Comments on: The Flyball is Good Movement http://www.flyballblog.com/the-flyball-is-good-movement/ i-Flyball Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:35:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Beth http://www.flyballblog.com/the-flyball-is-good-movement/comment-page-1/#comment-109 Beth Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:28:48 +0000 http://www.flyballblog.com/the-flyball-is-good-movement/#comment-109 I don't think we've noticed so much with regards to hostility in our area, but just lack of interest or understanding. We just recently broke away from our obedience club who had offered to sponsor us last year, but it was because an issue had come up and we felt that we just wouldn't have enough autonomy to make the decisions that we felt best for the team because our BOD just couldn't quite grasp how a flyball team works. Good people, they just didn't "get it". It was an amenable split. But, in the the year or so's time that we came under the club we never did recruit any other members from the club for flyball, despite numerous demos at club events, etc. We've brought on only a couple of others in that timeframe, but from folks who've seen us in public. Some of the comments we've heard from other dog sports folks is that they're wary of the team concept and are worried that if they or their dog messes up, it affects the team and they would feel pressured by that or that their dog isn't "fast enough", doesn't have a lot of ball drive and so forth. Some don't like the barking/noise issue and some feel it's more dangerous than agilty. Of course we try to educate folks that you have to train to be safe, that all dogs and handlers make mistakes now and then, that your dog doesn't have to be a speed demon, etc. We do several public demos a year at festivals and dog events. We get lots of spectators but only a few asking about how to get in the sport. We get some funny questions: Do you have to train your dog to do that?, Does it HAVE to be ball that they get? Lots of folks become disinterested when we tell them that we have to travel to tournaments. I think folks are drawn more to things like agility and obedience because they can usually practice on their own, whenever they choose, can usually compete locally and at whatever level of training that they feel ready to enter an event (regardless if they are ready or not). You have to have individuals with a good bit more committment and ability to work in a team environment for flyball, I feel, than in most other dog sports. Beth I don’t think we’ve noticed so much with regards to hostility in our area, but just lack of interest or understanding. We just recently broke away from our obedience club who had offered to sponsor us last year, but it was because an issue had come up and we felt that we just wouldn’t have enough autonomy to make the decisions that we felt best for the team because our BOD just couldn’t quite grasp how a flyball team works. Good people, they just didn’t “get it”. It was an amenable split. But, in the the year or so’s time that we came under the club we never did recruit any other members from the club for flyball, despite numerous demos at club events, etc. We’ve brought on only a couple of others in that timeframe, but from folks who’ve seen us in public. Some of the comments we’ve heard from other dog sports folks is that they’re wary of the team concept and are worried that if they or their dog messes up, it affects the team and they would feel pressured by that or that their dog isn’t “fast enough”, doesn’t have a lot of ball drive and so forth. Some don’t like the barking/noise issue and some feel it’s more dangerous than agilty. Of course we try to educate folks that you have to train to be safe, that all dogs and handlers make mistakes now and then, that your dog doesn’t have to be a speed demon, etc. We do several public demos a year at festivals and dog events. We get lots of spectators but only a few asking about how to get in the sport. We get some funny questions: Do you have to train your dog to do that?, Does it HAVE to be ball that they get? Lots of folks become disinterested when we tell them that we have to travel to tournaments. I think folks are drawn more to things like agility and obedience because they can usually practice on their own, whenever they choose, can usually compete locally and at whatever level of training that they feel ready to enter an event (regardless if they are ready or not). You have to have individuals with a good bit more committment and ability to work in a team environment for flyball, I feel, than in most other dog sports.

Beth

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