I translated the rules for Treibball from German to English some weeks ago for a trainer friend w/border collies who wants to teach a Treibball class. Also some basic notes on training a dog for it. Here are both texts, in German and in English:

Translation of the paragraph with the rules from
http://hundherum.foren-city.de/topic,340,-treibball.html

The playing field has the size of half a soccer ball field and a regular goal (could also be a hobby sized goal). At the start, the eight colored gym balls are arranged in a triangle shape (similar to billiard). The dog's task is to push the balls into the goal as fast as possible. To make it more challenging, the dog has to drive the balls in a given sequence. For example, first the blue, then the red, etc. are to be driven into the goal. The handler may only move within a given radius around the goal and can direct his [sic] dog with whistles and commands from there. Penalty time is due for yelling at the dog or otherwise putting pressure on the dog. Adding narrow passes/bottle necks and water ditches add degrees of difficulty to the task "but that is for the already advanced. What matters at the beginning is that the dog learns how to push the ball to the right, left, forward, and backward. And that isn't all that easy!" emphasizes Evelyn Streiff who organized the first ball herding seminar in Switzerland on... There she assisted Jan Nijboer, inventor of ball herding ..., and future seminars will be led by her.

Das Spielfeld hat die Grösse eines halben Fussballplatzes und ein normales Tor (kann auch ein Hobbyfussball-tor sein). Der Hund hat nun die Aufgabe, acht bunte Gymnastikbälle, die in der Ausgangslage in einem Dreieck angeordnet sind (ähnlich wie beim Billard), mit der Nase schnellstmöglich ins Tor zu schupsen. Um es nicht zu einfach zu machen, ist die Reihenfolge der ins Tor zu bringenden Bälle vorgegeben. Das bedeutet beispielsweise, dass erst der blaue, dann der rote Ball und so weiter ins Tor müssen. Dabei darf der Hundeführer sich nur in einem bestimmten Radius ums Tor bewegen und von dort seinen Hund mit Kommandos oder Pfiffen dirigieren. Strafzeit gibt es, wenn der Halter seinen Hund anschreit oder anderweitig versucht, ihn unter Druck zu setzen. Je nach Schwierigkeitsgrad können Engpässe oder Wassergräben die Aufgabe erschweren. «Doch dies ist bereits höhere Schule! Am Anfang gilt es, dem Hund klar zu machen, wie der Ball links, rechts, vorwärts oder nach hinten geschoben werden muss. Und das ist gar nicht so einfach!», betont Evelyn Streiff, die am 10./11. Oktober das erste Treibball-Seminar in der Schweiz organisierte. Auf dem Gelände ihres Hundeparadieses Triple-S assistierte sie Treibball-Erfinder Jan Nijboer, und die nächsten Seminare werden unter ihrer Leitung stattfinden.


Treibball training:
http://www.clever-pets.de/dogdancing-frisbee-flyball/2629-trendsport-treibball.html

First step is to get the dog used to the gym ball. Many dogs initially react with insecurity to the gym balls and bark at them. Therefore one should never let a ball roll towards a novice dog. Handler should not allow the dog to start the game on its own.

Initially the dog needs to learn to stay and down-stay on commandy, even right next to the balls. Once the dog has that one can start training how to push the ball to the left, right, fwd, and bwd

Zu Beginn muss der Treibballneuling an die Gymnastikbälle gewöhnt werden. Zu Anfang sind viele Hunde verunsichert und bellen den ungewohnten Ball aus, deshalb sollte man am Anfang eines Trainings nie den Ball auf den Hund zu rollen lassen. Beginnt der Hund das Spiel von sich aus, sollte der Halter dies unterbinden.

Der Hund muss als allererstes lernen, auf Signal stehen bzw. liegen zu bleiben, auch dann wenn der Ball in unmittelbarer Nähe ist. Erst wenn dieses Kommando sitzt, kann man mit seinem Hund trainieren, wie er den Ball links, rechts, vorwärts oder nach hinten schieben kann.

Have fun!

Very cool! Thank you. Where would one get these balls? If done simply as a "hobby" could you use any balls bigger then the dogs mouth?

I am thinking of using this as a way to hone my dogs herding skills when we can't get to sheep. A fun way to tire the dogs and learn directional type commands.

The balls that I see used in Treibball in Germany are air filled 'fitness balls' or 'exercise balls' (Gymnastikbaelle), 22" to 34" (55 cm to 85 cm) in ø, depending on the dog's size. Roughly the height of sheep! I searched for them on ebay in the US and found plenty.

But unless you are competing, you can of course adapt the rules, invent new ones, and use a smaller ball if that works better for your dog. As you say, any ball bigger than the dog's mouth should work.

In Germany some people use 'piglet balls' (Ferkelbaelle), smaller than the exercise balls. They were originally developed as enrichment for bored piglets in stables, and are very sturdy.

Btw, the fitness balls used for Treibball are very popular for people use in Germany and Switzerland. You can sometimes even get cheap ones at the supermarket around the corner. The quality ones also make great seats for long hours at the desk. They make for an upright posture without rigidity. Sitting on them one moves subtly all the time to keep balance. Prevents RSI and muscle tensions. No slumping while seated on a fitness ball. Might want to remove the dog saliva first, though!

Have fun!

Our exercise ball was about $10 from Target. It's pretty large, taller than Tara for sure. I saw some smaller balls today, about half the diameter of my exercise ball but still bigger than a dog's mouth, for only $2.88- think the kind you see in grocery stores in the big wire cages.

THat sounds like great fun!! Any one know where to find more information (preferably in english )

Treibball Facebook

North American Treibball Association

bumping this back up, I think(hope) Treibball will start making its mark soon!

Tooz would pop that ball within 5 seconds!