Diving for Dollops
It is important
to teach ducks to dive at an early age. They are almost impossible to train
once they are full grown. The reason is partly because of increased size
and partly because adult ducks have better things to do. I have received
so many requests from interested pet owners who want to teach their ducks,
fish, etc. to dive that I have summarized my methodology into the following
do-it-yourself guide.
Dive Training Menu
The key ingredient in my Dive Training Menu is fresh bread. As a kid in Colorado, I learned the secret technique of peeling the crust off my Wonderbread (builds strong bodies 12 ways) and wadding the white nutritionless part into a big ball of dough. Baguettes may be healthier than American bread, but the inside works just the same.
Pinch off a tiny piece, wad it up and toss near your ducklings, or other aquatic pet of choice. Most of the skill is in the throw. You don't want to throw it too close, or the ducklings will just pluck it out of the water. If you toss it too far off, it will sink out of sight before the ducklings can reach or even notice it. After a bit of practice you will find the distance that works best for you and your trainees.
With my smallest duckling, Linus, I have found that a good throw should land about three feet away to attract his attention. By the time Linus swims over, the wad of bread dough will be half a foot under water. Linus cocks his head sideways to get a good look and then assume his diving stance--bill down into the water, tush sticking up, little feet treading air. Once his winglets pump him below the surface, his feet engage the water like a hot rod laying down rubber.
Scoring
You will want to have a tiny set of Olympic score cards
on hand so your ducklings will know how they are doing. I recommend the
following rating scheme:
| Bread thrown too far away | 0.0 |
| Bread too close and easy | 1.0 |
| Duckling retrieves by just dunking head | 3.0 |
| Duckling goes vertical, head down, tush sticking out, feet pedaling in the air. | 6.0 |
| Duckling goes vertical, but can only reach bread by diving below the surface (depending on depth). | 8.0 - 10.0 |
| Duckling dives for bread, but comes up empty billed. artistic merit
technical score |
8.0 - 10.0 |
| 4.0 | |
| Two ducklings fight it out in the synchronized diving competition. Winner automatically scores ... Quicktime video clip (1200K) |
9.8 |
Don't waste too much effort worrying about the scoring system; ducks mainly care about the bread.
Trouble shooting
- Bread sinks too slowly
It may happen that your throws are landing at the right distance from your duck, but the bread is not sinking fast enough. There are a number of remedies:- Try throwing further out.
- Wad the bread more tightly. The more you compress the bread, the denser it becomes and the faster it sinks.
- If the bread just won't compress enough, it is too old and starting to dry out. Buy fresher bread or switch boulangers (Don't explain; just switch).
- Bread sinks too fast
Obviously, if your the bread balls are sinking too fast, reverse the recommendations above:- Throw closer.
- Compress less.
- Use older bread.
Adding flair
In no time at all, you will have a fleet of diving ducks. Some will be better divers than others. Take note. This can be very impressive to friends of yours who visit. "Say, you want to see my ducks dive?" or "Speaking of which, I've trained my ducks to dive." or "I'll bet you I can get that duck to dive." and "Care to place a little wager?" Your friends will not believe you, believe me. Now you casually wad up a white piece of baguette and launch it into your target area. I've got Linus so well trained I can fake it. I just pretend to toss a bread ball (elaborate follow through is essential) and command "Dive" in a loud voice.
Do's and Don'ts
Attention Dog Owners: Yes, Diving
is like "Fetch" and Jumping is pretty much the same as "Sit
up And Beg," and but don't get carried away or you will be writing
in to say, "I was making great progress teaching my favorite duck,
Duchess, to Roll Over and Play Dead. But she died."
Playing the Game
I know you are envious that
I and my ducks are having all the fun. Well, guess what -- now you can train
your duck for the Olympic Diving competition yourself.
You have the green duck. Your opponent is the brown duck. Click the mouse
to change directions. The deeper the dive the higher your score. Click to
Play the Game.