As Colorado starts to think about gracing us with warmer weather, it is the perfect time to spend more time in the great outdoors with four-legged best buds! Check out these fun and creative dog sports that have been gaining traction across the country…and the world! Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new game that you and your best bud can enjoy playing together!
Do you have a ball-crazy dog who loves to run FAST? Flyball might be right up his alley! Flyball is a team sport requiring high speeds, precise timing, and a love of retrieving.
How it works:
Dogs run in teams of 4, one after another, across 4 jumps to a pedal-triggered box that releases a ball. They then must carry the ball back across the jumps and to the finish line. As one dog crosses the finish line, the next dog is released to complete the pattern, and so on, until all 4 dogs have run. The team with the fastest combined time wins the heat. It’s common for higher level teams to complete their heats in 16 seconds or less… that’s under 4 seconds per dog!
For a better idea of how the sport flows, take a gander at the Flyball Finals Crufts 2019:
Get involved:
Flyball piqued your interest? Think your dog might LOVE getting involved?
To learn more about flyball or get involved, check out: [https://www.flyball.org/] or [http://coloradoflyball.org/].
If your dog is always pulling stunts during her walks, like hopping up on ledges or flying effortlessly over logs, she might like to try her paw at agility. Initially modeled after equestrian jumping competitions, dog agility is a timed obstacle course which has grown to include more than just jumps.
Agility is very much a team sport between dog and handler. The dog must perform each obstacle safely, correctly, and quickly. The handler must direct her in the correct sequence.
How it works:
The objective is to complete the obstacles accurately, in the quickest time possible. Unlike flyball, where the pattern stays the same every time, each agility course is completely different; as much as the dogs are trained to conquer the pieces of equipment, handlers must train themselves for effective strategies to navigate the courses.
Fun fact: The AKC National Agility Championships were just completed in March – and Colorado team Jennifer Martin & her Border Collie, Jimmy, won the gold medal! Take a look:
Get involved:
Sound like fun? Thankfully, there are tons of resources. Here are a few: [http://www.frontrangeagility.com/] [http://www.coloradofrat.com/] [http://mountaindogsports.com/]
Have a pup who’s always heading toward the nearest puddle? Is his favorite pastime fetching sticks from the lake? Dock Diving could be his life’s calling!
How it works:
It’s just what it sounds like – dogs leap off a dock-like platform into a measured pool after a toy, and the dog who jumps the farthest is the winner. Handlers strategically release their dogs from the back of the dock for maximum momentum and calculate the exact time and angle at which to throw the toy to achieve maximum distance. Unsurprisingly, retrievers excel in the sport due to their size, power, and natural inclination toward water activities – but even small breeds can excel in the sport and conquer incredible distances!
There are some neat variations on dock diving that emphasize specific criteria other than distance: Speed Retrieve times the dogs on how quickly they can swim to and retrieve an object; and the Extreme Vertical class measures the height a dog can jump to grab an object. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkdaoPboY7E ]
Get involved:
If dock diving sounds like your thing, here are a few links to get you started:[https://dockdogs.com/] [http://www.splashdogs.com/] [https://www.rockymountaindockdogs.com/]
Stay tuned for even MORE dog sporting fun in our upcoming blog: Intro to Dog Sports Part 2!
Didn’t see the dog sport you’ve always wanted to know more about? Let us know what sport you are dying to see in our next Intro to Dog Sports blog.