Entries from September 2007 ↓

If you are unaware, NAFA has scheduled three Board of Director candidate chats. The chat sessions will be moderated and a transcript posted on the NAFA website after the chat. Each of the three scheduled chat sessions will start at 7pm Central Standard Time and will last about 3 hours. The scheduled dates are:

• Thursday, October 11th
• Wednesday, October 24th
• Wednesday, November 7th

For access to the chat, point your browser to www.flyballinfo.com during the time indicated.

This is your opportunity to get your questions answered. We have discussed quite a few different topics on this forum and I encourage you to refresh your memory by reread the post and comments in preparation for the chats.

• Measuring - Do the nominees even see measuring as a problem?
• Bureaucracy at its best - Height Cards go hand in hand with measuring.
• Flyball, a four letter word? - Promoting the sport and how others look at flyball.
  • The Flyball is Good Movement
  • The Movement – Part 2
• Focus on the Championships – Divisional championships.
• NAFA Flyball… and the nominees are… - A list of the candidates.
• Technically Legal? - A very lively box debate.
• Open Class and Performance Teams - Why was this implemented this way?
• Innovative Box Design - Only one Board member met the challenge, why?
• Training in the Ring - Should the rule be changed?

Please feel free to post your comments and other questions that you feel need answering.

Larry

I know for the most part this does not apply to may of the people that play flyball, but even I have been a little guilty of this with a foster dog I have. I am talking about giving our dogs a job.

The History of Chance

Someone on our regional flyball list posted a message that a Border collie was in dire need of rescue and was due to be euthanized. The shelter was located in Georgia and I live in Alabama so I called someone that I knew in Georgia that does rescue. They said that there was no way that they could get there in time and that I was actually closer to the shelter. Since I really didn’t know what else to do, I decided to leave work and go pick up the dog. I really didn’t have room for another dog but I thought that I could foster one Border collie until a home could be found.

I arrived at the shelter in Georgia on August 7, 2006. The dog’s name was Chance and he was in very sad condition when I rescued him. He was just an hour away from the ultimate fate when I arrived at the shelter. My first thought when I saw him was, “Is that a Border collie?” The shelter smelled bad and Chance smelled like the shelter. I knew that he was scared and not in good health and I had to carry him to the car.

Chance had a very bad respiratory infection and could not walk more then a couple feet without stopping to cough and wheeze. After getting him to the vet, I also found that he was heartworm positive and had a urinary infection. The vet gave him a shot of antibiotics and gave me a bunch of pills and we started treating him for the infections right away. The heartworm problem would be addressed when he was well enough for heartworm treatment.

Chance started his heartworm treatment about 3 weeks from the time I rescued him and he came through the treatment in great shape and is now in good health.

Chance Today

I really wish that I had before and after pictures because he has changed so much. Really, he doesn’t look like the same dog that I carried from the shelter that day. He is very lively and needs more of a job than I have given him up until now. I have worked with him some but probably not as much as he needs, and after a year, it doesn’t look like he is going anywhere.

For those out there that need to give their dogs more of a job you really do need to read a post on the Tip Tail blog titled, A Fairy Tale. It is worth your time to read and the link sent to anyone that doesn’t do enough with their dogs.

Larry

• Border Collie Rescue

My wife and I were in PetSmart over the weekend and she saw this laser pointer at the checkout counter and wanted to buy it. I said, “What do you want with that?” and she said, “To play with the dogs.”

We have a Labrador retriever, two Jack Russell Terriers, and five Border Collies and I knew that at least one of our Jack Russell’s would “chase the dot” because he loves Lure Coursing.

Continue reading →

Since I am not an expert, or even a novice for that matter, in this field, I sought out someone that could write just a couple articles on this subject. Well, I came up empty handed. For example, I emailed:

• Auburn Veterinary College - No response
• Christine Zink DVM, PhD - She is the author of the book, Peak Performance, Coaching the Canine Athlete, and the only one to respond. She said that she was away on business right now but would get back with me when she returned. I waited a month and emailed her again with no reply.
• Robert L. Gillette, DVM - I met this doctor at Auburn University, where he teaches. We had our Lab there when she was being checked out for hip dysplasia and I spoke to Dr. Gillette at some length about flyball. He has a website called Sportvet.com. He never responded.
• Carol Helfer, DVM - I got her name from Christine Davis of Inside Flyball. Christine told me that she had done some writing for her for an article on Inside Flyball. She never responded.

I emailed maybe a half a dozen other people as well and the response was not much better.

Robbie Barton, of Sure Shot Flyball gave me some good information about what he does for conditioning. One of his suggestions was power jumping with up to 12 jumps. This sounds like something that I could put into practice because I do have a lot of space in my yard.

I have heard that some people have treadmills for their dogs because they live in cold climate areas and cannot exercise their dogs outside during the winter months. I would like to learn more about this because even though it is very mild in the winter where I live, it is usually dark when I arrive home after work so any outside activities after work are out of the question.

I know that this is not very much information and was the reason for my search for experts in canine conditioning. I would love to hear your inputs on this subject. What do you do to keep your dogs in shape? I have purchased Christine Zink’s book and it is very informative, but as a practical matter, I would like to know what everyone else does.

If there is an expert out there that would like to write a couple articles on this subject please contact me. I am sure that any information on this subject would be of benefit to our canine athletes.

Larry

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NRSV)

This Bible passage appropriately tells us that groups can accomplish more than any one Individual can. However, working within the group is so much harder than individual work. Bringing together more than one individual and forming them into a cohesive group that functions as one, is a difficult challenge.

The military forms a cohesive group by completely breaking the individual down during the first few weeks of basic training. All civilian attire and personal possessions are removed from the individual, everyone gets a haircut, facial hair is removed, and uniforms are issued. Once everyone has lost their individuality, they start molding the group together by employing a cause and effect method of training; the “Dirtying Dozen” approach. Anything that any one individual does affects the group as a whole. Over time, the individual is gone and the group emerges as a team working together as one.

The difference between the military and a flyball team is that individuals stay individuals; the breaking down of the individual never takes place and the molding of the group is too loosely woven and eventually breaks apart.

How can teams stay together?

This question has been on my mind a lot lately and I am sure that others have thought of it too. I have read and studied Team Dynamics and Group Dynamics and have concluded that harmony within a team or group will never be completely achieved. There are too many factors at play and the individuals on the team are constantly changing and evolving. However, things can be done to move the “I” to the “we.”

Effective teamwork starts when each individual on the team understands the ways he or she is different from the others on the team and everyone should know his or her own value to the team. It is only through this awareness that we can be in a better position to value and capitalize on the contributions of those who are different from us. Additionally, we will be better able to think in terms of the team, instead of individual interest.

Developing a Winning Team

• Know the Goal of the Team - Each member should know the mission and goal of the team and should have a sense of ownership and belonging. The leader of the team should define the mission but allow the members to have freedom in how the goal is reached.

• Know Where the Team is Going - Team goal and individual goals should be blended together to ensure that everyone on the team is moving in the same direction. If the team goal and the individual goals are not compatible, the team will pull itself apart.

• Assign Roles and Responsibilities - In order to show each individual how they contribute to achieving the goal, the role of each team member needs to be clearly defined. Additionally, clear areas of responsibility should be developed and each person should know that they are accountable for their actions. If the team leader decides who does what, the team members should know the reason behind the decision. Members need to feel that their personalities are appreciated and well utilized.

• Effective communication - Interpersonal relationships only work through effective communication. It is common for people to bury problems and this can be very destructive if these issues are not resolved. Issues that lie buried slowly build into something that is blown way out of proportion. In order to safeguard the team from this, it is important to have periodic meetings where people have a chance to discuss potential problems.

Each member should share equally and proudly in the success of the team.

Good Teamwork and Good Racing!

Larry