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DIY Dog Flirt Pole
Give Your Dog The Exercise She Needs
Being disabled is a real pain, and very frustrating, and nowhere is it more disheartening than being confined to a walker or needing a pole to assist with balance.
Obviously, it's going to be really difficult to give your service dog in training the much needed exercise to make it possible for her to listen to you, learn how to be your companion and assistant.
If she's bouncing off the walls, make this DIY Flirt Pole so you can play outdoors and give her some exercise. Even if you can't walk, this is a game you can play from a sitting position.
Make a smaller version and teach quiet play indoors, and start 'drop' training where your puppy learns to let go of the flirt, so the fun can start again.
Here's how I made a simple and really effective toy that keeps my puppy occupied and active for ten to twenty minutes at a time, and also gives me some exercise too - at least, upper body and arms!
I had a remnant of left over 'pleather' or plastic leather, the same kind that restaurant seating is made of - it's easy to clean, can be sewn and shaped into banquette seats, or stools. The piece I have is purple, which was purely by chance. Turns out, dogs can see only a few of the colors we take for granted, and one of them is purple.
The piece of pleather was about 20" x 14", but it's not necessary to have an exact size.
As you can see in the picture below, the lines indicate where to cut.
DIY Dog Flirt Pole, cutting diagramThe other supplies are a piece of sturdy string (I had parachute cord on hand) and a stick. As I was going to be using the flirt in my walker in a sitting position, a short stick about 25-30" long will work, and fortunately I had just the thing, and it already had a hole drilled in one end.
I threaded the one end of the parachute cord through the hole in the stick and tied it off firmly. The other end was threaded through the middle of the pleather - I tied all the 'legs' together to form a tube.
Another advantage to using something like pleather is that when puppy catches it (it's only fair that they succeed occasionally) it's very satisfying for them to chew on it. It is tough, and can take it.
Then let the games begin!
I have also seen flirt poles made with strips of leather or fake fur, attached to a lunge whip that you would use for training horses.
Whichever method you use to make your flirt, keep in mind that it's going to take a lot of abuse.
It's only fair to let your puppy catch it once in a while, which makes the perfect opportunity to teach the 'give' cue.
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