How Did You Get Into Dog Sports

[leopuppy04]

Don't know if it has been asked before.

But.... how did you get into dog sports?

Did you get your dog specifically for a purpose?

Have you since taken up sports that you had never considered doing prior to your dog?

Has your 'obsession' in dog sports spurred on additional dogs that probably wouldn't have made it to your house otherwise?

WHAT did you do in your life prior to dog obsession? :D

My answers:

My friend told me in 1st yr uni about how she took her 8yr old Maltxshit to dog school.... I was thinking, gawd must be 'thick as a brick' to still be going to school at 8 ! I went along with her one day and thought oooh agility/flyball looks pretty cool and look how smart those obed dogs are.

I was already contemplating asking for dog #2 but this spurred me on a little. I then started researching all the sports and the aussies more until I became obsessed with the idea.

When our last dog died, I got an Aussie with the thought in mind of competing at dog sports, but only lightly, so Leo was mainly a 'pet'..... I also wanted a 'laid back' dog as our last dog was a nutter!

Yes! Initially I only was really interested in obed/agility - now it spans to herding, showing and breeding too!

Yeah - I probably would never have been allowed Kinta if it wasn't for my dog sports, although, I did always want at least 2 dogs.... so she would have come along eventually. Maybe not quite so nutty though (although she is a LOT more controlled now )

I can't remember my prior life ..... no it consisted of me dreaming of owning multiple dogs.... but nothing much has changed really except that i'm home less and sit infront of the TV less

[jesomil]

But.... how did you get into dog sports?

I went to training week after week with my old dog and we loved it. I was very young and we never would have made trialling level but we still had fun.

When i happened upon a Rotty pup, i started training with her too. She was so biddable and easy to train that we flew through obedience classes and up to the trialling classes so i thought we may as well have a go. We then for many years became trialling addicts :D .

Have you since taken up sports that you had never considered doing prior to your dog?

Yes, we ended up doing obedience, agility, tracking, flyball, protection, lure coursing.............basically anything we could possibly do!!

Has your 'obsession' in dog sports spurred on additional dogs that probably wouldn't have made it to your house otherwise?

Absolutely! After my first trialling dog, I got another that i could do dog sports as well as showing and breeding then I got another etc etc

I only own high drive sporty type dogs now.

If i didnt do sports with my dogs they would be horrible dogs to have around. I would probably have got a nice placid dog.

WHAT did you do in your life prior to dog obsession?

Hhmmmmm. I dont remember life before the dogs

[MrsD]

I've always loved dogs, owned dogs & had dogs "doing stuff" like tricks & working sheep dogs when I lived on a property but hadn't even heard of obedience/agility/tracking (that's pretty much all there was when I started :D ), trialling or obedience clubs. I had been without a dog for a couple of years when I got my first GSD (who was unregistered) & I lived quite close to an obedience club, so, being a responsible owner , I took him down there for training & socialisation. It was only when I'd been there a couple of months that I found out about obedience trials etc & the rest, as they say, is history. I was completely hooked on obedience & owning an unregistered dog back in those days in Qld you were treated like a leper, so my friend & I (who I met the first few weeks of obedience classes when we were both newbies training GSD puppies & who has since become a senior obedience judge) set ourselves up to trial over the border in NSW & spent many years happily doing so until we both had our kids.

I didnt get my first GSD for a sporting purpose, but certainly all my subsequent dogs (I am up to #5 now) have been specifically chosen with various dog sports in mind, the beauty is that there are so many dogsports available now that you are sure to find something that your dog excels at .

Im already looking at another dog for myself, either another sheltie or a working kelpie to do more herding with .

[Vickie]

I saw agility at the Easter Show when Zeus & Noah were about 4YO. We joined a club the next week & have never stopped.

I tried herding with them as well, but they didn't have any instinct, so we didn't pursue it.

I had no plans to get another dog when I met Trim's breeder & family, but knew straight away when I saw them that she would be (and is)everything that I wanted in a dog...for anything I could ever want to do.

I also had no plans for another dog when I started looking after Shine, but just couldn't part with her when the time came to give her back.

I was very career focussed before dog sports, I always had dogs spent hours at the park each day, but didn't do any formal training.

:D If only I could make a career out of dog training...nowdays I try to fit work around training

I can't imagine myself with another breed, although there are plenty that I like. I will always get working bred BC's from now on, I think the characteristics they require for herding make them suitable for sports and pets as well.

Edited April 16, 2007 by Vickie

[JulesP]

When I got my own dog after leaving home I got a border collie, Mum had always taken the family dogs to dog school (Croydon LP, so I am second generation :D ), so I just naturally did as well. I dabled a bit with trialling with Moss but he wasn't that in to it. When I got the second dog I was a bit more serious about it with her. I guess I just thought that having a working dog breed that I needed to give them a job.

I guess in a way the dogs were purchased to do obedience as the last 2 I checked how many dogs in their lines had CDs etc. But they are pets first and I wouldn't sell them on if they don't work out.

I have recently got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about showing! If I pursue that then another doggie will have to be purchased!

I never really thought about doing herding but am a bit intrigued about it now so will go to a training day.

Prior to, well at the same time, I show ponies! 2 very full on hobbies is making life a bit tricky so I am considering options at the moment.

[Cosmolo]

I had always wanted horses and for years my parents refused. So i taught my dogs to jump instead, setting up little courses in the backyard. Then i did get the horses as well but started to train our family dog with the trainers i worked with at the shelter in Perth. She was 8 when i started training her properly and did pretty well considering. I always loved watching agility at the royal ag shows etc, and when i sold my last horse, the obedience and agility training really took over.

When i got Cosmo, i was looking for a dog that could cope with almost anything- obedience, agility, scent work etc- i was lucky with getting her. Any dog from now except special circumstance dogs like Georgie, will be a high drive sports dog- whatever the sport ends up being for that dog. Before dogs there was horses and before horses there was nagging about horses and dogs!

[wheres my rock]

i ad horses and one day saw a guy trianing his dog at the park he was doing ud we had a chat and after that i had a look around the dog world we got our first dog from the pound and here we are

my gsp was for obedience but my whippet and connor were both chosed as companions first we dont really do a lot of obedience these days and i wanted a smaller quieter dog that would be happy to dabble

Edited April 16, 2007 by wheres my rock

[whatevah]

I started training my dogs at Kintala club when I was 15. Our club was shunned by other clubs because we used food. I remember beating an instructors dog in an obedience comp, and I went up to her and told her I said "I beat you", can't believe I said that. LOL ) I had a German Shepherd, never realised how smart she was. I was once practicing stays, and finished them but forget to tell the dog and walked off. Was 200m away and she was still in her stay. Another time we lost a ferret, and I said to the dog to "find the ferret" and she did. She had never done any tracking or find it games, she just knew. She picked up auto sits in fast pace without having to ever really train she just did it.

Before I got Tia I never considered herding.

[bridgie_cat]

I said to the dog to "find the ferret" and she did

On this note: My grandma has a new kitten and the kitten and my aunts whippet Twiggy play really rough! Anyways - one day gran was calling "rocky... rocky" and Twiggy ran into the house, grabbed rocky by the scruff (this is how they play... weird!) and brought him out and dropped him at grans feet!

Anyways - does obed count as a sport?? Cuz I did this after my older bro had great fun training our wonder dog Buster... So when I was looking for my own dog I was looking for a breed that is good to train.

Agility = always in the back of my mind when you see this on TV or demos at dog events around town... then when we started obed at the club the instructors invited me to join in at the agility trainings and that was it!

Herding = im thinking DOL actually put me onto the idea... that or "Babe" :cool: ... so I went to a training in Adelaide to have a go and now I have my own ducks to train with!

[Guest Clover]

But.... how did you get into dog sports?

I went to training every week with Clover so i would not have an out of control dog i could not handle.

Did you get your dog specifically for a purpose?

Elvis and Harri yes, Clover yes sort of, i wanted a dog to train and that is when we 'got into' sports and Tinny just decided she might become ball crazy so i started her in Flyball... she is obsessed with flyball now.

Have you since taken up sports that you had never considered doing prior to your dog?

I guess so. I was always into obedience, then we started flyball and then when Elvis came along herding was added (I had always been interested in herding though).

Has your 'obsession' in dog sports spurred on additional dogs that probably wouldn't have made it to your house otherwise?

I will never have a Border Collie as just a pet, and to be honest Elvis and Tinny are way over the top for a pet home. But yes i only bought Elvis into my life to train in dog sports... don't get me wrong i love the BCs dearly but they are shocking when they miss a bike ride or flyball training.

WHAT did you do in your life prior to dog obsession?

Nothing. Clover was a life saver, she got me out and doing stuff... i had to feed her, walk her, train her & could not stay home and ponder life.

ETA: Once are dog enters my life he/she is here to stay no matter what, i dont care if the dog does not want to play flyball or take obedience seriously. They will always be loved.

Edited April 16, 2007 by Clover

[Seita]

How did I get into dog sports?

When I was 11 I was hellbent on getting my own dog. We had a rodesian ridgeback as a family pet at the time and after months of persistance I was finally allowed to get my own puppy. I had always wanted a dog that was smart like lassie (watched that as a kid and thought lassie was smart) so I knew that if I wanted a smart dog I would have to take it obedience classes. I had scouted out the local obedience club (Atherton Tablelands Dog Obedience Club) years earlier and knew that as soon as my pup was old enough I would be there! So I ended up with a random cross bred mutt who I started training (I was 12) she did really well but unfortunately she was hit by a car while still a puppy.. but hey I was hooked, so enter buddy (border collie/kelpie), I got buddy up to trialling level but as MrsD mentioned non-peds were not easy to trial in QLd in those days so enter seita (border collie)... Agility also came into the picture somewhere in there....

Did you get your dog specifically for a purpose?

With Lilly (dog #1) no I just wanted a dog, with Buddy kind of, he was bc cross and lots of bc's did obedience so surely he was going to be a good dog (think again!), with Seita - definintely, she was purchased with the sole intention of trialling which she did with a fair bit of success... Unfortunately lost Seita at 5 years old and was dogless for a few years. Ella (bc as well) was added to the family with showing and obedience in mind.

Have I since taken up sports that I'd never thought of prior to my dog?

Well kind of, I've taken up showing with Ella. I had never thought of showing until I got Seita who was definitely NOT show quality so wanted my next dog to be suitable for showing and obedience. I am also looking at dabbling into herding with Ella now too.

Has my obssession made way for other dogs into my life?

Well with Seita yes, Dad would so never have agreed to a second dog if I didn't want to compete with her. Currently I only have Ella and I am trying to convince my OH to allow a second dog in and yes my argument is my 'obsession'

Prior to dog obsession...

Well I am one of the lucky ones whose obsession started very early (11years old - currently 22yo) so I can't really remember life without this obsession. However during the dark dogless years I chatted with doggy friends, visit the parents (and buddy - he's retired with them now) and read copious amounts of dog training stuff which is how DOL was found! :p

[Sayreovi]

how did you get into dog sports?

Well i didnt get into dog sports before i got my Tollers because i didnt have a dog, we had a family pet but he was dog and people aggressive, not exactly the best combo. I always wanted to do agility and flyball though.

Did you get your dog specifically for a purpose?

In a way yes, i wouldnt have gotten a breed that wasnt suited for agility/flyball.

Have you since taken up sports that you had never considered doing prior to your dog?

Not really, i want/ed to give everything a go that is possible.

Has your 'obsession' in dog sports spurred on additional dogs that probably wouldn't have made it to your house otherwise?

Dont really understand this question, i got my second dog based on the reasons why i got my first.

WHAT did you do in your life prior to dog obsession?

Ive always been dog obsessed but never had a dog able to do anything with so pretty much nothing :p

[smisch]

Ohhhhhh, um thats right I had a friend who used to go to the same park with her dogs as me anyway she moved and then she was back for an agility comp and said I should come and watch it, I was hooked! Then I met vickie who was also involved in the dog sport world and she got me right into it!!

[petmezz]

But.... how did you get into dog sports?

i was walking my dog one day and came across flyball practice the people where realy nice and helped me train my dog unfortunatly beau was to old and we only practiced for 5 months after that his arthritis and age cought up it was so good to see him have fun but the pane he was in afterwoods was to much.

Did you get your dog specifically for a purpose?

yes.... i needed a dog that would get me walking and/or pull me along.

Have you since taken up sports that you had never considered doing prior to your dog?

yes, obediance, agility, novalty tricks

Has your 'obsession' in dog sports spurred on additional dogs that probably wouldn't have made it to your house otherwise?

YES i would never have gotten a second dog and be looking at a third...

WHAT did you do in your life prior to dog obsession?

dogs where always my obsesion along with every other living thing around.

[leopuppy04]

hello petmezz!

Are you back in Oz yet?

[petmezz]

nop... he he he probably late may. probably be spending a bit of time in melb to.

[B-Q]

when buster started geting old enuogh i just started teaching him to jump. just because i thought t was cool. about a year later i found out about agility. he's a bit DA and not as motivated as he could be but he's very good at learning. i'm gonna get him some more trainging.

my next dog will probabkly be a kelpie. i only relaly like high energy dogs