yes, I have used the search feature and found nothing ;)
     
  2. NatureBoy

    NatureBoy Big Dog

    She's a good girl!!! No reason to worry. I would cut back on the workload before she hurts herself.
    Do your routine with her for 6 weeks and send her my way ;).
     
  3. Davefre

    Davefre Pit fanatic

    The frothing at the mouth should stop after a few weeks. Hopefully she is no too obese as she could be straining herself. The froth around the mouth is basically her burning internal fat. The fact that she is frothing means she has some fat to burn. Just my oipinion.
     
    pitbulld0gs likes this.
  4. pitbulld0gs

    pitbulld0gs Top Dog Staff Member

    Ive heard everything from they are well hydrated to they are licking toads (slime mouth is a bit different) lol. I agree it's belly fat being burned and you can fix the frothing by adding a piece of toast which helps slow the burning process, i know it sounds crazy but it works.
     
  5. Is it ok to give the dog a drink during its work out?.....
     
  6. wicked13

    wicked13 CH Dog

    They might vomit
     
    Soze the killer and pitbulld0gs like this.
  7. pitbulld0gs

    pitbulld0gs Top Dog Staff Member

    Yeah, no food or water until the dog has cooled down and recovered some. Make sure the dog is hydrated well before the work starts and always flush the dog out, hand walking about a mile usually does it for me. Maybe go back to a short hand walk for the cool down, once you get done with that, rub the dog down some, trust me, it helps in more ways than one and by then, the dog will be ready for water and feed.
     
    Soze the killer likes this.
  8. Thanks....not good!
     
  9. Thanks.it makes sense...lol in the old Colby keep he say something like give the dog all the water it needs when your exercising it,but none after the work out!....lol come along way since then ay?.....
     
    pitbulld0gs likes this.
  10. palooka

    palooka Big Dog

    personally i don't think a dog frothing up while working has anything to do with internal fat, its just sweat from working hard when not fit
     
  11. slim12

    slim12 Super Moderator Staff Member

    If it is a true frothing the dog is close to running hot. Nothing wrong with that. The dog is approaching an envelope and over the course of extended exercise the time between go and froth will get further and further apart.

    Some saliva build up and some froth around the cheek/sides of the mouth is normal during flirt poling. She is running with her mouth open wanting to bite what she is chasing.

    I would never run her til she is no longer interested. A couple times like that and she could very well give it up forever. It is always best to stop when she wants in the most. As her conditioning improves the times will lengthen and the time between 'sets' will shorten.

    I'm not so sure about the froth being a true indicator of burning fat other than it comes from hard/intense exercise which naturally is burning fat. Sort of like saying the dog worked really hard and was breathing heavily. The amount of calories burned by breathing heavily is nothing in comparison to the amount from the hard work. But I guess there is a link between the two.

    The water would be all about timing. After an intense session I would let her walk out some before hitting the stream. If she is properly hydrated prior to the work then the water is more for cooling than hydration. Let her lap but when she pulled her head up the first time pull her back and continue as normal. If she is worked up and really hot and the stream is immediate there could be some vomiting involved but she would have to be really hot, drink a lot of water and then go into another really intense work out immediately after drinking. The true variables would be the dogs conditioning level (which if you are doing this on the regular she should be fine) and the outside temperature. With frost on the ground (5C) there is a lot of room for error with pushing the dog to where heat is a factor. Some of the froth could be her hot breath and the cold/wet air.

    And finally, the flirt pole is the single best conditioning tool on the planet. If a dog will go after it for hours on end (per se) it will out perform any of the other tools in the shed. Anytime a dog will do hard work with all four feet on the ground he/she is ahead of the game.

    S
     
    Red Rover, Sleep, Davefre and 5 others like this.
  12. Brilliant read slim 12...very informative..how big should the rope be on the flirt pole?and how big should the pole be it self?.......
     
  13. palooka

    palooka Big Dog

    a cheap lunge whip will do the job
     
    DISCOIII likes this.
  14. wicked13

    wicked13 CH Dog

    Be cheap buy the right size pvc pipe from home Depot gets some rope and something to tie to the end. I used to use half filled 2lt bottles on the end .. and your good to go for a few bucks
     
  15. c_note

    c_note CH Dog

    Hard to follow behind a slim post /:) buuuuut

    I do like Slim. If i run across a lil water from rain or when a neighbor is washing the car I let em sip. Maybe 5-6 laps and we off. Fighters get water during fights and you drink water during training. My Sensei gave us an out loud count of 5.

    Flirt pole should be 5-6+ feet imo. You can whip it further and snatch it when it is fully cast.
     
    Soze the killer likes this.
  16. slim12

    slim12 Super Moderator Staff Member

    For me, I try to make it as long as I can maneuver. I have one that is about 10 ft. PVC pipe with about a two foot piece of 1/8th inch cord and a piece of 1" cotton rope with a knot on each end )similar to a dog chew toy). I have another that is one of those fiberglass whip antenanas. It is like 8ft.

    I use to have a 40X60 dog pen and I could take the dogs off lead and just flirt the crap out of them. (But like all dumbasses I made a breeding and filled that one up with more dogs.) I could get them to really open up in a large circle and then cut back and forth, stopping and starting, change of direction. It worked perfectly.

    I am now forced to use the flirt pole with them on a cable tie. We live in the woods and there is no telling when a squirrel and/or rabbit might happen by and they would be more appealing to the dog. It would be off to the races and my fast days are behind me.

    For me, the bigger the area the flirt pole can cause the dog to cover the better.

    S
     
    Davefre, Soze the killer and DISCOIII like this.
  17. Thanks for your opinion palooka,wicked13,c,note,slim12.I haven't a clue lol.slim12 do you think 50x30ft would be good room for this activity?...I thought more the size of a box?...as I said,I haven't a clue lol:-?......
     
    bks likes this.
  18. oldguy

    oldguy CH Dog

    The last flirt pole I used was an 8 foot gardening cane, I bought a pack of 6 from a local hardware store, the type you'd use to support sunflowers and other tall plants, cheap to buy and disposable too, tied a couple of feet of parachute cord onto the end of the cane and duck tape around it, The pound shop (dollar store in USA) always sells furry dog toys, usually with a squeaker inside.. I cut out the squeaker and put it in my back pocket for later use, then attached the fur toy to the para cord on the end of the cane.

    Close to where I lived there was a wide open grass area next to the sea shore, I could see people coming from miles away.. First I'd work my dog on grass to get his motor running, then move onto the beach and I blew him apart.. When the session was almost finished I'd take him back onto the grass and let him catch the toy.. I'd take out the squeaker from my pocket, press it as he chewed the toy, it drove him crazy and it kept him keen until next time. 15 minutes on the soft sand wrecked me and I wasn't working as hard as any dog, but after a while we both were in pretty good shape.. If I saw thick white froth around the dog's mouth, or I felt his wheels were coming off, I just stopped the session, flushed his mouth with fresh water, walked him to cool down, then we'd go again.. Flirt pole was my favourite exercise 100%
     
    Soze the killer likes this.
  19. slim12

    slim12 Super Moderator Staff Member

    That is plenty of room.

    I like to get the dog to open up in as big a circle as I can swing the pole. I spin around almost to get a 'lap or so' and then change direction. Then back and forth, start and stopping. The change in direction and the bursts of output is an awesome tool.

    I wish I still had the option to use the pen.

    S
     
    Soze the killer likes this.
  20. Great method.love reading your info old guy thanks.have you worked many dogs like that old guy?and what other methods would you use if you did not have access to a mill?........
     

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