Comments for The Flyball Blog

Comment on NAFA Top Pointed Dogs by Lana

Lana — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 01:54:32 +0000

My mothers dog is one of those top pointed dogs and she is likely the youngest dog on the list. Unlike other people on this list my mother has ONLY one dog so she always get a full time spot on our team. Plus we do not run for blazing speed but for fun and points … meaning we run “clean”. However, these points were earned over many weekends, in many states and with some double running. My team does double run somewhat frequently but will split an extra open spot between several young healthy dogs – this allows everyone on our small team an opportunity to play. A dog on our team has never run close to 60 heats. In fact, I know of no dog that has ever run that much. The reality is an average team might run 20-24 heats a day (sometimes less with 3 and outs). Each run is 5 sec. or less … do the math … that is not much running for a fit dog. In fact some people or teams do three warm up runs before each race … in essence these folks double run though some of the same folk complain about it.
Our team has a licensed veternarian on the team and she firmly believes in only running healthy trim dogs. Our vet also recognizes they are dogs and have athletic ability far superior to our own. I would love to see new awards … perhaps every 25,000 points after Hobbes. My mother’s dog has years left to play and loves the game. Congrats to Ruckus and the owner on a wonderful milestone.

Comment on NAFA Top Pointed Dogs by Chris

Chris — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:43:18 +0000

>>…typically get 6 races each days and dogs are double ran on two teams, so they could potentially run 12 races with a minimum of 36 heats and maximum of 60! That is INSANE!…..(that) is what a lot of people think about when it comes to points.<>…or also about dogs with longevity – solid and sturdy?<<

Most of these dogs that run year after year are well conditioned. The judges have the right to excuse a dog for abuse.

What concerns me is that the NAFA Board is purposely avoiding recognizing these EXTRAORDINARILY athletic, healthy, well-conditioned dogs because MAYBE they don't "trust" our Head Judges "judgment" when observing a dog's condition while it races and are "buying in" to the argument that racking up NAFA points beyond the Hobbes level (100,000) is in and of itself abusing the dog?

Is that possible? Would they admit that if asked to explain their position on awards above the Hobbes?

You see, the ability to achieve 100,000 points and above in a dog's NAFA racing career is NOT just about how many points can be accumulated over a weekend of racing. OH NO! It's also about how many "weekends of racing" present themselves as opportunities to race. If you live in a Region like Alaska, there's only 2 or 3 weekends of racing in an entire year. In Region 6, FY 2011 only had ONE weekend of racing for the entire racing season. Even Region 1, where Shadow earned his "Top-Pointed" status has declined from 2005, it's busiest racing season which had 18 weekends, to only 6 "weekends of racing" in FY 2012. (…oh, there WAS a 7th Region 1 event scheduled "out of Region" in Ontario that only three Region 1 clubs attended but, two had to enter Open class and only one Region 1 club entered a Regular class team.) I don't really count that event.

My point is that NAFA needs to recognize that accumulating NAFA points is not in and of itself, abusive to the dogs. As NAFA GROWS, opportunities to race and accumulate points present themselves.

I personally know BOTH "Top Pointed" dogs- Shadow and Rukus. They are wonderful, healthy well-conditioned flyball dogs and anybody who watched them race also knows that. Ruckus is surpassing Shadow's record at a time where I expect he may very well continue to race for another 2 years…maybe more.

Ruckus races in Region 2 where his owners can pick and choose which weekends to race. This year (2012) Region 2 had 17 weekends of racing. And, I might add, his owners also have opportunity to cross into the states.

It's entirely possible that Ruckus may retire from flyball having accumulated over 170,000 NAFA points in his career. The question is, will the only people that honor his extraordinary achievement be "us" ordinary flyball folks who follow the rules and race clean, who run for fun and success? …or, will we be able to convince the BoD members who run "to win", who define "success" as Championships and World Record times ….will they come "on board" and recognize that achieving the "Top Pointed Dog" deserves Honor and Recognition, too?

I wonder about that.

NAFA Board members have commented on this blog in the past so, I know they read it. I invite them to tell us what they think.

…..Chris

Comment on NAFA Top Pointed Dogs by Linda

Linda — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:06:31 +0000

I think the ‘idea’ of the award is great and a well-deserved one for the well-treated and well-ran dog with a responsible handler who puts the health of the dog first at all times. I realize some dogs are completely capable and are in great health throughout their entire flyball career. At the same time, I have also heard of a dog(s) being double-run so many times just for points and awards where the dog’s health was placed in jeopardy and in fact the dog went from being a 4 second to an over 5 second dog in a short period of time because it was pushed too far.

In addition, I personally witnessed a dog being run when it appeared to be hurting and when I politely asked the handler if the dog was alright I was told “it was just until the dog got xxx number of points”. I actually had tears in my eyes watching it run. If it had not been the team’s last race of that day, I would have said something to the judge about what I witnessed and asked for the judge’s help on behalf of the dog.

I support the 150,000 award but only with the caveat that either NAFA, the judges at tournaments, and/or the participants dedicate themselves to monitoring the health and well-being of the dogs.

Would participants be able to speak up when they see a dog being pushed too far?

Comment on NAFA Top Pointed Dogs by Crystal

Crystal — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:09:35 +0000

I think it would be awesome to award 150,000 points. I have worked really hard to attain that with Scooby and someday we will get there!

That being said I think alot of people don’t want to award for “points” due to the amount fo double running that has occured. I know different regions have different examples of double running but what I refer to is Region 3, 19, and 21. We typically get 6 races each days and dogs are double ran on two teams, so the could potenitally run 12 races with a minimum of 36 heats and maximum of 60! That is INSANE! I know this isnt the place for my soap box! But it is what alot of people think about when it comes to points.

That being said it irritates me that being a “pointed person” is given a bad rap because of people like this!

Comment on Fading into Obscurity by Linda

Linda — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:14:29 +0000

Yeah, I read on i-flyball facebook that the blog is coming back! Thank you Larry, best wishes to the upcoming authors and I know a lot of flyballers are looking forward to the next article.

Sincerely,
I Like Flyball!

Comment on Fading into Obscurity by Jenni

Jenni — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 09:04:00 +0000

hi Larry, I have only just found this blog and looking at all the amazing information on here I cant believe now that I have found it you will not be continuing. I live in Australia and have found much of your blog helpful to the way I train my dogs. You obviously have put a lot of time and effort into this blog and I thankyou for your resources. Please dont give up. You have so much to give and it really is appreciated by almost all of your readers.

Comment on Flyball Training – Lesson 1 by Harriet

Harriet — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 09:59:41 +0000

Hi all,
I can see these posts are years old but I need help with the motivator. My dog is entirely uninterested in treats AND toys. She might tug for a bit but is quickly bored. All she wants to do is explore. Any ideas on how to get her motivated? Is there anything I can do to make her feel like it’s more fun?

Comment on Training in the Ring by jeannie

jeannie — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:34:20 +0000

I have trained 8 dogs of my own. The atmosphere in warm ups is totally different than an actual race. Many times I have asked the team in the other lane to drag race with my green dog or even the whole team will do a line up and things go well so I put my dog in a heat and he/she goes around the jumps or drops the ball or some thing. You cannot get racing experience without actual racing atmosphere… Warm ups “Help”.

Comment on Fading into Obscurity by Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:10:29 +0000

We are in Wisconsin and a few teams have taken us under their wings and helped us greatly. We competed in our first U-FLY tournament in April and placed first in our seed. We were very blessed to have lots of teams helping us with our very small team. Thanks for the suggestions and I look forward to meeting more flyball people!!

Comment on Fading into Obscurity by Linda

Linda — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:23:21 +0000

Lisa, where are you from? We are also in a remote area and must travel at least 4 hours to attend a tournament, with several of the tournaments in our Region 6 to 7 hours away. We host a tournament once a year and it always ends up being a small tournament because it is also a long way for other teams to travel to us. We are in Pensacola, FL, and we have offered to travel to places to help get flyball started, within reason, of course. So, even if you’re not near Pensacola, I’m sure there is a team near you that will help get you started. Do take advantage of the training information on this blog to get started. Larry has posted lots of helpful information.