I see people re-running their dogs all the time during a tournament and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. In my opinion you should never re-run a dog unless both teams, i.e. your team and the team you are running against, has a fault and you are trying to win the heat.
Do not get me wrong, you should practice re-running all of the dogs because you just never know when you will need to re-run to win a heat. However, as a rule re-runs are a waste of time and energy for little gain. It wastes energy because just think of how many times your dog runs in a weekend so why waste his energy re-running. There is little to be gained by re-running because most of the time you will be running your dog for no points. Even if you are able to re-run and get under 32 seconds the point(s) gained is not worth the waste of energy.
If you are re-running to correct a problem with the dog dropping the ball or going around jumps, the ring is not the place to correct such behavior. If you are re-running to get the dog back on track I can see it, but if the dog continues such bad behavior you are just reinforcing it by continuing to let him do it.
Other Things to Consider About Re-runs
- Re-runs are more dangerous than regular racing for the dog and the people. They are usually in a different position from where they normally are during a re-run. The last dog and person in the lineup may not be prepared for you or your dog and could get in the way. I have seen dogs crash into other dogs or people because they were not expecting a dog or another person to be there.
- Sometimes dogs that are running last are in that position for a reason. You should take that into consideration before you re-run even if you are trying to win the heat. You could unintentionally cause harm to the dog you are passing.
You should all discuss these points about re-runs with your teammates in hopes they will agree that re-runs accomplish very little besides extending ring time and tournament length.
Larry
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7 comments ↓
I use a rerun to tell if the dog needs to be pulled. If my dog drops(her most common flaw) I’d rather re-run her and see if she does it again and then pull the dog than risk losing another heat from the same problem. I wouldn’t re-run for the same thing over and over. I don’t have a problem with pulling my dog if she’s decided she doesn’t want to play right, but some people I guess figure they’re there for the day so their dogs running regardless of performance.
I think the policy of whether or not you re run a dog probably starts with WHY your club plays flyball. If your club runs for points, then some on your club will be mad if you don’t re-run a dog. If you are running for time, then most on your club will be mad if you re-run just to finish. I don’t re run my dog unless we have a chance to win the race. The exception is if I have a dog that is getting lazy, and I want to reinforce “to get the tug, you have to do it right”. BUT, to be fair, I was once on a club that actually had members get mad that I didn’t re-run and give the other dogs on that team at least 5 points.
I have to agree with this topic, I usually don’t see the point in re-runs, UNLESS it is for a win, OR, if you need to fix something, like a dropped ball issue, or run around jumps. Just to end on a good note. But, other than that, it just wears the dogs out, and in some cases, confuses them.
WE, as the owner, handlers and devotees to our dogs, have to remember that our dogs don’t care about points. They are just happy that they get to go down, back and play with us, or get their treat.
It especailly pains me seeing teams that are in the higher Divisions rerunnig their dogs. And by the end of the weekend, are dead tired. I also get extremely frustrated when I see these same dogs being run outside of the ring - playing frisbee or ball or whatever. Dogs need the mental break that crating provides when they are not racing. Being constantly stimulated can wear them down just as much as the racing.
“… playing frisbee or ball or whatever.”
I see this too. I know one person that does this all the time.
The only time I am outside playing with one of my dogs is when they are a backup dog and have not run all day or run very little.
In general our team will never rerun for a false start, early pass, or other handler error, even if the other team flags, but we are not going for a win under most circumstances.
A rerun in our mind is to fix a problem and the “do it right” mentality. Dropped balls, going around jumps, extreme bobble, etc. This is very important to us, and two mess ups in a row usually means it’s time to take the dog out of the ring and straight to their kennel for a “time out”.
Most trained dogs are smart enough to realize “I didn’t do it right, so I don’t get to play anymore” Especially those “Real smart” dogs who mess up because they KNOW they get to rerun. We know a dog who almost always goes around jumps and once it is back to it’s handler it’s turned around waiting for it’s rerun. The immediately leave the ring for this dog will be imperative for it to learn it did something wrong and would go against the idea of the rerun for dog error idea.
and then there are the dogs that are so smart, they know they have done it wrong, and “try” to re-run themselves - to get it right!
now that my dog has gotten older, I don’t rerun her. she’s a veteren and she knows the game of flyball. I know that if she doesn’t catch the ball cleanly she’s coming back to me without it, it’s silly for me to rerun her because she bobbled… she knows to get the ball. I would rather save her energy. however if the other team has a flag I’ll send her again to win the race.
with a younger dog I would agree to rerun your dog to get them to do it right, for all the reasons listed above… but never for points (and I’ve gotten dirty looks for that on a previous team). just another reason to find the right team that runs for the same reasons as you do.
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