The trainer who got tired of watching dogs lose their minds.
I’m Chris. I’ve been doing hands-on dog work for going on ten years now, with around 400 client dogs and 306 reviews across seven public platforms. No certifications or vet credentials or any letters after my name, though. I’m a working dog trainer who built the flirt pole I wish I’d had years ago. The Whimsy Stick lets a dog run the whole hunt, stalk, chase, capture and win, using a method I call Controlled Freedom, and there are two models that split at 30 lbs, the Standard for dogs under 30 lbs and the Rugged XL for everybody else.
Christopher Lee Moran, working dog trainer, with Artemis and Jax.
What you read here is from my own experience training dogs, it’s not veterinary or medical advice. See the exercise disclaimer.
The short version
I started out as a Wag walker and sitter in 2016 (202 reviews, 4.9 average), then built a dog-adventures service, then moved into private training. The Whimsy Stick came out of all that, and I prototyped it with high-drive client dogs for years before I ever sold one to a dog owner. For the method itself, see the flirt pole training guide, and for the full review history, see 306 reviews across 7 platforms.
Who this page is for
- People thinking about a Whimsy Stick who want to know who built it and why
- Owners of reactive dogs who’ve tried everything and still have a dog that can’t settle
- Working-breed homes (Mals, GSDs, Rotts, pits, herders) that are running out of ideas
- Trainers checking it out before they recommend it to their own clients
- Anybody who wants the why behind it, not a sales pitch
I started as a dog walker. I ended up redesigning the flirt pole.
It took me about nine years and three career changes to get from one to the other, and one Belgian Malinois that would not settle down on a fifteen-mile hike. I started out in 2016 as a verified Wag walker and sitter, and the oldest of my 306 reviews are from that year. It wasn’t just walking around the block twice either. I was running pack hikes for high-drive working dogs, six to eight hours of mountain terrain off-leash, every day. You hear a lot that exercise by itself fixes behavior and I believed that at first, but after two solid years of doing it every day I knew it was wrong.
Those dogs usually came back with tired legs and their heads still going. I’d get calls from owners asking why their Lab was still chewing the couch, or their cattle dog was still nipping the kids, or their Mal still couldn’t sit through dinner, so the exercise by itself wasn’t doing it.
The adventure years. Off-leash pack work on the trail, with the dogs out ahead.
From adventure guide to private training
So I quit running miles and started working on structure instead. I built a private training practice and took on cases other trainers had failed on, resource guarders, dogs with bite histories, rescues that came home and shut down for a month, and working breeds that were three weeks from getting rehomed. A lot of those dogs had plenty of training. What they didn’t have was a way to finish the hunt. The 66 training reviews on Yelp, Google and Facebook are from that work.
A tired dog isn’t the same as a satisfied dog, the way I see it, and that comes from getting to finish the game, not from racking up miles. That’s what the Whimsy Stick is built on.
The two dogs who refined the method
Everything I learned on client dogs I also tried again at home with my own two. They’re wired completely different from each other, and both of them taught me the same thing, that this goes a lot deeper than commands and treats.
Jax
Jax came to me overwhelmed. He’s smart and he’s got a big engine and he didn’t have anywhere to put it, and regular exercise just made him more wired. With him I learned drive with nowhere to go turns into chaos, and when he gets to finish the hunt the right way, that same engine makes him a focused working partner. He’ll work for food and he likes structure, so he’s kind of the live demo for everything on this site.
Artemis
Artemis came out of a rescue where the staff had to use tongs to clean her kennel. Food didn’t mean anything to her, and once I put pressure on her she’d shut down instead. What worked was just being there and being clear, over and over again, till she decided on her own to come engage with me. She taught me bonding comes down to trust a lot more than treats, and you get that trust by being the same person every single rep.
The science: the predatory motor pattern
Dogs got a hunting sequence from wolves, and biologists Raymond and Lorna Coppinger called it the predatory motor pattern. For training I break it into four stages, and most of the exercise people give their dogs only hits one or two of them.
| Stage | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Stalk | The eyes lock onto the lure and the body gets low, so the hunt starts with the dog going still |
| Chase | He takes off after it as fast as he can go |
| Capture | He gets his mouth on it |
| Win | He gets to hold it a few seconds, and that’s when a lot of dogs can actually settle down |
Why most exercise misses part of it
A walk usually doesn’t hit any of these. Fetch gets a couple of them but ends without the win, cause a tennis ball doesn’t give anything back. Tug gets the capture but skips the stalk and the chase. A flirt pole is the cleanest tool I’ve found that runs the whole thing, in about ten minutes, in a backyard. When a dog never gets to finish, that drive has to go somewhere, and a lot of times it comes out as chewed shoes, barking at the delivery guy and lunging at the end of a leash. There’s more in the predatory motor pattern, explained.
Here’s a pet Mexican Red Wolf dissecting a stuffed toy. That’s the wiring your dog got too, just turned up or down by breed, and a flirt pole lets them finish it on something you actually want them chasing.
“With 10 years of experience working with high-energy dogs, I have found that a dog with a satisfied animal instinct is much better behaved. That’s why I created what I believe to be the best flirt pole for dogs.” Christopher Lee Moran, Whimsy Stick LLC
If you’re reading this and feeling guilty for not knowing sooner, don’t. Nobody teaches this stuff, and I never heard the dog walking world talk about the predatory motor pattern. You’re here looking, and that counts.
I tested the flirt poles I could find. None held up.
Once I knew finishing the hunt was what mattered, I needed a tool I could put in my clients’ hands. So I bought the flirt poles I could find, handed them out to my clients and watched what broke on real working dogs.
| What I tested | The problem |
|---|---|
| Telescoping poles | The joints were the weak spot under hard pulls |
| Bungee-cord designs | The snap-back made the lure jump around and come back at the dog |
| Generic fleece lures | Didn’t last with dogs that go hard on gear |
| Cheap rope cords | Frayed with hard use |
So I built it myself. I found that about a 5-foot fishing rod worked the best, so I customized one with no eyelets and no reel, and it ended up as one piece so nothing collapses, with a line that doesn’t snap back. The Standard has a 450-lb Kevlar line and the Rugged XL is one 46-inch piece of fiberglass with an 800-lb Dyneema line. Nothing on it is there cause it was cheap or easy, it’s there because it held up to the dogs I work with. For the full construction breakdown, see the flirt pole buying guide.
What it turned into. The blue Rugged XL bending into a deep arc while a tan dog grips and tugs the lure.
Controlled Freedom: the training philosophy behind the tool
The Whimsy Stick is the product and Controlled Freedom is the method behind it. They both come from the same idea, that dogs need a real outlet for real drives, inside some structure that you control. Controlled Freedom also stays away from two extremes you see a lot in dog training.
The first one says you shut the drive down. You correct it and leash-pop it and then kennel it. That gets you a quiet dog, but a brittle one that can blow up the second the lid comes off. The other one says just let the dog “be a dog,” free run with no structure and no rules. That gets you a dog that decides on its own that its job is guarding the windows and barking at every leaf.
Controlled Freedom is in the middle. You run the start and the middle and the end, and the dog gets the chase and the catch and the win. You hold the structure and the dog gets to be satisfied. In one ten-minute session the wait works on impulse control, the chase gives the drive what it wants, the catch finishes it, and the all-done builds the off switch. For the framework applied to behavior problems, see reactive dog training.
Why you should listen to anything on this page
I don’t have some big Instagram following and I don’t sell certifications. What I have is reps, ten years of them, around 400 client dogs, and a lot of those were cases other trainers had failed on. My training business has a 5.0 average across its public reviews, and a lot of that work was reactivity, resource guarding and over-the-top dogs whose owners were already looking at rehoming.
I’m a one-man company, so if something better came along I’d change the build, and if a pole fails in normal play I replace it. The reviews are real and they’re all on the reviews page, including the bad one.
Which Whimsy Stick is right for your dog
There are two models and they split at 30 lbs. Under that the Standard is plenty, and at 30 or over, or for any dog with a hard mouth and serious drive, you want the Rugged XL. If you’re playing every day or your dog goes through lures fast, I’d get the 3-lure bundle or the Pro Kit.
Rugged XL + 3 Lures
- Dogs 30 lbs and up · one 46-inch piece of fiberglass · 800-lb Dyneema line
- In my own use it holds up to a 120-lb power breed · free US shipping
Rugged XL
- Same pole and line, 1 lure
- Dogs 30 lbs and up · free US shipping
Rugged XL Pro Kit
- The XL with 5 lures and a spare line
- Free US shipping
The Standard
- Dogs under 30 lbs · 450-lb Kevlar line · a fleece lure
- $20 flat US shipping
Every order has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you pay return shipping unless the pole failed.
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About Whimsy Stick: FAQ
Who created the Whimsy Stick flirt pole?
I did. My name is Christopher Lee Moran, and I’m a working dog trainer with going on ten years of hands-on dog work and around 400 client dogs. I started in 2016 as a verified Wag walker, built a dog-adventures service, then moved into private training. I designed the Whimsy Stick cause none of the flirt poles I could buy were something I trusted to put in a client’s hand.
What makes the Whimsy Stick different from other flirt poles?
A working trainer designed it around one thing, letting a dog finish the whole hunt safely. The line doesn’t stretch, the lures swap out, and the Rugged XL is one piece of fiberglass, so nothing telescopes and nothing snaps back at you.
What is Controlled Freedom dog training?
Controlled Freedom is the way I train. The idea is that structure and discipline can go right alongside letting a dog satisfy its instincts. You run the framework and the dog gets to finish the drive, and you both walk away calmer.
Does the Whimsy Stick help with reactive dogs?
That’s a big part of why I designed it. Chase play with structure lets a dog finish the hunt that a walk leaves hanging, and a dog that’s satisfied is usually easier to work with. It won’t fix reactivity by itself though, and if there’s fear or aggression involved, bring in a qualified behavior pro too.
How is a flirt pole different from walking or fetch?
A walk gives a dog smells and sights and movement, but it doesn’t let him hunt. Fetch gets part of it but ends without a real win. A flirt pole runs all four, stalk, chase, capture and win, and for a lot of wound-up dogs a short structured session does something a long walk doesn’t.
What is the predatory motor pattern?
It’s the hunting sequence dogs got from wolves, and I train it as stalk, chase, capture and win. When a dog gets to finish the whole thing he tends to settle, and when he only gets part of it, like a chase with no catch, a lot of dogs stay wound up.
Which Whimsy Stick model is right for my dog?
If your dog is under 30 lbs, the Standard. If your dog is 30 lbs or more, or a high-drive working breed with a hard mouth, the Rugged XL. And if you play every day, I’d get the 3-lure bundle too.
How long do Whimsy Stick lures last?
It depends on the dog, since lures are wear parts, and hard chewers and working breeds go through them faster, which is why the bundles and the Pro Kit exist. Replacement lures are $12.95.
Is the Whimsy Stick safe for my dog?
There’s no bungee to snap back in a dog’s face, and the lure hangs on a 450-lb Kevlar line on the Standard or an 800-lb Dyneema line on the Rugged XL. Like any flirt pole, you still supervise, keep the lure low and put it away when you’re done. The safety guide has the rest.
What is your return policy?
30-day money-back guarantee on every order. If it doesn’t work out for your dog, email me and I’ll refund you, and you pay return shipping unless the pole failed. I’m a one-man company and I want you happy with it, so I’ll work with you.
Where is Whimsy Stick based?
Whimsy Stick LLC is based in Austin, Texas, and orders ship in about 2 days.
Give the drive somewhere to go.
This is the pole I designed for the dogs in my own training program. Thirty days to try it, and I’m the one who answers the email.
Add the Rugged XL + 3 Lures, $94.95Smaller dog? See the Standard, from $55.95
Based on my own experience training dogs. Not veterinary or behavioral medical advice. Exercise disclaimer.
