Entries from June 2007 ↓

Measuring is definitely a hot button issue in Flyball. Over the last couple of years, this one issue has caused more turmoil within the Flyball community than any other issue. I have searched around and found the following information about early jump heights and measuring on the Flyball History page. The article was written by Ron English and titled, Some Early Rules and can be read in its entirety on the Flyball History page. Copyright ©, 1996 Jim Sova

Jump height:

All four jumps shall be set according to the HEIGHT AT THE WITHERS FOR THE SMALLEST DOG RUNNING (not the stand-by, if the stand-by is brought in, heights are readjusted if necessary). The judges are to check the jump height before racing begins. An easy way to measure is to take one upright away and stand the dog alongside the jump, using a ruler or something similar as a horizontal measure from the jump to the withers. A dog standing 13 1/2″, for example, is allowed to jump 13″ - the nearest whole number on the low side (13 3/4 jumps 14).

Minimum jump height: 10″
Maximum jump height: 18″

These rules were in effect up until October 1984.

NAFA® Method

This early jump height and measuring information is very interesting and telling. From this information we can see that from the very start of Flyball the withers were used for measuring. Maybe someone that knows for sure can comment on this but I assumed that the North American Flyball Association (NAFA®) measuring method was adapted from the Agility measuring method. I guess for this discussion it doesn’t really matter because in my opinion a withers measure is not an accurate measuring method for the sport of Flyball. It is too subjective and leaves too much room for questions and speculation. Granted this is only my opinion and I welcome other comments. The reason I believe this is simple. Less than a quarter of an inch can mean the difference between jumping 1 inch higher or 1 inch lower. Obviously, NAFA® knew this when the height card rule was first implemented. For example the following information was taken from the NAFA® Official Rules of Racing dated October 1, 2006:

Chapter 2 (i) (vi) Prospective judges must have excellent measuring skills since his or her measurement is the deciding factor for any height cards.

Chapter 7 Section 7.1 (a) . . . Applications must be presented to the measuring recorder before the dog is measured and the Measuring Head Judge must be notified that the height is being recorded for a height card prior to measuring the dog. All dogs will need three (3) matching measurements from three (3) different approved NAFA® judges. At least one (1) of the three (3) judges must be a NAFA® designated Supervising Head Judge. Only one height card measurement may be attained per tournament. Apprentice and Provisional Judges shall not measure for Height Card Application Forms (C.10)

C.13 NAFA World Record Report Form Instructions

What to do when a possible world record has been achieved:

Checklist portion:

B. Verify the height dog measurement:

1. Refer to the height dog measurement sheet.

a. If the dog has a height card, which can be presented to the judge for verification, no action is necessary.

b. If the dog was measured prior to racing, no action is necessary.

c. If the dog was not measured prior to racing, it is mandatory that it be measured at this time.

The Chapter 7 rule about the requirement for obtaining a height card tells me that even NAFA® knows that this form of measuring is not always accurate or they wouldn’t require 3 matching measurements. The NAFA® Board of Directors knows how important it is for accurate measurements yet they continue using an inaccurate and subjective measuring method.

As you can see from the following illustration from Chapter 4, NAFA® describes the proper stance for measuring. This is the most subjective part of the whole measuring method. Judges need to be taught what to look for but one judge can still get a totally different measurement than another judge with the same training.

U-FLI Method

So what is the answer? There is a more accurate method of measuring in use by United Flyball League International (U-FLI). This method is so accurate that the dog only needs to be measured once. This measurement is then recorded in the U-FLI database and the dog never has to be measured again, and there is no need for a height card.

This method uses the dogs bone structure which is something not likely to change once the dogs reaches racing age. The U-FLI Judge uses a measuring device that measures the distance between the dogs elbow and Accessory Carpal bone of the dog’s front leg.

As you can see from the illustration this is a far superior method of measurement. The dog can even be held while the judge measures the dog which is a lot less stressful for the dog and owner. Additionally, this method doesn’t penalize dogs with larger chest and short legs so that the dog’s jump height is more proportional to their legs rather than their overall height.

Conclusion

Measuring done by the U-FLI method is much less stressful on the dog and owner and it leads to a more accurate measurement. Measuring done this way takes a lot less time than at a NAFA® tournament. When using a wicket for measurement, there is a tendency to teach a dog to stand in a way to minimize the dog’s height. The leg measuring method takes the owner out of the equation and there is no need to have a height card.

This discussion only covered measuring. The jump height issue will be discussed at a later time. I welcome your comments.

- Larry

For those people out there who don’t have dogs or train the ones they have, they really have no idea what they are missing. There is nothing like spending time training an animal and watching that spark or the light in their eyes that says YES I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. It’s amazing to watch and I never tire of seeing it.

My wife Fay and I are training a dog we got from a friend who could no longer take care of the dog because of an illness. Jess had just turned 1 year old when we got her and is a sweet lovable Border collie that had been cuddled and loved by her former owner. The one thing she lacked was a job and training. So before doing anything with her we spent a few weeks on obedience training and just getting her used to the clicker. She learned all of the obedience commands very quickly and is a very intelligent dog. Her former owner had played tug with her so she was very tug motivated when we got her which was a real plus.

The only real problem with Jess was her lack of ball drive. It was one of the worse cases of “I don’t care about balls” that I have ever seen. I tried with a clicker for two solid weeks with no success. I spent every afternoon with her and the most I could get her to do was hit it with her nose. She would not pick it up. I searched the Internet looking for solutions and I followed many suggestions with no success. So I reluctantly turned over the ball training to my wife. I say reluctantly because I really felt let down. I had trained many dogs but this one was a tough one.

So Fay set out on the ball challenge of her life. After some trial and error, she found that as soon as the clicker and treats came out Jess would just focus on the treats so she had to put the clicker and treats away. She had to put the tug away too for the same reason. So Fay started anew with just her and Jess in the bedroom watching Dancing with the Stars. They both would just dance around the bedroom and Fay would play with the ball. After a while, Jess wanted to play too. They watched a different program every night and Fay would play ball and run around with Jess in the bedroom. Fay tried to move outside to play but Jess was more interested in going back to the house than playing with a ball outside so Fay went back to the bedroom for more Dancing with the Stars. After the second week in the bedroom, Fay went back outside and started having limited success.

The problem with playing outside was that after every ball pick up Jess would run back to the house. But Fay was persistent and just kept going to get her bringing Jess back to the play area. This went on for another 4 weeks. During this time I would go out with them too, but as soon as Jess saw me she would stop playing and run back to the house. I had to watch from the window while Fay and Jess played outside, but last night the light came on for Jess.

After no tug or treats for a solid month and a half, Fay showed Jess the tug and she went nuts. Seeing this I went outside to about 30 feet away from Fay and Jess. Fay pointed Jess toward me and the ball and after one bounce I put the ball down on the ground and Fay let Jess go. Jess flew after the ball and raced back to Fay for the tug. It was joy beyond belief. Fay just gave her the tug and both of them just started jumping up and down. Jess did it a few more times with celebrations after each time. The light had finally come on for Jess.

It was truly an amazing thing to watch and there are no words to describe it. I am amazed every time I watch dogs perform. When I talk about Flyball, people will ask me, “Do they know what they are doing?” I just have to laugh to myself and tell them “Yes they know what they are doing.” I don’t think they really believe me but I know different because I have seen the lights.

- Larry

I guess you can call it the American way, competition, or if you can’t change something go off on your own and do it yourself. That is just the way it is and always will be. I really don’t have a problem with it because a little competition can, and often does, make things better. However, sometimes competition has a way of dividing like in this case.

Yes, in this case it was meant to divide from the very beginning. You had a group of unhappy people knowing that they could do it better. And yes, I think in some regards they are doing it better, jump heights, measuring, and the pick up team concept to name a few. No doubt, these things have been good for the sport because jump heights have been changed in the other organization, the pick up team is now being discussed, and the Veteran class has been added. Unfortunately, I don’t think measuring will ever be the same in both organizations even though one is more accurate and less stressful for the dog and all parties involved. I just named a few things that are making the sport better but there is this one nagging problem left over from the first sentence of this paragraph, the divisiveness or forced separation that this has caused.

Tournaments that were once long standing traditions are no longer being offered or have switched to a different organization. The forced separation comes into view when the people that were never involved in the fight in the first place have no other options but to play in the organization hosting in their area, causing more divisiveness. They many not want to participate in that organization but what choices are there? They can pack up the dogs and travel, but that gets to be expensive. They can wait until another club steps up and hosts a tournament with the other organization, but they may have a long wait.

In conclusion, there is room for multiple organizations in this sport. Some of this divisiveness can be overcome by some common courtesy. For clubs that participate in both organizations and host tournaments, don’t switch established tournaments from one organization to another. “Leave established dates as they are, and pick new ones for the new organization, start your own traditions, make them uniquely yours. Stealing isn’t nice.”[1]

- Larry

[1] Barb Skalka, Owner Birmingham Bandits

From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,” or, “that’s a lot of money for just a dog.” They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a dog.”Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a dog.” Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a dog,” but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a dog,” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a dog” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it’s “just a dog,” then you will probably understand phases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.” “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of “just a dog” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

“Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a dog” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a human.”

So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog” just smile, because they “just don’t understand.”

Authored by, Richard A. Biby, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
This little essay just says it all for me and it’s true because they “just don’t understand.” The one that I hear a lot is “What do you want with so many dogs?” I hear this from family, friends, and believe it or not teammates. What can I say? Some were needed for the team, some were rescued, and some just needed a home for varying reasons. They are all part of who I am now.

- Larry

I know that this isn’t Flyball related but I know that everyone has at some time ordered Flyball photos.

I have some words of warning if you order from PhotoWorks.com. They most certainly print orders by computer with no human intervention, and no one even looks at the photos before mailing them. Their system crops and adjusts color settings and it may not be to your liking. I ordered a 5 x 7 of me and my dog playing flyball and their system cut most of my head off and all of my dog’s feet. It was a perfectly centered photo with plenty of space around the subject. I contacted them and they will not reprint the photo unless I mail it back to them. So on top of what I already paid I would have to pay for shipping again and there is no guarantee they would correct the error. After all, it could have been caused by me.

- Larry