Cascadia Treibball Club

NATE Balls N Order Game

Posted on by Lorene

NATE has introduced a new game this year! Called Balls N Order, the game has dogs pushed balls in a specific order. The first team has titled in this game and here’s one of their videos.

Here’s the description from NATE:

In the Balls in Order Game the dog must bring in the balls in a predetermined order based on color or number. The same distances are used for this game but the number of balls and formation is different. Levels for the Balls N Order Game are as follows:

Novice level uses four balls set in a diamond. Standard course time is 2 minutes 30 seconds. 

Intermediate level uses six balls set in a diamond. Standard course time is 3 minutes 30 seconds. 

Advanced level uses eight balls set in a diamond with three rows. Standard course time is 5 minutes. 

Master level uses nine balls set in a diamond with three rows. Standard course time is 5 minutes. 

Try Treibball contest

Posted on by Lorene

We want you to TRY TREIBBALL! We are giving away one working spot at our September 14, 2019 Intro to Treibball Workshop in Gresham, Oregon in our Instagram contest.

To enter:⠀

  • Follow @cascadiatreibball on Instagram⠀
  • Share a post on your Instagram account telling us why you want to try treibball with the hashtag #trytreibball and mention @cascadiatreibball⠀
  • Visit our contest post and get a bonus entry for every friend you tag on that post. One tag per comment.⠀ ⠀

*Giveaway ends August 8, 2019 9pm PST. Travel not included. Instagram account must be public. Subject to availability. Per Instagram rules, this promotion is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Instagram, Inc. By entering, entrants confirm that they are 13+ years of age, 

Measuring Your Dog’s Height

Posted on by Lorene

Dog height is measured at the withers, which is the highest point of the shoulder blade. On a thick coated dog like Koda, you may need to compress the fur to get a more accurate measurement. Here we are using a yard stick which you can pick up in the paint department of big box home improvement stores.

Koda’s height is measured to be 20.5″. He’ll use a 55cm ball based on the NATE size chart.

Wikihow has an alternative method for measuring using a marking on a wall.

Herding Commands

Posted on by Lorene Voskinarian

You can use any voice or hand commands you like for treibball, but it’s common for many handlers to use traditional herding commands. Here’s a few that you may want to try out:

come bye – around the ball clockwise. Hint: remember the “c” in come by is for clockwise

away or away to me – around the ball counter or anti clockwise. Hint: remember the “a” in away is for anticlockwise.

get back or get out – sends the dog further out or to a ball further away from the handler

lie down – dog stops. Laying down is not required.

walk on – move in a straight line to the next ball

that’ll do – work is done and dog returns to handler

Here’s an example of some of these commands in action with sheep. Just note that when he talks about left and right he’s talking about the dog’s left and right.

Choosing the right ball for your dog

Posted on by Lorene Voskinarian

Fitness balls come in a range of sizes and selecting the right ball for your dog is important. NATE and ATA specify ball sizing by dog height at the shoulders/chest. If you don’t know your dog’s height check our post on how to measure.

Photo of 6 different sized fitness balls
(Photo: Lorene Voskinarian)

NATE rules provide a range of ball sizes based on heightt.

CLASSDOG HEIGHTBALL SIZEBALL SIZE ALLOWABLE RANGE
Mini 9” (22.5 cm) & under 25 cm18 cm (7 inches) up to 30cm (11.5inches)
** lighter weight balls may be used
X-SmallOver 9”(22.9 cm) up to
14” (35.5 cm)		 35 cm 30 cm (11.5 inches) up to 40cm (15.75 inches)
SmallOver 14” (35.5 cm) up to
18” (45.7cm)		 45 cm40 cm (15.75 inches) up to 50 cm (19.75 inches)
MediumOver 18” (45.7 cm) up to
22” (55.8 cm)		 55 cm 50 cm (19.75 inches) up to 60cm (23.5 inches)
 LargeOver 22” up to 26” 65 cm 60 cm (23.5 inches) up to 70cm (27.5 inches)
 X-Large Over 26” (66 cm) 75 cm 70 cm (27.5 inches) up to 80cm (31.5 inches)

American Treibball Association says the ball should be at the dog’s shoulder/chest level and recommends the following ball sizing

21.5″ = 75 cm (Giant Breeds)

19.1″ = 65 cm (Large Breeds)

17.5″ = 55 cm (Medium Breeds)

15.5″ = 45 cm (Small Breeds)

13″ and under = 35 cm (Toy Breeds) use kid’s play balls from the toy section of any retailer.

Advice on Adding Distance from Hannah Branigan

Posted on by Lorene

In a recent episode of Hannah Branigan’s podcast Drinking From the Toilet, she discusses adding distance to your behaviors. It’s not specifically about treibball, but the same skills apply to building your distance when sending your dog out to a target or to go out to a ball.