Agility-Flyball dogs--

[Amber]

What types of dogs can do these activitys? Probably any dog could but is there any certain size or something?

[Foam]

For agility there are certain classes and groups for the size of the dog.
The jumps depend o nthe dogs hawk (spelling?) height, which is the height from the ground to the dog's shoulders, and every dog competintg in that range will compete on that set course.
Mutts, and dogs of every size can compete in agility. :)
Why? Is Katie becoming a performance dog? :D

[Amber]

haha, I wish! :P

I was watching a t.v. show on Flyball and Agility and it looks like fun! :D

[Foam]

Ahh I see. ;) Yes it is very fun!

[Crikit]

It doesn't really matter on the type of the dog any dog can do both sports as long as they have the will to do it. However some breeds do have a few more problems doing agility because of their bone structure or size so they lower the jumps and other pieces of equipment for them.

Oh and Foam when finding the dogs jump height they actually measure the dog at the withers which is the middle of the dogs shoulder blades at the base of the neck.

[binka_nugget]

:D Fun sports, we tried out flyball and I'd love to try it again if I find another club. Border collies, shelties, papillons and jacks seem to be really popular in flyball and agility...some breeds are more flyball/agility suitable but it depends on the individual dog. I know Kai would love agility but I'm not so sure he liked flyball. Vice versa for kaedyn..he loved flyball but I'm not sure he'd like agility much.

[cali]

for flyball as long as the dog is not so small that it cant jump 8 inches quickly then the smaller the better! but for what breeds are good, that would be border collies, aussies, shelties, some jacks, and border jacks are some of the best. inner drive has a little black border jack and man o man can that dog RUN. :eek:

[Amber]

Ive been doing some research on Flyball sounds like fun! I wanna do it, but it requiers a dog. lol Katie couldnt do it, I think

[cocker_luva]

nope, any breed (or mixed) any size, and color. doesnt matter.

[cali]

but these things DO matter cocker_luva, if they dog is to small it cant safley jump the hights requred in flyball, structer also matters, if say they have bad shoulders, or some other problem of the sort they can hurt themselves, body type matters because agility and flyball require a lot of jumping, a bulky dog will have more problems then a thin narrow dog, because the bulky dog has a lot more pressure placed on there shoulders when they jump. I longer muzzle is better because they need to be able to breath very well, that much running and jumping is exuasting, and the dog needs to be able to keep good air flow. these things are not for the purpose of the dog being the best or anything, its all for the safty of the dog, preformance bred dogs have there structurs evaluted several times through puppy hood to make sure that the sports wont cause then problems or injury.

[Amber]

Do you think JRT are good for flyball?

[cali]

that depnd totally on the dog, some JRTs are great for flyball and some are horrable for it. you need a very leegy jack for flyball, and shorter legged one will get nowhere because they just cant keep up, its to hard for them to keep going 5 or more times in a row. (more in the case of false starts) however a nice leggy jack is in most cases great for flyball.

[tikeyas_mom]

what about bullterrier and siberian huskies?? :o

[Crikit]

bull terriers would have difficulties with both sports due to the stocky build. Normally dogs who have the stiff legs in the front tend to have problems jumping. I'm not saying a bull terrier couldn't do it but it would be more of a challenge physically for it, also some terriers can be a little harder to train for agility because of their stubborn nature.

As for Huskies it all depends on the husky really, the biggest problem with huskies is keeping the motivated and focused. Depending on the husky they'll either want to work with you and love the game or they'll humor you for a while and then decide that they've had enough and to put it bluntly give you the doggie dew claw.

[tikeyas_mom]

Originally posted by Crikit
bull terriers would have difficulties with both sports due to the stocky build. Normally dogs who have the stiff legs in the front tend to have problems jumping. I'm not saying a bull terrier couldn't do it but it would be more of a challenge physically for it, also some terriers can be a little harder to train for agility because of their stubborn nature.

As for Huskies it all depends on the husky really, the biggest problem with huskies is keeping the motivated and focused. Depending on the husky they'll either want to work with you and love the game or they'll humor you for a while and then decide that they've had enough and to put it bluntly give you the doggie dew claw.

hahah you are soo right!!! ;). i will never be able to enter in any fun sports with my doggies :(.. meh ;). o well i love my stuborn silly clownish dogs !!! mwahaha.

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
hahah you are soo right!!! ;). i will never be able to enter in any fun sports with my doggies :(.. meh ;). o well i love my stuborn silly clownish dogs !!! mwahaha.

Sure you can. It will just be challenge to find the right sports and the right training methods that motivate them to want to do it. I find obedience very fun to compete in and you could do it with either breed you mentioned :)

[Crikit]

Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
hahah you are soo right!!! ;). i will never be able to enter in any fun sports with my doggies :(.. meh ;). o well i love my stuborn silly clownish dogs !!! mwahaha.

I never said that you couldn't do the sports with either of those breeds. I've seen Rotties, and Staffies, and the most pigheaded lakeland run quiet well on agility courses, and I personally know a few huskies that all though they aren't the best dogs there and they aren't the fastest the owner never quits on them and always gives them a chance to work through things.

Ultimately it depends on the handler, if they put the time and dedication in to training the dog and understanding the dogs limits any dog baring serious health problems can do either sport, even if it's just for fun they can still do it.

[wolf_Q]

TM, sure huskies can do those things...Nebo's in an agililty class. Now as for him getting really good and doing competitions, it's not very likely...but you can still try, have some fun, and bond with your dog in the process. :)

[wolfsoul]

Sure, any breed can compete in these. :) As the others have said, often there will be breeds that will dominate other breeds at these sports. Border collies are probably the most prominent of the breeds in these sports.

But, it isn't always about who's going to win or lose --- People shouldn't worry about how well their dog will do, just how much fun they're going to have. :)

[cloverfdx]

Any breed can participate in these sports. :)

We have a Mini Bull Terrier race in one of our Flyball teams, she is a great dog.....But has trouble jumping as she get overly excited and forgets to jump and crashes instead. And she thought the starting gate was a jump and was putting herself out of time. We are slowly working through these problems with her and hopefully oneday she will race to best.
http://www.giant.net.au/users/bfreynolds/bdoc/flyball/flyball_images/maggie.jpg

We also have Boxers race with us and 2 out of 3 of then cannot race their best all day as they have quite puggish muzzles and it makes it hard for them to take in oxygen.

My Clover is also a VERY stocky dog and cannot do swimmers turns on the Flyball box which puts ALOT more strain on her joints as she is hitting it strait on.

Cali does your Dog club/Flyball team have a web site that i could check out. Or do you have any pics from comps you have entered. I know, i know im a self confessed Flyball fanatic ;) :D

[cali]

lol our clubs website is super out of date, the titles listed are all wrong, and the dogs are wrong lol maggie is retired, Rigs is a FMCh, happys is a FDCh, sprint went to florida back to her breeder, we have a new jack now, blair, and lighrning, and wicked, and jersey are not up yet, breeze rarly does anything, spirit has a broken shoulder so he cant play. clipper is retired, sweep has her onyx, well you get the idea lol it is in horrable need of updating, but here it is

PDQ (http://www.prairiepdqdogsports.ca/)

[cloverfdx]

LOL thanks anyway Shayna :D

Here's our web site it is updated often

BDOC (http://www.giant.net.au/users/bfreynolds/bdoc/index.htm)

The site is pretty easy to navigate :)

[Toller 42]

Nova scotia duck tolling retrievers are great in agility and flyball because they are extremely active and eager to learn. Aussie shepherds are really good too. And if you want a small dog why not try a Papillon or a miniature schnauzer!

[bckrazy]

inner drive has a little black border jack and man o man can that dog RUN.

I just saw this bust on a puppy mill that bred borderjacks... I cant imagine how hyper those dogs must be!!

Some of the best breeds Ive seen in flyball have suprisingly been little dogs. Rat Terriers are ALWAYS out there kicking BC butts, and every team wants one for their height dog cos their very little, fast, and leggy so they can jump. Boston Terriers are also really great at flyball! And of course, the mutts are always the best. Everyone says Border Collies dominate, but they have their weaknesses too... I see atleast one BC at every tourny chase the other dog at passing or cross into the other teams lane, usually because of herding instinct or lack of focus. Thats my boys only weakness in flyball, he wants to play all the time :rolleyes:

[cloverfdx]

We have just had a Boston Terrier join us at Flyball in the last month and it is amazing how that little dog can run :D and she has picked it up so fast.

As for unfocused BCs they should not be racing untill they are bomb proof, the problems you see are handler error not errors of the breed/dog. Some people push their dogs into competing way too soon and then the dog gets done for interference over and over and it is the dog that suffers in the end.

I am being pushed to move on to the next level of Flyball with my BC pup (9 Months old) but i have flat out refused i am not going to make the mistake that many people do and push the dogs too quickly and stuff them up.

BCkarazy keep working on your dog he will get it in the end. Do you use a motivator, eg Rope/ Tug toy, Food treats? somthing to focus on as soon as he turns for home. You have to make yourself the best thing in the world to your dog so he wants to come back to you and not run off to play.

PM me if you need any advice or anything. :)

[bckrazy]

Clover, I know, people should not be racing these dogs but they do. I've also been to mostly fun matches also, which is where I saw most of the mistakes. I know BC's are awesum.

yes, I do have a tug for him which he loves and he has amazing recall. I also run the other way so he really comes back fast. He never chases when he's coming back, it's always when he is going to the box. He usually just spins around, kinda looks at the other dog, then goes back through the jumps. He is really great on the jumps and sooo fast, and he tries so hard, so our team doesn't really mind how long its taking to get him to compete. It does get frustrating, though, since he's been training since he was under 1 year old. Gonzo has gone to a couple of tourneys which he did well in, and he always goes to the fun matches. We have to use him as the start dog so that he only passes on the way back, and he always chooses me over the dog he's passing :p

[Toller 42]

are mini dachshunds suitable for either sport?

[Crikit]

Originally posted by Toller 42
are mini dachshunds suitable for either sport?

Any dog is suitable for both sports just as long as they have fun doing it and the owner/handler put the time and effort in to training the dog.

[Toller 42]

not all dogs can do agility even if they have the proper training, I know standard Dachshunds can't usually because of their backs! http://www.dachshund.org/image_gaughtFancy_new_CH.JPG :)

[Layka3000]

All toy dogs can do it prolly, at least that is what i heard. And definitly boarder collies are really good at it (duh!).

here is a statistic site: http://www.flyballdogs.com/breedlist.html for best dog fly ballers lol

[cali]

sigh another one, ok EVERYONE who has never met a BorderJack assumes that they are VERY high energy and totally off the wall, and this is simply untrue. BorderJacks are NOT as energetic as either BCs OR jacks. the way most people descibe them as is a jack with breaks. they have the drive and they have the size of a jack but they have the brains and focas of a border collie(there are larger ones of coarse) unlike a Jack a BJ knows when to quite, they know when to settle down etc.. I used think that a BJ was the worst idea ever all your gonna get is a spazzy dog with a brain. now that I personally know many BJs I definatly dont think that way anymore! most of the BJs I have seen are far better at everything they do, and smarter then most jacks and Border collies combined.


Everyone says Border Collies dominate, but they have their weaknesses too... I see atleast one BC at every tourny chase the other dog at passing or cross into the other teams lane, usually because of herding instinct or lack of focus. Thats my boys only weakness in flyball, he wants to play all the time

chasing and crossing over is hardly limited to BCs though , some BCs chase some dont, happy did not start racing till she was 3 because she chased, misty is not running yet because she chases. most clubs also will take a green dog to a tourny and run it a few times in a tourniment situation just to see how they are doing, Happy did several times. but some clubs are just stupid about it and continue to run a dog regardless of crossing over, Happy was injured by a big yellow mutt that crossed over, the dog crossed over in front of happy, she had to skid to a stop then the dog moved and Happy clided with the jump, she bruised her leg and broke the the jump in half

this is not the best pic of the crash, but I dont have full access to verything right now, I have some computer problems and IE is all I have at all at the moment, this is the only pic I have of it that I currently have access too lol

http://cali.mypetpages.net/artists/116/0/a2eeaf62296f4b5a86a3521993da388e.jpg

[Crikit]

Originally posted by Toller 42
not all dogs can do agility even if they have the proper training, I know standard Dachshunds can't usually because of their backs!

Actually I have seen a few dashshunds doing agility and other dog sports. Most agility organizations have a class called specails were certain breeds get to jump at lower heights and get a bit more time. Like I've said before any dog can do either sport they just have to have training, a will to work with their handler and be healthy. I've even seen Great Danes,Bouviers, and Toy poodles do it.

[Toller 42]

some dachshunds do but I would never think of putting a Standard through eith sport because they have such long backs and it's not good for them to jump alot, other than that I think almost any dog could do it except for Pugs. http://www.jeannieshouse.com/kennel/pug/pugs.jpg

[cloverfdx]

I have seen Pugs do Agility ;).

Ditto all that Shayna said above also. :)

[Toller 42]

some pugs do agility but alot don't because of their short noses.

[Crikit]

Originally posted by Toller 42
some pugs do agility but alot don't because of their short noses.

Well that and because their owners probably haven't trained them to.:D But yes pugs can as well, they just need to be watched a little closer that's all.

[aspenblue1]

My husky loves agility and flyball of course on his terms. But he gets all excited when he gets to get out in the ring and play. He is not very good at shows because he is very picky on the contact obsticals. Where we train the obsticals are very sturdy and at a lot of shows they are not that nice so he will run around them or fly off them. But all that really matters to me is that he likes it.

I have seen so many different kinds of dogs showing in agility but I see tons of Border collies and JRT at the shows.

[Layka3000]

my next door neighbor has a jack, he is a fly ball champ!