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Any sport can be a people sport - it just depends on the people taking part. I couldn't take part in anything where there was no camaraderie and mutual support.

Very true, but it's also much different being on a team versus competing on your own. That is what I mean when I say it's more of a people sport. You spend a lot more time with people on a flyball team.

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Yes, and your success as a team depends on everyone. In agility your success depends on you and your dog. It's NICE that there are people there, I see the same people quite a bit, but my participation and success doesn't hinge on them.

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I've tried flyball a few times. Hank loved it and the people there thought he could be a very fast height dog.

 

But it's just too repetitive for me. I couldn't keep interested. They do train a lot but it is trying to perfect little details in the same run. Why agility works for me is that you are running new courses every time. Which is FUN. There's also lots of skills to learn and execute... it's just a lot more work for the handler and requires a lot more thought. Flyball you just really need a very fast dog and then focus on shaving off time and shaving off time, etc etc etc.

 

They DO do a lot of really good toy drive building.

 

The other issue is maybe dependent on the local teams but the practices are INTENSIVE. I can practice agility daily if I want but really my only 'obligation' is an hour a week at class and then if I want to schedule more on top of that. Our flyball practices were LONG. Like 8 am to 2 pm long. I love dogs and love dog training but I can't dedicate that much time every weekend. And by the end I was DONE. Tired and worn out by the barking.

 

I do like the idea of team camaraderie though I hear through the grapevine that there's also enough drama/politics. I think since I'm not the most social having a social scene like that could be good.

 

EDIT: Dog sports are all about finding what works for you and your dog. I lure course not because it's super fun for me but Hank LOVES it. Agility is always going to be 'it' for me but we'll play in barn hunt, nosework, coursing, etc since we both enjoy those ok. I hated obedience and rally was boring. I refuse to do freestyle at all. I also found treibball pointless.

 

There's something out there for every dog and handler!

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Now lure coursing is something I just kinda don't get the point of other than to see how fast your dog is. If the dog gets it (and my lurcher was quite literally born for it), the handler doesn't have to do a darn thing other than hold theirs hound and retrieve them at the end. Coming from a background of competitive obedience briefly in the early '80s and then sheepdog training, it really left me quite cold. It was a good run for my dog and she loved it and would probably thrive on it, so I'd probably do it again, though it's annoying that lurchers can't compete. But as far as doing something with my dog, it's rally not a dog/handler interactive sport as far as I can see.

 

Sorry for the tangent. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. . . .

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No it's not handler interactive at all. It's more of an instinct based sport. Dog either has it or they don't. He likes it so we do it whenever we get the opportunity.

 

I know AKC is not looked at well here but you can run non sighthounds in coursing for titles now. It's a shorter course for the other breeds but still pretty far. I am pretty sure the American sighthound association coursing is just for sighthounds still. (I forget their actual organization name)

 

There's a big influx lately for more instinct based sports imo. Barn hunt is another that isn't very handler interactive. I know a few people who really like the instinct type sports more than the highly trained ones. I dunno, to each his own.

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I did a treibball workshop and it bored me to *tears*. Don't get me wrong, it was kind of nice and I think I would probably look into it more if I had older dogs or dogs who weren't physically sound but wanted/needed to work at something, but that was honestly the longest 8-9 hours of my life. It took me 10 minutes to teach my dog to push things and she went in knowing directionals from agility.

I don't know, I think mostly it's just great that there's a variety of things for people to play with. People are doing more with their dogs now and whatever that something is, I'm pretty happy for them.

 

A lot of it's just not quite to my taste, and admittedly that is in part because I measure everything against agility and that's not fair. Agility is very much a thing unto itself.

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Success can colour one's view of an activity. I find Obedience boring but this morning Risk and I went into the ring for the first time and he showed flashes of how good he could be once he has got over being an easily distracted adolescent airhead. I'm

encouraged and the judges were positive about aspects of his performance - even got full marks for one retrieve.

 

I'm planning to enter more shows but doubt very much whether it will affect my main interest of Agility. However, I can't RN and I'm not getting any younger so any success he has in Agility will be by proxy.

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...you can run non sighthounds in coursing for titles now. It's a shorter course for the other breeds but still pretty far.

 

I think I've found it: http://www.akc.org/events/coursing-ability-test/new-event/ Lurchers would only be eligible for the Coursing Ability Test, not an actual coursing competition.

 

It's not only not as long a course, it's also not as demanding. "AKC Coursing Ability Tests do not require dogs to run as far as dogs in lure coursing trials.They also do not have to execute extreme turns, with no turn being more acute than 90 degrees." (above cited)

 

So for a lurcher, who's as fast as most sighthounds her size (and has more stamina -- Tansy was still rarin' to go after 4 runs when my friend's longhaired whippets were tired out after 3), it's still not very challenging. It's the equivalent to the herding instinct tests that we all know a lot of dogs can pass without even being herding breeds. :P

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Well yeah it's an all breed type thing not meant for sighthounds. It is kind of annoying in AKC that certain events are not open to obvious mixes of breeds bred for those kinds of things. (like a JRT x couldn't do an earthdog competition or an ACD x couldn't do herding). I would say they are not super duper easy courses though. They are still pretty long though not sighthound length. I think it is around 1800'. There is a separate course for small dogs and brachy dogs but the cutoff for 'small' is really tiny. I think it's 12". anyways, it's fun and I think a good workout.

 

Hank has run courses that are tough for sighthounds even in practice runs. If there's a coursing group in your area they could set up runs and they may be more challenging.

 

In fact at some of the practice runs the sighthounds all failed and it was only two mutts (one a small terrier mutt) that completed the course. I've actually seen sight hounds fail the small courses too. Especially the borzoi for some reason.

 

Border collies are kind of hit and miss. I know many that love it but also a good number that won't leave the owner and will run out a ways then come back wanting direction on what to do. It's interesting watching all the breeds run.

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There's one person relatively locally who does all breed coursing, but I suspect it's somewhere between the Coursing Aptitude Test and a real competition type event. Don't recall how long her course was, but there was at least one turn that were greater than 90 deg IIRC.

 

But AFAIK none of the coursing groups allow lurchers, except perhaps in some fun runs that any dog can enter. :( I'd kinda like to see what Tansy could do in comparison to other dogs bred for it.

 

My purebred border collie wasn't really interested. I don't think he could see the point in chasing a plastic bag. :lol: Like you describe, he'd keep looking or coming back to me to see what I wanted him to do.

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Our practice runs are generally puppy and small dogs on a course and then the other set up is for all dogs. They will usually let us know before the practice is held if it will be a sighthound course or an all breed course. One big difference between the CAT type stuff and the real sighthounds is that CAT tests are only one dog at a time. But that said I think it's fun and a good way to see if your dog has the drive to chase. Some off breeds are really good at it. Hank goes NUTS for it. It's definitely his favorite thing we've tried. If I had a sighthound mix I'd definitely try an all breed fun run at least. It's not quite the same but still I think they'd have fun.

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I do flyball. It's our primary sport and where our best dog sport friends are.

 

We also do agility, mostly USDAA. Heck, in September our roster of 6 flyball dogs will include 2 active agility dogs and 2 retired agility dogs.

 

I love my team. We have a lot of fun together in and out of the lanes and we share in the successes and "failures" of every heat/race. I remember a couple of years ago, a dog that the team had worked so long and hard on debuted in a team race. Afterwards, we were all walking out our dogs, and everyone was tearing up and hugging that we did it. It had taken a village and we have all worked together. I also love the funny shared memories. We were just laughing about the time a friend's dog regripped on his tug, nabbed my wife's pants with the tug (she was handling him as a favor) and then pulled down her pants in the lanes. There she was trying to not fall over, get her pants up and still remain focused on the dog.

 

Some of the things that I find most people don't give flyball enough credit for are:

 

Focus. 8 off-leash dogs with handlers and a whistle and toys and balls. And we teach them to drive through/past all that to their handler and get their toy. Heck, sometimes we have 2 rings so times that by two. We often have non-flyball folks come out for a few weeks just to proof distraction work.

 

The Box Turn. Yes, some teams do not do enough prep work. (I think you'll find that in any sport) but the box turn has evolved in the past few years in a way that has trickled down to the majority of teams. It takes months. I equate it to my youngest also learning her running dog walk. we do foundation games, we video tape, we make sure she is fast, focused and safe. We proof and practice and take it on the road. It's no longer the smash and grab of yesterday.

 

Injuries. Also something people seem to think is more dangerous than agility. And I see no more or less injuries in flyball. We do regular body work and strength work on all 3 of ours. My 9 year old lab mix is still perfectly sound and his chiro says that he typically only needs minor adjustments. When new folks show up, we talk about leaning out their dog, stretching, conditioning and strength training. I do tend to say "this is not the sport for you" when people come to us with a dog that is poorly put together or a brac. Because it's running, lots of running.

 

Practice commitment. Yes, we practice weekly. And dogs who are in training often have homework. Our practices are about 2 hours unless we're all hanging out and chatting too much. Dogs get 2-3 "rounds" and we work no more than 5-10 minutes at a time, including stopping to talk over something or reset something. This is comparable to our agility classes. Unlike agility, other team members are out helping when it is not their dog's turn. We need box loaders, ball shaggers, someone to manage the exercise we're working on, other dogs, etc.

 

It's boring and repetitive. Yes - the course is the same. Yes, some teams run the same line-ups. Sometimes you know the dogs in the other lane. Occasionally, you know those other dogs' times and quirks. But for us, it's fun to try to win. To see if we can go fast, tighten up our passes, push the start and eek out .002 lower time. It's fun to know we're going up against ABC team and their 3rd dog is super fast so we need to push it on dogs 1 and 2 to get a lead for dog three. To strategize and move forward 2 inches because your last pass was a 3 foot pass and you want to go for a 1 foot pass. And to have the other team doing the exact same thing. Around here, when we finish a race, folks will say to the other team things like "nice racing" "great racing you" "great debut on your start dog" "congrats on the title/ new best time"

 

All those dogs are nuts. Just like in agility - it really depends on the dog and the handler. My friend has one of the fastest dogs in the sport - he also has rally titles. I know people who put their dogs in a down stay and fix a jump or tie their shoe. My lab barks. I'm ok with that. Our other dog mostly chatters his teeth. It's all good. But yes, for the most part no one clamps down on barking.

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Like many of you, I have never found Flyball appealing.

 

But, also, you have to play on a team. And I am not a team player. Except with my dog. That's my team - my dog and me.

 

So, Flyball would just never really work for me as a person, even if I did find the game itself appealing, and I don't.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I currently compete in flyball and agility and train herding with my Border Collie.

 

Is flyall as mentally stimulating as agility or herding? .... no. Does my dog love it just as much? ....yes. Would I only play flyball? Heck no. Do I enjoy this mindless acitivity once in a while? Yes! Is it repetive? Yes, but teaching a good turn and working on perfect passing are not autopilot activities.

 

Some of our previous dogs also competed at both. I had an eight year hiatus from flyball and thought I'd never go back, but tried it with Abbey and she had a blast.

 

I do enjoy competing at multiple sports because it gives me an opportunity to be around a different group of people. As for noise our crating area is in a different part of the building from the running area which significantly reduces the noise exposure. I find some agility trials to be overall just as noisy when dogs have to be crated close to the ring. My dog barks while we're waiting for our turn, but once we get out into the racing lane she's all business and focus. Our team is also not a super competitive, serious group either which helps.

 

Some people think that flyball is the most horrendous activity you could do. I think we all have our own opinions and that's just what they are.

 

Our dogs see a sports medicine vet chiropractor on a regular basis to make sure we're ok for all of our activities.

 

Gina

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was at flyball practice yesterday, and there was a lot of waiting around, so I started thinking about this thread. Generally, I like team sports. I played basketball for more than half my life. But I still have really mixed feelings on flyball.

 

Practice ran from about 6:30-8:45, but I only got to work with Kieran for maybe fifteen minutes, if that. I guess having only one dog participating is what makes it less fun for me. It's not exactly boring...I enjoy helping out with the other dogs and witnessing other dogs' success. More than a few people have multiple dogs to work, though.

 

After yesterday, I didn't think I wanted to pursue flyball with Kieran. We're going to move soon and will have to find a new team. In the end, I decided that I'm going to give it a year from our first tournament (October). I took the box home this week, so that I could work with Kieran outside of practice. Fifteen minutes once a week definitely isn't enough to be working out his issues, especially with a dog like him, who can stay focused a lot longer. I try to work on stuff at home, regardless, but a lot of his issues involve the box.

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apparently I am weird lol. give me the choice of flyball or agility? I will take Flyball every time. I have been trying to get into agility for years(since Happy was young and she is 15 now soo...) I have done classes, workshops, trials etc.. all my dogs are trained in it to some degree. but the only reason is because THEY enjoy it. I don't, at all, I don't have fun, it makes me feel light headed and confused. I offer my dogs up to anyone who wants an agility dog to work with, because THEY love it, but my dislike isn't gonna get them very far lol. Flyball OTH? far and away my favorite sport, I love the speed and pressure, the noise doesn't bother me at all, I don't even notice it till I leave and the quiet is like "what the?" lol. its certainly not complicated, but who cares? I love it, the dogs love it, that's all I need to know lol. I haven't competed in years but I still love to watch, and my Toller pup is in training, though being handled by a friend of mine since my flip flopping schedule doesn't work well for it these days.,

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I wouldn't say you are weird not liking agility. There are tons of serious flyball/freestyle/obedience competitors that have 0 interest in agility. Maybe a minority in these particular boards, but certainly not weird!

 

I appreciate the insight into flyball everyone has offered. I can see how it draws so many people. Have determined it's definitely not my sport, but it's great for those who like it!

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apparently I am weird lol. give me the choice of flyball or agility? I will take Flyball every time. I have been trying to get into agility for years(since Happy was young and she is 15 now soo...) I have done classes, workshops, trials etc.. all my dogs are trained in it to some degree. but the only reason is because THEY enjoy it. I don't, at all, I don't have fun, it makes me feel light headed and confused. ,

Not weird at all. You could not force me to do obediance, I think rally is slightly pointless, freestyle for an uncoordinated human is out the question, and flyball just doesn't appeal... Yet all are very popular dog activities. My chosen poison is agility doesn't mean it's for everyone.

 

Edited for weird IPad spelling.

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I hear, "You can't bond with your dog in Agility like you do in Freestyle" from Freestyle people all the time. They're wrong. I have bonded with Tessa in Agility in exactly the same way I did with Speedy in Freestyle. When Tessa and I run Agility it is exactly like a dance.

 

It's about finding the sport where the individual dog and handler connect. For some that's Obedience, for some Freestyle, for some Flyball, for some Agility . . . etc. etc. etc. And some teams are blessed to find that in multiple sports, but not all.

 

In my experience, I have found that my dogs often like playing in different sports, but they tend to have one that they love as their favorite. For Speedy that was Freestyle, although he enjoyed Rally. For Maddie that was Agility - she wouldn't tolerate anything else! For Dean it is anything that involves heeling, so Rally and Freestyle that is very heavy on heeling and synchronized movement - he tolerated Agility. For Tessa it's Agility - she likes Cyber Rally a lot, and she will put up with doing some Freestyle, and she enjoys tricks, but Agility is her passion. Bandit . . . I don't know yet. He does enjoy everything we do. But we do have a chemistry when it comes to Freestyle, and I do think that just might be "it" for him. But time will tell - he will get the chance to do different things.

 

And me - well, Freestyle is my favorite - even in different forms, but Agility with Tessa is so close a second, I have to call it a practical tie!! And I like Rally and would love to try my hand at CDSP Obedience someday. But Flyball - definitely not for me! And I don't think I'm crazy about nosework or barnhunt, either, although I would consider doing either with an older retired dog who found one of them enjoyable. I tried barnhunt with Tessa and all she wanted to do was go through the hay tunnel and climb on the hay!! So, we went back to Agility, which is obviously her thing! I have some interest in Treibball, too, but would probably need to train with a group to get into it.

 

I love that we have so much to dabble in and so much to choose from!

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I'm still trying to find the ideal sports for Paisley and Gypsy, Gem is great for Rally and well every sport really, Sola will be competing in Rally as well but I don't think it will be "her" sport, she is the one training in flyball with my friend, def. Her kinda sport, and she is a perfect little height dog too. Paisley has Rally titles but I dont think the upper levels are for her, she is too spooky. We are trying barn hunt and scenting in sept. With Gyp and Pais, they seem to really love the search games we play for fun, so we'll try searching sports, see how that goes :P

 

Happy was all about flyball, she LOVES head to head racing, she didnt race for any reward, she raced to win and was a 3.8 second dog, you could see the fire in her eyes when she watched the other dogs and winning was her reward, I didn't have anything for her at the end because she didn't want it, my presence was not even needed, she would line herself up on her own go on her own and race to win. I still take her to fun practices sometimes simply because she loves it so much lol

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