Boxloading

Boxloading - do you love it or hate it?

Some people think it's a boring, stupid job and they should just invent a self-loading box.

Some people find it very stressful. Everyone's always yelling at them and they can't seem to remember what hole or size of ball they should be loading.

Sometimes, if you're good at it or no one else is willing to step up, you spend your tournaments boxloading instead of running your dog (which sucks.)

Personally, I like boxloading. Maybe I'm easily entertained, but I like the challenge of getting the green dogs to pay attention to you rather than all the distracting things at a tournament. It's a good view to watch the match. It's fun to tease the dogs as they are getting ready to start - "rrrrrready? I have tennis balls - don't you want one? Are you going to come get it? Are you rrrrrrrrrreeady?" A lot of times I crack up the line judge. But it gets the dogs' attention.

Boxloading is an important part of the team. The dogs need to practice with the person who's going to be your team's boxloader. An unexpected stranger can spook many dogs. Also, if the dog is used to being teased when it's lined up at the start line, it may miss it's cue or respond differently when that routine changes. In the chaos of a tournament, a familiar voice draws the dog's attention and reminds it what it's there for. So, the person who box loads needs to practice the things they are going to do at the tournament. If they are going to encourage the dogs, do it in practice. If they are going to tease them at the start line, do it at practice. Don't consider boxloading a fill-in job.

And, if you are boxloading, don't stand there like a sack of potatoes. Tease the dogs. Try to get their attention. Call them down the lane. Cue them to hit the box. Remind them to jump on the return. Watch who faults and have the ball ready and be screaming the dog's name when it's time to rerun. It can avoid loosing several seconds while the handler tries to get a hold of the dog, pry a tug out of the dog's mouth, line it up, cue it up and release it, which can mean winning or loosing a heat. Also, you may be in the best position to see who it was who needed to rerun. If you have a voice left after the tournament, you're goldbricking.

Just my two cents' worth.

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