Working through teeter fear?

Does anyone have some good resources or suggestions? I've never dealt with teeter issues before.



Background: We have started Hank with wobble boards and tippy plank type stuff and that went just fine. He did the bang game from the side of the teeter fine. It wasn't till this week that we have realized that he is somewhat nervous about the teeter. We were asking for contact behaviors at the end of the teeter (with it dropping just a few inches). He will bang it down then jump off as fast as possible. At first we thought he was just wild but after some time realized he is not wanting to stay put on the teeter. I think he is mildly unsure but it may be lack of understanding criteria and thinking he should just jump and bang it down. Generally he is a very fearless dog who flings himself at everything.



So I am not sure where to go from here. I think I will have to build or buy something to work on outside of classes. I just want to go at a very slow pace and make things fun for him. Do you think I can get by with a smaller teeter? The full size ones are super expensive! Right now the only 'contact obstacle' I have is a contact training plank.

What is the contact behavior you are asking him for?

I'm doing a 2 on 2 off for contacts with him.

Just a thought because it worked for Gusto, but I switched him to a fou on for his teeter when he started showing some signs of stress. He's light enough that the 2 on 2 off allowed a lot of bounce when the teeter hit. Allowing him to keep all four feet on until released improved his teeter performance about 80%.

I do 4 on for the teeter as well.... I think the weight being farther back makes the ride down a little easier for the dog.

Do you have a tip assist? Or maybe use a table with padding. I found they don't bang as hard with those vs the floor and it seems to help with training. It also helps with 4 on bc there isn't a floor right there.

At least that has been working well for us.

I do four on the teeter as well---maybe he was bounced funny doing two on two off and is now a little unsure of it.

I'd play "elevator" games (I think that's what they call it?) where you hold the end of the teeter up and practice having him run to the end and you slowly move it up and down while he stays on. Keep doing the bang game.

Honestly, I think too that switching his contact criteria will help--especially if he was doing bang game and other things with no issues before.

I made a teeter and it wasn't terribly expensive and it was pretty easy! I think you could get away with a smaller one---but it still won't be the same sensation as a full sized teeter.

If the issue is criteria... this is how I handle that issue. Our problem was launching off the A-frame, but same difference (assuming no anxiety).

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What I've been doing with Sam is essentially working the teeter backwards. So I put a table underneath the end that is normally up (the teeter is lowered) and I've just been having him go down it that way. It still moves a little bit but it's not as drastic and it seems to be helping him.