# Dog sport people, do other dog owners think you and your dogs are crazy?



## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

I'm becoming acutely aware of how much my other dog/horse owning friends have absolutely no understanding of dogs used for sports. lol

I was mentioning to a horsey friend how my flyball lurcher puppy a couple of times done that Whippet behavior to want to 'goose' you, (you know how Whippets will pinch with their front teeth) when he's playing.

Obviously, he is learning that this is not ok, but he's an 11 week old puppy who's figuring out how to interact with his human and what is ok/not ok (he's only done it twice). I was saying there's a Whippet on my flyball team who will goose your butt in the lineup if you get too close and laughing about it.

She goes "Why on earth would you let your dog nip/goose someone" LOL

I'm like, well you don't 'let them' but it sometimes happens anyway. That it's like telling a jockey that they shouldn't 'let' their racehorse fidget or misbehave in the starting gate. I'm hoping that resonates with her, being a horse person. lol They are living creatures, not robots. Sometimes even the most gentle of dogs, the adrenaline gets the better of them and they misbehave a bit. 

Then I post vids of military dogs or schutzhund dogs on my FB and people think it's really horrible that the dogs are biting people. lol

Ahhh, I feel like I just can't relate to anyone anymore!! Am I alone?


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Well not actively in a sport right now, I can say with jsut the amount of training I do with Titan and now going into agility, most of my dog ownign friends aren't at that level with their dogs.. they have a pet, which is fine, but they just want the good manners in the house and that's it. 

When I talk about wanting to start Agility with Titan.. or when I talk about the training I do in the park or in the yard, or even when I talked about SAR training when were on a team, my friends would look at me sideways as to why I would want to do that with him and "can't he just be happy being a pet?" I even had to get the SO to be used to the idea of so much being done with Titan when we first started dating. He's used to it now, so when the Agility proposal came up he actually was interested, lol.

I get it.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

It is not normal for a Whippet to bite, even when you call it "nipping". If it was a Heeler, I would give that dog some (a little) credit due to its wiring. I have had many Whippets in the far past and none has ever done that.


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## Guardyan (Aug 29, 2005)

We received the most "yup, they've lost it" looks when we told family we were heading to southern Utah to pick up a final lure coursing leg. 

Who doesn't drive hundreds of miles to let their dog chase a plastic bag?


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

We had to explain Schutzhund to most of the family. We were asked, "will your dog bite me when we come to visit?" and "I don't get why you would want your dog to bite someone" and "if someone sees your video of bitework they could use it against you in court someday". sigh.

That is why I also have videos of obedience and photos of my pup just being his silly playful self.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

It's definitely a Whippet thing, there are many Whippets in flyball. I'm not saying it's ok, but people don't seem to get that dogs behave sometimes unfavourably (leaking drive) when they are in a racing environment.

you don't 'let them' any more than you 'let' a kid have a temper tantrum, but sometimes in the heat of a moment, they have a little slip


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

Yeah, I get some looks when people find out that pretty much all of my off time is spent agility training with Kaiju. They ask me what my hobby is to try to steer away and I just tell them again, it's dog training. I guess they assume that because I work as a trainer, I would want to spend some time not training at home. Nope, my life is dog training people! If you talk to me, we're gonna talk about dogs and how Kaiju's clean jump percentage has raised about 15% since I started working in clearer signals using arm height.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

You're not alone. At all. 

None of my friends get it, which is why they are grossly outnumbered by dog friends IRL and online.


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## Mister C (Jan 14, 2014)

I hear you.

I was all excited talking to a coworker about starting tracking training with my pup. Her response was "why would you want to do that?" and "what's the purpose of tracking?".

After a brief answer I changed the subject.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Talking about my dogs is one of my favourite things to do, but I feel like everyone is judging me! lol

Oh, flyball dogs bark and bounce? That's very naughty. Don't you guys do any obedience with them?! *rolleyes*


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

blackshep said:


> Talking about my dogs is one of my favourite things to do, but I feel like everyone is judging me! lol
> 
> Oh, flyball dogs bark and bounce? That's very naughty. Don't you guys do any obedience with them?! *rolleyes*


Oh goodness. I try explaining it to my _dog training students_ and they don't get it. I couldn't imagine trying to tell someone on the street about it.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

I'm glad I'm not alone! 

Here I was so happy/laughing that I have a dog who's got enough drive to leak it, and people are completely horrified. lol

Obviously you want to work on it, but when you're doing a high octane sport with a young, drivey dog it's pretty much inevitable.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I know when I started Schutzhund with Keeta it really shook up what I considered Okay and not okay with dogs - It was a whole different world and I needed to make some major adjustments on how I saw dogs and how I saw my relationship with my dog.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

Castlemaid said:


> I know when I started Schutzhund with Keeta it really shook up what I considered Okay and not okay with dogs - It was a whole different world and I needed to make some major adjustments on how I saw dogs and how I saw my relationship with my dog.


Can you expand on this please? As much as you csn. Or pm if it's too graphic lol

I'm asking because my next pup will be raised for sport and I'm interested in the differences of raising a pet pup and a sport one?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Pretty much what everyone else is talking about - as a pet owner, you have a certain set of behaviours and expectations about dogs. Dogs must have excruciatingly good manners. Always be gentle and self-controlled, never pushy. Cannot put paw, teeth or any body part on you. Any display of aggression is to be immediatly shut down, etc . . . 

Then with Schutzhund, I first approached it as a game, because I did not understand the drives behind it. As training went on, and as I learned more, I had to wrap my head around the fact that we WANTED our dogs to be just a bit crazy, very pushy, very single-minded. If during training the dog accidently tagged you when going for a ball or tug and you bled - meh - all part and parcel of having a dog. 

One thing to remember that agression/defense doesn't mean a dog barely in control, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. A lot of the training is meant to give a dog confidence. Confident enough for them to feel in control and powerful when faced with a challenge. At first, I was thinking "Who in their right mind would want an agressive dog?", then I saw that what Schutzhund was giving us was confident dogs, who were sure of who they were and knew what power they had inside when called upon to bring that out, but happy and loving and relaxed in every-day life as they felt secure in their surroundings.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

I want an aggressive dog. They look beautiful when they're fighting or displaying. 
Actually they look beautiful when they're doing anything but aggression on a gsd to me looks breathtaking. 
Of course if the dog is clear headed. Otherwise it's scary but still beautiful lol

Thank you for the examples, that's what I was asking for. I'd take more if you have))))))


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Mister C said:


> I hear you.
> 
> I was all excited talking to a coworker about starting tracking training with my pup. Her response was "why would you want to do that?" and "what's the purpose of tracking?".
> 
> After a brief answer I changed the subject.



LOL I was talking to my farrier about protection work. He got a super odd look on his face and asked "Are you SURE you want to do that?" :rofl:

Yes. Don't worry. He'll still be a sweetheart. Except when he's not.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I have to find a balance because my dogs ARE pets. Other than puppies under a year old, they are not crated at home. They aren't separated from each other and typically aren't restricted from any parts of the house or yard once they're over a year old. They're not closely supervised at all times. Even with all the sports, training, and competing we do, they're still my pets 99% of the time. They are expected to behave in the home and around each other and if they can't handle it, they lose a privilege and we take a few steps back, but I am not of the mind that a high drive sport dog has to be kept crated or kenneled at all times or should run around screaming just because.

One thing that I've done is prioritized where I spend a lot of time and effort doing direct training. For example, I spend weeks, months, maybe even years shaping a safe, fast box turn for flyball and might work on this one specific skill several times a week for 6 months straight. But when it comes to something more "pet" oriented like counter surfing....I don't really do any direct training for that, I simply don't leave food on the counter unattended, and if the dog tries to steal right in front of me, I manage the situation (physically keep dogs out of the kitchen and eating area if we have people over, etc).

A lot of people comment how calm, quiet, and well behaved my higher drive sporting dogs are, but not all of that is attributed to focused training, it's more a product of the dog learning routines over time (for example, being quiet and lying calmly in the van even if people walk up to pet the dog or my friend wants a ride over lunch break...this is because my dogs are riding in the van multiple times a week and just get over it) and me managing the situation so that they can't act up when I have friends and family around.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Castlemaid, schutzhund was an eye opener for me too! I learned so much from the more experienced trainers, so many things I used to think were wrong, now I have a much better appreciation for a sassy dog. My dog nailed me on a couple of occasions when I was tossing the tug back to the helper. It's not personal, and she's not aggressive, she was in drive and it can happen in training. No biggie.

I'm not talking about those same dogs being allowed to run amok and be obnoxious in the home or around guests (I agree with you on that Liesje), I'm talking about high drive dogs who leak a bit during a race or training when they are in an environment that is really electric or intense and they are being restrained. These same dogs are wonderful in the home, friendly and quiet when crated in the van.

You can't control the environment at a tournament, and it's hard, if not impossible to recreate that environment in training. 

I had a fabulous trainer for my dog when she was a pup, she actually does flyball too, I see her all the time at tournaments. Her dog is really, really well trained. A model citizen, but when she's in the lineup that same dog is barking and bucking. That's leaking drive too, it manifests in a number of ways, but I see it as the same thing, if it's whining, barking, pinching etc. I have no idea how she gets such great start times when she lets her dog go, she's usually got all four feet in the air. lol

But pet people are horrified.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I agree on the tournament environment. Nikon's not usually a "leaky" dog (he may bark a bit at the start of agility but that's about it, he doesn't leak/scream doing obedience), but at flyball it's like all bets are off! I just let him bark. If we have to wait on the side for our warmup, I tend to keep a tug in his mouth because he's so big and SO loud (compared to 99% of flyball dogs) I might get some looks, but at least he *barks* and doesn't do the terrier monkey shrieking or the noise Tollers make (sounds like a human baby being tortured!). When he's done with his heats, he's satisfied, he calmly walks away, no barking, and trots back to his crate carrying his tug (I rarely leash him, just hold the end of the tug) and he's done.

I would never criticize someone for their dog leaking WHILE racing. To me it seems odd when dogs are NOT vocalizing during their races, lol.

As far as biting and bleeding, it's just part of doing a face paced, high drive sport with dogs who have sharp teeth and are being encouraged to use them  During our June tournament, Nikon's tug wrapped around my foot and he bit my ankle. It was bleeding in several spots and unfortunately we had to pause the racing so I could take care of it. The judge handed me some paper towels and the tape they used for the lane mats so I just taped it and kept going. It hurt SO bad, I couldn't stand on it, but whatever. Then at the same tournament, I was running Indy in Singles and she's never been that great with targeting, always comes higher and higher up and of course in a tournament I'm getting anxious, rushing a bit, and not paying attention so she chomped my hand instead of the tug. There was only one tiny puncture but both Nikon and Legend had made the same mistake in the same spot during training the previous weeks. My hand swelled up so bad! I was planning to go to urgent care and be treated for infection but it subsided that day at work. I never consider these real "bites", they're just targeting accidents and almost always *my* fault because I'm either not paying attention, I do something the dog was not expecting, or I need to back up and work on their targeting skills.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Yeah, that's exactly what people were criticizing me for. Why would you 'let them' do that? Well you don't, but it kind of happens.

I honestly wonder if a dog is going to be any good at flyball if it can remain completely composed in that environment. I'd expect them to get revved up. 

I got bit in the boob a couple of tournaments ago, dog went to regrip and came up the tug at me  Thankfully my shirt (and boob) remained intact. 

I don't even want to tell my friends about the FB group I'm in "Impressive Flyball Bruises" Ha ha


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## osito23 (Feb 17, 2014)

You're not alone. My family and friends all know that we love our dogs, so I guess they're not too surprised. They know we do a lot of training with Bear, but they don't know how much time or money that entails. Most of them will ask how he's doing and may watch a little video clip of him from training, but that's about it. I don't go into specifics with them unless they ask. Some friends will go to agility trials or dog events with us just to check it out. My mom has come to see Bear train in IPO with us. Still, they just aren't as interested in what my dog can do as I am. 

Earlier this summer we were leaving a family event early because Bear had a nose work class. My grandma looked at me and asked, "Why are you doing this class?" I explained the class to her, and she continued with "but why?" I thought about it for a second and then told her, "Because it's my hobby. I like getting out and doing things with my dog. We have fun together. Just like some people enjoy working horses, only I'm working with a dog." She really seemed surprised by the idea of dog sports as being a hobby for people, but then she understood better. 

I agree with Liesje that there has to be a balance between sport/home life. Bear is our first sport dog, so there's a learning curve to the whole thing. Our trainers, who are all very successful in their chosen venue, all agree that a high drive dog on the field should be able to transition into a well-mannered pet off the field. My dogs are pets first and foremost that live inside my house. Right now they're all just hanging out in the living room with me. We might even take a nap together.


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

My dog _is_ crazy. 

For the most part, the reaction I get from friends and family is just "wow, that's cool, I wish my dog would do that." (Then I usually have to bite my tongue real hard to avoid saying: He would! If you asked him, he would!)

I'm honestly puzzled as to why people who are aware of dog sports don't do them. Not knowing that dog sports even exist is one thing, but if you _do_ know, it boggles my mind that anyone could have a dog and not want to engage in some form of advanced training with them. The depth of relationship you develop through cooperative sports surpasses anything I imagined before I started doing this.

Now I can't fathom having a dog and _not_ seeking out that bond.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

For most people I know, it's financial. Cost to join the club/enter a class, cost to drive there and back, costs to enter if you want to compete or title, and then the cost to travel to said entry. Among family and friends, I really pimp flyball because it's close by (or was, before the tornado), family friendly, cheap, and physical exercise for the dog while engaging the mind and using some basic training concepts, but even then it's rare that someone comes back more than twice.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

blackshep said:


> Yeah, that's exactly what people were criticizing me for. Why would you 'let them' do that? Well you don't, but it kind of happens.
> 
> I honestly wonder if a dog is going to be any good at flyball if it can remain completely composed in that environment. I'd expect them to get revved up.
> 
> ...


I always think that if I died and someone did an autopsy, when they look at my body under the alternative light source, they will see so many bruises, bites, and scars they'd probably accuse my husband of serial abuse with an ice pick!


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## Tiffseagles (May 12, 2010)

blackshep said:


> Yeah, that's exactly what people were criticizing me for. Why would you 'let them' do that? Well you don't, but it kind of happens.
> 
> I honestly wonder if a dog is going to be any good at flyball if it can remain completely composed in that environment. I'd expect them to get revved up.
> 
> ...


I did not know that was a group!


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Yes, until they need help getting their dog to stay in a "down." Then maybe it's not so crazy after all lol.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Yeah, a little bit. I spend a lot of money and time on my dogs, and I am always training... I don't really care what anyone thinks of me though. It's my life, my time. I will spend it doing what I love. If buying toys every week makes me happy, I'm going to do it. If spending all the money and time I do on my dogs makes me crazy, then I guess I am.

People in my neighbourhood know me as the "German Shepherd girl"... I train out on the street every day, and I'll have people stop and watch me or make comments as they pass by. I get the, "wow, you're really dedicated" a lot. Haha...

When I bring my high drive male to a lure coursing trial, people stare at us when we got on the field. Hunter goes absolutely nuts for lure coursing and barks his head off, it is his opportunity to release himself and fulfill his prey instinct so I never ask for obedience and just let him be what he is... very different from the way the other breeds course. He shuts up when you release him, but everyone always knows we're at the trial once I get him out on the field. LOL.

Then when my husband tries to explain that we train in IPO multiple times a week, he always gets the "wait, you train your dog to attack people?" Then he gets into a huge rant about what IPO really is with people... Haha.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Tiffseagles said:


> I did not know that was a group!


Some of them are OMG impressive!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/458250184213478/

I don't often hang out with dog owners who AREN'T dog sport people, so I don't really come across that attitude. And the few that aren't into sports are usually either indifferent or impressed by what I do with my dogs rather than put off by it. 

Our first experience in lure racing is this weekend, should be interesting!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

blackshep said:


> I honestly wonder if a dog is going to be any good at flyball if it can remain completely composed in that environment. I'd expect them to get revved up.


Yeah, that's definitely an environment where nobody bats an eye if dogs are going nuts! Halo is one of the few dogs in our club, and even among other clubs we see at tournaments who NEVER barks in her crate. But get her in the ring and she's going batcrap crazy, leaking drive all over the place, lol. 

Recently she's started doing something new while she's waiting in the lineup. She usually goes second, and while we're waiting for the heat to start and for the first dog to go by she's not just bucking and screaming, she's trying to climb over my knee to bark at the start dog. I start her on my right since she's a lane hog, and I'm down on one knee, bracing myself with the other foot on the ground. At the last tournament the judge was laughing at us, and after one race she said I should get some knee pads. Halo also gets angry at false starts, and will snark at the returning start dog if I have to hold her back and wait for the heat to start again.



> I got bit in the boob a couple of tournaments ago, dog went to regrip and came up the tug at me  Thankfully my shirt (and boob) remained intact.


That's where my most impressive flyball bruise was, and if it had been anywhere else I would have taken a picture! Halo was still pretty green, it was just our 3rd tournament and I was still having a lot of trouble getting her to let go of her precious Orbee tug. I got it away from her and was putting it around my neck when she jumped up to regrip....and missed. :help: I had a lovely set of colorful dog teeth on my boob that lasted for weeks.


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## Tiffseagles (May 12, 2010)

I've gotten the "Why do you do that?" question about weight pull and some other sports. I worked at a shelter for 6 years and it was always fun educating the public on the activities they could pursue with their dogs, even if some of them looked at me like I was crazy!

Thank's CM! I'm going to post one of my old bruises I got from running a friend's Border Collie!


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

"*do other dog owners think you and your dogs are crazy?* "
probably. I don't ask.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

If you do anything with your dog outside of taking it for a walk, I get crazy looks!! 

I can't tell you how many people I know that bought a dog as an extra piece of furniture. Most of them take their dogs with them perhaps 1-2 times a year and walk them every once in a while but that's the extent of the inclusion they get in their lives.


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## Juliem24 (Jan 4, 2014)

When getting huskies ready to run, they are screaming and flying around like total idiots. I had someone ask me what drug I gave them to make them act like that! 
And yeah, at home they were pets -with the zoomies- but god help you when you showed them their work stuff. 
(God help me if I ever did give them something, I'd probably still be running 10 years later!)


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Well all of my friends are dog people LOL and I do IPO with a good friend so that part isn't an issue.... The place I get weird looks is from family like my parent in laws, they are average joe pedigree feeding owners and don't understand at all how involved I am with my dog. But as far as friends go I'm pretty lucky and at this point I'm not even sure I could deal with a non-dog friend.


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