Anyone here do Dog Sports?

[Konotashi]

Just wondering if anyone else here is active in dog sports.

I have a Pomeranian (Ozzy) in flyball. He's a little superstar - when we go to demos, there are handlers on other teams that will go, "Hey, it's OZZY!" and I'm like, "I have no idea who that is...." LOL
I've had that happen at out of state tournaments, also. Haha.

He started training in October of 2010... or 11? (Sorry, I'm tired, haha) and competed in his first tournament (running in singles/pairs - so he wasn't racing with a full team yet) four months later. I don't think most dogs start racing until 6-12 months after they begin training, so needless to say, I was one proud, happy momma! Add that to the fact that the other dog he was racing singles against had been training for about THREE YEARS, and he was running clean, while she was going around hurdles and dropping the ball (both faults).

For those of you who don't know, flyball is the only team dog sport. It's like a relay race with two teams of four dogs that have to run over 4 hurdles, hit a box that shoots out a ball at the end, and run back. The team that finishes the fastest wins!

Here's a video I made from when he started training up to his first tournament on a full team. It also has his singles tournament. If you skip to about 2:25, you can see where the other dog messes up and Ozzy looks and is like, "What are you doin?" (But if you wanna watch the whole video, that's cool too! )
I felt bad, because at his first tournament running on a full team, he would go around some of the jumps. I couldn't figure out why, because he NEVER did that. We figured out that he TOTALLY SHREDDED his front paws. I felt SO BAD. I was still so proud of him for still trying to run! Poor guy, though. After going over some of the hurdles, he was like, "Okay. Landing hurts - going around!" We put some New Skin on his feet and wrapped them up though, and he ran perfect the rest of the tournament!


I would love to get him into agility, and there are some awesome clubs around here. There's actually one about two miles away from me in a really nice indoor facility, but I'm just holding off until I can afford to put him into classes. I think he would ROCK at agility. He got to do a little demo thing at Woofstock (big dog event they have here every year), and he rocked the tunnel, had no issues on the teeter, knows hurdles and the command 'over' already, and knows how to weave through my legs already. The trainer that let us try out the little practice field thing was very impressed with him, as some dogs will not go NEAR the tunnel or will fly off the teeter as soon as it starts to move.

Here are some pictures. I don't have many good photos of him, considering I was voted our team's photographer.

When he first started training - doing some box work.



More box work, but at a demo. (More distractions)



Box work at the demo.



From his first tournament. Can you tell he was excited??



Just so there's no confusion on why it's called 'flyball.' LOL



Little racin' dawg!
I always wrap his feet now after he shredded his feet at that tourney.



Showin' off his NAFA (North American Flyball Association) titles!
FD (Flyball Dog)
FD-Ch (Flyball Dog Champion).
He is literally ONE RACE away from his FD-ChS (Flyball Dog Champion Silver).

He also has his TF (Top Flight) title in U-FLI (United Flyball League International).



This came in the mail on his birthday! Thank you, U-FLI!



Here are some other dogs on the team.

Sometimes accidents happen - as they can in any sport.



Neo



Asta. I love her, just 'cause she's a GSD. (Dat's my next dog).



Leon - owned and handled by the same woman as Asta. He has to have a specific person box load for him because he hits the box SO HARD, all of us girls are sent flying. LOL

[TerrieL]

I have German Shepherds and train and compete in Schutzhund. There is a woman in our club that does both Schutzhund and Flyball with her Shepherd. I love my dogs, and it's funny how excited they get when we are loading up the truck to go to training. I took this picture yesterday for a magazine article ,in Franklin TN of a club members dog

[Konotashi]

I have German Shepherds and train and compete in Schutzhund. There is a woman in our club that does both Schutzhund and Flyball with her Shepherd. I love my dogs, and it's funny how excited they get when we are loading up the truck to go to training. I took this picture yesterday for a magazine article ,in Franklin TN of a club members dog

Whenever I get my GSD, I want to do SchH with her. Even though it'll be a while from now (everything seems like it's so far away ) I've already got the gender and name picked out. :p
I've picked out my breeder and her dogs are all PERFECT. She knows exactly what I want and said that she'll have no problem matching me with the right pup. I pretty much told her I'd want to do SchH if I'm able, but I don't want a dog that HAS to do it without driving me up the wall - but I'll definitely be doing flyball with her. She has Czech working line dogs, so she's going to need a job regardless.

I can't grab Ozzy's martingale without him going bonkers. Nor am I allowed to say the word "ready" on Sundays. LOL

ETA: I just noticed in that last photo of Leon (the malinois) that the box is NOT on the ground. LOL That dog is crazy. Like most malis.... He hits that thing like a freight train. At practices, if our guy is working his dog, we have to have two people stand on it for him with the box pegged to the ground. Still goes flying.

[TerrieL]

The working line German Shepherds are not anything like the show line shepherds, which is the majority of what you will find in this country. If you have never had a high drive dog (Shepherd, Mal, Dutch ,etc.), I would strongly suggest you do your homework before getting one. These are very intelligent dogs with tons of drive that absolutely need a job. Trying to make a couch potato out of one is a recipe for disaster. Too many of these dogs are bought by people that did not know what they were getting into and they end up in shelters and recues.
These dogs are very versatile and would do great in Fly ball or Schutzhund. I've seen a few Malis and Dutchys do great in agility as well.

Good luck and if you end up with a working line dog and need any info for Schutzhund contacts in your area , let me know. The Schutzhund community in this country is actually not that large, and I know quite a few people in the DVG organization.

Good luck with the fly ball

[Konotashi]

I've done lots of research - no worries.
Plus I told my breeder that considering she'll be my first GSD, I want a dog that doesn't have too-crazy drive. I've talked to a few people who have dogs from her and they're all beyond thrilled.
I was watching some videos of a Sieger show, and it was depressing watching some of the dogs scurry off the field when the helper would advance toward the dog at all. Not the kind of dog I'm looking for. I'd rather have a dog bred for temperament and working ability than looks, anyway.
I've also had the opportunity to see a GSL do flyball - it looked awkward racing compared to WLs.

[Evenstar]

I have raised German Shepherds for years. My dogs are 100% German bloodline - some West German Seiger lines and some Czech and DDR lines as well. We do competitive obedience and agility with our dogs.

TerriL is absolutely correct on doing your research. I know you've stated that you've done plenty, but there's always room for more.

And any dog you've seen "scurry" off the SchH field, whether in the Seiger shows or the IPO ring or whatever, isn't going to get high marks for the Seiger. Emphasis is placed on working ability and not just looks. These dogs have to be sound in body AND in mind. The show lines can and do produce dogs that aren't stable temperamentally, but those dogs don't achieve high marks in the German Seiger. And likewise, the working lines can produce dogs that are too sharp or too hectic. I am glad you've found a good breeder. Might I ask who you're working with? Good breeders of working stock are few and far between....

Here are a few pictures of my girls competing and a few portraits.....














And this is our resident Australian Shepherd. My hubby's pride and joy!

[Konotashi]

There's definitely good and bad in every line. I'm just partial to the WLs. I actually know of one person who was working their American line in SchH. Given, it was a tough road for them, but they did it! They got their SchHI (or did they change it to IPO?) and I think he may have even gotten his SchH/IPOII.
I'll PM you my breeder's info. She's one of the few I found that test for DM too. And I do more reading and research every day.

[Evenstar]

Oh there's nothing wrong with being partial to the working lines!! I HATE the American lines myself. I feel sick every time I see a lovely GSD walking down on their hocks. Pitiful what we have done to such a noble breed. I strive for temperament first in my breeding program, then soundness above all else.

[Konotashi]

Oh there's nothing wrong with being partial to the working lines!! I HATE the American lines myself. I feel sick every time I see a lovely GSD walking down on their hocks. Pitiful what we have done to such a noble breed. I strive for temperament first in my breeding program, then soundness above all else.

I went to an AKC show once and I was utterly disappointed. Dogs that looked crippled and walked on their hocks with temperaments of chihuahuas....

Here's a photo I took of one standing naturally, waiting to go in the ring.

[satomi325]

We're doing Schutzhund with our Doberman Pinscher, Magnum P.I. I'm loving it a lot!
Our dog isn't old enough yet to compete, but we'll be getting her a BH as soon as she hits the 15 months age limit. She's 11 months currently and training is going smoothly.







First day trying on her protection harness:



Some dogs from my club: