I have a reactive dog that plays flyball. He runs fast and clean and has never had an issue in the lanes. I would never consider retiring him just because he has issues elsewhere.

I am very careful with him at tournaments and practice and everywhere else. He’s never had an issue at a tournament because I don’t allow him to go visiting and I don’t allow other dogs to visit with him. I figure it’s a working environment for him. There’s no reason he needs to socialize there anymore than a Guide dog needs to socialize when he is on duty.

Responsible dog owners ought to know well enough to ask before allowing their dog to approach another dog – especially in a tournament type environment. As long as a dog isn’t having issues during racing and the owner is responsible about keeping their dog away from others – I see no issues with having reactive dogs play flyball.

on another note, I’ve seen ‘just wanting to play’ dogs repeatedly cross lanes in tournament, and have seen the handlers/teams just keep sending the dogs. I assume there is a point when a judge steps in and says to team/handler ‘it’s time to pull that dog, come back when he/she knows how to play the game’. if the judge doesn’t say anything, how do teams in the other lane protect themselves from crossing dogs?

There is an excellent article available on the web titled “He Just Wants to Say ‘Hi!’ ” If you read it it, you will learn what is actually happening from the dog’s point of view when a so-called “reactive dog” is confronted with another dog’s rudeness. Rudeness in dog terms, that is.

I understand that some people are not comfortable with bringing to the the attention of others their “responsibilities” in both dog training and competing in dog sports. Dog aggression can happen in any situation where strange dogs have the potential to come into contact with each other. It doesn’t matter if it is flyball, agility, disc dog, AKC Obedience or just the local dog park. If you observe a dog’s behavior that appears to be “reactive” or another dog whose owner is allowing it to be rude to other dogs, you have a civic duty to bring it to the owner’s attention and try to educate them.

MOST people will thank you because most often, they do not understand what is happening and don’t know how to correct it. If you take the initiative and present yourself as trying to be helpful, most people will not be offended.

You can find the article I’m referring to here:

http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html

Bruce

It seems these particular people who have posted are very aware and have shown their responsibility to their dogs teamates and others through their actions both in practices and tournament situations. I’m very happy that’s the case. It takes someone very in tune with there animal and someone who takes this risk extreemely seriously. Bravo to you all.

I do know that there are clubs that I’ve personally encountered who can deal with these agression issues too. But sadly, I also know there are clubs who THINK they’ve got it … and well, they don’t.

The question is in the end – who’s responsible for pointing this out? – the judge? other clubs? – God. what a nightmare that would cause… who tells them they’re not qualified to handle it before it goes too far? “he wants to play” could ruin things as much,if not more, as “aggresive dog”.
We all know the end result:
Agressive dog would be pegged as the catalyst, and “he wants to play” was just having a good time when out of nowhere….yadda yadda yadda.

We all know there are “levels” of flyball involvement for the handlers as well as the dogs that range from intense (bordering on professional flyballers) to “he wants to play”.

Perhaps this is where the emphasis should be made in an agressive dog question – less on the dog and more the handler’s abilty.

Just a thought.

I am VERY careful with him at a tournament. He is NOT allowed to go visiting other dogs he does not know, this means even walking by them on a semi-loose leash. If others approach, we walk away. He loves people, so I spend a lot of time either next to my teammates (only with those dogs on the team he likes) or around a group of people only.

In the lane, though, I am in a constant state of alertness and can panic in a blink. I worked very hard to train my dog to drop his ball and freeze whenever another dog approaches his vicinity. Along with being dog aggressive, he is also ball/food aggressive. And, for the longest time, he had to run last. Now, I have him running second in the lineup followed by his “girlfriend.” He understands his “girlfriend” doesn’t want his ball and has learned to pass her with it without harm. Because she is non-reactive, he also feels no need to confront her. We practiced this lineup many, many times during practices to make sure it was SAFE.

As for him crossing over, luckily, though ball obsessed, my dog has no great love to chase down a dropped ball. He’s figured out that if he just comes back, he’ll get to try again. And, for other dogs crossing over, this is when I panic. It has, blessedly, only happened twice. The first time, the instant I saw the other dog leave his lane, I yelled at mine to drop his ball and freeze. God bless him, he did. I, however, did not. I immediately ran right down the lane (to the irritation of the judge) and grabbed my dog’s collar before anything else could happen. Meanwhile, praising him for following commands beautifully. He was so happy, he couldn’t stop wagging his entire body. For my sake, I was having a mini-heartattack. The other dog, by the way, was just chasing his own ball and didn’t even glance at my dog. But, that circumstance gave me the courage to keep running my dog. He listened to my commands and did exactly as I had trained him in that circumstance.

The second time a dog crossed, it did not end as well. The day before, I had watched this interfering dog cross ten times in the runback area. It was a labradoodle and clearly was still very puppyish, very excited, and definitely not lane-sure. When I had to run against them on the second day, I was already wary. Both dogs were running last. They went down fine, and since mine was faster, came back over the start line without problem. However, once the interfering dog finished the race, he immediately made a bee-line for my dog. I had already dropped his reward (a ball of food) and my dog was coming in for it. Within seconds, I had grabbed my dog’s collar and yanked his head up to my chest as the other dog jumped mine. Mine began growling and thrashing – who wouldn’t – but I kept hold of him and yelled for help. The other dog’s owner came over, grabbed his dog off and said, “he wants to play so much!” I almost called him something else, but held myself in check. The judge, thank god, however saw what happened and warned the other team that if that dog ever looked at the other lane again, he was going to write him up. Thankfully, the other team pulled the dog. However, my dog also didn’t run again that day. He was already too juiced to be safe.

I feel that as long as the owner and team understand the nature of the dog aggressive dog and said dog has been overly proofed against ANY kind of occassion and has an owner that can be trusted and pro-active, dog agressive dogs can play.

It is a risk though, not only for the agressive dog, but also everyone else.

By the way, my current team has 7 reactive dogs running on it. And, we’ve only had 1 (before my time) ever get called on for aggression in the lane (and in her case, it was nothing more than her attempt at escape through an open door across another lane – miunderstanding…) We are all very careful with our dogs and don’t hesitate to chase them down in the lane if anything appears to might happen.

Kim, it also sounds as if the owner of this dog may be putting nervous energy out there which her dog will surely pick up on. Has she done any formal obedience training with the dog? I was able to work out most of my dog’s issues with a really good obedience trainer. My dog even passed the CGC test with a GSD in the same class and having to do face to face greetings with the GSD and he too would avert his attention from that dog and turn his head and stare at me. It may be something to suggest to help her ‘learn’ her dog a little better and to help calm her while working with her dog.

I think as a club you have done a great job and have obviously put in some serious time with this dog and I think that’s great! People who know this dog are telling you they are amazed at his progress which says a lot for you guys.

The reactive dog and owner have tried tugging, food, ball etc… while coming in the building when other dogs are there. If a dog is within 10 ft he acts out almost every time. He is much better than he was and we work it in practice and hoping he will translate into a tourney situation.

At times I think the owner is more of a problem. She is a wonderful person and manages the dog quite well most of the time but I don’t think she is tough enough at times.

Yes I do think all dogs need to be considered as individuals on the lanes…

I would not carry the dog, nor try to calm the dog..that is just feeding into his insecurity – which is what a reactive dog is all about.

My first “real” flyball dog- Mugsey – was highly dog aggressive. He was super ball motivated, and did not pay any attention to any other dog, but, if a dog came into his space, he attacked without warning. And he attacked hard and fast. Now, it was never his fault, as it was the other loose dog running up to him, and he was on a leash.

This is what I did – and it could work for your dog since he is so focused. I started watching him, close. I could see the minute before he was going to snap. So, I would correct before he had a chance. And by correct, a quick pop with a flat collar on. I would have all sorts of dogs approach, I would give him a chance, and the minute I saw his body language change, I corrected. It got to the point that when dogs approached, Mugsey would look at me, or look away from the other dogs. I did this for a few months, I was diligent about it. He never went after another dog after that. (and he was never a dog to cross over on another…and was so focused on his ball/tug – that should a dog chase him down, he came to me for the tug).

If your Reactive dog likes to tug, why not tug into the racing lanes, or have a ball in hand and keep the dog focused on you, rather than carry or calm – which will make it worse. You want to change the behavior not coddle it. I know people that have dogs with issues, and as long as the dog has a ball in the mouth, no issues.

The reactive dog will be in tourney warmups in a couple weeks. We are planning to make sure he has a way in and out of the building with “bodyguards” so that he does not get the chance to be an idiot. Chances are my husband will most likely carry the dog into the building while the owner tries to keep calm.

Yes we are taking a huge chance with this dog but sometimes I think a dog needs to be given a chance. Plus, the owner has been working with him. He has a huge personal space birth (10 ft usually) or he wants to attack but so far while in the lanes, he just wants to run and is actually racing the other dog.

I do think it is a group decision on whether to attempt working with a dog that has reactive or aggressive issues. People who know this dog – been at the same training building for a long time – can’t believe he can pass a dog without issue and actually gives way. I also think you need to know the dog and the owner when making the decision. We were asked to give the dog and owner a chance by another team member and so far it has worked out.

The owner is so beside herself with happiness. Her dog did compete in SDR a month ago and was awesome.

We are just on guard with this dog… I am not saying all aggressive/reactive dogs should be given a chance but I do think they need to be evaluated and not just shunned unless you do not want to take the time to work with said dogs. No one can fault you if you chose not to work with said dogs though.