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Kylie's 'thing' is agility - but tricks training is a close second. Molly, honestly... she turns on for agility and she might turn onto it more with time, but what really lights her up is anything with a disc. She's so intense and alive and happy and just in her element with it that it's pretty stunning. I wish we had more related to disc around here, but if we do I haven't found it.

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To be honest I have not tried anything but agility, I teach tricks for fun, at the moment we spend a lot of time working on tricks for his rehab program, I think anything that involved working with me Rievaulx would be happy doing, he enjoys most things in life. If my next dog hates agility then I am in trouble I won't make him play, he can be a happy pet, but I doubt I will seek out another sport for him.

Kristine, I am amused by your comment about freestyle people saying agility people don't have the same bond, it is what us agility people are saying about flyball

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I honestly think it's a pretty rare dog who likes working with their person who won't at least have *fun* playing at most dog sports, honestly. It's a rare dog that doesn't want to play with their owner, even in games they don't quite see the point in. I think though that when you try a few you can tell when the dog is lighting up and latching on and understanding and loving it, as opposed to having a good time. I also think that unless you've tried several things, you don't really know and I don't think there's any harm done either way.


They all encourage people and their dogs to work together, train, bond, and play, and at the end of the day that's kind of the point of every last dog sport out there. Dogs and people having fun doing things together.

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This past week I've been more into it since I've taken the box home. It's given me a lot of time to work with Kieran without the pressure of all the other dogs who need to practice. Sometimes, when I know the number of dogs who still need a turn before Kieran can go again, it just makes everything drag for me. I guess I'm just a little selfish in that sense.

 

I think a lot of what was missing for me with Kieran was box hits without the ball. I can do it at home with a plain board, but I'm sure it feels a lot different to Kieran.

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I couldn't do flyball at gunpoint. The noise-level! AAaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHH! And then there's the risk of repetitive stress injury.

 

If I was younger and fitter I'd be into parkour. You can do it anywhere. You can do it for free. Although I understand there are parkour titles now.

 

 

A skateboard, a dirt skateboard and a fit dog would be my idea of heaven. If I had a friend to run with I would be in 7th heaven. Not interested in competitions, titles, endless repetition. Always been a lone wolf. Now if I was just 40 years younger…

 

Don't mean to diss anyone into flyball, competition in agility, obedience and the like. :) Just not for me... But, check out parkour. It might be the thang.

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Well said Capt Jack.

 

I have been very surprised to find that my young agility hopeful actually seems to enjoy competitive obedience. Personally I find it boring but what the heck if it floats his boat? We can do it occasionally. Maybe Rally but that's even less attractive to me - too much stop and start.

 

Agility will hopefully be the thing we both enjoy.

 

Skip over Freestyle.

 

Flyball isn't entirely ruled out to try one day just to dabble but atm I don't think he's obsessed enough with balls and I don't particularly want him to be.

 

Am hoping to try some work with sheep over the winter. No idea if he will take to it.

 

We both need to find our niche(s).

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Flyball isn't entirely ruled out to try one day just to dabble but atm I don't think he's obsessed enough with balls and I don't particularly want him to be.

 

Ball obsession isn't a requirement, as funny as that sounds. Actually, if dogs are too obsessed with the ball, it's pretty problematic. Kieran has very little ball drive, and in some regards it's helped because I don't have to worry about him stealing them from the bucket. I can also line him up a lot faster, since he's not fixated on it. Don't let that prevent you from trying if you actually wanted to, is all I'm saying.

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I have to say that I've actually seen flyball help ball obsessive dogs become less obsessive, because the game is about getting the ball but then *letting go of it again*. I mean they still love the ball, but somehow it changes the way some dogs look at the ball and eases them off on the ball crazy, maybe? I don't know.

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  • 2 years later...

This thread is a couple of years old, but a forum search brought it up.

 

That 'half intended to do a flyball class' thing I mentioned is now something I'm doing, though without much commitment or seriousness. I have a friend with a team and I've been doing drop-ins at practices here. Agility is still definitely my sport, but there are a lot of foundation skills to agility that crossover, so until Kiran's age and the availability of foundations agility class, this works well. It's also benefiting my elite agility dog build speed and commitment driving away from me. Plus it's just a good novel, distracting, environment to learn to focus and work - and the people are nice.

 

There is only one place I can see a potential for 'trouble' is in that the dogs in flyball always turn one direction, but that's pretty easy to counter with work in other places.

 

So, I guess ultimately a more informed me says that it's still not really my thing but I definitely understand the appeal better now, as well as some of the benefits to the dog. Not that fun still isn't the main one, but there's definite work there that transfers to any sport or dog activity.

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  • 2 months later...

The turning in one direction in flyball is something you check out with your dog early on. Most, but not all dogs, will show a natural tendency to turn one direction or the other. I normally find that out by rolling a ball straight ahead of the dog and releasing the dog once it has come to a stop. When dog gets to ball, more often than not they will fairly consistently turn either right or left to bring the ball back. That becomes the side of the box we start working the turns on. I have not seen an issue with, for example, my dog turning right (the boxloaders left) off the box, and having switching or rear crossing a dog to take an obsticle to the left.

 

Where you CAN get in trouble in agility is any course that has 2 or 3 jumps that are pretty much on a straight line. In those cases, my primarily flyball dog can get in trouble by taking the jumps too straight and low and knocking a bar or two down in his speed/excitement. Working with pinwheels and serpentines in agility are a good counter to make sure the dog collects at the jump.

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