Why the Jenny?

[EWO]

The flirt pole is a great conditioner as well, especially for the dogs that go nuts over the object on the other end. Like all conditioning activities and conditioning tools one must look at what the dog will be doing in competition. The people version would be 'sport specific' training. This concept can be applied to the dogs as well. The dog sees what he wants and explodes after it with all he has targeting his bite to a moving object. Sounds a lot like like scratching to a hold or swapping one hold for another. The flirt pole can lead to what is called a fast mouth dog. The changing of direction, all out one way and in a blink all out the other. This mimics the swapping of a hold or defensive posturing. These movements are bursts, fast twitch muscle fiber, going from all out to nothing (or at least it appears nothing as they focus to move but every fiber of their being is focused on biting what is on the end of the string) which mimics a flurry. And the last it teaches the coordination to bite the intended target. The hardest, fastest mouth is worth nothing if it dives in and comes up with carpet in his mouth. And for me, and the most important, his feet is on the ground and he is not only supporting his body weight but he is changing his direction and propelling that weight forward or whatever direction the target travels.
The Jenny follows suit with the idea of the best conditioners are the ones that keep the dogs feet on the ground. His scratch or his push or his driving is done carrying/propelling his own body weight plus some of the weight of the opponent. On show night the floor will not spin out from under him and propel him into a hold or a deep defensive position. He must do that on his own and it is better for him to be prepared to do so in the same format. Basically when on the ground the dog is always under load in every thing he does, where as the slat mills, especially the really nice ones, he is just keeping up with the belt. There is nothing wrong with a slat mill but if it is so free that there is slack in the chain hook-up there is a lot of wasted motion. If a slat mill is used there should be tension on the chain as the dog is propelling at least part of his weight forward. I personally prefer the carpet mill over the slat mill but that is an entirely different subject.
The first Jenny I ever saw was in the mountains of NC. It was a turn table made out of square steel tubing. The table must have been a 10 or 12 footer. There were two arms that could be added to opposite sides that converted the table to a Jenny in just a few minutes. It was nice. He had a male that could make the arms look like helicopter rotors. That dog could move. The next best one was hidden right in the middle of a horse farm. This place had a motorized horse walker. Kids were learning to ride horses. Horses were put on it for daily exercise. At night the chain was taken off the motor and it was used by the dogs. That is the biggest drawback to the Jenny is its size. The bigger the better but it takes up a ton of room and with that much room, for most, that is very little privacy.
The first Jenny I saw used counterweights on the opposite arm but also had differing lengths of chain to drag for resistance. I built one similar to that one with a table some years back. I liked it a lot and thought the dogs worked it rather well. The key is to start them off young getting the accustom to chasing something they want. I liked the turntable on it as well. Back then we lived on the end of a dirt road with no one around at all. The land leading to us was developed and somethings can't be explained away to the neighbors. So I traded in the jenny and stuck to the carpet mills, hand walking and explosion work. Those can be a lot more private. EWO

[CYJ]

I did not know I was doing it at the time till the round table was complete. I used a older model positive traction Pontiac rear end axle. I put it in the ground deep enough so that when you sat down by the table. It was running just a little under knee high. Running lower to the ground the dogs were much more comfortable and not afraid of falling off the table. I was lucky that it had no bounce problems but run real steady.

Mine was a 16 foot table covered in thick cotton felt well padded but not over padded. I left all the hog head gears/shaft on both ends intact. So when the table revolved all those gears were turning. I made sure all seals were sealed and full of oil with all bearings tight and greased.

What I ended up with was a table that turned no faster than the dog was running. Dog sped up it sped up at same rate of pace and slowed down the same. Never over ran the dog. It was sort of like a Small Jenny with the right amount of Treadmill drag combo.

One other thing I did on this round table was place the overhead pulling beam one foot forward of the center of table. Had three different hook up points to get the dog running in what I called the sweet spot. As dog tired would fall back to center of table and not into the back of it.

My Jenny was a full 80 feet long. Built a soft mulch track and placed some piles of saw dust at the four corners of the circle. When a dog wanted to run to fast would hit those piles and bog down. A few times of this they would settle down and do a nice fast coyote dog trot.

The type Flirt pole work I did was off a overhead cable that was about 75 to 100 ft long attached to two high over head trees. Would give and pull back slowly like a Large deep sea fishing pole. Would flirt dog up and down and do some ahead pulling against the cable. I did use a well made pulling harness. Did not work off a collar have seen vein and artery infection/inflammation done to the neck and throat area.

The outside weather always played a major part of what I used and noted what the dog worked the best. Did have a well made slat mill but seldom used it. Still have to walk them in between cycles of work. If one can get in some AM walking is a plus.

I tried to do a hard day one not as hard second day and easier day third day and then a Rest day. The flirt work being the hardest. The Table next and the Jenny third. Nothing was written in stone. The Weather could play a big part of what one could do. I tried to be prepared for what the situation called for.

Another way to make a swing jenny beam is find some one who sells those small section CB radio towers. The smaller sizes are three pipes welded in a triangle bridge. Came in ten foot sections. Just a thought. Could save a lot of time trying to weld up one or make one like a suspension bride with cables. Good Luck. Just another crazy story of old history and some entertainment.

[EWO]

The flirt pole is excellent cardio work. Anything that provokes a dog to go all out, change direction, and go all out again it is just about as good as it gets in the cardio world. Same as with people. Look at the people exercise and weight loss industry. Shaun T has become a millionaire doing continual non stop direction changing exercises. Flirt pole is continual, non stop direction changing exercises for the dogs. Maybe Shaun T saw a bulldog doing flirtpole work and the light bulb went off. LOL...EWO

[CRISIS]

I do a Lot of flirt work, i just incorprrate other things.....everything serves its purpose though....

[EWO]

True, it is not the end all be all of cardio but it is a great tool. The best conditioning scenarios is when one has a lot of tools in the shed. Flirt poling is just one. EWO

[EWO]

I agree the side to side movement/changing of direction can't be duplicated on a mill of any sorts or road work. I personally like to think about the dog in the midst of competing. I try to factor in all the things he is doing as well as how he does them. I try to duplicate or mimic those movements in his work. The flirt pole accomplishes a lot of these. These dogs do not move from hold to hold at a snail's pace and the target is usually moving. You gotta get their quick. That movement is sometimes side to side, but a lot of times it is in a contorted manner. Body twisted in a certain way across the abdomen or along the spine. From these contorted positions they explode from spot to spot. If these muscles, in these positions and at these angles, are not worked and prepared then when they are used on show night those muscles will tire and leave him early. The flirt pole adds to cardio and targeting but it also adds to muscular endurance that a mill or a walk can't. EWO

[CYJ]

In my part of the country. We have had nothing but rain about every two too three days for the last two months or so. Had great crops in the fields, but the excessive rain has damaged about 40 percent of all the rotation crops.

Unless one had a really large farm type building or barn to put a smaller version Jenny in. If one had a dog to show in any of these summer months, would not get much use out of a out side Jenny. Even when the rain quits for awhile, still takes so many sunny days for the track to dry up. A jenny is a great working tool long as the weather is good.

I might add, try working a dog on a Jenny or Road Work in the freezing cold with a wind blowing. You and the dog will not be out there very long. One cannot do Road Work in the Rain either. I know, been there done that.

Why it is wise to have a big enough building for a large round table and room enough for a slat mill and E-mill. You can not depend on just a Jenny, like any good boy scout, have to be prepared for all those little foxes that spoil the grape vine. Cheers

[CYJ]

If I was getting into the dog game today. I would buy the latest up dated books written by dog men like Faron , Robert Lemm, and California Jack's books. Sure there are other books, I do not know about that are highly recommended. Even in Don Mayfield's keep where he mentions those two tid bits of info. from Saddler and Tudor are good to know.

I leaned how too better build and use a round table from Mr. Teal's advise and a article written by Saddler or Fitzwater in a older 1940's or 50's Blood lines magazine I had.

With the great improvements today on slat mills and new diet ideas. I feel all one would need is a top quality Slat Mill, a E-Mill and enough land to hand walk the dog. The other out side option is a good flirt pole and weight pulling area if one wishes to do that. This would at least help keep you out of the eyes of the John Q public who are well informed about our dogs today.

I would advise one too only have the one dog to be worked on their property period. After dog pulling show send dog some where else for rest and recovery. Have a hunting license and dog showing credentials.

You have a trust worthy Wife, Child etc. Put all your property and things of great value in their names. They should not be attending dog pulling shows. Just keep your living rights.

Do not enter a multi dog pulling show. I would not be caught ten miles near one today. Do only a one dog pulling show with a small limited # of dog pulling participates. Stay out of the magazines with any info. on self. The Self Glory days are over my friends. Pride goeth before Destruction. LOL

If the law or humane society gives you a hassle. They are only going to get hopefully, a empty care package. You have the right to a state appointed lawyer if your income is not to high. Lawyers and Judges only want your money, property and play politics to feather their hats.

Getting back on subject. S. McNeil before he went south on us all. Was a good dog man that had his dog's in very good pulling shape. He got info. help from V. Jackson and Irish Jerry. He used a well built Slat Mill and a E- Mill along with road work and hand walking when the weather was good.

A proper made round table can also be put inside to simulate road work when the weather is bad. For those who do not want too or can not do road work or build big Jenny mills. These other methods will get the job done and keep you out of the bad weather and prying eyes. Cheers

[EWO]

All pretty good advice. EWO

[Officially Retired]

In the end, running on a mill is different from running on the ground.

When a dog runs a mill, his feet "move a belt" ...

When a dog runs on the ground, its feet/legs propel its whole body forward ... and that is a BIG difference as to what is happening to the animal's musculature and (therefore) overall condition