# How soon for the stick?



## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Hi all,

Curious at what age do some of you introduce the stick to the pup. In the Leerburg tapes, he's doing this quite early, obviously petting the dog with it.

I also notice that many use the French clatter sticks. Seems to be a good distraction. Anyone use those? Wait till they're older?

Any good source for these clatter sticks or do people make their own from bamboo?

Thanks a lot!


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

Ted White said:


> Curious at what age do some of you introduce the stick to the pup. In the Leerburg tapes, he's doing this quite early, obviously petting the dog with it.


I pretty much start using the stick as soon as I start playing tug with a pup. I say pretty much because I can't swear that the first time I play with a pup I ALWAYS have a stick in my hand, but if not the first usually the second 



> I also notice that many use the French clatter sticks. Seems to be a good distraction. Anyone use those? Wait till they're older?


The clatter stick is what I start my pups out with. Well that and plastic bottles filled with rocks, pool noodles, the Sch stick, anything I can hit/stroke their body with while playing tug with them. 

This is my pup Nexxus (now 9 months) at 4 months old in an FR seminar. I'd used pool noodles, rock jugs, etc with her, this is actually the first time she'd ever seen a clatter stick though, because I gave all of mine to my decoy and hadn't bought more yet. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjQb99Kbtpk



> Any good source for these clatter sticks or do people make their own from bamboo?


You can purchase them pre-made from quite a few equipment vendors, but if you can find the bamboo they are also VERY easy to make. 

Note: the directions below are for at home use, there are specific rules for batons used in FR competition, regarding how many times it should be split, how long it should be, etc. 

Just get some bamboo from a lawn/garden supply place, Pier One Imports, etc. You can get longer pieces then cut them down in size. I like a stick that's about 2.5-3 feet long. How thick it is, is also personal preference. I like a piece of bamboo that fits comfortably in my hand, but has a reasonably thin "wall", that way it will flair and clatter really easily. Cut it to length, then tape one end of it for the handle. You can use anything from duct tape to vet wrap to the stuff they put on bicycle handle bars. Take a sharp knife and split the bamboo starting at the non-handle end. I like to split it 6 ways, for easier "flair". Once again, pesonal preference, I've seen them split 4 ways, and others 8 ways. The easiest way I have found to split it is to put a knife blade against the end of the bamboo and use a hammer to slowly tap it down into the bamboo. This splits it slowly so you don't oversplit it into the handle.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Another great answer from Kadi! I'll make my own, then.


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## Amber Scott Dyer (Oct 30, 2006)

when trying to cut your own bamboo, it's not so easy to gauge the diameter of the plant while it's live and standing in front of you. (I, obviously, am not as smart as Kadi, and didn't think to actually BUY it - oh, no - I sent my husband down the street with a machete :lol: ) We came home and cut it up, and ended up with pieces that were either thin as a switch or big around as my wrist. So I didn't even try to dry it and split it, I just put it on the curb for the trashguy. Way too much work for something I can buy on the net for $15. 

I know Jerry and Matt tried to do the same thing, I don't know whether they had any success or not.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

I think you buy and split dried bamboo, no?


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## Amber Scott Dyer (Oct 30, 2006)

the drying is very easy if you can find bamboo of the right size to make a stick with. just cut it and let it dry in the sun.


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## Greg Leavitt (Aug 31, 2006)

Just buy a cheap bamboo garden lantern, cut the ties that hold the jug for the citronella oil and your in business. Mine cost my 1.08 to make and took about 2 mins to construct.

On another note I introduce my puppies to the clatter stick whip padded stick and gunfire usually around 6-8 weeks.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Whip... another item for the list. Is this a cool home made item also?


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

LOL When I'm selecting Bamboo I just grab it. How does it feel in your hand? Is it comfortable to grip, to small, can barely get your hand around it, etc? Even when you get it pre-dried at the store it's important to find pieces that are the right diameter for you.

I'm not sure how much it changes in size if you cut it fresh then dry it. I do know most of the people that do this let it dry before they split it. The problem I've had with bamboo I dried myself was that it seemed more brittle than stuff I bought at the store, the sticks didn't last nearly as long.

Kadi


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## Greg Leavitt (Aug 31, 2006)

I agree Kadi that the bamboo mut feel right in your hand. You of the best sticks I made recently happend to be pink made from a 99 cent garden lantern.

Ted a homeade whip well I am still working on that one, would love to figure it out though. On that note I am off to go to the hardware store and try and get inspired of how to make a whip


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Whip it good, Greg!! Please let us know. Looking at pictures, it seems to be a short stick, maybe a swivel at the top(?) then an length of rawhide. Seems there is a small length of thinner material on the very tip.

That's all I can offer. Good luck, man!


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## Greg Leavitt (Aug 31, 2006)

Ya usually a 24 in stick with a 30 inch chap leather drop with a popper made of a heavy string on the end.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Is that what a popper is? I saw whip sellers mentioning extra poppers.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

If you can make the "body" of the whip, you can purchase poppers at almost any horse supply place that sells English equipment. I haven't tried it but I would think a stick of some sort with a long piece of leather on the end would work fine, just attach the popper. They are cheap, almost not worth the effort of trying to make them yourself although I'm sure they can be made pretty easily.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

need the long leather. Not sure where to get some locally. Maybe an arts / crafts store?


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Ted: Unless you like to make them, you can get all kinds of whips for under $20. I order them from this place: http://www.fordogtrainers.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=77


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Hi Susan, Thanks a lot for that. Actually, I do like making these sorts of things. Not whips in general, mind you...


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## Chris Duhon (May 24, 2007)

Ted,
I introduce the stick and whip as soon as possible. When I'm outside doing things around the kennel, I might just grab it for a second and walk over here to get the hose and shake the clatter stick as I'm walking to get the hose, then put it down, and continue with my business, I first approach the clatter stick as if it is nothing just something in the enviroment, and no big deal, thats why I start off just shaking it around while in the process of doing my duties outside. Then as they start to play tug I gently rub them all over with the stick. Then go from there. I start with the clatter stick because if they have no problems with that most likely they won't with any other kind of just static stick. I always pop a whip around feeding time, or also when just outside doing nothing, they get so decsensitized to it very early. 

~CHRIS


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Watched Bernard Flinks on dvd today. He has a great puppt fishing pole with rag on end. anyone know the dimentions of that deal? Seems to actually be a fishing pile, maybe with the last 12" cut off?


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Ted White said:


> Watched Bernard Flinks on dvd today. He has a great puppt fishing pole with rag on end. anyone know the dimentions of that deal? Seems to actually be a fishing pile, maybe with the last 12" cut off?


What worked best for me was actually a carriage whip or a longe whip. You can add to or cut off the end of the whip to make it an effective length. Then tie the rag to the end. I tried a fishing pole and it didn't work as well for me. You can buy whips at any tack shop or at Tractor Supply (where I bought mine).


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Thanks Connie! That's just a small piece of leather on the end?


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I am very particular about my whips, I have tried maybe 20 different whips and I only like 2 of them. one is a modified Gappay whip (the cord replaced with leather from another whip) and the EuroJoe whip that I don't see on their online store, its a stick with some kind of blue and black shrinkwrap tubing around it and a leather strip and a nice loud popper on the end.

I despise the "schutzhund stick and whip combo" sticks, and I really don't care for the transparent sticks with the golfclub handles like Ray Allen sells, theres just not enough weight behind it to get a loud deep pop.

Clatter sticks I can get for $10, unless you enjoy trying to make things, I'd rather spend the $10! I prefer a clatter stick over a Sch stick for pups, and I would start immediately with it if I actually had a stick right now. I traded my clatter stick for a gappay whip because the guy that had it couldn't crack it due to wrist problems. I never got around to replacing it


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

Ted White said:


> Thanks Connie! That's just a small piece of leather on the end?


The popper on the end of the leather is a string, its hard to explain it online but I've made really nice poppers out of thin string, dont know the type or where its from since someone gave it to me, but its like $3 for enough to last you years.


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Ted White said:


> Thanks Connie! That's just a small piece of leather on the end?





Mike Schoonbrood said:


> The popper on the end of the leather is a string, its hard to explain it online but I've made really nice poppers out of thin string, dont know the type or where its from since someone gave it to me, but its like $3 for enough to last you years.


Just to be clear, I was referring to Ted's question about the "puppy fishing pole" and not his questions regarding the whip (for popping). I assumed he was talking about doing prey-work with his pup in this post. So, the leather on the end is a rag. Its around dish-towel size or smaller - you can buy one on-line or make one yourself. http://www.leerburg.com/784.htm Or, you can just use a regular towel. The towels don't hold up as well as the leather, but they otherwise work the same. I've also tied tugs or other toys to the end of the whip too.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

May sound odd, but I'm going to look into the whip building thing a bit. I like building things, and after hearing Mike's thoughts, it's clear that there are a lot of personal preferences that could be accomodated if you modified them yourself.

Are most whips a derivation of a horse / buggy whip? That a good place to start?


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Anyone know the dimentions of that prey training "fishing pole" Flinks uses? Length of the pole specifically?


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## Amanda Layne (Aug 9, 2006)

Ted White said:


> Anyone know the dimentions of that prey training "fishing pole" Flinks uses? Length of the pole specifically?


I dont know the dimensions, but these are REALLY easy to make. Go to Home Depot, get a piece of PVC pipe that fits easily into your hand. They will even cut it for you, I think I had it cut into 3 foot sections. Get some grip tape like for a tennis racquet. Wrap the grip tape on one end. Drill a hole on the other end, all the way through the PVC. Tie a string/rope through it, and attach a shammee (sp?) like you would use for a car to the other end. Works great.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

What I liked about Bernards was the flex on the end of the pole. Like a fishing pole has. Allowed for a realistic movement of that prey.


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I know someone that uses what I think is called a Lunge Whip for horses with a rag on the end.


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## Amanda Layne (Aug 9, 2006)

A lunge whip would work great...It is long enough, and has a flex to it just like he was talking about. They arent to expensive either.


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## Ian Forbes (Oct 13, 2006)

Ted,

If you google 'flirt pole' you should get some ideas of dimensions and how to make them.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Hey Ian,

Great idea, thanks. A quick look around gives basically two camps: Rigid poles like a broomstick and a fexible pole like a hip or electrical conduit.

Seems like a 5' piece of something that had a bit of flex would be best for this. Electrical conduit seems like a good idea, being a thin-walled pipe that would flex. Maybe 3/4"-1".


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