tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22369895563378683582024-03-12T22:02:46.914-04:00Flyball Prop-a-Ganda flyball blogA blog about flyballLisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-21686349626392624412013-05-31T11:22:00.000-04:002013-05-31T11:24:26.657-04:00Evolutions and New BeginningsAbout two years ago, I started branching out into other dog sports besides flyball. I had fallen madly in love with Todd Murnan (now my husband), and, like one does when one is madly in love, I agreed to give some of his hobbies a try. Luckily his hobbies included dogs -- disc dog predominantly, plus some dock diving, advanced tricks, and lots of natural conditioning (hiking, etc.). All pretty new stuff to me. Eek.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also wasn't prepared for the fact that<br />
Todd's cattle dog, Grit, liked to taco the<br />
disc. Try throwing THIS accurately<br />
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I came out to San Diego to visit Todd one weekend, and he announced that he had signed me up to play with two of his dogs in a disc dog fun day that Saturday. I got a lesson from Todd in how to throw a frisbee on Friday, then Saturday off we went to the event. It would have been nice to know that the disc dog fun day included about five different games that all revolved around distance and accuracy type stuff. This meant I had to walk out onto the field about 10 times in front of a bunch of people I had just met, with dogs I hardly knew, and attempt to throw the frisbee. All while the announcer was introducing me and my dog to everyone, then counting down how much time I had left and what my score was. Mortifying. (Worse than the time I signed up for the Road Runner Sports VIP club membership and they rang the huge welcome bell and the whole store stopped what they were doing and applauded.)<br />
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I have always liked flyball for the team aspect of it, and for the relative anonymity that comes with that. We're all wearing the same shirt, we're all huddled up together back in the runback area, and all eyes are on the beautiful dogs running up and down the lanes, not on us. </div>
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Disc dog is the exact opposite. Brave souls walk out into the center of the field with their dog, strike a pose, wait for their music to start, then put on a two-minute performance in front of a panel of judges, other competitors, and spectators. I haven't reached the point where I can do this (freestyle) yet. I do like Toss & Catch (or Toss & Fetch, or Distance & Accuracy, the name changes based on what organization you're competing in), and I have competed a number of times in that. Walking out onto the field gets a little easier every time. </div>
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Dock diving also requires some time in the spotlight. You have to walk up a flight of stairs without tripping, get your dog to stay on one end of the dock while you walk to the other end, then you throw your dog's toy out into the water in a way that makes your dog jump as far as possible -- all in front of a bunch of other competitors and spectators. </div>
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And that's sort of what this post is about. Getting out there and trying something new, even if you think you look stupid. So what if you look stupid. Our dogs don't worry about looking stupid, they just want to play with us. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Todd with our border staffy, Glock, when Glock was a puppy (at the Purina Incredible Dog<br />
Challenge in San Diego). As you can see, Todd doesn't worry about looking stupid. :) His<br />
self-confidence is one of his secret weapons and is one of the things I admire most about him.</td></tr>
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There's a lot we can learn from dabbling in other dog sports and talking to competitors outside of flyball. </div>
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For example, a few weeks ago on Facebook, a disc dog competitor asked a few flyball competitors for advice on teaching her dog a better recall, so that she could leverage this in her Distance & Accuracy game. In the disc dog world, flyball dogs are often envied for their fast recalls -- having a dog that runs straight back at you as fast as he can with the disc in his mouth could mean the difference between getting out five throws or six (in a typical toss & fetch timed competition), which could really affect your overall placement. We flyball people do know how to train a great recall. :)</div>
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Here's another example. My flyball team is currently working with a dog who clips the jumps/props a lot. We have started some exercises away from flyball where she's being clicked/treated for NOT touching a slat on the ground or a hurdle as she's going over it, but I'm sure there are some agility competitors out there who have dealt with this and have some great ideas for how to work through it. </div>
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We have a lot in common, regardless of sport. We all travel with our dogs, we condition our dogs, we feed our dogs with optimal performance and health in mind; we all take our dogs to the vet and the chiro, we deal with injuries and illnesses. We all communicate with breeders and rescue organizations, we deal with drama and politics. All our dogs need collars and leashes and crates and toys.</div>
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In 2010, I started Flyball Prop-a-Ganda. Now it's 2013 and I want to write about more. So I'm starting a new venture called Prick Ear Media (<a href="http://www.prickearmedia.com/">http://www.prickearmedia.com</a>) with my friend and flyball teammate Amy VandenBerg -- it will include a new blog about dog sports (including flyball!) with a corresponding YouTube channel for videos. The blog will cover training (especially for beginners), but also a lot of the other stuff I mentioned above -- conditioning, canine health, traveling with dogs, living with dogs, cool accessories/equipment, etc. Basically the dog sport lifestyle in general. (With that being said, my very next series of posts on Prick Ear Media will be about training a flyball box turn on my borderstaffy, Fringe, which I'm in the process of doing. You'll see what techniques I used, what mistakes I made, etc., including a lot of video.)</div>
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This will be one of my last posts on Flyball Prop-a-Ganda. I will continue to maintain the site so that everybody has access to the older posts and comments, but all new content will be over at Prick Ear Media. I hope you'll join me over there!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.prickearmedia.com/" target="_blank">Come on over and check out Prick Ear Media</a></span></div>
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Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-5462936507907732672013-01-28T14:18:00.000-05:002013-01-28T14:18:47.339-05:00Flyball, Facebook, and FitbitLast weekend I attended my first NAFA tournament as a California resident. Most tourneys that we go to out here are U-FLI -- not because of any political sentiment, but because most NAFA tourneys on the West coast are held outside on grass while the U-FLI tourneys are held under cover on mats. Since we practice on mats and run for time at all tournaments, we prefer to play on mats. <div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chino tourney site on Sat morning</td></tr>
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This particular NAFA tourney, however, was at the Chino CA airport, and we shared the inside of a large hangar with funky little helicopters and planes. Two rings on mats, great tournament site. <br /><div>
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Anyway, since I'm a newbie out here, I didn't really know many of the people or teams at this NAFA tournament, and that felt both weird and liberating at the same time. No drama (that I was involved in or even knew about, anyway)! No history! I'm totally anonymous! If I have little pieces of chocolate-covered espresso beans stuck in my teeth (which I was eating by the pound all weekend long), nobody will notice or care, because nobody knows me or wants to talk to me! </div>
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My ignorance was brought painfully in check on Sunday, when one of the judges sauntered over to chat with me during warm-ups. "Were you here yesterday?" he asked. "Ummm...yeah...?" (I'm thinking, he must have me mistaken for somebody else. How does he even know who I am? Nobody knows me here!) He continues on, "I must have missed you! It's good to see you!" ("Oh shit!" I'm thinking, he really has mistaken me for somebody else!) At that point I asked him, awkwardly, "Who do you think I am?" and he looked startled and said, "You're Lisa." This guy, unlike me, was totally on the ball. We had met several years ago at Cynosports, and we were Facebook friends, and he actually knew who I was (I knew who he was, too, obviously -- he was the judge, there was no missing who he was ;)). He recognized me on sight and went out of his way to say hello. God, I hope there weren't any espresso beans in my teeth. </div>
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Suddenly I'm wondering how many other Facebook friends were at the tournament that I didn't acknowledge or recognize. I wondered if they knew who I was, and if I should introduce myself, or attempt to chat with them, or what. Does anybody else deal with this at tournaments??? </div>
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(In my defense, more than half of you have a picture of your dog as your profile photo, so I wouldn't be able to recognize you from that anyway.)</div>
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So I just wanted to say, for the record, that if i don't talk to you at a tournament, please don't take it personally! I am just awkward, and used to flying under the radar. I actually loved having somebody proactively come up to me and to say hello, it was awesome. I will try to do much more of that in the future, and hope you all will do the same with me. </div>
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Facebook is a really great way to connect with the flyball community in general. All weekend long I was seeing updates from others in Chino, and for days after the tournament we got photo updates from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CarolineFentonPhotography" target="_blank">Caroline Fenton</a>, who took a gazillion pictures there. It all made for a nice post-tournament buzz. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a lot of steps taken during blog writing...</td></tr>
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While we're on the subject of social media and chocolate-covered espresso beans, does anybody out there use a <a href="http://www.fitbit.com/" target="_blank">Fitbit</a>? (Fitbit is a tiny little gadget that clips to your pants or rides in your pocket and tracks your daily steps, floors climbed, miles walked, calories burned, sleep efficiency, etc.) I LOVE my Fitbit. When I first got it I worried that I would become too obsessive-compulsive about it and that it would make me feel guilty every day, but it has instead become a fun motivator. I like seeing how different types of days stack up against each other. On Saturday at the flyball tournament I walked 12,213 steps (a little over 5 miles) and on Sunday I walked 13,204 steps and climbed 3 floors (the equivalent of "The World's Tallest Corn Stalk," according to Fitbit). For comparison's sake, I walked 12,000 steps at Disneyland, and the most I've ever walked on it is 15,000 steps (on a Saturday that included flyball practice then a two-hour walk). A typical day at work and puttering around the house is about 4,000 steps. </div>
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We were running three teams in Chino (I only had a dog on one of them, and took stats for the other teams), and we were crated indoors, not too far from racing. I bet there are some tournaments where we'd walk twice that much. Is anybody else out there tracking it? Also curious to see how flyball compares with other dog sports. </div>
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Hope you all have a great week. Connect with me via Facebook or Fitbit anytime!</div>
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Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-47628460782125528172013-01-15T14:23:00.000-05:002013-01-15T14:23:09.405-05:00Free Copy of "Beginner's Guide to Flyball" for Tournament Raffles<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fringe would be happy to autograph the book</td></tr>
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In my quest to help create/encourage as many flyball addicts in 2013 as possible, I would like to donate a free copy of my book <i>The Beginner's Guide to Flyball</i> to any flyball tournament host in the world who would like to use the book for their raffle.<script type="text/javascript">
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All you have to do is email me at xterrier@gmail.com and include the following:</div>
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<li>A link to your sanctioned tournament listing (with NAFA, U-FLI, AFA in Australia, BFA in Britain, etc.) or your club's website with the tournament information listed.</li>
<li>Your mailing address</li>
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I'll drop-ship it directly to you at no charge. :)</div>
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This offer good through the entire calendar year of 2013.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Also: 50% Discount on Bulk Book Purchases </span></b></div>
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If you're teaching a class, hosting a seminar or tournament, putting on a flyball demo at an event, etc., and would like to offer copies of <i>The Beginner's Guide to Flyball</i>, I will sell them to you at 50% off the $17.95 list price ($8.98 each) for orders of 10 books or more. It's up to you what you do with them from there -- you can give them away to attendees for free (included in the overall cost of the class/seminar) or you can sell them for any price up to the $17.95 list price and pocket the profits. </div>
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I will ask that you pay the shipping costs for bulk orders, though. I will drop-ship everything through Amazon's print-on-demand company CreateSpace, which has very reasonable (and fast) shipping. </div>
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Email me with any questions about bulk orders: xterrier@gmail.com.</div>
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<b>To everyone who has bought the book so far, thank you so much! I love seeing it get out there in the world. </b></div>
Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-24658271618847275642012-11-19T10:51:00.003-05:002012-11-19T10:58:41.668-05:00Now Available: The Beginner's Guide to FlyballI am really happy to announce that<i> The Beginner's Guide to Flyball </i>is now available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Flyball-ebook/dp/B00A5AVTFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353337742&sr=1-1&keywords=beginner%27s+guide+to+flyball" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beginners-guide-to-flyball-lisa-pignetti/1113799350?ean=2940015874495" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>.<br />
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Here are some of the things covered in the book:</div>
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<li>How to transform your dog from a beginner to a flyball champion, using positive training techniques and the latest methods</li>
<li>How to troubleshoot many of the common flyball training issues and challenges</li>
<li>Where to find a flyball club in your area (or how to start your own club)</li>
<li>How the rules and titles work in both flyball organizations</li>
<li>What to expect at a flyball tournament</li>
<li>What equipment you’ll need and how to find or make it</li>
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You can browse the entire Table of Contents and read a sample chapter on both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Flyball-ebook/dp/B00A5AVTFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353337742&sr=1-1&keywords=beginner%27s+guide+to+flyball" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beginners-guide-to-flyball-lisa-pignetti/1113799350?ean=2940015874495" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>. </div>
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The book is approximately 150 pages long and contains over 60 color photos from Len Silvester, Dave Strauss, Willie Moore, Todd and Stephanie Minnella, Marsha Lundy-Almond, Sam Bennett, Dave Thomas, and Dave Peake. Their photos really took the book to the next level. (Many of you and your dogs are in them!)</div>
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Several people read drafts of this book and provided invaluable feedback: Kyle Mankes, Stephanie
Minnella, Leerie Jenkins, Kate Corum, Kristie Austin Pope, Sarah Proctor, and
Lisa Gironda.</div>
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I also incorporated a lot of your feedback from this blog. I consider the book to be a two-year group effort. :)</div>
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20% of all royalties from the book will go to the National Canine Cancer Foundation in memory of my Border Collie, Vette, and all the other great dogs out there who have battled hemangiosarcoma and other canine cancers. Here is a link to my dedicated donation page there:</div>
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<a href="http://www.wearethecure.org/friends/beginnersguidetoflyball">http://www.wearethecure.org/friends/beginnersguidetoflyball</a></div>
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The book is currently available as an ebook only, but the print book production is underway and I hope to have it available before Christmas.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Buy the Book:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-Flyball-ebook/dp/B00A5AVTFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353337742&sr=1-1&keywords=beginner%27s+guide+to+flyball"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiV31xclyebBmMdYdz6M6u-q0VFTZPonTRw9gXo3x5OLwzdUiRqZM5EZ_x2lv5rVDQSM79S9yC5f1seX-p3aMoOFmIstu6IfZ0urGnChM9-VltlGppUA35IfzgQFXnfaBR5bB5-Elrerc/s1600/icon-amazon.png" /></a>
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beginners-guide-to-flyball-lisa-pignetti/1113799350?ean=2940015874495"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWbNV-daBzgKK4TdBeu0Yh9yknAXoN92ilO5lJxloNM3EzuKuJHIA6ixy3HwW7lxh9v2vTJtUmDoUDmCqkiRljT_0Bbz9mNtIKz1jcVQjqQ92rUAIckqdTx4_-wBjurakVnQJZxDq2kg/s1600/icon-barnes.png" /></a>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Thank you, friends, for all your support and help getting this book launched!</div>
Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-18228843516561458842012-11-05T11:41:00.001-05:002012-11-05T11:41:06.943-05:00Funnel Tug = Pure GeniusThe flyball boys from North Carolina are brilliant -- first, Andy McBride invents the <a href="http://flyballgeek.com/faq.php" target="_blank">FlyballGeek </a>race tracker, then Leerie Jenkins starts the whole "Run Shady Run!" phenomenon, and now Kyle Mankes has come up with an innovative solution that protects your hand from an enthusiastic tugger...<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you -- the Funnel Tug (a.k.a. The Flaccid Tug, a.k.a. Tugtronic 9000).<script type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68rKr-MW5jN7eRmYpZ7z9GIBv3CUjk54gTl55xb54DmLfsS2sY66IKRVItcWpGuhet9hUNwAzx0w3O6ZlT2HHfQAvpMPC0lBOxy2kwvhgh1RtOCuudDl475gxLVTqM1BzUIenMmPE_A0/s1600/kyle_tug1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68rKr-MW5jN7eRmYpZ7z9GIBv3CUjk54gTl55xb54DmLfsS2sY66IKRVItcWpGuhet9hUNwAzx0w3O6ZlT2HHfQAvpMPC0lBOxy2kwvhgh1RtOCuudDl475gxLVTqM1BzUIenMmPE_A0/s1600/kyle_tug1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Kyle has taken a 99¢ gas funnel, available at Walmart or pretty much anywhere else, and attached it to the end of his tug as a hand protector. He puts a knot in the tug to keep it from sliding down. And if he ever has to replace it, it just costs another 99¢. (He told me the first one lasted about six months.)<br />
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I think leaving the sticker on is a nice touch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPxz575X0SmsdeSB6xfbzsfKdN529uq7Ty4aPdshAy12yWNjzZ2UGcXaLWlWXT3YriXYbLQPTUXLZbsLrazbJ6iMcHcWqFEVzzFqBLJ4FDQFlCneDxctL89qV3h2iVb1UshyQ4i-HioA/s1600/kyle_tug2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPxz575X0SmsdeSB6xfbzsfKdN529uq7Ty4aPdshAy12yWNjzZ2UGcXaLWlWXT3YriXYbLQPTUXLZbsLrazbJ6iMcHcWqFEVzzFqBLJ4FDQFlCneDxctL89qV3h2iVb1UshyQ4i-HioA/s320/kyle_tug2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just thought you guys would enjoy a little fun on this post-flyball monday. :)</div>
Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-50988154518721615182012-10-18T16:43:00.000-04:002012-10-18T16:43:51.274-04:00Need your help identifying the people & dogs in these photosThe Flyball book project is moving merrily along and I'm finally to the point where I'm finalizing photos. <script type="text/javascript">
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I'm hoping you guys can help me identify the dogs and people in each of the photos below. I'd like to include as many names and details as possible in the book. </div>
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You can either comment at the end of the post and add your details there, or email me at xterrier@gmail.com. </div>
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Thanks so much for your help and support!!!!!</div>
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Actually, I'd also like to share the book cover with you :). This pic was taken by Len Silvester of <a href="http://www.ttlphoto.com/" target="_blank">TTL Photo</a> and features Connie Croley's 10-year-old Border Collie Vixen, handled by 13-year-old Riley Erlenbeck on Pawbusters. It's one of my favorite flyball photos ever! Love the cocked ear and spit trail. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR4Y46iWN5Fz6xZM-YHAjSLdQ44TZYrVaH6HnZfoCGb6V0ndo4U-JdQIjWiPVwYfBOIi1vS8M2tUUseoDg9vBZ-oBB3vWflyKBOWOqcKPEtKO5zI9Yo_-x8PWpXI5ykAEPPDse-xciN4/s1600/Vixen-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR4Y46iWN5Fz6xZM-YHAjSLdQ44TZYrVaH6HnZfoCGb6V0ndo4U-JdQIjWiPVwYfBOIi1vS8M2tUUseoDg9vBZ-oBB3vWflyKBOWOqcKPEtKO5zI9Yo_-x8PWpXI5ykAEPPDse-xciN4/s400/Vixen-cover.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The following pics are also by Len, these are some of the ones I need your help identifying:</span></div>
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<h4>
<b>PHOTO 1:</b></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOHqNpxeuD90GEIJAnZtxXPY531Lb4gNoMVhYezlZeEb0KV1Ak6I2KYrUYRCX5Ol4wkNrVZLKUloO3Ew7D7NYmh14j3WbWqnJFlrt3CaUmFxQg0-1eboKKF_448N6z99v88kvyS-j3xw/s1600/len_brindle-over-jumps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOHqNpxeuD90GEIJAnZtxXPY531Lb4gNoMVhYezlZeEb0KV1Ak6I2KYrUYRCX5Ol4wkNrVZLKUloO3Ew7D7NYmh14j3WbWqnJFlrt3CaUmFxQg0-1eboKKF_448N6z99v88kvyS-j3xw/s1600/len_brindle-over-jumps.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the 2011 U-FLI Championship, possibly a dog from Paws on Fire?</td></tr>
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<h4>
PHOTO 2:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd7CtmlsCp8ui2VW6AVY6X5uA8_fzMTALARbZM9_lutXtG8J50kWBaDQJRfm3uNZNoNtxW-oM7JubK0JOt5Z5uAm6m-rbEGaQetfFfAWwJjwCW-zOQOTgrcGVxjTauwQvWvGfp0KDTUY/s1600/len_burnin-rubber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd7CtmlsCp8ui2VW6AVY6X5uA8_fzMTALARbZM9_lutXtG8J50kWBaDQJRfm3uNZNoNtxW-oM7JubK0JOt5Z5uAm6m-rbEGaQetfFfAWwJjwCW-zOQOTgrcGVxjTauwQvWvGfp0KDTUY/s1600/len_burnin-rubber.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know this is Burnin' Rubber, but don't know names! It's from the 2011 U-FLI Championship</td></tr>
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PHOTO 3:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhrW0Xel1k0RdV_Y0slHlLKK_lh1k1ZJzRIbPMcuybFVlSGVDxswCbYVipm_JVIRKbsAj-aawr4IVp4Nla3jRKn88VzQqoYlnwNF1tTcCzGDdEsY2yDTuFnsvmBvp8DI_jqw-B9EEhhg/s1600/len_bw-bc-on-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhrW0Xel1k0RdV_Y0slHlLKK_lh1k1ZJzRIbPMcuybFVlSGVDxswCbYVipm_JVIRKbsAj-aawr4IVp4Nla3jRKn88VzQqoYlnwNF1tTcCzGDdEsY2yDTuFnsvmBvp8DI_jqw-B9EEhhg/s1600/len_bw-bc-on-box.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship, possibly from Synergy?</td></tr>
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PHOTO 4:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN60GTq-LXku9KQJtSZ-mUWhyH7Jq4loOekpS74Vkz2dJ_gvqMmiJ5lngFf8yIV4pm0LYLKzutOeZrDKp1uSmy0BTahyphenhyphenuhXuOGeU_iXVYSmnvuMUHHpZqU__rv7TvnZI03mQgPREiGOI/s1600/len_bw-mix-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN60GTq-LXku9KQJtSZ-mUWhyH7Jq4loOekpS74Vkz2dJ_gvqMmiJ5lngFf8yIV4pm0LYLKzutOeZrDKp1uSmy0BTahyphenhyphenuhXuOGeU_iXVYSmnvuMUHHpZqU__rv7TvnZI03mQgPREiGOI/s1600/len_bw-mix-box.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Champioship, from RPM?</td></tr>
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PHOTO 5:</h4>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLogn6OL2CZT6GMpdfpDeJ3ErqWLaLiiG2SZn_WzNAYalCC8Pwe3E51B1V5kEP2fyLJKPhJZeKMuthJx6erzOlymQl7ddi4_M4EFYDlDQy-DdGPD4WH7mn8JmyiOtkch9uP_73tsjuGc/s1600/len_doodle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLogn6OL2CZT6GMpdfpDeJ3ErqWLaLiiG2SZn_WzNAYalCC8Pwe3E51B1V5kEP2fyLJKPhJZeKMuthJx6erzOlymQl7ddi4_M4EFYDlDQy-DdGPD4WH7mn8JmyiOtkch9uP_73tsjuGc/s1600/len_doodle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship, from NET?</td></tr>
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<h4>
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PHOTO 6:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrNRVrVpMp4KlHedKiqvywxOYdF-21hxF5EfXNK5ubfB5GTe0MhHJm0nUuBoKF6e_LVQC2cPmyWqYi7zcAUGgZUFNOTEQyjIyk5WIagG5qQGsQSn5clfJKIknJRyuc11KZCULA8DCjw0/s1600/len_merle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrNRVrVpMp4KlHedKiqvywxOYdF-21hxF5EfXNK5ubfB5GTe0MhHJm0nUuBoKF6e_LVQC2cPmyWqYi7zcAUGgZUFNOTEQyjIyk5WIagG5qQGsQSn5clfJKIknJRyuc11KZCULA8DCjw0/s1600/len_merle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this dog's crazy eyes. This one is from the 2011 U-FLI Championships, River City Flyers?</td></tr>
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PHOTO 7:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSykvP7EzAhQhMYQBu1EETbsbw0sIfVeFrtkuMexrfGLvuVHP3IJ5D6P2-caEqxYBIcu8j06z51A5SZ-R2UHpGXBoVBx_tifwbXZQWQ6VDKYzocPxAMVjvmICoj5wwrCFiX9whTazW84E/s1600/len_red-dog-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSykvP7EzAhQhMYQBu1EETbsbw0sIfVeFrtkuMexrfGLvuVHP3IJ5D6P2-caEqxYBIcu8j06z51A5SZ-R2UHpGXBoVBx_tifwbXZQWQ6VDKYzocPxAMVjvmICoj5wwrCFiX9whTazW84E/s1600/len_red-dog-box.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship, Bi-State Performance Dogs?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
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<h4>
PHOTO 8:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdHF1sS3TPtre76Sg3aDBcXcsubPr10NYvBcxodnMl6fgdAgPD1NyvmXqotFHOjeyF1jRgmQj0k-PEW42GRoHNDile_Jbg_06oa-PpXN724kRY9e4G5SpvDUB4LcIvVWguzaXUe8gn5k/s1600/len_red-merle-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdHF1sS3TPtre76Sg3aDBcXcsubPr10NYvBcxodnMl6fgdAgPD1NyvmXqotFHOjeyF1jRgmQj0k-PEW42GRoHNDile_Jbg_06oa-PpXN724kRY9e4G5SpvDUB4LcIvVWguzaXUe8gn5k/s1600/len_red-merle-box.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship, Organized Chaos?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h4>
PHOTO 9:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aKaqUtpc0PL9xJKgQcIGDbGPa_PWxyKIUeQ_bc7WvXXzj806ZGN6nqis7i3WWyBsBZx5cl8fC1c1xgkTvE_pqo60YJhtATOdd7qeHDOCRmk_GyxDpSxSZyUID5_W9KbEw7b_sVMiSiM/s1600/len_rude-dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aKaqUtpc0PL9xJKgQcIGDbGPa_PWxyKIUeQ_bc7WvXXzj806ZGN6nqis7i3WWyBsBZx5cl8fC1c1xgkTvE_pqo60YJhtATOdd7qeHDOCRmk_GyxDpSxSZyUID5_W9KbEw7b_sVMiSiM/s1600/len_rude-dogs.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship. I know this is Rude Dogs, but don't know all the names (dogs & people).</td></tr>
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<h4>
PHOTO 10:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouBqu2n3iHon1hYsZMBnD2bQnxkyJaGwsGuoo8APborGaeukN41lhuaLF_8VaLPaKL7ajNVin-f6djpAYM3qDszST1lKvboWia9r3-R4QFl_ltkU7J6pXaS3EXNeRRNssJOyd3jA84LQ/s1600/len_small-dog-on-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouBqu2n3iHon1hYsZMBnD2bQnxkyJaGwsGuoo8APborGaeukN41lhuaLF_8VaLPaKL7ajNVin-f6djpAYM3qDszST1lKvboWia9r3-R4QFl_ltkU7J6pXaS3EXNeRRNssJOyd3jA84LQ/s1600/len_small-dog-on-box.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 Touch N Go tourney. Woof Gang?</td></tr>
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<h4>
PHOTO 11:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kWt6wmUB3LVcYzbC_ngNcOmGo2W_vOXMB6m0og5CHe2I1Yuu0TvlrjOWygwC2FL_xG8LKpyc0KX2z79a6FAFXVUZNd4MjyFCrnJayju46H49K9Ccb8P0GgTtVfQd9aiCoX4eEUjFSRU/s1600/len_sure-shots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kWt6wmUB3LVcYzbC_ngNcOmGo2W_vOXMB6m0og5CHe2I1Yuu0TvlrjOWygwC2FL_xG8LKpyc0KX2z79a6FAFXVUZNd4MjyFCrnJayju46H49K9Ccb8P0GgTtVfQd9aiCoX4eEUjFSRU/s1600/len_sure-shots.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship. I know it's Sure Shots, but don't know all the names.</td></tr>
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<h4>
PHOTO 12:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6kKTBZ7H6MOFDouSW12u1mC8CibGhmkSSfPFbGaPau7UG9eb9spOLAZce2zEHSxgOFlLbxgALOHX3llHvLFKwirIAdvsGDDkePwHXHs4Uq7luLLZ-Prlo8B06OAxnS30dmoY9vECg1I/s1600/len_tiny-dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6kKTBZ7H6MOFDouSW12u1mC8CibGhmkSSfPFbGaPau7UG9eb9spOLAZce2zEHSxgOFlLbxgALOHX3llHvLFKwirIAdvsGDDkePwHXHs4Uq7luLLZ-Prlo8B06OAxnS30dmoY9vECg1I/s1600/len_tiny-dog.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championship, Bordering on Insanity?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
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<h4>
PHOTO 13:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8JeNcAFNVaa_17pt0IEVgUGAjoEfQ7BUSGvs6DA4MxtrtPlJjyMtte2gdmBkp_G8WI0jrDYfI-Hi9EG0RwMnPhp7MDSMWaFdgBN0oO-GLk9dtrJSoVV2dWhQDgLAOEuSeEwa2KmP7wo/s1600/len_video.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8JeNcAFNVaa_17pt0IEVgUGAjoEfQ7BUSGvs6DA4MxtrtPlJjyMtte2gdmBkp_G8WI0jrDYfI-Hi9EG0RwMnPhp7MDSMWaFdgBN0oO-GLk9dtrJSoVV2dWhQDgLAOEuSeEwa2KmP7wo/s1600/len_video.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 U-FLI Championships, I know it's Hawkeye Hustlers but don't know their names.</td></tr>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">These photos are from Marsha Almond in Ontario, they were taken just a few weeks ago:</span></div>
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PHOTO 14:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTcOYpm8Lf4LHM3KHXMnBfzb0fCKMxCG3lhPRljQbSN6E9hXSMjn8pjIBq9COUB8vvz5jMWgANvmMLSawsPZbOa2hz32nMK3c4ZnJt8DwwTNoaq5Ycq6KVNu3nozSVMymYzpDZVj9lhI/s1600/marsha_Rukus_highest-pointed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTcOYpm8Lf4LHM3KHXMnBfzb0fCKMxCG3lhPRljQbSN6E9hXSMjn8pjIBq9COUB8vvz5jMWgANvmMLSawsPZbOa2hz32nMK3c4ZnJt8DwwTNoaq5Ycq6KVNu3nozSVMymYzpDZVj9lhI/s1600/marsha_Rukus_highest-pointed.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know this is Rukus, highest pointed dog in flyball (as of the tournament <br />this photo was taken!) but i would really love more details!</td></tr>
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<h4>
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PHOTO 15:</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2hlIwNSRaEcDygt4AaYixazxuS79JJ-HCgaWzerXs9SX_zZyl4JkurRl_BM4hEsUh69F5K2QP5IjzsZqGZcwKP5chr0xcKIPYbH1Gp6qdzHK2TW4YNg5teM2o6wmbtWvVTPK-JveIOU/s1600/marsha_harddriveline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2hlIwNSRaEcDygt4AaYixazxuS79JJ-HCgaWzerXs9SX_zZyl4JkurRl_BM4hEsUh69F5K2QP5IjzsZqGZcwKP5chr0xcKIPYbH1Gp6qdzHK2TW4YNg5teM2o6wmbtWvVTPK-JveIOU/s1600/marsha_harddriveline.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know it's Hard Drive, but don't know all the dogs/people</td></tr>
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PHOTO 16</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hw6e1W905g3oR1wQBmExo-A87CIlusp_lTGuFA9HUyZepNYjA0bfEX1gfF8TgmHcf4nqos4apdhe5Yt8zqOpwJ6KRgawOUQVaPl20EomBLvXFBG866fYPatSlx00ReUTiAAo2a_gM1Q/s1600/marsha_Zoom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hw6e1W905g3oR1wQBmExo-A87CIlusp_lTGuFA9HUyZepNYjA0bfEX1gfF8TgmHcf4nqos4apdhe5Yt8zqOpwJ6KRgawOUQVaPl20EomBLvXFBG866fYPatSlx00ReUTiAAo2a_gM1Q/s1600/marsha_Zoom1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who is this dog? (he's adorable)</td></tr>
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<h4>
PHOTO 17</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJH3VOqXxXurvcMJPS8Gw1A8_0xx-nI0612kgL9pxAF7_42FQC7zyo58xVdU2pI0Lp1GknQm2VJmRQu8W_9_ZUoMOR_nn1E30AHoSxi93-4j2YqLHO33_xmd3BPQ1ZZvoVGOC9sIq3dKc/s1600/marsha_sass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJH3VOqXxXurvcMJPS8Gw1A8_0xx-nI0612kgL9pxAF7_42FQC7zyo58xVdU2pI0Lp1GknQm2VJmRQu8W_9_ZUoMOR_nn1E30AHoSxi93-4j2YqLHO33_xmd3BPQ1ZZvoVGOC9sIq3dKc/s1600/marsha_sass.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who is this gorgeous creature?</td></tr>
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Ok, I have more photos to be identified, but 17 pictures is enough for one blog post. This thing will probably be painfully slow to load, sorry folks!</div>
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Thanks in advance for your help. </div>
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Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-699564939990139152012-08-13T12:47:00.000-04:002012-08-13T12:47:49.190-04:00Safety Tip: Don't Use Props for Wall Work<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwxT0xXlOHgPPIZS0CTaJeCvtm5YNbBDrsr9kUkNp55LnGNvh5ToGiWiLNeZezu98kNH4ZxMegtLyPMdQnTJ0PtlWZbhs1cwyd9iXyXfIeROHVL3iQs1ewbaU5fYfSWO5Vy_QXqDwLxM/s1600/no-prop-at-wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwxT0xXlOHgPPIZS0CTaJeCvtm5YNbBDrsr9kUkNp55LnGNvh5ToGiWiLNeZezu98kNH4ZxMegtLyPMdQnTJ0PtlWZbhs1cwyd9iXyXfIeROHVL3iQs1ewbaU5fYfSWO5Vy_QXqDwLxM/s200/no-prop-at-wall.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WRONG!</td></tr>
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Really important tip – if you're teaching your dog to turn off a vertical wall, do not put props in front of it (see photo – that's me in 2008 doing it WRONG). I just learned this a few weeks ago.<br />
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The point of the wall is to teach a dog to use his back feet to push off and to develop a high snappy turn without hang-time. It is very hard for a dog to "cheat" on the wall. When a dog is first learning this method it may take a little while for him to develop rear end awareness and/or build up enough momentum to push off with his back feet, resulting in awkward low-speed wall splats. Which is all fine and part of learning, except if there's a prop right under him when he lands, he could hurt his leg (or freak himself out). Luckily this didn't happen with my dogs, but it could have!<br />
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If you're having trouble getting your dog's back feet up on the wall, crank up his motivation (for the touch stick and his reward) so that he has more speed/momentum, and make sure you're really enthusiastic and that you're sending him a consistent message with your placement of the touch stick, when you're clicking (or saying "Yes"), etc. It may help to teach him on a ramp first, then move to the wall. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXfT3UmHuv58YbNbVwBgfQIRVV6PXUDLXM_KhO56gw62kzaRdaMSUPN7mYfhoQiKOqe_J94262choMI02QMcc6znYTkDr94QoOd8AH9nACv-xqYaCgE-drfLDcP-CCYBV0wpUd7SwLtc/s1600/box-with-noodle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXfT3UmHuv58YbNbVwBgfQIRVV6PXUDLXM_KhO56gw62kzaRdaMSUPN7mYfhoQiKOqe_J94262choMI02QMcc6znYTkDr94QoOd8AH9nACv-xqYaCgE-drfLDcP-CCYBV0wpUd7SwLtc/s1600/box-with-noodle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh, no kids, I haven't seen your noodles.</td></tr>
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<div>
Once you transition to a ramp or box, a prop is okay. We cut pieces of those kids' pool noodles and put them across the tops of the props just in case anybody's foot nicks the prop during box work. </div>
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Happy training!</div>
Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-14354470521638444442012-08-07T11:01:00.000-04:002012-08-07T11:01:38.373-04:00Why Three Strides Off the Box is Important<div>
Since I moved to San Diego in June, I've been to six flyball practices with X Flyball & Lickety Splits. This past weekend X & LS also hosted a "training camp" for nearby competitors/teams, so that was two more days of total flyball immersion. (I really love watching great trainers work one-on-one with dogs and handlers and seeing them improve right before my eyes.)</div>
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I've learned a lot of cool new stuff this summer!</div>
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For one thing, I finally get the whole three strides off the box thing.</div>
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For the past six or seven years, whenever I've asked for advice about my dogs' box turns, the real experts have asked me, "How many strides is your dog taking in between the box and the jump?" Ummm...... </div>
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I knew the "right answer" was supposed to be three, but I didn't really understand why. (And to be honest, since I didn't really understand WHY I was looking for three strides, I didn't bother to check.)</div>
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One of my new teammates explained it to me beautifully.</div>
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It's because the more steps your dog is taking on the ground, the more steps he has to accelerate and the faster his overall time will be.</div>
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Unless your dog is big and has naturally long strides, two strides off the box generally means the dog is launching off the box and landing up the lane a ways, so he only need two strides (albeit sometimes big ones) to reach the first jump after the box. This hang time is bad. It's not like the swimmer's turns you're watching in the Olympics right now -- when those athletes turn on the wall and they're underwater on their way to the surface, their legs are still propelling them along like crazy (because of the water resistance, this actually works! This does not work in the air. Go ahead, try it.).</div>
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To train three-strides-off-the-box from the beginning, teach your dog to land down very close to the front of the box instead of allowing him to launch way off of it. If you train your dog using the touch stick to ramp/wall/box method, it's a matter of pointing the touch stick down to the floor much closer to the ramp/wall/box than you would think. If you're luring off the box with a tug or food, you'd hold that down lower, too. I will try to get some photos or videos up here on the blog so you can see what I'm talking about.</div>
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If your dog is already taking two strides off the box, you can work on getting three by adding a one-inch slat onto the floor between the box and jump -- the goal is to give him a visual cue, something to step over, with the hope that he'll step over the slat THEN jump over the jump (which is more efficient, like his natural stride). You'll have to play with the placement of the slat because it depends on the size of the dog and his natural stride. </div>
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Here's the pattern you want off the box: step-step-step-JUMP versus LAUNCH-step-step (which might even turn into LAUNCH-step-LAUNCH if the dog's being particularly inefficient).</div>
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Something else I learned. Some dogs take three steps when they're fresh and full of energy, but just two when they're tired. That's because it's a little extra work to take the three steps -- it's so much easier to just fling yourself around and cut corners when you're tired, you know? So it might just be a matter of conditioning your dogs more.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKMBxxyTV_-Lu6sKPYI26oS4lMpPGsE0JvyR7wh7w8q3BWRlsGEkxm85McORJpWGystjr0ypUiQhhyphenhyphen6iVZqYtp-VDB3frwPTrHhOdvhl03-cUMn5hcE4LczSUcOSLbdP5kL7rpv054YM/s1600/hathy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKMBxxyTV_-Lu6sKPYI26oS4lMpPGsE0JvyR7wh7w8q3BWRlsGEkxm85McORJpWGystjr0ypUiQhhyphenhyphen6iVZqYtp-VDB3frwPTrHhOdvhl03-cUMn5hcE4LczSUcOSLbdP5kL7rpv054YM/s1600/hathy1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three strides, I bet. He's only 14" tall. :)</td></tr>
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But wait, that's not all. Something else I learned. The reason my borderstaffy still has a pretty fast time with his ugly wide turn (he has two turns: a "tight' turn -- which is actually a double hit -- and a "wiiiide" turn) is because the wide turn FORCES HIM TO TAKE 3 STRIDES. So he makes up the time because of his fancy little footwork acceleration. Unless he made the wide turn because he was tired. Because I need to condition him more. Sigh.</div>
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Oy! Who knew there was so much to learn just about striding off the box! I'm sure there's a lot more that I'm missing here. Anybody want to share what they know about three strides, or how they've trained it?</div>
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<br /></div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-51622710879134025682012-07-11T17:38:00.002-04:002012-07-11T17:38:48.527-04:00Call for flyball-related products and services (Flyball book project)Dear flyball peeps,<br />
<br />
<i>The Beginner's Guide to Flyball</i> book is almost ready!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSqCnAzyaBctcvoaXXo7O5_zOI881ABQpPsv1aCdXLaxJ6x4itFLqjZWxCCVgP6MQvGwir7BLRuLg8dCUzeAOseTOscM7bFAeom2xY3L6Ebf6bRz6ZlwXfKmRs4JTYBzK124nErDcuE8/s1600/prop_krak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSqCnAzyaBctcvoaXXo7O5_zOI881ABQpPsv1aCdXLaxJ6x4itFLqjZWxCCVgP6MQvGwir7BLRuLg8dCUzeAOseTOscM7bFAeom2xY3L6Ebf6bRz6ZlwXfKmRs4JTYBzK124nErDcuE8/s1600/prop_krak.jpg" /></a></div>
If you or someone you know offers a flyball-related product or service and would like for it to be included in the book as part of a "Flyball Resources" list, please comment here or send me an email (xterrier@gmail.com) and let me know. If you are submitting it on someone else's behalf, make sure you include a URL or their email address so that I can confirm everything.<br />
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Any of these products/services would be eligible for the list:<br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Flyball boxes (or box plans)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Flyball jumps (or jump plans)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Flyball props (or prop plans)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Vetwrap, Powerflex, Coflex, etc. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Skid boots</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Matting</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Seminars / Specialized training</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Collars, leashes, harnesses</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Tugs & other motivator toys</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Balls</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Crate pads, fans, bowls, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Touch sticks</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Clickers</span></li>
</ul>
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...or anything else you think would benefit somebody who wants to train and compete in flyball.<br />
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Also, if there's a product you really love (like a certain model of camera for capturing passes in slow motion, etc.), let me know so I can mention it in the book.<br />
<br />
thanks for your help!<br />
<br />
(What is this flyball book I speak of? <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">Click here to read about it.</a>)<br />
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</script>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-14014163573778619502012-05-29T11:05:00.001-04:002012-05-29T11:05:49.413-04:00How many dogs is too many dogs?When I started dating Todd in March of 2011, I had 10 dogs.<script type="text/javascript">
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Todd had two dogs. They went with him everywhere. Rode in the back of his truck, hiked off-leash in the canyon all the time, trained at the park several times a week, competed in disc dog events several times a month. They were in killer shape and competing at a very high level. They slept in his bed every night. (They even knew "Sit" and "Stay"! :))</div>
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I thought about it.<br />
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Over the past ten years, I had traveled to Texas, Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Ontario, Michigan and New York to get puppies for flyball. I had spent thousands of dollars. Each puppy was going to be The Next Great Thing. At one point I was trying to train three or four young dogs (under the age of two) at the same time, and I hadn't been on a team that practiced regularly or played competitively for several years, so I was essentially training these dogs alone, at home.<br />
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My ex-husband and I argued about dogs a lot during our 10-year marriage. He was actually the first one in our relationship to get a dog – when I met him he had a Jack Russell and I had a cat. But one dog led to two, and then those two had a litter of puppies and we kept one, then I discovered flyball and three became four, and so on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fringe and Glock (the homewrecker)</td></tr>
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My ex-boyfriend (the one who lived with me after the ex-husband) and I argued about dogs, too. He couldn't understand why I needed a "whole F'ing sled dog team" if I could only race/handle one dog at a time during flyball. He didn't like the dogs on the couches, the dust in the house, the barking, or pretty much anything about the dogs, so our days were always numbered, I guess, but the straw that broke the camel's back was when I got my Border Staffy, Glock, without consulting him. (I knew he would say "No," so why on earth would I consult him?) We broke up three days later.</div>
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My mom and dad also gave me a lot of shit about my dogs. They would roll their eyes and look pained every time they heard I was driving 12 hours to a flyball tournament or that I got a new dog. So I stopped telling them. (Although my kids would always spill the beans at family dinners.)</div>
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Ironically it was Todd, a kindred "crazy dog person", who finally convinced me – mostly by example, but also with reason – that I didn't need any more dogs. And that I would, in fact, be better off with less dogs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9 or 10 dogs packed up for flyball. No room for kids!</td></tr>
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I was spreading myself too thin, trying to train and care for all these dogs, and the result that was that nobody was getting trained well (or often) and I was stressed out. And I was practically a prisoner of my own house – it's hard to leave 10 dogs and just traipse off to the beach with the family for the weekend.<br />
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So I placed several of my dogs into new homes. I know some of you will frown on this, but I think the dogs are happier now than they were with me. They almost certainly get more attention now. My oldest Jack Russell went to live with my ex-husband, who plays frisbee with him every day and lets him sleep in the bed. My youngest Jack Russell, the one with ADHD who chased other dogs incessantly, went to live with a retired gentleman in Myrtle Beach. My mean Jack Russell went to live with my pet sitter (who thought she could "fix" her aggression toward other dogs...I wasn't surprised a few months later when she asked if she could place the dog with her boss in a single-dog home). My youngest Border Collie went to play flyball in Maine. My sweet older Border Collie died of cancer this past November. Glock went to live with Todd while he was still a puppy – Todd raised six service dog puppies before he got into dog sports, so I knew he would put a great foundation on Glock. My Border Staffy Fringe flew out to San Diego earlier this year to start frisbee training with Todd.</div>
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So, now I'm down to three dogs. And it's pretty awesome. They can all fit in my van, unstacked! I can take them to the beach for the weekend. We go on walks through the neighborhood. I play frisbee and chuck-it with them in the front yard. They can all hang out in the house together unsupervised. A bag of food lasts for weeks!</div>
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They don't restrict my life anymore, and I don't restrict theirs.<br />
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When I move to San Diego in a couple of weeks the pack will be bigger, but Todd and I will be managing them together so I'm feeling pretty good about it. </div>
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It took a dog person, someone I respected who really understood and accepted my whole "thing" with dogs, to get through to me when others couldn't. So maybe hearing this from me will have a similar effect on you. Stop the insanity. Train the dogs you have – they could very well be The Next Great Thing if you actually took the time to train them right and built a great relationship with them. Enjoy spending time with them. If you're trying to distract yourself from something that's not working in your life, or trying to fill some sort of void in your life by acquiring dogs and spending all your free time and money on flyball – like I did – stop and address the real issues. (Flyball – and life in general – is a lot more fun when you have your shit together.)<br />
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How many dogs is too many? It depends. Some people, like breeders, trainers, and others who work with dogs every day, may have the space, the setup, and the dedication to manage many dogs. Others may find themselves overwhelmed with three. I guess that's a good place to start – if you're feeling overwhelmed, you probably have too many. If you can't go out of town (unless you're going to a flyball tournament) because you have too many to take with you, or there's no way you can leave them home with your roommate/spouse/partner, or it's too complicated to leave them with a pet sitter, or you can't afford to kennel them, or whatever, you probably have too many. If your dogs are in crates all the time, YOU HAVE TOO MANY. </div>
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I'm interested to hear what you guys think about this topic. </div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-88581525720912426552012-05-21T11:59:00.001-04:002012-05-21T11:59:48.017-04:00A New Chapter in San DiegoI'm moving from North Carolina to San Diego in three weeks.<br />
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A 16' x 8' x 8' POD is getting plunked into my driveway tomorrow, and if something doesn't fit in the POD or my van, it isn't going to California. Life is getting more complicated and much simpler at the same time. </div>
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What does this have to do with flyball? Well, although I'm not moving to San Diego for anything flyball-related (I've fallen madly in love with a Crazy Dog Guy named Todd Murnan, and the kids and I are moving out there to join forces with him), some of my favorite flyball people, <a href="http://www.x-flyball.com/" target="_blank">X Flyball</a>, happen to be in San Diego. So I get to live in Southern California with the coolest guy in the world AND train with X and their friends on Lickety Splits. Thanks, universe!!</div>
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This is awesome for many reasons.</div>
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First, I get to play flyball with some long-time friends. My Border Staffy Punk will be reunited with his littermate, Seek, and my Border Collie Kraken will get to run with four of his Moy brothers and sisters on X. We are looking forward to running some cute family pairs or teams. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, we would like to play flyball, please.</td></tr>
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Second, X Flyball kicks ass. They are GREAT trainers and even greater people. X's best time is 15.154 and they are skating on the edge of 14's. I can't wait to hang out with them and learn from them. I have two young Border Staffies, Fringe and Glock, that I want to train from scratch, so I have two training projects already lined up. </div>
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And third, this whole situation has breathed new life into my <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project-topic-1-what-makes.html" target="">flyball book project</a>. I have decided to incorporate some of the cool new techniques I'll learn from X Flyball into my book before I publish it, and I've also decided to take back control of the book and publish it myself, in both eBook format and hardcopy (for those of you who actually like to hold real books in your hands). It WILL be published in 2012. (It has to be, I've already claimed some tax deductions on it ;)). </div>
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Another benefit to flyball in San Diego is that I will be building really kickass recalls on our dogs, which should translate great to the disc dog arena. Todd is an avid disc dog competitor (he and his Belgian Malinois Bella won the 2009 Ashley Whippet World Championship, and they just joined the Purina Incredible Dog Team), and I've started to get into disc, too. (I really enjoy toss & catch, anyway...not sure when/if I'll ever be ready for freestyle, although my friend Laura Moretz just brought me a great new vest back from the Czech Republic, so that's one less excuse I have...). </div>
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Dogs with really fast straight recalls have a big advantage in toss & catch events <span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">–</span> that recall is often the difference between the handler getting out four throws or five in the one-minute time limit (six throws is pretty much unheard of, it would be fun to strive for!). And since toss & catch scores factor in so much to the overall score (30-50%), that one additional throw could be the difference between winning and losing the whole competition. </div>
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<b>Future of the blog</b></div>
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I am coming off a year-long hiatus from flyball. A quick check of the NAFA Database showed that the last time I was at a tournament was April 2011. Wow.<br />
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Sometimes a break is exactly what you need, though. I am totally out of the loop on flyball-related drama and I've spent a year playing disc with my dogs, disc golf with my honey, and hiking in the desert instead. I've made a lot of new friends in the process, and I've learned a lot more about training dogs from the disc dog world perspective. </div>
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Now I'm excited about getting back into flyball and posting about my experiences on the West Coast. It's U-FLI country out there, which will be a change after many years of playing NAFA flyball up and down the East Coast. I'm going to learn a lot of cool new stuff. I look forward to sharing it with you guys. </div>
</div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-34899838219875427242011-11-02T17:19:00.001-04:002011-11-02T18:09:48.371-04:00Circus Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWx4yWVb3xPoT0hzcoKlKGyWgCNjwk4JYX9kY7ko_zPumqN5kapOAFTLN2qI7uHj_beQQzOFpuJmMBw3iQ_ilkEldI33gDR6fDtlldaI8a117VaU5bB2gcJ0kwgKAK9ZGw8vLE5sv-HHo/s1600/dogs_ticket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWx4yWVb3xPoT0hzcoKlKGyWgCNjwk4JYX9kY7ko_zPumqN5kapOAFTLN2qI7uHj_beQQzOFpuJmMBw3iQ_ilkEldI33gDR6fDtlldaI8a117VaU5bB2gcJ0kwgKAK9ZGw8vLE5sv-HHo/s320/dogs_ticket.jpg" width="116" /></a></div>I drove to Miami a few weeks ago to hang out with my friends and watch them perform in the <a href="http://theincredibledogs.com/" target="_blank">DOGS Circus show</a>. I'd actually been invited to join DOGS for their February 2011 tour in Mexico as part of the flyball act, but the timing had been bad and I had to turn it down, so I was really looking forward to finally seeing the show and meeting lots of people I only knew from Facebook.<br />
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</div><div>I brought along three of my lower-maintenance dogs (Sky, Kraken, and Fringe), just for kicks. Figured it would feel weird to be surrounded by lots of dog trainers and living in a dog-friendly place for two weeks without any of my own dogs. My friends -- Todd Murnan, Michelle Largent, Travis Hallman, Mary Page, and Kendra Childs -- had already been in Miami for three weeks, so when I got there I brought the total in our rental apartment up to 6 people and 16 dogs. (It was a nice executive rental apartment, but we were on the 2nd floor, with parking in a gated basement. You guys know what a pain it is to stay on the 2nd or 3rd floor of a hotel on a flyball weekend, especially when they have no exterior room entrances and security doors to get in and out. Ugh. Plus it rained almost every day! ... Uphill! Both ways!)</div><div><br />
</div><div>I arrived on a Monday night, we went bar-hopping in Key West all day on Tuesday, and on Wednesday night we drove to the show (there were performances every Wed-Thurs-Fri at 7:30pm, then three shows spread across Saturday, and two more shows on Sunday. Mondays and Tuesdays were "weekends."). We arrived for an early rehearsal that Wednesday to learn that the show was switching things up (aka staff reductions to cut costs) and the flyball act was suddenly short three dogs. My friend Michelle had her three flyball dogs and that was it -- how could the act be salvaged (in two hours)?</div><div><br />
</div><div>Uhhhhh....</div><div><br />
</div><div>So we quickly got my border collies Sky and Kraken and warmed them up with the other dogs and practiced them on the box (it was a Miller box, which my dogs had never used before). Sky did great, Kraken lost his brain and had to be put away (talk about stimulating environments...wow...showbiz is hard for a dog who attends Control Unleashed classes). So we had four reliable flyball dogs for the show. We decided to run two teams of two, but re-run the start dogs at the end to kind of fake three dogs running and make it look more exciting to the audience. Ok, cool, no problem.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>They gave me a blue DOGS shirt to put on and before I knew it, it was time for the flyball act. I have never done a big demo in front of lots of people, so it was really overwhelming to be introduced over a loudspeaker to a big crowd of people, with loud music and bright lights and screaming kids and the whole bit. I was supposed to wave and smile at the crowd but I froze up a lot.<br />
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The setup in the tent was definitely different than a flyball tournament. We were running the dogs on some type of astroturf, and there was just enough room for 4 jumps and about 10 feet of runback. There were people seated close to the ring on 3 sides, and there was LOUD music thumping the tent, and all sorts of lights flashing -- red lights, blue lights, spotlights. </div><div><br />
The act went okay, but Sky's partner/teammate was going around the last jump because she didn't like being passed into by Sky, who was running in start and then re-running as the "third" dog. (The crowd cheered anyway, I'm not sure how much they understood about what was going on. :))<br />
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<div><b>16 demos in 14 days</b></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ring during the Jack Russell Terrier racing act</td></tr>
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For the next show (on Thursday night) we decided to just run two dogs vs two dogs, with no dogs re-running at the end. Ok, no problem! And then, during the act, Sky started running around all the jumps on the way back up the lane. What the hell? (Again, the crowd cheered anyway :))<br />
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On Friday afternoon we got to the show site early so we'd have time to practice. Sky ran flawlessly during practice. And then, during the show, she ran around the jumps every time. (The crowd cheered anyway.)<br />
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On Saturday morning, we switched Sky from the right lane to the left lane, hoping the right lane would provide enough peripheral pressure to keep her in the jumps (she turns to the right). Nope.<br />
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I felt like one of those annoying people making excuses for my dog, but it was baffling because this is a dog who has played flyball for 10 years and has over 27,000 NAFA points. Plus she was doing everything right in practice.<br />
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The only thing we could think of was that there were several sets of very bright spotlights shining into the ring during the show which weren't on during practice, and when the dogs turned off the box the lights were shining right into their eyes. Which didn't seem to be bothering any of the other flyball dogs, but Sky has blue eyes and she can be sensitive to stuff, so maybe that was it. The lights were also bothering a bulldog in one of the other acts -- they were actually dimming the lights for him, but that wasn't really going to work for flyball, so we adjusted.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The perfect prop. (photo by Nicole Pierce)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We put one of the plastic DOGS signs right next to the first jump like a prop, to push Sky back into the center of the lane -- to the crowd it probably just looked like promotional sign placement. It worked great. Sky stopped going around the jumps. And then she started dropping her ball. Usually at the last jump...which messed up her partner/teammate, who wanted to pick it up off the ground instead of running down the box. It took me a few more shows to figure out how to fix the ball dropping thing -- I tried standing like a potted plant and clapping while hiding her frisbee, and running way off to the left (since I couldn't back up) so I'd be farther away from her. Didn't work. Finally I switched to a lower value reward-- instead of her floppy frisbee, I started bringing in a tug. Finally. A perfect show. I think that was probably a week and a half into it.<br />
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<b>The DOGS Circus</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWZlDKw5ym4jnNwaSnJ-E1QwfZThvFtZt7bUrpaVRB_4Hd0fKBgF6OsBT7zYBLZ1XziZyV6tZiuRATJdLa3-QWkVb_WBEGaxYWZOtv4Y6-FxIc6WvAoyiHNTJVlZq8uLvZRSvwBT7Mqc/s1600/tent_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWZlDKw5ym4jnNwaSnJ-E1QwfZThvFtZt7bUrpaVRB_4Hd0fKBgF6OsBT7zYBLZ1XziZyV6tZiuRATJdLa3-QWkVb_WBEGaxYWZOtv4Y6-FxIc6WvAoyiHNTJVlZq8uLvZRSvwBT7Mqc/s320/tent_cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The show was fantastic. It consisted of about 15 acts, including performance sports like frisbee, agility, dock diving, Jack Russell Terrier racing, and flyball (which the production company mistakenly called "Fly Balls," to all our amusement); amazing trick dogs who could dance and skateboard; and true circus-type acts like clowns with poodles, a slew of Old English Sheepdogs going down a slide, and "bull fighters" vs. bull terriers. All under a huge old-fashioned white circus tent.<br />
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The short movie that opened every show (starring Ana Gabriela Guzman Velez and BC/ACD mix Jumpy) was a testament to rescue and new beginnings, and it made me cry every time I watched it.<br />
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(Ironically, my favorite act was one of the clown acts, and it didn't have any dogs in it. And I don't like clowns. But these guys pulled members of the audience into the act and "trained" them with whistles and it was hilarious -- Michelle and I would watch it together every show and laugh our asses off.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqPPH82KLZrayfWym1Os-Swqm92z7JjODMFFXIAMKeDw01GsC8RjGtqJp-7BL9si1Q35j2wu0eAqY7pH3m9-DVGUD07RytSMeel9OHRKkv-jyReYcowwaAzrhlGIbCGVLq5-d2vw3j08/s1600/carrie_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqPPH82KLZrayfWym1Os-Swqm92z7JjODMFFXIAMKeDw01GsC8RjGtqJp-7BL9si1Q35j2wu0eAqY7pH3m9-DVGUD07RytSMeel9OHRKkv-jyReYcowwaAzrhlGIbCGVLq5-d2vw3j08/s320/carrie_cropped.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie the dancing dog getting ready</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The music was great, and it was matched perfectly to each act. After the agility act, Jose Fuentes (handler of Carrie the dancing dog) and I would always be in the crating/dressing room humming "We Go Together" (from "Grease").<br />
<br />
This was the first time the DOGS show appeared in the United States -- prior to Miami, the show traveled to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and Puerto Rico (where the production company is based out of).<br />
<br />
I loved watching the show from behind the curtain, and I loved watching the audience watch the show. The audience was probably half kids and half adults, and they all clapped and cheered throughout the show. It was great hearing people gasp or seeing their jaws drop open when they saw something especially cool (like Todd doing a mouth-take with his Belgian Malinois Bella during the frisbee act :)). It made me realize how lucky we all are to share our lives with dogs, and how special our bond is with our dogs, those of us who train and compete and perform (pretty much everybody reading this post, I'm guessing). <br />
<br />
One thing became really clear after watching the show for a while: all the dogs had good days and bad days, even the ones who were world champions or in movies and commercials and trained by kickass trainers. There were times when the bulldog didn't feel like bark-counting to five, or Bella would miss a frisbee, or an agility dog would run around an obstacle, or a Jack Russell would take a tumble over a hurdle and roll across the stage. The trainers just smiled and took it all in stride during the show (and tried to fix it in between shows, if necessary).<br />
<br />
It was frustrating to have to just suck it up during the show when Sky ran around the jumps or dropped her ball. Things like that are hard to fix during a demo/show -- you really don't even want to acknowledge that the dog did anything wrong in front of an audience. And you just hope they aren't developing bad habits in the meantime.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW670DlZ00XWvzM9QD-qgH8HnqyZ2rm-_OA4_FZQaUwx3fDHRwHcKA3_cd-QS6dHN8cp70oMZtkYlGmJJMtGNJGL26cSagK4AkFkVRPHtf01gn6ZPsWhVAghvFAjX0_p_5rKUqqw9HAw/s1600/dogs_miami_meetngreet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW670DlZ00XWvzM9QD-qgH8HnqyZ2rm-_OA4_FZQaUwx3fDHRwHcKA3_cd-QS6dHN8cp70oMZtkYlGmJJMtGNJGL26cSagK4AkFkVRPHtf01gn6ZPsWhVAghvFAjX0_p_5rKUqqw9HAw/s320/dogs_miami_meetngreet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fringe and I are under the red arrow somewhere</td></tr>
</tbody></table>At the end of every show, we each brought in one of our dogs for an audience meet & greet. I couldn't bring Sky or Kraken in, because any time they approached the tent they thought they were going into a flyball tournament (bark bark bark!). So I brought my little Border Staffy Fringe in and she did great. We were SWARMED by children, all wanting to pet the dogs and take pictures with them. I shoved a lot of food into Fringe's mouth during those meet & greets (and let the kids feed her, too) and she did great.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Things I learned in Miami</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQVXhtO-Vw9VgGgiaxVpZp_yV9YUCfJ3q4yLaoI0KBMVipAdiYbYGiVLeVpi7NjQYzbcmtl3XzLiTzZB0UnIZnmWjgejUa8R_2n7V2KbchpEmv-Rb5J_AtOfUuisyrtd8FIiL5QZ-RQ8/s1600/fringe_sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQVXhtO-Vw9VgGgiaxVpZp_yV9YUCfJ3q4yLaoI0KBMVipAdiYbYGiVLeVpi7NjQYzbcmtl3XzLiTzZB0UnIZnmWjgejUa8R_2n7V2KbchpEmv-Rb5J_AtOfUuisyrtd8FIiL5QZ-RQ8/s320/fringe_sky.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fringe & Sky hanging out before the show</td></tr>
</tbody></table>* Older, experienced dogs do a lot better in shows because they know their job so well and aren't easily distracted or freaked out by crowds, noise, etc. It's okay if they're slower than some of the younger whippersnappers -- the crowd can't tell the difference between a 3.8 flyball dog and a 4.8 flyball dog (especially on astroturf with 10' of runback).<br />
<br />
* Even older, experienced dogs screw up.<br />
<br />
* Flyball dogs don't care if it's a demo, they still bark all the way in.<br />
<br />
* You really can train an Old English Sheepdog.<br />
<br />
* It is hard to learn Spanish when you're a 42-year-old American who has never had to roll your R's.<br />
<br />
* It rains a lot in Miami. And people like to honk.<br />
<br />
* Yellow rice, roasted chicken and plantains are delicious until about the fourth time you have them that week.<br />
<br />
* A bad cold travels around a circus cast faster than a kindergarten class.<br />
<br />
* You learn a lot about your friends when you live with them for two weeks in cramped quarters.<br />
<br />
* Walking three dogs at once sucks, but it's better than walking two dogs THEN one dog, especially when it's raining and you're going up and down several flights of stairs.<br />
<br />
* You can order 880 poop bags from Amazon for $24.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6Flnw5QLEJzX9oZQKHneYrapTeSRvW0NuHErs0xO5VnFbd36WgLk_RLeIKPfoSbX0nSesBCFwq644Kz-73pbhm1s_2YvHVBoECDelasfwyuxFqHxgDiri7DSvgwTAaE6ohg9mqkqYv8/s1600/popeye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6Flnw5QLEJzX9oZQKHneYrapTeSRvW0NuHErs0xO5VnFbd36WgLk_RLeIKPfoSbX0nSesBCFwq644Kz-73pbhm1s_2YvHVBoECDelasfwyuxFqHxgDiri7DSvgwTAaE6ohg9mqkqYv8/s200/popeye.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle and me with Popeye</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Being part of DOGS was hard work, and it was stressful at times, but it was also an amazing experience. By the last few shows, I was even smiling and waving naturally.</div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-60502172835124221572011-07-30T14:00:00.000-04:002011-07-30T14:00:53.611-04:00The Flyball Book Project - (update! and...) Topic #5 - boxesDear flyball, how've you been?<script type="text/javascript">
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<div><br />
</div><div>I've been a little distracted lately, I know (lots of great things happening in my personal life, you won't hear me complaining). Plus here in the Southeast U.S., it's a very slow time of year for flyball -- it's too hot to practice outside, and affordable air-conditioned flyball-friendly buildings are hard to find. And it thunderstorms a lot. And everybody is on vacation. And, and, and...</div><div><br />
</div><div>But something really cool has happened with the <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">flyball book</a>. The book publisher that I originally pitched it to (last year) contacted me recently to see if I would be willing to publish it with them as an e-book. If the e-book sells well, they'll publish it as a hard copy book, too. I'm jumping on this offer because I feel like it's the best way to get the book out there to the broadest audience, plus the publisher will add that extra level of professionalism to the project (editing, layout, etc.). And best of all, it's lighting a fire under me to get it finished asap. ;)</div><div><br />
</div><div>I was just working on the chapter about Flyball Equipment, and the section about flyball boxes has me a little bit stumped. I could use your help. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3guzA_WdaYqF6SXNzUjjPNR_vD7F3vTff6VdLBFfsHuJfWD1tfa9az87ufyDl9cTuZdL9cSVose7VCL31ZwcFvrU4awTKp7OC5Xm5LOCTXsFWh6f6-d3mm9RrEQjspoXLK9nZ7TGCiIk/s1600/boxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3guzA_WdaYqF6SXNzUjjPNR_vD7F3vTff6VdLBFfsHuJfWD1tfa9az87ufyDl9cTuZdL9cSVose7VCL31ZwcFvrU4awTKp7OC5Xm5LOCTXsFWh6f6-d3mm9RrEQjspoXLK9nZ7TGCiIk/s1600/boxes.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div>In the old days, people really could build a flyball box themselves in their garage from some plans they found in a book or on the internet. It was basically a big wedge of plywood with a single recessed hole drilled out of the middle. Obviously that's not going to cut it these days. Boxes have evolved into carefully crafted machines, designed for speed as well as safety. They're expensive. They're hard to find. You have to get on a wait list and it could take months to get it (for example, I recently contacted Eric Tindall about ordering a box for a teammate -- we love his boxes, they are beautifully made. He said he has a 3-4 month backlog right now.). Finding a good used box (especially right when you need it) is almost like winning the lottery. </div><div><br />
</div><div>What are you guys telling newbies about flyball boxes (whether they are newbies to your club who want a box of their own, or a new club purchasing their own equipment)?</div><div><br />
</div><div>Does anybody out there have box plans that they are willing to include in my book? Or a link to plans on their website that I can include in the appendix? I'm afraid to just tell readers to Google "flyball box plans" because right there in the top 5 results are antiquated designs from 1998... Any box makers out there want to be included in the appendix? The box makers I know of are Eric Tindall, Dan Phillips, Mike Miller, and Mike Freda -- who else is out there actively taking box orders? Is Norm Glover still making them?</div><div><br />
</div><div>It seems like getting access to a flyball box is one of the biggest issues a flyball newbie has to deal with. Would love to hear your advice and thoughts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br />
</div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-69956268042832963162011-04-06T13:12:00.000-04:002011-04-06T13:12:56.422-04:00The Flyball Book Project: Topic #4 - Chasing<script type="text/javascript">
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I'm ready to delve back into the book again, and thought a good way to segue into that after the big <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/02/on-drama.html">Drama post</a> would be to discuss dogs chasing in the lanes. Let's discuss the various ways people proof against chasing so we can learn from each other. <br />
<br />
(Here's the <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">first Book Project post</a> if you have no idea what I'm talking about...)<br />
<br />
I've heard of many different anti-chasing methods being used over the years:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://controlunleashed.net/">Control Unleashed</a>-type drills that help desensitize dogs to motion and other dogs: includes use of ring gating, people standing in between lanes as "catchers," etc.</li>
<li>Smacking things like pool noodles (those big foam things that kids use) on the floor when dogs cross</li>
<li>Spraying crossing dogs with hoses or water guns</li>
<li>"Come to Jesus meetings," where dog is caught and given a firm talking-to on the spot</li>
<li>E-collars</li>
</ul><br />
I know nobody likes to talk about stuff like e-collars, but people do use them. Maybe they wouldn't use them if they knew of a more positive way that was effective.<br />
<br />
I personally haven't had a lot of direct experience with chasing -- I've had a few herdy Border Collies and a few ADHD Jack Russells, but nothing too intense (although there was that time my JRT Cho, age 2 at the time and now 10, crossed over and ripped the ball out of the scary Great Dane's mouth in practice...). So here's how I covered it in the book:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">A dog that chases other dogs is one of my biggest pet peeves because it negatively affects other dogs and handlers. Chasers tend to stress out everybody – you never know what they might do to the dog they are chasing, or how that other dog might react to them. Even if the chasers mean no harm and are only “visiting” they’re still a safety hazard because they’re usually getting in the way somehow.</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Chasing is self-rewarding, so you need to make other activities, like playing with you, even more rewarding. </span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In some ways, it’s great that your dog is so interested in the other lane – it means he’s aware of who he’s racing against and whether or not they’re beating him. Competitive dogs like this often make spectacular start dogs or anchor dogs. They will be the ones constantly glancing over to the other lane with that “Bring it!” look on their face, the ones who will try harder than anybody else to win.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are lots of different ways to refocus a chaser. My Border Collie Kraken was a pretty bad herder, so the first thing we did was put a line of ring gating between the lanes in practice so he couldn’t cross over. Then I worked on small pieces of the game with him (like close-up box work or recalls) while there was a dog running in the other lane. I made sure the dog in the other lane was pretty laid back, I didn’t want Kraken working next to any amped-up speed demons yet. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As his handler, I also worked really hard on being as exciting as I could be. Any time Kraken started to head over towards the other lane, I would call his name very excitedly, smack the tug on the floor to tease him, then run away from him a little bit, which usually was enough to pull his attention back over to me. I tugged with him a lot at home, too, to build up his tug drive.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a while he was able to stay focused on me (or at least run right back to me when I called him), so we took the gates down and continued to desensitize him to motion and other dogs by the box and in the runback areas. I would stand about ten feet away from the box and play tug with Kraken while another dog raced. It’s hard to do this with intensity for more than a couple of minutes – once your dog gets a little bored, his attention will shift right back over to the other dog. So we practiced this drill in short bursts. I would also stand in the runback area and play tug with Kraken while another dog was doing full runs.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then we would switch places and let Kraken do full runs while another dog was tugging with somebody down near his box or in the runback area. He was very distracted at first (there were a lot of dropped balls!) and I had to work to stay upbeat and positive. I asked my teammates to step in whenever necessary to keep him away from another dog or to act like a human wall. It was my goal to always be the happy person with the tug that he wanted to come back to – I didn’t want to be the one correcting him for anything. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I went to tournaments I would also tug with Kraken on the sidelines while racing was going on. He really wanted to bark at the other dogs and lunge around on his leash, so initially it was a lot of work getting him to play with the tug – lots of ridiculous-looking happy-voiced hopping around on my part – and when he did tug he’d do it with a vengeance, almost like he was taking his frustration out on the tug. Eventually he became a crazy sidelines tugger and stopped paying attention to what was going on around him. That’s when I knew he was ready to go into the ring. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next we did tournament warm-ups. We started out with restrained recalls. Once Kraken was doing solid focused recalls, I brought him down to the box for jump-box-jump drills, then eventually full runs (this was over the course of several tournaments). He often looked around wildly at the other side but he would not cross over. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eventually we felt comfortable enough letting him run in anchor position (last). I would hold him up until I could tell that he was focused on the ball/box and was going to run down there when I let him go. Next we’ll work on tightening up his passes.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kraken is not an aggressive chaser, he’s just an extremely herdy Border Collie. If your dog is chasing other dogs in a scary way, you really need to work for a long time on correcting this behavior. Don’t put other dogs at risk (no game is worth that). You may need to seek out help from an experienced behaviorist or trainer. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you’re working with a dog who has multiple issues, work on fixing one thing at a time, then build on each skill. Don’t try to train or change too many behaviors at once. </span></blockquote><br />
I should add that Kraken, at age 4, is still not racing full-time. Mostly because we haven't practiced much lately and I just don't feel comfortable running him in a tournament situation without a lot more practice running head to head against other dogs. He just went through a 7-week Control Unleashed class and it was AWESOME, if any of you are lucky enough to have access to one of those nearby. I can see a big difference in him.<br />
<br />
After hearing about the mess in Region 1 and seeing the huge interest in that situation and its outcome, I think I need to write more in the book about chasing in general, and also about when people think it's appropriate to race a dog (or put it in warmups) and when more practice is needed.<br />
<br />
So weigh in, folks. What's your favorite method to deter a chaser? When do you think a dog is ready to warmup or race?Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-49890500701202660852011-02-23T08:07:00.000-05:002011-02-23T08:07:36.721-05:00On drama...I should be writing another installment of the <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">Flyball Book project</a>, but I can't stop thinking about the drama going on in Flyball Land right now.<br />
<br />
Here's the story in a nutshell. I'll leave club names out of it. I wasn't there to witness any of this, so if I get any of the facts wrong, please correct me (I know you guys will).<br />
<br />
So you've got two clubs, Club A and Club B. They do not like each other. Old history, bad blood. Both very fast, respected clubs at the top of their game right now.<br />
<br />
Club A has some fast green dogs that have a tendency to run into the other team's runback area. They are not aggressive dogs, but they get in the way. Club A knows this and tries to manage it (they have put an extra person into the runback area to block those green dogs from crossing over, etc.).<br />
<br />
Club B has some green dogs, too, and they are trying to run their best, too. They are getting very upset and irritated because throughout the weekend, Club A's dogs (and handlers) keep running into their runback area. At one point, one of Club A's dogs is standing in Club B's runback area and almost gets hit by a Club B dog swinging on the end of a tug. At another point, a person from Club B runs to block a different Club A dog from crossing over on her dog (he is in the process of doing so).<br />
<br />
Club A interprets these actions as malicious on Club B's part and accuses Club B of intentionally trying to harm their dogs (saying Club B tried to swing their dog into Club A's dog while it was in Club B's runback area, and tried to kick Club A's dog when it crossed over. No contact was actually made in either instance, but Club A says there was intention.). So Club A officially accuses Club B. By filing charges with NAFA (for "conduct prejudicial to the best interest of Flyball," per the NAFA rulebook. See section 5.2, page 23: <a href="http://www.flyball.org/rules/nafa_rules_2010-10-01.pdf">http://www.flyball.org/rules/nafa_rules_2010-10-01.pdf</a>).<br />
<br />
So now both clubs plus witnesses will be traveling to the Detroit board meeting for a disciplinary hearing in April.<br />
<br />
It gets a little stickier. Club A also happens to have two people in NAFA leadership positions -- one is a board member and is actually on the NAFA Disciplinary committee (the committee that investigates complaints like this one and determines whether there is a need for a hearing or not. Since this person just joined the committee in 2011, he may not have been involved in the pre-hearing for this particular incident.).<br />
<br />
There are two sides to every story, right? (My boyfriend likes to say there are three sides to every story -- mine, yours, and what really happened). Club A's perception is that Club B was trying to hurt their dogs. Club B's perception is that they were just trying to mind their own business in their own lane and protect their dogs from unprovoked crossovers. Add in all the NAFA connections, and now you've got the perception of unfairness/entitlement at a higher level as well.<br />
<br />
Everybody involved might be telling their truth and doing what they think is best/fair/allowable. But I don't see anything good coming out of this situation. Club A's going to get hurt, Club B's going to get hurt, and NAFA's going to get hurt. There will be accusations and mud slinging and nastiness all around. Drama just leads to more drama, and once you're on the drama train it's hard to get off.<br />
<br />
Not that I'm always the drama-free innocent bystander, full of wisdom and insight. I've been on my share of flyball drama trains, too (perfect example: <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2010/03/just-call-me-lady-gaga.html">Just Call Me Lady Gag(a)</a>). But it always leaves me feeling like shit.<br />
<br />
This past summer I went to a really cool shooting camp where I was instructed by two of the top women pistol shooters in the U.S. Between the two of them they've won multiple national and world titles in a variety of pistol shooting competitions. Both are highly skilled and highly respected.<br />
<br />
The History Channel's new reality show, <a href="http://www.history.com/shows/top-shot">Top Shot</a>, tried to talk them into auditioning for Season 2, and they both declined. "But WHY????" I asked them. "It's such a great show! And you would be awesome!"<br />
<br />
And one of them said, "Nothing good can come out of me being on that show." She went on to say how the cameras were always on the contestants, looking for drama -- the show pitted people against each other in very stressful situations, then captured all the drama that unfolded and made a TV show out of it. And the show's editing (geared towards entertainment and viewership, of course) could really make the contestants look like idiots, or villains, or both. Many of the Season 1 contestants, touted as the most talented, respected shooters in the world, walked off that show with seriously damaged reputations.<br />
<br />
My shooting instructor already had a stellar reputation. And she was smart enough to know it, and appreciate it, and protect it. And went out of her way to avoid the spotlight and the drama, and just focus on what she is great at -- competing and teaching others.<br />
<br />
It's not too late for Club A, Club B, and NAFA. Take the high road, people.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOHsrjUyKu2wOQ7Hfsp8mSAdWV0gYrx0oBQXchalTSrlagzzLeMdOceW2EgHT4pw7BC8tinVbTcRJAlDEp5FfqRxtHeC41O81jbOTXBUVJ7FXTs0lWLzIaILi_OxnzXgWuzFmfZjxIKQ/s1600/sportsmanship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOHsrjUyKu2wOQ7Hfsp8mSAdWV0gYrx0oBQXchalTSrlagzzLeMdOceW2EgHT4pw7BC8tinVbTcRJAlDEp5FfqRxtHeC41O81jbOTXBUVJ7FXTs0lWLzIaILi_OxnzXgWuzFmfZjxIKQ/s1600/sportsmanship.jpg" /></a></div>All of this reminds me of something I saw at a tournament this past weekend. I was sitting on the sidelines and watched a little red Border Collie cross over to chase after a dog on the other side. Her handler was there in a heartbeat -- she scooped the dog up, marched her out of the building, and motioned to her team to run the backup dog. The judge never even had to get involved, the other team was satisfied, and everybody was happy (except probably the little red Border Collie).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I'm thankful to play in a region where, aside from the snarky comment here and there, we all get along and are respectful of each other. My teammate Kristie's favorite flyball saying is "Safety first!" and our region is a really good ambassador of that philosophy.<br />
<br />
This is how flyball should be. Right?<br />
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</script>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com111tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-84644112318629649822011-02-09T11:37:00.000-05:002011-02-09T11:37:49.099-05:00The Flyball Book Project: Topic #3 - Basic Skills for DogsGreetings! It's been a while since I've posted about the <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">Flyball Book Project</a>. I'm actually in the process of switching jobs, so life has been extra-crazy lately (bear with me!). <script type="text/javascript">
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<div><br />
</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b0upgEMxlgcAkE-RPB4RbXMmbZgRUG3AOhRyAk3xFnKwFSgSJIShF4X8_XItB109E5U77R-ZJz4_gpcs3iB7vYwg68AXq6xq9aNXzE2xplY6sCQcOci2Z0dqVE-MEVvlhPGl5WRDjk8/s1600/IMG_9484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b0upgEMxlgcAkE-RPB4RbXMmbZgRUG3AOhRyAk3xFnKwFSgSJIShF4X8_XItB109E5U77R-ZJz4_gpcs3iB7vYwg68AXq6xq9aNXzE2xplY6sCQcOci2Z0dqVE-MEVvlhPGl5WRDjk8/s320/IMG_9484.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Willie Moore</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Let's dive right back into the book project with a discussion about the basic skills a dog needs for flyball. By "basic skills" I mean things that are not flyball-specific. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I am a big proponent of clicker training, and had planned to start out the training section of the book with a high level introduction to clicker training before diving into things like training a box turn. I am not a professional dog trainer, however, so anything I write is just from personal experience and/or gleaned from books by Pat Miller and Jean Donaldson and training seminars with folks like Leslie McDevitt.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, first of all -- should I even try to cover clicker training at all, or should I just refer any newbies reading the book to all the other clicker training resources out there? I feel like clicker training is pretty critical, and I do reference it many times throughout the book. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's how I introduce clicker training in the book:</div><div><br />
</div><div><div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before I go into any of the specific skills your dog needs to play flyball, I want to take a few minutes to talk about clicker training. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I use a clicker to train almost all the foundational flyball skills – recalls, targeting, the beginnings of the box turn, picking up a ball (if the dog doesn’t like balls), standing for measuring, and drop it/out (for balls and tugs). </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can buy a clicker for a dollar or two at any pet store. It looks like a little plastic kid’s toy and sounds sort of like a cricket. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You use the clicker to mark (with the “click” sound it makes) exactly when your dog is doing something you like, and to let them know that a reward is coming. I think of it as a taking a picture – when I see what I want, I click. You can also mark behaviors that you like with your voice (with a command like “yes”), but the clicker is faster and more precise. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Start out with a few sessions of just clicking the clicker and immediately giving your dog a treat after each click, until the dog understands that a click equals a treat (make sure you use small pieces of really delicious treats like lunchmeat, cheese, or hot dogs). This process is called “charging” the clicker. Soon you’ll find yourself with a very motivated clicker-loving dog, and from there you are able to shape almost any behavior you want. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The trick is to break the behavior you want down into a lot of small steps and work on one step at a time. It may help to picture the behavior as a slow-motion frame-by-frame video. You’re going to work on shaping and rewarding each frame of the playback.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For example, if you want to teach a dog that ignores tennis balls to pick up a tennis ball, you wouldn’t expect him to just walk over there and pick it up on the first try. You’d start by click/treating him for looking at the tennis ball. Then for taking a step towards the tennis ball. Then for sniffing the tennis ball. Then for putting his mouth on the tennis ball, and so on. It may be a slow process, over many short sessions, but it’s cool to watch the dog figure stuff out for himself, and this problem-solving approach is going to help build a solid training foundation. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Practice training in different places, because dogs tend to learn things in context (they’ll sit beautifully in the kitchen next to the refrigerator, for example, but may look at you quizzically if you say “Sit” at the dog park). You’ll definitely see this phenomenon during flyball training – dogs who love the tennis ball or who tug like maniacs at home may show zero interest in these things at flyball practice.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can also use every meal as a training session – when I’m really trying to get one of my dogs going on something, I’ll put their kibble in a bowl, carry it out to the living room, and use a few pieces of kibble at a time for their reward while I’m working with the clicker.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you’ve never worked with a clicker before, read Karen Pryor’s book <i>Don’t Shoot the Dog</i> or visit her web site at www.clickertraining.com and watch some of the videos there. Pryor is one of the founders of the clicker training approach and trained dolphins with clickers back in the 1960’s before applying what she learned to dogs. Pat Miller’s book <i>The Power of Positive Dog Training</i> is also a great read and explains clicker training very well.</span></blockquote></div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Thoughts?</div><div><br />
</div><div>I also talk about how important it is to keep training positive:</div><div><br />
</div><div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Flyball is supposed to be fun. Dogs that love the game will run their hearts out every time they race. You want your dog to trust you and do his very best for you, so make all your training as positive as possible. Your dog should offer behaviors to you willingly and enthusiastically – clicker training makes this very easy. It also speeds up the training process in general so much…trust me, the clicker is like magic when used correctly. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I try to ignore what my dog is doing wrong and focus on what he’s doing right during training sessions. If my dog does something wrong (especially if it’s a big Ooops, like crossing over to visit another dog early in his training), I may say, “Uh-oh! Let’s try that again” (giving him no reward for what he just did wrong) and try the exercise again. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some dogs may need a little “time-out” in their crate if they are having a really hard time paying attention to you. Don’t get mad or frustrated, just end the activity, essentially teaching your dog, “If you don’t listen, you don’t play.” You can work another dog instead for a few minutes, then try bringing him back out for another chance.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A couple of my dogs are so sensitive that even an “Uh-oh!” plus no reward is enough to make them shut down, so sometimes I just reward them by degrees – for instance, I will still tug a little bit with the dog that didn’t do it quite right, but when he gets it right I will say “YES!!!!” and have a crazy tug party with him. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s easier to keep things positive if you tweak the environment to set your dog up for success – use ring gating to keep him from running around the jumps, props to get his feet in the right place on the box, and don’t rush any steps in his training. Make sure he knows what you’re asking him to do, and that he’s doing it for you consistently, before you progress to the next step.</span></blockquote>(Susan Garrett actually wrote <a href="http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2011/02/punishment-in-todays-dog-training/">an interesting blog post yesterday</a> about using non-reward markers, like "Uh-oh", has anybody read it?)<br />
<br />
Anybody want to debate any of what I've written above, or add to it?<br />
<br />
I don't do a lot of obedience training with my dogs, other than the very basics (sit, don't jump on the kids, don't bite my fingers off when you take treats). I focus mostly on flyball-specific skills like jumps, box turns, etc. I know, I know. One of my dogs actually didn't know how to sit until he was a year old (when my friend Barb finally taught him).<br />
<br />
(I do care a lot about recalls, though. I have a whole section devoted to that and will cover it in a future book topic blog post.)<br />
<br />
Here's how I talk about obedience skills in the book:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You don’t really need the typical obedience commands in flyball – sit, down, stay – although they don’t hurt. For example, it is nice to be able to put your dog into a down-stay while you’re setting up jump heights or something, but usually in the ring you’re holding onto your dog for dear life while you wait to release him. A down-stay won’t cut it in that type of environment, and frankly, I’m okay with that. I love to see my dogs all cranked up and ready to explode down the lane – it reminds me of the horses in the Kentucky Derby, ready to burst out of their starting boxes.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A lot of people who play other dog sports frown on what looks like a bunch of ill-mannered dogs barking uncontrollably in the lanes, but in reality many flyball dogs have lovely manners and hold all sorts of obedience titles and therapy dog certifications. These dogs just know it’s okay to let loose and have fun during flyball, just like kids know that they can run around and scream during recess but not during math class.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dogs also seem to have no trouble transitioning from one sport to the other. They may compete in obedience one weekend, agility the next weekend, and flyball the next, and perform beautifully in all three competitions. It’s all about context.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you’re competing in any dog sport, it is nice to have dogs that are:</span></blockquote><blockquote><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy and comfortable spending time in their crates (even better if you can also get them to stay in exercise pens)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Okay riding in the car on long trips</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Good walking on a leash at rest areas, hotels, and tournament sites</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tolerant of other people touching them and other dogs approaching them</span></li>
</ul></blockquote><br />
Interested in hearing your comments on this topic. I'm sure they will be colorful and entertaining. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project-topic-1-what-makes.html">« The Flyball Book Project: Topic #1</a></span></div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-70862177394833745132011-01-11T19:19:00.004-05:002011-01-11T19:21:20.595-05:00The Flyball Book Project: Topic #2 - Flyball ClubsHello co-authors!<br />
<br />
Thanks for all your insightful comments so far about "<a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project-topic-1-what-makes.html">What Makes a Good Flyball Dog</a>" (Topic #1) and about the format of the book in general. I have a lot to think about.<br />
<br />
The next topic is about finding or starting a flyball club. I actually have this topic split across several chapters, with some info targeted more towards newbies who are looking for a club, and other info targeted towards seasoned competitors who are looking to switch clubs for one reason or another.<br />
<br />
I start out the newbie chapter like this:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are hundreds of flyball clubs all over North America, so chances are there’s at least one near you.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you find a flyball club in your area, don’t be shy about reaching out to them. They usually have their contact information posted prominently on their web site, and most clubs are on a never-ending quest for new teammates. If they’re not recruiting, they can probably point you to another club nearby who is. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some clubs offer formal classes in addition to their practices. They’ll usually charge for classes, but the good part is that you’ll get their undivided attention for an hour or so, whereas at practice they’ll just work you in where they can.</span></blockquote><br />
And then I list out a variety of places where you can find clubs and classes in your area, and write a paragraph or two about each one. Here's what I've got so far:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>NAFA's club locator -<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.flyball.org/getstarted">www.flyball.org/getstarted</a></span></span></li>
<li>U-FLI's club locator - <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.u-fli.com/clublocator.php">www.u-fli.com/clublocator.php</a></span></li>
<li>Google</li>
<li>Local obedience or kennel clubs</li>
<li>Flyball tournaments near you</li>
<li>Flyball demos (at dog events, pet stores, vet clinics, etc.)</li>
<li>Craigslist (believe it or not, I've seen several flyball listings on Craigslist -- Google it and see!)</li>
</ul><br />
What have I missed on this list?<br />
<br />
<b>Starting your own club</b><br />
<br />
The rest of the newbie chapter discusses how, if you can't find a club near you, you can start your own club. I walk them step by step through the process of starting a new club, including the paperwork they need to file with NAFA or U-FLI (which is actually quite easy and straightforward).<br />
<br />
Here's how I framed it up in the book:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">People start their own clubs for all sorts of reasons. The obvious one is what we’ve just been talking about – there are no clubs in your area and you really want to get involved with the sport, so it makes sense to start your own club and become “official.”</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sometimes clubs split up because of differences in philosophy. This happens a lot, actually. Flyball, like any dog sport (or any sport, for that matter) comes with its share of drama and politics. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some clubs are very competitive and prefer to run for fast times instead of points. Others are more points oriented and like to split their fastest dogs up across teams to ensure everybody gets points. Some clubs do both – they will run a fast team in Division 1 made up of their four fastest dogs, then make up the rest of the teams with points and fun in mind. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some clubs are very serious and professional, while others are more laid back. The “professional” club may practice once or twice a week, and if you plan to miss a practice or tournament you better have a doctor’s note (just kidding…but not by much). The “laid back” club will get together when it’s convenient to practice and they’ll pick a few good tournaments a year that they want to go to. They often plan their tournament menu better than they organize their teams. If you ever go to a tournament and smell bacon cooking on a Saturday morning, it’s probably being made by somebody in a laid back club. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">People often start out together in a club because of geographic proximity – it makes sense to want to practice as close to home as possible. But what you can end up with is a group of people who live close to each other but don’t agree on their club goals. This usually leads to individual members jumping ship for another club, or, if enough people disagree, a club split. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Club splits are actually good in some ways, because each group goes out on its own and teaches classes and recruits new members and in time the two clubs have a lot more people than the original club did or ever would have if they had all stayed together. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also, some clubs can become victims of their own success and just grow too big and unwieldy – when that happens it makes sense for a smaller group to spin off and form a new club. </span></blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tKfjQPmAsHZZ_gVWVix6-kULOnwsUUpo0uEyev0ED_-f_WRWYnp1JK1xaQrOianLgCjq4REbDZiHmv2uQC0HBm5LMwQRUuQ9lj-xZq0UvF3gk5DNSdXe_fSyB0rJarNi60IspvPf72c/s1600/practice18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tKfjQPmAsHZZ_gVWVix6-kULOnwsUUpo0uEyev0ED_-f_WRWYnp1JK1xaQrOianLgCjq4REbDZiHmv2uQC0HBm5LMwQRUuQ9lj-xZq0UvF3gk5DNSdXe_fSyB0rJarNi60IspvPf72c/s320/practice18.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My daughter and my teammates' daughter @ practice</td></tr>
</tbody></table><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s important to find (or start) a club with people that you like and with whom you feel comfortable. A lot of flyball clubs become like a big family. You argue and complain like a family, too, but it’s okay (when you’re with the right people). It’s nice to find friends who share your crazy love for dogs. You can help each other train, offer advice and encouragement, help each other meet goals, and get each other through tough times. </span></blockquote>I also spend several pages discussing the various types of club structures -- I've been in clubs that were democracies and clubs that were benevolent dictatorships, and they each had their pros and cons. I'd love to hear your thoughts around this.<br />
<br />
Here are some other things I'd like to hear your opinions on (for newbies, especially):<br />
<br />
<ul><li>What's your idea of a good club structure, and why? </li>
<li>What has NOT worked for you in a club? </li>
<li>What's the best way to handle finances? </li>
<li>What's the best way to handle club disputes? </li>
<li>Who in your club makes the lineups, and how do others provide feedback? </li>
</ul><br />
Later in the book I get into reasons for why experienced competitors may want to switch clubs:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once you’ve been playing flyball for a year or so, you may realize that you’d be happier playing as part of a different club. This could happen for a number of reasons, the most common ones being:</span></blockquote><blockquote><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Your philosophy is different from your club’s. </b>Maybe they focus too much on their fast “A” team while you’d prefer to run for points, or you’re the one that’s become competitive while the rest of them could care less how fast they are as long as they’re consistently earning points. Or they want to travel to everything within an eight-hour radius and you just want to play locally.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Personality differences.</b> Sometimes people just don’t click. It’s not much fun spending lots of time with people you don’t get along with, especially if you have regular practices, frequent tournament weekends, or dinners out with the team.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Location.</b> If a new club starts up in your area (or you find some local flyball enthusiasts and start one yourself), it’s a good reason to switch clubs, especially if you’ve been driving a long distance to and from practices. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>You outgrow your team.</b> Sometimes you really want to improve and take it to the next level, but your club can’t help you get there, so you look for a more experienced team who can take you under their wing and teach you a lot.</span></li>
</ul></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve been in a lot of flyball clubs over the years and have switched clubs for all of the above reasons. My general feeling about it is this – I play flyball for fun. It is my hobby and I’m supposed to be having a good time doing it. If it’s not fun, then what’s the point? </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Leaving a flyball club is sort of a cross between leaving a job and breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend. If you give the club enough notice (so that you’re not leaving them hanging for a tournament you’ve already committed to, for example) and you’re rational and calm as you explain why you’re switching clubs, it usually goes pretty well. Some people may get upset with you because they feel rejected by you, or because the club really needs your dogs (especially if you’re a height dog owner), but that’s sort of how it goes when you switch jobs, too. You can’t make everybody happy. The most important thing is that you’re happy. If you can be happy without burning bridges, more power to you.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Try to leave on the best terms possible, though, because you are probably going to see your former club at every tournament you attend for many years to come. There’s enough drama in flyball already. If you can salvage the relationship, you may even be able to help each other out at tournaments (box load or shag balls for each other, for example), run together from time to time on an Open/Pickup team, or even practice together. </span></blockquote><br />
What did I miss here? When should you leave a club? When <i>have </i>you left a club, and why (and looking back on it, was it the right decision)?<br />
<br />
Club issues can be touchy, so if you want to post anonymously or email me privately, that's fine.<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for your comments! :)<br />
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</script>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-19900017441777549462011-01-04T07:47:00.002-05:002011-01-11T14:05:05.248-05:00The Flyball Book Project: Topic #1 - What makes a good flyball dog?On January 1st, I posted about the <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">Flyball Book Project</a>. Thank you for all your comments and private emails! Everybody has been so positive about the book idea, which just validates for me how much we all think a modern-day flyball book is necessary. (Sure, we're biased because we love flyball, but still.)<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>Plan recap:</b> I will post discussion topics and excerpts from the book onto this blog, and ask you all for your feedback, ideas, success stories, photos, etc. My goal is to make this book as complete and well-rounded as possible. Obviously we're not going to remember everything, and some info is bound to become outdated (like rules, world records, etc.), but the intent is to put as much of our collective experience as possible into this book, so that we can share this sport that we love with others and each other. <script type="text/javascript">
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</div><div>The original target audience for the book was newbies -- I actually called the book<i> The Beginner's Guide to Flyball</i> in my proposal and manuscript. I got some interesting feedback from the publisher about that, though. They told me that unlike agility, flyball seemed to be a finite activity that could be summed up in one book. They didn't really see, for instance, <i>The Intermediate's Guide to Flyball</i> coming out later or anything like that. They thought the book would have wider appeal if instead I wrote something more along the lines of <i>The Definitive Guide to Flyball</i>, and just put everything into one place. As soon as they said it, I knew they were right. </div></div><div><br />
</div><div>So while the book will definitely cover everything the beginner needs to know to get started, and will hopefully explain things to the point where newbies can train their own dogs to play at home/practice and come to a tournament ready to compete (either with a club they join, start, or even in Open/Pickup or Singles/Pairs racing), this book will also discuss the more "advanced" stuff like alternative training techniques, lineup strategies, troubleshooting problems/issues, etc. For example, I know of at least three ways to train a dog on the box, and I'm sure you guys have your own variations on those three ways, plus different ways to train the box altogether. There is no one right cookie-cutter way to train a dog to play flyball, and what works for one dog won't work necessarily for another. It's good to have a whole toolkit of training ideas to choose from.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's a question for all of you, though, based on what I just said in the paragraph above. Do you think a book can actually teach a newbie how to train a dog (or a whole team of dogs) to compete? Will it really be possible for somebody to go to Amazon or barnesandnoble.com, buy this book, read it, and train their dog to play flyball? I ask because these days you don't really have to be part of a club to compete -- there's Open class, Pickup, Singles/Pairs racing, etc. Theoretically, somebody could train their dog alone at home, then arrange (though their regional Yahoo group or something) for their dog to run on an Open team. That's in theory -- can it actually work for real?</div><div><br />
</div><div>I'm considering creating a companion website to the book (probably with links out to YouTube) with videos and additional photos to help further illustrate the training methods in the book. Thoughts?</div><div><br />
</div><div>So okay, let's move into the first topic. Chapter 1 of the book is actually a high-level overview of flyball that includes some flyball history and a summary of the game, organizations, titles/awards, etc. It's the type of info you see all over the place already. I'd rather save that stuff for a future post and dive into more exciting topics, like what makes a good flyball dog. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's how I open up Chapter 2: </div><div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One great thing about flyball is that all types of dogs – purebreds and mixed breeds, big dogs and little dogs – are welcome and have something valuable to offer a team. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sure, the fastest teams are usually dominated by Border Collies and Border Collie mixes (mixes bred on purpose for flyball, actually), but if you go to a tournament you will see all kinds of dogs racing in the various divisions, earning points and titles and having a blast. The more unusual breeds are actually the most fun to watch – the giant Great Dane loping over the hurdles, the tiny determined Dachshund leaping up onto the box to get the ball, the flashy Shar Pei with the gorgeous swimmer’s turn. Flyball would be boring if it were just a bunch of Border Collies running around.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Being consistent and reliable has great value just like being a speed demon has great value. Even the smallest dogs have an important role in flyball – they are the coveted height dogs.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ll delve into more of what makes a good flyball dog later in the book, but the two most important attributes are:</span></blockquote><blockquote><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The dog must be physically sound (able to run and jump without stress or pain).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The dog must not be aggressive.</span></li>
</ol></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Almost everything else can be trained.</span></blockquote></div><div><br />
</div><div>What do you guys think? Do you agree with that last line -- "Almost everything else can be trained"? </div><div><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>Included in this chapter is a section about height dogs. I keep it very high level and talk about how jump heights are determined in each flyball organization and I briefly explain the NAFA measuring style and the U-FLI measuring style. I mention NAFA height cards and how they aren't really necessary (or even used much anymore). I don't mention how jump heights can be challenged and I don't dredge up any of the old political stuff (crouching, cheating, etc.). Should I mention these things or not?</div><div><br />
</div><div>I also include a section about evaluating your dog's fitness. I start it out like this:</div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You’ll see fat dogs playing flyball, but it’s usually pretty painful to watch. They labor over the jumps, get winded quickly, and hit the box awkwardly. Think about how you’d feel if you were overweight and out of shape and had to spend a whole weekend running over hurdles. It’s the ultimate weekend warrior experience.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A dog may run the flyball course 20-30 times over a weekend, if you count the total number of heats plus re-runs, false starts, and warm-ups.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To keep my dogs fit, I feed them a good quality high protein kibble twice a day and keep them borderline skinny. If you run your hands lightly over their sides, you will feel their ribs. My vet is really supportive of this and often comments during exams about how low their resting heart rate is and how healthy they are. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I like to compare it to human athletes – you would never see a chunky track and field competitor out there sprinting around the track and leaping over hurdles like a rockstar. </span></blockquote></blockquote><div><br />
</div><div>Does anybody want to add to this? I am not a vet, so this is all just written in laymen's terms based on my experience. If any of the flyball-playing veterinarians out there want to chime in on this topic, I would love to hear your thoughts. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I spend a page or two talking about conditioning, but truth be told, my conditioning program isn't that much to write about. I work from home so my dogs get to run around my backyard as much as they want, and I play Frisbee or Chuckit with them from time to time (when it's not too hot/cold and the yard isn't full of sticks). I liken the fitness level of my dogs to a human 5k runner. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I write, "Some competitors go way above and beyond my conditioning routine and end up with dogs who are more like Olympic-caliber athletes." Do any of you uber-conditioning competitors want to weigh in on this? :)</div><div><br />
</div><div>The last section in this chapter discusses aggression. I write: </div><blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There’s no place for aggression in flyball competition. Your dog will be constantly surrounded by a sea of other dogs at practice and tournaments. The environment is highly charged – many dogs bark and pull on their leashes to get into the racing lanes, and space can be tight sometimes next to the ring. Part of the game is that your dog will have to pass within inches of another dog at the start/finish line (at top speed), then come back to you in a runback area (the place where all the handlers and dogs line up to race and run back to afterwards) full of other barking and tugging dogs. For the majority of the race, you will not have your hands or a leash on your dog, so he is free to make his own decisions.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dogs don’t have to LIKE other dogs or people, but they have to be able to tolerate them or ignore them. A couple of my dogs can be snarky if another dog gets right in their face, but being a little snarky if somebody invades your personal space is very different from straight-up aggression, where you worry that your dog could chase after or attack another dog. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your dog needs to be 100% focused on his job, preferably to the point that he doesn’t even notice the dog he’s passing into or anybody in the runback area. (If your dog isn’t at this point yet, don’t stress – you can desensitize him to a lot of outside stimuli during training – but it’s important that he is not prone to unprovoked aggression.)</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Both flyball organizations have strict penalties for aggression. Judges will disqualify and write up dogs that attack other dogs (or even chase other dogs, if it’s clear that the intent is to hurt the other dog), and your dog will only get a few warnings before he’s banned from racing permanently.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you aren’t sure if your dog is flyball material, enlist the advice and help of a local behaviorist or trainer. "</span></blockquote></blockquote><div>Aggression is a touchy thing to write about, so I want to make sure I get it right. I also don't have that much experience with it. Luckily none of my dogs are aggressive, and since I'm not a behaviorist or trainer, I can't really offer any professional advice on the matter. I feel like I need to tell people to seek professional advice if they think they have an aggressive dog, but at the same time that last paragraph feels like a cop out. Do you guys think I need to delve more deeply into it, or keep it high level like this?</div><div><br />
</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYJk7oJ92sJL9eBOjMPWYaPTPH4mz1mkP9j7zyWFCs-jvuAfhFfRks4Fi2t5yInFdG1CvqP-M1e_JcEH3GEXf1LApDfYQ9G_TcJn0d-ltoiHlpOiUzdTgdCzLGF93c3ebGaLt_8tx0Jw/s1600/IMG_0627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYJk7oJ92sJL9eBOjMPWYaPTPH4mz1mkP9j7zyWFCs-jvuAfhFfRks4Fi2t5yInFdG1CvqP-M1e_JcEH3GEXf1LApDfYQ9G_TcJn0d-ltoiHlpOiUzdTgdCzLGF93c3ebGaLt_8tx0Jw/s320/IMG_0627.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Willie Moore</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Photos that would work great in this chapter:</div><div><ul><li>unique breeds playing flyball</li>
<li>height dogs going over a jump or being held by handler</li>
<li>dog being measured (NAFA or U-FLI)</li>
<li>stacked or action photo of a really fit dog</li>
<li>photo of dogs in the lineup or passing where they are so focused on what they're doing, they aren't even looking at each other</li>
</ul><div>(If you have a photo that you think would work, you can either email it to me at <a href="mailto:xterrier@gmail.com">xterrier@gmail.com</a> -- or, if it's one of <a href="http://www.ttlphoto.com/">Len Silvester's</a> or <a href="http://www.wmconsulting.com/">Willie Moore's</a>, send me the link to the photo on their website.)</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Ok, hopefully something in here has sparked your interest enough to comment or email me with feedback. Public comments are great because then everybody can participate, but you can also email me privately on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lisapignetti">Facebook </a>or at <a href="mailto:xterrier@gmail.com">xterrier@gmail.com</a>, too. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Also, I wanted to publicly thank my friends who read/edited the first draft of the manuscript last year and helped me get it ready to send to the publisher: Kristie Pope, Sarah Proctor, Kate Corum, and Lisa Gironda. Thanks, guys. :)</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project.html">« The Flyball Book Project</a> | Flyball Book Project: Topic #2 » </div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-19766610092452174782011-01-01T10:50:00.005-05:002011-01-11T14:07:17.785-05:00The Flyball Book ProjectAbout a year ago, I created <b>Flyball Prop-a-Ganda</b> and kicked things off with a <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2010/03/sometimes-it-seems-like-nobody-cares.html">manifesto</a> about how nobody seemed to care about Flyball anymore -- Flyball with a big "F," that is. I talked about how things had become very cliquey and regionalized, and how the only marketing plan NAFA or U-FLI seemed to have was to host a big national tournament and hope for some media fallout from it. <script type="text/javascript">
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</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9_-bbj47euu7RC3uGqhF1GnxxDC2alcian9tvXeXAPh7tsKnISZfvcpvYYR53AzKbHyCMwAunt_mQVNd_pR_1XR-QxnF0wyVguYaZLCN_IspObflWk7LjivZQL0pmBL3mF5dCqAXC0k/s1600/book1_willie+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9_-bbj47euu7RC3uGqhF1GnxxDC2alcian9tvXeXAPh7tsKnISZfvcpvYYR53AzKbHyCMwAunt_mQVNd_pR_1XR-QxnF0wyVguYaZLCN_IspObflWk7LjivZQL0pmBL3mF5dCqAXC0k/s1600/book1_willie+copy.jpg" /></a></div>I still feel that way about the two flyball organizations (although kudos to NAFA for <a href="http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Largest-flyball-tournament/BLOG/2727516/7691.html">getting flyball noticed by the Guinness Book of World Records</a>), but I was wrong about nobody caring about marketing the sport. In the past year I've talked to many of you (at tournaments, via email, and on Facebook), and read your flyball-related Facebook posts and your comments on this blog and others, and I've come to realize that flyball competitors are constantly marketing the sport to others, whether it be through demos, Livestream videos, YouTube, classes, tournaments, articles in magazines and local newspapers, etc. It's all done at the grassroots level so it's hard to see it sometimes, but it's going on every day around the world.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I have really wanted to see something happen at the NAFA/U-FLI level. But I've also realized that whining about it on this blog isn't really helping much. So this summer I wrote a flyball book. It's about 42,000 words (about 140 pages without photos).</div><div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I wrote the book with beginners in mind. I wanted people who were interested in flyball -- who saw a flyball demo, or flyball on TV, or one of your Facebook posts about flyball, or an article in the local paper -- to be able to go to Amazon or barnesandnoble.com, type in the word "flyball," and find a timely book that would guide them through the process of finding a flyball club (or starting their own) and training their dog how to play. Lonnie Olson's book <i>Flyball Racing: The Dog Sport for Everyone</i>, was published in 1997. We all know that a <i>lot </i>has changed since 1997. We have new training methods, a new flyball organization (U-FLI), new/revised rules of racing, better equipment, designer breeds like Border Jacks and Border Staffies, technology advancements, social media (Facebook, blogs), etc. Right now the only way a newbie can find all this information is to spend hours on Google.<br />
<br />
This summer, I reached out to a prominent dog book publisher and they were interested enough in my proposal to request the full manuscript of my book. We chatted back and forth for a few months and one of their editors suggested some changes to my manuscript, and then in November they told me that they liked the book, but they weren't willing to take a chance on it at this point because they didn't think there was a big enough market for a flyball book. They said they would prefer to throw their limited resources at a project that was more of a sure bet, money-wise. They suggested that I either self publish, or resubmit the book to them in 2011 when they may have more resources to work on it.<br />
<br />
I'm choosing to self publish, and I'm choosing to take the whole thing to the flyball community in the form of a Flyball Book Project.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I think the publisher is wrong -- I absolutely do believe there's a big enough audience for a modern-day flyball book. But I don't blame the publisher for thinking otherwise, because flyball is not on their radar. They pretty much told me that. They talk to dog people every day, year in and year out -- their entire business is built on dogs -- and they said they just don't hear that much about flyball.<br />
<br />
(Which is one of the reasons we need a flyball book out there to begin with! Catch 22, right?! :))<br />
<br />
So over the next few months, I'm going to be talking about the book a lot on this blog. I've decided to go ahead and self publish it for several reasons. One, because I don't want to keep delaying the book for months or years while I tried to convince a publisher to take a chance on it. Two, because I really like the freedom that comes with self-publishing -- I can now get all of you involved and solicit your tips, quotes, photos, etc., without outside editorial interference. I can make this our book, not just my book.<br />
<br />
I would also like to contribute a portion of the profits to a dog-related charity, so we're helping others in the process. I have a few charities in mind but would love to hear your suggestions.<br />
<br />
So what's the plan, and what do I need from you guys?<br />
<br />
<b>Goal</b><br />
The goal of this book is to to help newbies get involved with the sport. Maybe we'll help each other with this book, too -- there are hundreds of different ways to train a flyball dog, and in 11 years of competing I feel like I've only scratched the surface. Sharing training ideas will be really cool.<br />
<br />
This will be an <s>agnostic</s> neutral <i>(thanks, Andy, for setting me straight on my use of "agnostic" -- see it's a group effort already!)</i> book when it comes to NAFA and U-FLI. Both flyball organizations and their rules and styles of racing will be covered equally.<br />
<br />
<b>Your feedback and ideas</b><br />
For the next few months, I'm going to be posting topics and excerpts from the book, and soliciting your feedback. I need you to point out what I've missed, and share your own successful tips or training methods. If I write specifically about your idea in the book, I'll give you credit for it.<br />
<br />
<b>Your photos</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRqe1wg2f9KlJs3HmRWzhj2hXxoo_meNuvrgL74M_OGt7mcjE3YRNxkkprx-AiLsuqL0Pe857gXK15nJzgvORf5I-F381bjyguTBPkFFDcwQYTvtEibxHummWURAB6WneCCDvB3den0g/s1600/book1_len.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRqe1wg2f9KlJs3HmRWzhj2hXxoo_meNuvrgL74M_OGt7mcjE3YRNxkkprx-AiLsuqL0Pe857gXK15nJzgvORf5I-F381bjyguTBPkFFDcwQYTvtEibxHummWURAB6WneCCDvB3den0g/s1600/book1_len.jpg" /></a></div>I'm also going to be soliciting your photos -- I want the book to be full of them. Photos really help when it comes to explaining training methods, plus no words I write will ever come close to describing the joy and energy of a flyball dog the way a great photo can. I want the book to feature dogs and people from all over North America (or hell, the world -- bring it on, Germany, Japan, Australia, the UK, etc.!) and both North American flyball organizations. I will put your dog's name, your name, and your club's name in the photo caption of any picture that appears in the book.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I have already spoken to photographers Len Silvester (<a href="http://www.ttlphoto.com/">http://www.ttlphoto.com</a>) and Willie Moore (<a href="http://www.wmconsulting.com/">http://www.wmconsulting.com</a>) about including their photos in the book, and they have both been amazingly gracious and supportive. They will allow any of their photos to appear in the book free of charge (and I will pay them $5 per photo to cover any cropping/touch-up work they'll need to do to make it a print-quality image). All they are asking for in exchange is a photo credit for each of their images that appears in the book. So if the photo you want to send me comes from either one of those guys, you're already set. If it's from another photographer, we'll have to talk to them to see what their requirements are. I'll do my best to work with everybody.<br />
<br />
Every time I post about a topic/excerpt from the book, we can brainstorm about great images to go with that section. Photos of you guys training your dogs at home or at flyball practice will be welcome, too.<br />
<br />
I also have included an appendix in the back of the book that lists where to find (or how to make) flyball boxes, jumps, props, ring gating, and other flyball-related stuff. Let's make it a really comprehensive list.<br />
<br />
You know, getting rejected by the publisher was probably the best thing for this book. If I had written it all by myself, with no input from the flyball community, it would have had a narrow perspective on things. Together, we can make it great.<br />
<br />
<b>Next steps</b><br />
<b></b>You guys think about all this, and how you'd like to contribute (advice, photos, products for the appendix, etc. etc.). Also, let me know if you have a suggestion for a dog-related charity to donate part of the profits to. Look for a blog post in the next couple of days with the first book topic and be ready to send me your feedback. I'd prefer you do it in the comments section of this blog so that everybody can see it, but if you're shy, you can email me directly at xterrier @ gmail . com (no spaces).<br />
<br />
Thank you so much for your support. :)<br />
lisap<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2011/01/flyball-book-project-topic-1-what-makes.html">Flyball Book Topic #1 »</a> </div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-59074448595476978092010-12-31T08:46:00.000-05:002010-12-31T08:46:33.657-05:00Ten Best Things About Flyball in 2010Well, 2010 is almost over. It's been a tough year in terms of the economy and we had some crazy weather, but it was a great year for flyball. Here's my list of the <b>Ten Best Things About Flyball in 2010</b>, in no particular order:<br />
<br />
<b>1. <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2010/07/why-you-should-run-for-nafa-board.html" target="new">Six candidates running for the NAFA Board of Directors this year!</a></b><br />
That's more candidates than we've had in a long time. We probably won't know the results until after NAFA's annual general meeting (January 29, 2011, in Texas), but thank you to Eric Foster, Alisa Romaine, Curtis Smith, Ally Stern, Chris VanWert, and Dave Walt for stepping up this year.<br />
<br />
<b>2. </b><a href="http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Largest-flyball-tournament/BLOG/2727516/7691.html" target="new"><b>Flyball made the Guinness Book of World Records</b></a>.<br />
Kudos to NAFA for organizing the world's largest flyball tournament (810 dogs competing at CanAm) and getting the Guinness folks to recognize it as a Guinness World Records achievement. Whoever came up with this idea over in Camp NAFA -- awesome.<br />
<br />
<b>3. <a href="http://www.u-fli.com/index.php?id=68" target="new">New U-FLI world record of 14.864</a>, set by Touch N Go of Las Vegas. </b><br />
TNG broke into the 14's in 2009, then proceeded to break their own record several times over the course of 2010. The 14.864 took place at the Fly'n Aces tournament in April, and the all-Border Staffy lineup was Chef (handled by Shelley Hovaniec), Warrant (handled by Wendy Jensen), Raptor (handled by Katy Kaylor), and Urgent (handled by Nadine Gremm).<br />
<br />
<b>4. <a href="http://www.flyball.org/stats_wr.html" target="new">New NAFA world record of 15.217</a></b>, <b>set by Spring Loaded of Michigan.</b><br />
Spring Loaded broke their own record (from back in 2005) at the Canine Express tournament in November, and the lineup was Butters (whippet, handled by Kelly Price), Hype (Border Staffy, handled by Heather English), Excel (Border Collie, handled by Levi Hilliker), and Mission (whippet, handled by Angie Heighton).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8RIVcekwMoDaSbqHN9ZRMd14w_rG8YUKjpCzrm3qJZCExVD-8x0OTIhrbWnWDKWNrwMHFiEXxK4OlIdiHZUVm6QCe-z4AIKy2JAHIxsatvo0HSi6HGkL3lMu7hn_GaZe8tEiCPQc7yE/s1600/dragon-len_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8RIVcekwMoDaSbqHN9ZRMd14w_rG8YUKjpCzrm3qJZCExVD-8x0OTIhrbWnWDKWNrwMHFiEXxK4OlIdiHZUVm6QCe-z4AIKy2JAHIxsatvo0HSi6HGkL3lMu7hn_GaZe8tEiCPQc7yE/s1600/dragon-len_cropped.jpg" /></a></div><b>5. Whippets</b>.<br />
Whippets (and whippet mixes) are the hot ticket in flyball this year, and with some of them posting times in the 3.5's, it's no wonder! Maybe we'll see a 3.4 dog in 2011? :)<br />
<br />
<b>6. NAFA CanAm Classic tournament</b>.<br />
Without a doubt the largest flyball tournament ever held. NAFA doesn't have a tournament summary up on their website so I'm not sure how many clubs actually entered, but with a Guinness record of 810 dogs (on Saturday, October 9th), and six color-coded rings, CanAm was a monster tournament and got rave reviews from everyone who attended. Dan Phillips' livestream video of the whole event was a really great touch, too.<br />
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<b>7. <a href="http://www.u-fli.com/index.php?id=78" target="new">U-FLI Tournament of Champions</a></b>.<br />
Touted by U-FLI as their "biggest event to date," the tournament was held in November at the fabulous Purina Event Center in St. Louis. In addition to the championship, which had 44 clubs competing across different divisions, U-FLI also offered Dream Teams, Singles, and Pairs championships, plus the open-to-all "Meet Me in St. Louis" tournament which was held concurrently with the Championship. Hyper Flight from Texas took home the Division 1 First Place honors.<br />
<br />
<b>8. NAFA finally got a budget.</b><br />
At the <a href="http://www.flyball.org/minutes/8-7-10Abridgedminutes-final.pdf">August 7th board meeting</a>, NAFA board members passed an operating budget for 2011 (NAFA's fiscal year runs from Oct 1 to Sept 30th). This marked the first time NAFA as an organization has ever had an approved budget, so good for them for making some progress in that area. Let's hope CanAm at least broke even this year!<br />
<br />
<b>9. NAFA's new election process.</b><br />
We won't know until the AGM in January 2011 whether it went without a hitch or not, but NAFA made a bold move this year by engaging an outside, web-based election service to handle the 2010 (FY2011) election. Last year NAFA caught a lot of flack for its election process, so it's nice to see that they got the message and took action. If you haven't voted yet, ballots are due in by January 27th.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b>10. Andy McBride's Race Tracker Web app</b>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETjiEgkWdW7QXlBBT_BCSs74iSpecasPEml7baKjFydDeWaFpk8q6vdl6IIMwlf3EJ__e3ShWkJ3ZcBNXfwlfXju28OsBl9lZ3ttz110LSKXQ7dXyO84ZC51bRh0CWerO-CzlPc_Yb-o/s1600/andys_program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETjiEgkWdW7QXlBBT_BCSs74iSpecasPEml7baKjFydDeWaFpk8q6vdl6IIMwlf3EJ__e3ShWkJ3ZcBNXfwlfXju28OsBl9lZ3ttz110LSKXQ7dXyO84ZC51bRh0CWerO-CzlPc_Yb-o/s200/andys_program.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I loved this little app so much, <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2010/03/race-tracker-web-app-aka-andy-mcbride.html">I wrote about it back in March</a>. Hail, Andy!<br />
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<b>Special Mention: Lyndsy King.</b><br />
I don't know Lyndsy very well -- we're Facebook friends and we've spoken very briefly in person at a tournament, and that's about the extent of our relationship. But she has been a flyball inspiration to me all year. The girl has been EVERYWHERE in 2010. Whenever you see a flyball photo up on Facebook, no matter which part of the country it's taken in, Lyndsy King is likely to be in it -- she's like the "Where's Waldo" of flyball. She went on a trek all over North America playing flyball at different tournaments -- she teamed up with others in Open class or on Pickup teams and got to race and train with all sorts of people. And all year she reflected back so much enthusiasm and positivity and genuine love of the sport on Facebook. Maybe I can talk her into writing a guest post here so she can tell us all about it.<br />
<br />
You guys got anything else to add to the "Best of" list?<br />
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</script>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-4843131188727928542010-12-27T11:23:00.000-05:002010-12-27T11:23:14.943-05:00The ChokeWhen I'm not playing flyball, I'm often at the gun range practicing my shooting. I love shooting the way I love flyball -- I dig the noise, the adrenaline rush, the training, the equipment, and the people I get to hang out with. Putting a bullet into the "X" zone of a target feels like nailing a perfect pass during a big flyball race. You want to just pump your arm in the air and say "YESSSS!" (but I try not to do that when I'm holding a loaded gun).<script type="text/javascript">
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<div><br />
</div><div>Last week, I went to a pistol qualification test for the shooting club I just joined. They are safety fanatics there (obviously a good thing) and require all members to pass a shooting accuracy test before they are allowed onto the range unsupervised. The qualification test is a little tricky, because you walk into the range cold (literally -- it's freezing in there), you've never seen the range before, and you have a Range Safety Officer supervising your every move while you count out 20 rounds onto the table and shoot 5 rounds at a time at a target. There are nine other people lined up next to you shooting at the same time. You have to shoot five rounds into the target at 5, 10, 15 and 20 yards (1 yard = 3 feet), and you have to hit 20 out of 20. If you miss, you don't qualify. (Then they require you to attend several hours of remedial training before allowing you to try again next month.)</div><div><br />
</div><div>I normally go shooting every week or two, and I also put in some time specifically to practice for the qualification, so I felt pretty confident going into the test. But when test time rolled around, it was still nervewracking to be standing at the line under pressure like that. It didn't help that we had to sit through an hour and a half PowerPoint presentation before the actual test, where they repeatedly told us not to worry or be nervous about the test. </div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXZCHoyh_hyDrB7v_kGb01AUkCruF74e5EcRc8DXcROY64fjRKiWGuFUVMVmrHWYjXCELMsbHxgiTaaAgu-K1eAv9Rv72dEi2keJWR3oBdOzuijSRDNInXNwB9Lrdofe7DwOKiXZkRec/s1600/target_test.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXZCHoyh_hyDrB7v_kGb01AUkCruF74e5EcRc8DXcROY64fjRKiWGuFUVMVmrHWYjXCELMsbHxgiTaaAgu-K1eAv9Rv72dEi2keJWR3oBdOzuijSRDNInXNwB9Lrdofe7DwOKiXZkRec/s200/target_test.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I ended up passing the test and qualifying (whew!), but I noticed a clear difference in the shot pattern on my qualification target versus my practice targets. On the practice targets (see the photo), most of my bullets were hitting in the center rings or above the center of the bullseye. On the qualification target, almost everything was to the left of center. That's because I have a "flinch" when I'm uptight -- meaning my hand anticipates the recoil of the gun and jerks down a little bit just as I'm pulling the trigger. Which is a disaster when it comes to accuracy. I flinch all the time with my 9mm gun (much bigger recoil) but hardly ever with my .22, which is precisely why I shot the test with my .22. So I was disappointed that I couldn't control the .22 better during the test.</div><div><br />
</div><div>What does all this have to do with flyball? I'm getting to it, really.</div><div><br />
</div><div>When you're all amped up in the flyball lane, and the race really matters to you -- like when the division championship is on the line, or you're racing against your biggest rival -- and the pressure is on, it's all too easy to flinch and get an early pass. You choke. It happens in pretty much every sport (golf, basketball, gymnastics, soccer, etc.) as well as in music recitals, academics (exams, SATs), and business (giving a presentation to your colleagues or a big client). Choking really sucks in flyball, since it's a team sport and everybody is counting on you.<br />
<br />
In her book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Choke-Secrets-Brain-Reveal-Getting/dp/1416596178"><i>Choke</i></a>, psychologist Sian Beilock defines choking under pressure as "poor performance that occurs in response to the perceived stress of the situation." This is different from being under-trained or inexperienced. It's about performing "worse than expected given what you are capable of doing, and worse than you have done in the past." Choking is about letting the pressure of the situation derail you.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdGOvf2AyIztD2cIe7LnGCp33Tpl5R4CsWAFW5OEp9qBlm9VI2CWRy-eqzxJVpHO7P6YxGFuabkQDrLCCupOhfrPg5Le-kseuTHxCWSFupW4b83DPmk10PWqgcWnODbFl46sogSQxGE8/s1600/passing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdGOvf2AyIztD2cIe7LnGCp33Tpl5R4CsWAFW5OEp9qBlm9VI2CWRy-eqzxJVpHO7P6YxGFuabkQDrLCCupOhfrPg5Le-kseuTHxCWSFupW4b83DPmk10PWqgcWnODbFl46sogSQxGE8/s320/passing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Some flyball teams are notorious for choking when the stakes are high, while others are envied for their focused, consistent performances. What makes some teams/individuals buckle under pressure while others rise to the occasion?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Putting too much pressure on yourself</b><br />
Several years ago, I was on a team that was in the running for the regional championship. It all came down to our placement in the final regional tournament of the year (doesn't it always??). And one shall-remain-nameless teammate choked -- they had 13 early passes during the tournament. 13. I can see 2 or 3 early passes over the course of the weekend (especially since we didn't practice much and our lineups varied from tournament to tournament), but 13 times, really? Needless to say, we lost the regionals.<br />
<br />
Since this person was a decent passer when the regionals weren't on the line, it seemed like a classic case of choking under pressure. They were probably pushing themselves too hard to be perfect, or they were too self-conscious about being under the microscope with everybody watching. We (the rest of the team) probably didn't help the situation because we were mad (but in general we were a pretty laid back team and forgiving of errors, so I don't think we contributed much to their stress for first 6 or 7 bad passes, anyway. ;))<br />
<br />
Beilock says that when people worry about their performance or about what others think of them, it often leads them to overthink their movements, causing "paralysis by analysis." People who are highly self-conscious are most likely to choke. Beilock says, "Just as thinking about how and where we place our feet as we rush down the stairs may result in a fall, attending too much to activities that normally operate outside conscious awareness can lead to choking."<br />
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Beilock says Nike's "Just Do It" is a good mantra to live by. She recommends distracting yourself beforehand as a way to avoid overthinking, and suggests listening to music, singing to yourself, or counting backwards by threes. (You can sing or talk to yourself all you want in flyball and nobody will notice, thanks to the barking dogs.)<br />
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During the activity, one way to distract yourself from your movements and just go with the flow is to use "focus cues." Beilock tells the story of a golfer who used the song title "Edelweiss" from <i>The Sound of Music</i> to correspond to his swing. He said "Ed" when he initiated his back swing, "el" at the top of his back swing, and "weiss" when he made contact with the ball.<br />
<br />
This is similar to what I was taught at shooting camp to control my flinch. The instructor told me to say "peanut butter" (drawn out very slowly, peaaaaaaaaanutbuttttttttterrrrrrrrrr) as I was pulling the trigger. When I remember to do this, it really helps.<br />
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For flyball, we could go with the old standby "Ready...set...go" and make the words correspond to specific points of the release. For instance you could say "Ready" when the dog in front of you has been released, "set" when he is turning on the box, and "go" when you see his face with the ball in his mouth.<br />
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<b>Putting too much pressure on your teammates</b></div><div>Many years ago, I was on a team where the captain took her flyball very seriously. Before every important race, she would hold a little pow-wow as we were going out into the lanes and she would tell us, "Whatever you do -- DON'T F*** UP. No bad passes." Ruh roh! That's like me telling you right now, "Don't think about a grapefruit." </div><div><br />
Inevitably, somebody would have an early pass. And she would scream at them.<br />
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I'm not a psychologist, but I'm thinking it would be a lot more effective if you kept a positive focus and said something fun like, "Let's kick some ass!" or "Who wants to run fast?" right before the race. And if somebody has a bad pass, just give them a break and let it go (unless they bad pass, say, 13 times in a weekend). They're probably beating themselves up inside already, anyway.<br />
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Beilock says pretty much the same thing in <i>Choke</i>: "Focusing on the negative or on what you might lose if you don't succeed is one of the worst things an athlete can do. Excessive negative self-talk really hurts your performance."<br />
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<b>Reducing the gap between practice and competition</b></div><div>In <i>Choke</i>, Beilock says that practicing under pressure can go a long way towards preparing you for the stress of competition. "Even practicing under mild levels of stress can prevent you from choking when high levels of stress come around," she says. "Simulating low levels of stress helps prevent cracking under increased pressure, because people who practice this way learn to stay calm, cool and collected in the face of whatever comes their way."<br />
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</div><div>I'll tie this back to my shooting stuff. Last year, when I first started shooting, I only went to the range with my boyfriend and I was very self-conscious about letting anybody else see me shoot. (I was afraid I'd do something really stupid, like drop the gun on the floor.) This year, I really started pushing myself outside my comfort zone. In September, I went to a shooting camp for three days, which meant I had to train in front of 25 other people. I also entered a couple of "Steel Challenge" shooting matches, where I was timed and had to shoot a course of fire in front of a bunch of other competitors and spectators. The first time I competed in anything, my hands were shaking so badly that I could hardly load the bullets into the magazine. That has gotten a lot better as I've gotten more experience. So by the time I got to last week's qualification, I was already desensitized to shooting in front of other people. </div><div><br />
</div><div>A friend of mine (let's call him Pete P. Ok, it's my dad. This is what you get, Dad, for reading my flyball blog and telling me I shouldn't get another puppy) failed the same qualification test a few months earlier when he took it, and he's been shooting 45 years longer than I have. He's also a very accurate shooter. BUT. He doesn't shoot in competitions and he doesn't practice as often as I do. So when he stepped up to the line to take that qualification test, he was feeling the pressure a lot more than I was. </div><div><br />
</div><div>If the only time you pass a dog is at a tournament, then when the race/division/region is on the line, you are probably going to be stressed out. You need to practice passing at flyball practice. And you should have somebody standing there at the line calling your passes, and better yet you should have a videotape back-up of it, so you can see for yourself what your passes looked like. If you're having trouble getting it right, you might want to videotape the dog you're passing into as he's turning on the box or taking that first jump back so that you can look for that one movement or body position that really stands out to you, that you can use as a cue to let your own dog go.<br />
<br />
Also, if the only time you're passing competitively is when the race is important, you won't be as prepared as if you pass tightly EVERY RACE. I know that there are times you want to take it easy and get the easy win/points (like if you're seeded two seconds faster than your opponent), so of course be reasonable about it, but putting a little pressure on yourself and working on your passing every time will pay off when the stakes are high. </div><div><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Other practical tips:</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><ul><li>Stay focused on your dog (and the dog you're passing into) during the race, versus worrying about what the other team is doing. That's what the pass caller/coach is for -- if there's a flag or something, they can let you know. </li>
<li>If you find yourself getting early passes, MOVE BACK. If you keep getting them, MOVE BACK MORE. This seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised.</li>
<li>You might also want to try a different release point. If the dog in front of you has an inconsistent box turn, stop trying to pass him when he's on the box. Move up a few feet and wait until he's taken a step or two off the box, or is coming over the first jump. I know it seems like your dog won't have as much room to build up speed if you move up, but you've got to find a consistent release point. </li>
<li>Ask somebody <i>who is really good at it</i> to call your passes, or videotape them so you can see what you're doing. You can't pass well without good information.</li>
<li>Develop a routine for how you line your dog up, and stick with it. I always use my dog's front feet as a guide, but others like to use the dog's back feet, or even their own knees if they're kneeling and using their lap as a launch pad. </li>
</ul><br />
<div>Does anybody else out there have anti-choke techniques (or just passing tips in general) they'd like to share?</div></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-92203032975481751062010-12-20T09:01:00.003-05:002010-12-20T09:06:28.026-05:00Flyball Highlighted in Purina NewsletterI was glancing through the Purina Pro Club <i>Herding Group Update</i> newsletter last week, and lo and behold, there was this great photo sidebar inside about the U-FLI nationals, which were held at the Purina Event Center in November. It was the only photo in the newsletter, which I think is great considering all of the things Purina could have chosen to feature in there instead.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcMF4DmDoFUrHbDOqYVFtEWYxLawDWWBSRWqKFV8NR3Wl3Kr9Ifkp5waX2pi6JFRIiJMetqLndKbFgBwBEaJcAsKOR4hTkHbHvbuLlnDJEtcDN38WdIc2Ko3p960PidBQTY-9-ppiMCw/s1600/purina3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcMF4DmDoFUrHbDOqYVFtEWYxLawDWWBSRWqKFV8NR3Wl3Kr9Ifkp5waX2pi6JFRIiJMetqLndKbFgBwBEaJcAsKOR4hTkHbHvbuLlnDJEtcDN38WdIc2Ko3p960PidBQTY-9-ppiMCw/s320/purina3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That looks like a Connie Croley-bred Border Staffy to me. Anybody know which dog this is? (and is a Border Staffy technically part of the "Herding Group"? :))<br />
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Also, I love the way the outside of the stanchions are marked by number of inches -- that is pure genius!<br />
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<i>(click on the image to see a larger version)</i><br />
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</script>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-51724917279645392042010-10-28T18:03:00.000-04:002010-10-28T18:03:04.792-04:00Puppy FeverEvery time I go to a tournament, I think about getting a new dog. It happened to me again this past weekend.<br />
<br />
I already have 9 dogs, so this is bad.<br />
<br />
But I play a lot of NAFA flyball, and we need a young, fast height dog. We actually have tons of height dogs in our club (so many, in fact, that my teammate Kristie farms hers out to other teams and says she runs a "height dog brothel"), but none of our dogs can run under 5 seconds consistently.<br />
<br />
This past weekend I watched my 10-year-old Jack Russell, Cho, run her little heart out on our "A" team (which is actually our Multi team, not Regular) and even though she was running lots of 5.1's, she wasn't pulling out the 4.5's and 4.6's she used to run in her heydey. Even Chos get old.<br />
<br />
I have a female Border Staffy in training, but she's going to jump 11" and dang, that's high. I know Spring Loaded broke the world record over 11", but we're no Spring Loaded. I think we need a smaller dog.<br />
<br />
So I'm sitting here debating what to do about it.<br />
<br />
I figure I have 3 options:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>Talk one of my teammates into getting a puppy.</li>
<li>Just be happy with the way things are now.</li>
<li>Get a puppy.</li>
</ol><br />
<br />
Let's break it down.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Talk one of my teammates into getting a puppy.</b><br />
<br />
Everybody in my club is pretty much dogged-out. No room for more dogs. (I've been telling myself the same thing on and off for a couple of years now, too. My youngest dog is almost 2 years old and my oldest is 12.) So I don't think I'm going to have much luck trying to talk one of them into getting a height dog. Besides, finding a great puppy for somebody else in your club doesn't always work out the way you want it to -- they have their own ideas for the dog, their own training style and conditioning philosophy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>2. Just be happy with the way things are now.</b><br />
<br />
This is what I've been doing for the past couple of years, and it has worked pretty well for me. I'm really happy being with my club and I have no plans to go elsewhere. It's hard to find a group of people you genuinely like, respect, and enjoy hanging out with for an entire weekend, and I've found them.<br />
<br />
Plus, I've been distracted for the past few years, so flyball has dropped down on the priority list. Divorce, two kids (ages 6 and 9), full-time job, new boyfriend, new hobbies. So I've been content to go to the occasional practice, travel every once in a while to a tournament, and just have fun playing flyball, whether we're running in NAFA or U-FLI, Open or Veterans or Division 3 or whatever. "Doesn't matter to me, just tell me which dogs to bring, which team they're on, and which position you want me to run in, and I'm there." I'm definitely not the same crazy competitive flyball person I was a few years ago, as some of my old teammates can attest.<br />
<br />
But you know, competition runs in my blood...I come by it honestly. My mom is a high school volleyball coach and her team has won the state championship for the past 5 or 6 years. When we were vacationing in Maine a few years ago, playing a nice relaxing game of badminton in the back yard, she was busy trying to kick all our asses (picture the water volleyball scene in "Meet the Parents"). I want to run fast. I want to win. I can't help it! And our Multi team would run in the low 17's, maybe even 16's, with a low-4's height dog.<br />
<br />
Which brings us to option 3. (Oh wait, I almost forgot about Option 2.5, which would be to just play U-FLI, where we don't have to worry about getting a shorter height dog. Unfortunately there's not a lot of U-FLI on the East Coast, though.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>3. Get a puppy.</b><br />
<br />
If I want a new puppy, I'll have to talk my boyfriend into it first. Which can be done, but I'll have to come up with a fantastic PowerPoint presentation or something to persuade him (he is a left-brained man). Luckily he doesn't read this blog. ;)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikj8zYpQBHkCv5IT5QibcHDlHAFWPdAFmCsXcm2KTkbEGAqY_WDtagdrPUUwlOqMCRGg9jKwJCM5THwwQHvXeiWA2uMb3Gf9Jh8nN2tPN4ZnOm9e0rTALXok8-b_gBqA1Ev7c367Zx74A/s1600/silhouette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikj8zYpQBHkCv5IT5QibcHDlHAFWPdAFmCsXcm2KTkbEGAqY_WDtagdrPUUwlOqMCRGg9jKwJCM5THwwQHvXeiWA2uMb3Gf9Jh8nN2tPN4ZnOm9e0rTALXok8-b_gBqA1Ev7c367Zx74A/s1600/silhouette.jpg" /></a></div>Assuming I can talk him into it, I need to figure out what I want and who to get it from. Since I want a NAFA height dog, my options are sort of limited. No DoubleBorder-BorderJack-BorderStaffy-Whippet-Pterodactyl mix for me. (It's kind of astounding what's out there these days, and what people are willing to pay for them...I could probably write another blog post or two just on that topic).<br />
<br />
Anyway, for a NAFA height dog I'm thinking Border Jack, purebred Staffy, or some other sort of small mix. I used to be a Jack Russell person through and through -- before I ever knew flyball existed, I had three Jack Russells and was going to terrier trials all the time (I STILL have three Jack Russells!). But you see less and less JRTs in Division 1 these days -- they're just not as fast as a lot of the mixes, and with the 1" jump height reduction in NAFA, slightly bigger dogs can play the role of height dog now.<br />
<br />
I could make my own Border Jacks, I guess. I have all the necessary ingredients. But it'll be hard enough talking my boyfriend into ONE puppy, much less a whole slew of them. I haven't bred a litter in over 12 years (we had eight JRTs in one litter), but I still remember like it was yesterday the poop smeared all over the kitchen floor and the little bits of chewed-up paper everywhere. This idea still has appeal, though.<br />
<br />
The nagging thoughts in my head right now sound sort of like this: "Do you really need another dog? Will you actually train it and spend lots of time with it when it's young, like you always say you will then don't? Has your situation really changed, and are you truly motivated to take on a new project? Or is this the same thing you told yourself with dog #6, dog #7, dog #8, and dog #9?" (Not that dogs 6-9 have bad lives -- they just don't play flyball that much.)<br />
<br />
Are any of you going through the same type of internal debate, or have you gone through it recently? I would love to hear your thoughts.<br />
<br />
I think there is a future post couched in here about how we are always looking for "The Next Great Thing." We flyball folks are always in search of "The One" -- the amazing 3.5-3.6-3.7 dog that practically trains itself and astounds everyone in the region with its amazing speed, disposition, and looks (and of course, its cool flyball-worthy name). But like I said, future post. Gotta let that one stew around in my brain a little bit more.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</script>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-52794946742891094162010-08-22T10:59:00.002-04:002010-08-22T11:06:10.081-04:00Reader needs help with her ball-obsessed dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuJtT8u9YgL5KuyPcOXCoPD0aduyjm8cBNJtDfmUJUzJP_jEflfna-CCLzIj8nEx33Vm4ljas1vtzDlsY5EkOLG1MJ4kre1A6wMgF8x-8mYPuMCRwOlTAsxRlS3svQ9z1fUw3TFV_A_k/s1600/balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuJtT8u9YgL5KuyPcOXCoPD0aduyjm8cBNJtDfmUJUzJP_jEflfna-CCLzIj8nEx33Vm4ljas1vtzDlsY5EkOLG1MJ4kre1A6wMgF8x-8mYPuMCRwOlTAsxRlS3svQ9z1fUw3TFV_A_k/s320/balls.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A few days ago, a reader commented on <a href="http://www.flyballpropaganda.com/2010/03/ball-obsessed-dog.html">one of my old posts</a> about my ball-obsessed BC, Rooster. <script type="text/javascript">
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<div><br />
</div><div>She was asking for help with her own ball-obsessed dog, and since the post was so old, I figure most of you didn't see it. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's what she asked:</div><blockquote>"Can someone help with my ball obsessed dog? I was searching the web for tips and came across this blog.</blockquote><blockquote>I have a mix that can run the flyball pattern perfectly, has a good box, and great speed to/from the box (usually runs consistent 3.8's) but he cannot run in competition because he chases the balls in the run back - thus interfering with the other team. We have only been able to run him when our two division 1 teams raced against each other and even then he was in the way of our A team being able to re-run their dogs. He likely won't compete again because he chases every ball in motion. Once the ball is "dead" we can catch him - but there are no "dead" balls at tournaments.</blockquote><blockquote>At home in the back yard, I can take 2-3 balls out in the yard and the floppy frisbees. He ignores the balls. I can even kick one past him and he stays fixated on the frisbee. For whatever reason, this does NOT translate over to our flyball practices.</blockquote><blockquote>Please help - it is heartbreaking to have a dog with this much potential and not be able to run him. Just to give you an idea of how long we've been dealing with this issue - he's 3 1/2 now."</blockquote><div><br />
</div><div>Frankly, I'm as perplexed as she is! I'm thinking there's probably some work that needs to be done between what happens in the yard and what happens in flyball practice -- where you start out in a slightly more stimulating environment than the back yard but not at flyball-practice excitement level, and work your way up to that level over time. </div><div><br />
</div><div>It would be helpful to see what the dog actually does during racing, too -- does he totally blow his handler off as long as there are balls moving around? As in, won't even look at her? </div><div><br />
</div><div>I had a BC, Vette, who was so ball obsessed that he would run around the runback area and pounce on any ball that moved, like a cat with a mouse (except he wasn't graceful like a cat, so he'd crash into the back wall or the ring gating a lot). We came up with a very reliable way to catch him and hold him in between races, but he also wasn't actively trying to evade me -- it wasn't like he was looking out of the corner of his eye to see where I was and intentionally keeping away from me. He was just following the balls around like a kid with ADHD, and he was really predictable in the way he'd run back with his ball from the box, so the trick was catching him right as he ran into the runback area then holding him down tight at the back wall till the next heat. We also ran him in start a lot, because there weren't a lot of balls rolling around in the runback after just the start dogs had run.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Anybody have any advice to add?</div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2236989556337868358.post-43810247515321400132010-08-10T13:43:00.000-04:002010-08-10T13:43:08.677-04:00Dear NAFADear NAFA,<script type="text/javascript">
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<div>It's been 10 days since the nominations for the board of directors, Hall of Fame, and MVP were due. Can you please make some sort of announcement so that all the brave, excellent people who stepped up to run for the board this year actually know who they're running against?</div><div><br />
</div><div>To those of you that did throw your hat into the ring -- I'm proud of you! Even if I don't know who the hell you are yet. :)</div><div><br />
</div>Lisa Pignetti Murnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14832898934171248163noreply@blogger.com7