We Caught the Flyball Bug...

Back in January we announced our official start of flyball training.  At that time, our intentions for enrolling Athena in a flyball class were to try out a dog sport, expose Athena to a new experience, and have some fun!  Although flyball is a competitive dog sport, we really weren't planning on competing in the future.  Our reasons for not wanting to compete were simple.  We just didn't think that Athena would be able to handle it.  Yes, she might enjoy flyball practice and get some great experience working around other dogs, but we just didn't think that in the long-run she'd be able to compete on a dog team.

As we mentioned when we first started flyball training, Athena is a social butterfly and therefore she started off thinking that flyball practice was social hour.  Our very first time that we attempted passing another dog, Athena ran after the dog to play instead of running to tug with me.

Athena successfully passing another dog

Well, little did we know that we would enjoy flyball so much and that we might get sucked into sticking with it.  If you follow us on Facebook you may have already seen this announcement...but...

Athena is now an official member of the Flying Underdogs Flyball Club!

Athena has come a really long way in her flyball training and we couldn't be more proud of her.  Her overall confidence has exploded, she's more calm in the presence of other dogs, and she just seems like a more well-trained dog overall.

Athena's ball obsession got the best of her for the first few months of flyball training and we really struggled to get her to actually drop her ball to even tug with us.  Over the past few weeks she's been making lots of improvement with dropping her ball, and last week we were faced with a new problem.  Now Athena is dropping her ball four jumps too soon!  Goodness.  Now we are working to teach her a 'give' command so that she will actually bring the ball to us, drop it, and then tug.

Jumping on the box for her ball

Joining a flyball team means that in the coming months we will be traveling to a few different flyball events.  Our first tournament where Athena will participate as a green dog (a.k.a. new dog still in training) will be held on July 13th and 14th in Salem, Oregon!

If you're curious about what flyball actually is, here's a video documentary all about the sport:

Don't forget to enter our STAM Grain-Free Treats Giveaway.  A winner will be chosen tonight (May 29th) at 9 PST!

Social Butterfly vs. Flyball Champion

After deciding to take a break from formal obedience training at the start of the new year, we enrolled Athena in an intro to flyball class.  Our intentions for starting flyball were to 1) try out a dog sport, 2) provide Athena with new experiences, 3) incorporate distractions with training, and 4) keep ourselves from getting lazy with Athena's training.  We chose flyball over other dog sports such as agility and rally because Athena is ball obsessed.  Well, little did we know that "ball obsession" is not exactly a good quality for a flyball dog to possess.  But, aside from Athena's desire to run after all of the tempting tennis balls during practice, we think we may have found her calling.

Jumping over 1, 2, 3, FOUR hurdles!

During our first two flyball practices Athena has learned how to jump over hurdles, turn over a hurdle, jump on a wall board and back over the hurdle, and pass another dog.  Athena is very much a tug loving dog, so she's thrilled that her reward for doing anything at flyball practice involves tugging.

Practicing turning over a hurdle

To be honest, we are flyball rookies.  We really don't know much about the sport and therefore have no idea if Athena is good at any of the elements of flyball.  But, I've got to say that I am majorly impressed with Athena.  We went into the first practice thinking that she MIGHT jump over one hurdle at the end of the 6 week class.  I can't believe that last night we saw her jump over FOUR hurdles in a row AND jump onto the wall board and over a hurdle.  I think with the right training Athena could be a serious flyball competitor.

Me showing Athena how to jump over hurdles

Except that there's just one problem.

Athena keeping her eye on her doggy friends

Athena is a social butterfly and flyball is not a sport for dogs who have trouble being calm around other dogs.  She wants to play with all of the other dogs so badly that she FREAKS out when she sees them having their turn to run.  We are the ones in the class with the annoying dog who barks and whines in the crate the entire hour and a half.

Get me outta here!  I want to meet that doggy!

During last night's practice we attempted "passing" another dog off-leash (I lure Athena towards me with a tug toy as she runs past another off-leash dog who is being lured by their owner.)  Apparently other dogs are WAY more exciting than me (even when I'm using my high pitched squealing voice) because Athena darted towards the other dog in an attempt to play with them each time we tried to pass.  This is definitely a no-no for a flyball dog.

Other doggy running, oh my!

So, if we ever want Athena to actually compete in flyball we have to get her social butterfly-ness in check.  I am currently reading Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed in an attempt to find some strategies that may work to keep Athena's attention on me rather than on the other dogs.

Do you have experience working with a social butterfly?  What have you done to keep your dog focused during dog sport training and competition (or just in life in general)?

Athena: Dog Aggressive or Dog Social?

Exactly five months ago we adopted Athena from a local shelter.  It feels like just yesterday that I was writing about Athena's two month Adopt-a-Versary and all of the struggles and accomplishments that we had faced.

Five months ago as B and I stared into Athena's kennel at the shelter, I noticed a pile of pee on the floor next to her and a glaring label on her information sheet that read: Dog Aggressive.  I remember turning to B and saying something like, "I don't know if we want to get a dog that's aggressive.  Isn't that bad?"  He of course assured me that this wouldn't be the end of the world (although I now realize how hindering dog aggression can be for everyday activities such as a walk around the neighborhood or even a play date with a friend's dog depending on the severity).

Dog Aggressive?  Who, me?!

Before placing a hold on Athena, we decided to get all of the facts from the shelter workers about her dog aggressive label.  Apparently she received it from the previous family who had adopted her for three weeks and determined that she wasn't the right fit for their family dog.  We were then told that although she came with this negative label, Athena did well with other dogs when introduced into the shelter play groups.

So, with these mixed signals, we adopted a Sorta Dog Aggressive dog.  From that day forward I have continued to be extremely cautious with Athena around other dogs whether it be a dog that we see out on a walk, or a friend's dog that we introduce her to play with.  I'm always wondering if someday she will exhibit the aggressive signals that she showed the family before us who returned her.

Athena loves walking with our dog walking group RespectaBulls

Whenever B and I discuss Athena's 'dog aggression' with others, everyone seems to come to the same conclusion.  They think that Athena wasn't properly introduced to the previous family's dog which may have caused some tension between the two.  If B and I decided to ever get a second dog (or foster) we will most definitely be following some strict dog-dog introduction rules such as those set forth by Bad Rap in their guide A New Dog in the House!

To this day we haven't seen any aggression from Athena.  I will actually go as far as to say that I consider Athena to actually be Dog Social at this point in her life (seeing as she's still sort of a puppy, she could move towards being more dog selective as she matures).  She is the kind of dog who is just DYING to meet other dogs because she loves friends so much.

Athena with one of her doggie BFF's Bingley

When the time came to take Athena to daycare for the first time, part of me thought that I might get a call saying, "Please come pick up your aggressive dog!  She's not allowed back!"  But of course, Athena had a stellar evaluation and was described as a "Daycare Pro."  We now take Athena to her daycare once a week for socialization (both dog and human), exercise, and time away from home.  Each time we pick her up, we hear nothing but rave reviews about how easy she is to incorporate into the pack and how well she plays with her friends.

Pictures sent to us from Athena's daycare

Athena playing with a daycare friend!

Pictures sent to us from Athena's daycare

Even though Athena has proven herself time and time again at being friendly towards other dogs, she will always carry her dog aggressive label.  I always wonder how many people passed by her kennel before us and thought that she was not adoptable based of her label.  To be totally honest, I'm sure many people walked by and thought that there's no way they would adopt a Dog Aggressive Pit Bull.  I also constantly think about the many dogs in the shelter system who may be mislabeled or who receive a label without much to back it up.  A 'dog aggressive' label could be a death sentence for any dog, but especially a pit bull type dog.

So with that, I'm curious if any of you adopted a dog (or know of any in the shelter system) that was mislabeled?