Hey everyone im new to the forum, i have a 2 year old Staffy Alfie. I am looking to make him a spring pole in the garden for him to play with. I am ok with making the frame but can anyone reccomend anywhere i can buy the spring pole spring from already set up to use.

Why would you want a spring pole? Have only ever known them used for fighting dogs...

Have been doing a lot of research and understand they can be an excellent way to drain excess energy along with regular excersize.

Have had a look at these and from what I can gather they hone the reflexes, speed and grip of dogs, particularly those used for hunting and/or fighting.

As the intelligence of Staffs is largely underrated, I'd say mental not physical agility will work better - obedience, rally, agility, even HWTM or trick training. 20 mins mental workout tires a dog as much as an hour or more physical exercise.

I'd much rather teach dogs the above than bring out any prey-driven instinct especially with so many dog-dog and dog-human attacks lately.

I'm with Ms Temeraire on this one.  Only people using dogs for fighting would ever contemplate a spring pole.  If this dog is a pet, then it is honestly not fair to expect him to "play" with one.  And, naturally, if this dog is not a pet, you are definitely on the wrong forum.

You playing with him will make for a much happier dog, and brain training will give you so much satisfaction as your dog bonds with you.

Jean I really do not appreciate your assumptions I love my dog to bits and would never consider using my dog for fighting. He is the most important thing in my life at the moment.

>I really do not appreciate your assumptions

My sincere apologies if it sounded bad enough to offend you.  It wasn't meant to.

Not quite true, OwnedbyaBC AND JeanSW.
It's actually extremely good exercise and many Stafford owners use them and they have absolutely NOTHING to do with fighting.

Ok thanks jean, Alfie is nearly 2 and has such a loving temperament towards people, can be a bit nervous when it comes to other dogs but something we are working on, with regards to the spring pole it has made me think twice about the idea.

> I love my dog to bits and would never consider using my dog for fighting. He is the most important thing in my life at the moment.

That's great to hear :)
I hope you will concentrate on using his mental abilities and try something like agility - Staffies really do shine when their owners give them the chance. Using one of those poles will only sharpen the [prey] instincts you really don't need if he is to be a sociable and friendly member of society, when instead you could be bringing out the best in him.

I feel that use of the spring pole will make him want to chase and grip any moving object, as you will be appealing to his prey drive. That does not bode well for cats, or even small dogs, not to mention wildlife. In some cases, small children that are running and screaming can also trigger the prey response. Try to play down that instinct and channel it into something more socially acceptable...

Flyball is a great alternative which fulfills all of the dog's need for chase and catch. The owner of a KCGCS training school I used to go to, had two Flyball champion staffies.

> It's actually extremely good exercise and many Stafford owners use them and they have absolutely NOTHING to do with fighting.

My apologies Tessies Tracy... :)
Can you advise how they should be used and what the OP needs to know? Are my thoughts re prey drive of any concern? Doest he work on the pole need to be tempered by training outside the home?

Thanks for your reply, have been interested in fly ball for a while, so will definitely look into that.

First and foremost and most importantly (due to that prey drive you mention MsTemeraire) I would say that unless your dog understands very basic commands  (i.e. leave it, drop it, stay, etc) do not use a flirt. 

It is a very high stimulus, so not ideal for all dogs that may have a propensity for getting too 'hyped' up.

The flirt pole is usually used by being trailed along on the ground with the dog working/chasing in a fairly tight circles, although of course any height to the pole and most Staffords will leap to try and grasp the end of the flirt too.  It is a taxing form of exercise and would recommend starting off with very short sessions and building up slowly.

Again, unless you know your dog very well, I too would suggest another form of stimulating exercise - agility was mentioned recently.  Great exercise and fantastic for firming the canine/human bond.

And I'm totally talking about the wrong piece of equipment aren't I?

*shakes head at self*

A spring PULL is a different kettle of fish :)

Again it's a piece of equipment to strengthen muscle, basically similar to someone playing 'tug' with a dog (but without the human element having to be there).  Which is exactly what I didn't like about it.  From what I have seen of a spring pull (and I admit to having one set up for my single dog at the time) it's lazy exercise in my eyes.  I can't see what a dog will learn from grabbing onto a piece of rope and tugging at it.
It lasted a day I think in my garden.

No, Jason, much better off firming up your bond with your Stafford either by obedience training, fly ball or agility and lots of interaction with other dogs in a controlled way.

> No, Jason, much better off firming up your bond with your Stafford either by obedience training, fly ball or agility and lots of interaction with other dogs in a controlled way.

Thanks Tessie... Much as I first thought then :)
Hope you have fun with your dog Jason, Staffs are great dogs and much misunderstood.

I'm Tracey, one of my Staffords is Tessie :)

Tracey,I thought it was a "flirt pole"as well,so it isnt just you!Id never heard of them till I heard one mentioned on an american site,and enquired what one was!I meant to make one for the collies,but never got round to it,theyre happy enough with a ball,anyway!

I used to use a Flirt Pole with Spuddy. Mine was a home made job, a horse schooling whip with a toy on the end. Terrific fun and exercise for him, he could get quite manic at the prospect of a game.
As has been mentioned though, you do need to have some impulse control over your dog if your going to use one, it turned out to be a very effective means to teach him to stop and listen no matter how excited he was, and transferred very well into the real world to the point where I could tell him to stop mid chase of rabbits.

Realise that all breeds of dogs have different attributes, but have always been wary of toys/games that encourage dogs to spend time leaping around on their back legs.
I'm sure if supervised for short periods they are fine but having looked at some of the pictures I couldn't leave one unsupervised in the garden.

I disagree about not encouraging some breed's natural instincts and interests. I have no experience of Staffies at all but with my greyhounds, I actively encourage them to run and chase and do what they love to do. To that end, they all lure course competitively and LOVE it. However, they know perfectly well the differece between chasing on the coursing field and at home. When we were coursing the most, they were coming home afterwards to chill out in the garden with our pet hens and quails. We also had pet rats. There were no problems.
It's a great confidence builder and of course, wonderful to keep them in great condition. This is not to say just anyone should give it a go, for one, the dogs NEED to be in brilliant condition to course safely and reduce risk of injuries, but I do mean that people shouldn't dismiss it for fear that dogs will become untenable pets in housing estates or populated areas.
As ever, with my own dogs, I would not trust them with a cat for a mere second and this remains the case whether they are getting to exercise their instincts, or not.