Comments Off on Dock dogs make a splash on LI!
30 Jul 16

Dock dogs make a splash on LI! ...

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Dock Diving made a splash this weekend returning to Long Island for a 2nd time in the past few months with the most recent event that just took place in Westhampton Beach, N.Y. Friday and Saturday, July 29 & 30, 2016.  DockDogs, a Canine Aquatics Competitive company, was hosted by the Greater Westhampton Kiwanis & Hurricane Educational Foundation held at the Westhampton Beach High School.

My dog Cody tried out and competed, but he is still a novice at it and didn’t do great – but we only are in it for fun – he loves, loves, loves to swim, but jumping off the dock can be a bit intimidating for newbie dogs.  While he jumped in 5 times total in two days, he really only got to go up and try/compete a total of 8 runs.

Awesome photo by Cathy Pratt Williams of Precious and Few Photography!

Cody!

The first time he tried it was at the dog shows at the Oyster Bay Planting Fields in May – and he was able to try as many times as he wanted with the NADD AKC Diving Dogs.  He jumped a few times then, so it was great to be able to try again with him this weekend.  Many of the dogs at today’s event were pros and just so much fun to watch them fly through the air, like this dog, Tango the Pit Bull – what a sweetie! And he competes a lot.

Tango the Pitbull

Pet vendors and people from all over brought their dogs to try it or compete.  There were dogs there from Arizona and Connecticut, Queens and of course LI.

This pup was from Arizona

If you missed it and you are thinking of trying out with your dog, first remember it is for fun – and if your dog actually is good at it then competing may be for you.  Your dog needs to have a strong toy drive, be able to swim well – and loving to swim really helps.  You have to give your dog time, some dogs take right to it where others, like my own dog, don’t always jump, no matter how much they love their toys or the water.  And that’s ok, he had fun is what counts.  One of the local DockDogs instructors is hoping to start Long Island Dock Jumpers, email LIDockJumpers@gmail.com for more information.

Thanks to Terrie Bauer and everyone who helped put this event together – we know how much work it takes to put on any event!  For MORE pictures of the event, click here! I also really enjoyed the music and MC for the event – he did a great job the entire time.  If you missed this event and want to be sure to never miss another pet event happening here on our isle and beyone, click here to sign for the free weekly Pet Events Newsletter!



Comments Off on The fur is flying!
20 Jan 15

The fur is flying! ...

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

The blur of fur flies past you, dogs racing over jumps, crashing onto the box and catching a tennis ball and flying back down over the jumps as the next dog hurdles past for his turn. Cheering from the crowd and handlers, dogs barking and squealing with excitement can be deafening, but the noise drowns away as you watch flyball in amazement.

The relay race for dogs, known as flyball will amaze the on looker, average dog owner and seasoned dog professional alike.  My question has always been, how do they get the dogs to fly past each other, over that last or first hurdle depending on which direction they are going?  They can easly skip the hurdles, but they don’t.  Flyball, like agility takes training and a lot of practice.  But if you have ever witnessed it in person you can see how much the dogs absolutely love it, and any breed, mixed breed, little dog, big dog – it doesn’t matter.

Recently, Family Pet Shows Greater Philadelphia Pet Expo hosted their first Flyball tournament during their pet expo.  The tournament was run by Team Hard Drive and during the weekend event they had 27 teams compete from all over the tri-state area.

Andy and Kris Patzer, the husband and wife co-captians for Team Hard Drive Flyball did a great job with the tournament and plan to be back at the expo next year!  I wanted to know more about the sport and interviewed Kris, in addition there is a video of the event below too!

LIPP: What do Novice dog owners who want to get into flyball do?  Is there a national association, do they look for local clubs, etc.?

Kris: “North American Flyball Association is the organization that we race under. They have a web site www.flyball.org that has information about the sport and also a tab FLYBALL LOCATOR that lists flyball clubs all over the counrty so that someone can find a club near them.”


LIPP: About how long does it take to train a new dog for flyball?
Kris: “At least one year but usually closer to 2 years. Every dog is different.”

LIPP: I love that flyball seems to have every breed, mixed breed and size that compete.  What is the most amazing transformation of a dog (perhaps a shelter dog that was shut down – that is now a flyball champ) you have seen since they are now doing flyball?

Kris: “There are so many success stories of how flyball  have helped dogs with social/behavioral issues. Our team members the Zeamers contacted a shelter out in western PA about a border collie mix. They were told that the dog they saw on Pet Finder  was short on time so they rushed out, drove several hours and got her. They named her Gracie. I remember her first time at practice. Gracie was skinney very fearful and hid behind everything she could find. She didn’t know how to play. Gracie didn’t even know what a ball was. 9 years has passed since then. Gracie has been an amazing flyball dog. She has been handled by junior flyball handlers, helped train many novice flyabll handlers and dogs alike. She is out going, friendly, great with other dogs, a pleasure to be around.
Gracie at almost 40,000 points is a Flyball Grand Champion. Gracie is a champion in so many ways. Flyball has helped her achieve it.”


LIPP: How long have you been involved with flyball, competiting, training?
Kris: “I started flyball about 12 years ago with my very large Labradoodle Mick. A few months later I got my husband Andy involved after some protest.  Now we are both hooked and have a super bunch of people on our team Hard Drive.”


LIPP: What is the best thing you love about flyball?
Kris: “Building relationships with our dogs and the great flyball community. We have met so many nice people near and far away.  We’ve  had lots of great times, so many laughs.  We’ve made some really great friends and the bonds with our dogs have grown much stronger.  My husband and I have a hobby we can enjoy together.”