K9Cast #65

Canine Cast number 65 is brought to you by Home Again Pet Recovery Service and ID Microchips.

On the web at homeagainpets.com

It's the Canine Cast with Tara and Walter.

Hi everyone and welcome back to the Canine Cast. This is Tara.

And hello everyone, this is Walter with your Canine Cast recap.

In case you missed the last Canine Cast, Canine Cast number 64,

we did an introduction to dog agility.

Plus we had a story about a USB dog tag for your dog.

And of course we had listener pictures.

On this Canine Cast, we're going to start off with another dog sport that is growing in popularity.

And that's called Flyball.

We're going to do a little introduction to that for those of you who may not be familiar with it.

Or for those of you who have heard of it and are wanting to.

To kind of get started.

We also got an email from a listener with the Doggy Dictionary.

Which is really cute and kind of amusing.

So we're going to read that on the air as well.

And also, Walter heard a very interesting interview that we wanted to share with you.

And we'll have a link to that so you can listen to it yourselves.

Because we figured, you know, more audio about dogs. What could be better?

So to start off...

So to start off tonight, we're going to talk a little bit about Flyball.

Now, Flyball is something that I haven't had the chance to actually do with my dogs.

As of yet, I'm sure at some point down the road, I'll probably get involved and give this a try as well.

But I went ahead and compiled some information for those of you who maybe aren't familiar with it.

Or for people who may be interested in getting started in it to kind of give you an idea of what this is all about.

So for those of you who may not be familiar with Flyball, essentially what it is, is there are a team of four dogs and handlers.

And it's basically like a relay race.

The dogs go one at a time down a course.

At the other side, they grab a tennis ball and then they go back to the start line.

And once one dog gets back there, then the next one can go.

So that's at its barest and most essential.

It's a very fast-paced sport.

As I'm sure you can imagine.

Another one of these ones that's very exciting.

Gets the dogs very, very hyped up and barking and excited to play.

To give you a little bit more detail about it.

As the dogs are going down the course.

The course is actually 51 feet long.

And there are four jumps that they have to go over.

Or they call them hurdles.

They have to go over on their way to get the ball.

Now the ball is normally a tennis ball.

And at the very end of the course.

Is what's called a box.

Or called a fly ball box.

And what that does is.

It's this.

Well, kind of like it sounds.

It's a box.

But it's a specialized one.

That has a foot area.

For the dog to kind of, you know, run up to.

And it uses the foot area.

First of all, by pushing on the foot area.

That's how they get the tennis ball.

The foot area actually launch.

Or by pressing on the foot area.

The box actually launches a tennis ball.

Which the dog then grabs.

And at the same time.

The dog is using this box to actually turn around.

To go back in the opposite direction.

Go back on the course that it just came from.

Go over the four jumps again.

And go back to the start line.

It sounds like a lot of stuff is happening here.

But these dogs can do this.

In anywhere from, you know.

Say as quickly as four seconds or less.

For the ones that are.

That hold records.

The current.

The current record is under 16 seconds for all four dogs.

So that's pretty amazing.

But more normal times go from, you know.

20 to 30 seconds.

So you're still talking about a dog doing all of this.

In about five to seven seconds.

Which is pretty, pretty amazing.

Now I had mentioned the jumps that are on the course.

One interesting thing about fly ball.

There are four dogs on a team.

And of course each of these dogs.

Has to be able to go over these jumps.

Or hurdles.

So the way that they decide.

How high the jump is going to be.

Because the jump can be at different heights.

Is by the shortest dog on the team.

And minimum jump height is eight inches.

So what you'll see a lot of the time.

Is there will be a team of, you know.

Dogs of all different heights.

But they try to get one dog on the team.

That's quite a bit shorter than the others.

And that one can be called the height dog.

But essentially that's the dog.

That's used to determine the height of the jumps.

One of the great things about this sport.

Is that any dog can compete.

Dogs of all different breeds compete.

And all different mixes.

So it's really interesting to see.

All of them out there.

And all hyped up.

And ready to go.

And excited to do their runs.

Now for anybody who may be interested.

In getting started in fly ball.

Some information for you.

There's two ways to go about getting started.

One is you can go take a fly ball class.

There are a lot of dog training centers have those.

A lot of fly ball clubs have those.

You can take a class.

Which will kind of teach you the basics.

So you can work with your dog.

And get them into fly ball.

Another way of doing it in some cases.

Is you can actually join a fly ball club.

Or a fly ball team.

And then kind of pick it up as you go.

Now.

Since a lot of this has to do.

And is based around the dog.

Running to the other side of the room.

Grabbing a tennis ball.

And running back with it.

It would seem that dogs that love to play fetch.

Would be the ones who do well in fly ball.

And you know.

And sometimes that is the case.

It's definitely if you have a dog.

That's already absolutely crazy about tennis balls.

Then you don't have to teach them to retrieve this tennis ball.

But if you have a dog.

That's not terribly interested in fetch.

Or you know.

Or doesn't play fetch.

You can still actually teach them to play fetch.

As part of teaching them the entire game.

And a lot of those dogs go on to do really well in fly ball.

So either way.

You can still take your dog.

And get them involved in fly ball.

Almost any dog can do well in this sport.

The only thing that you want to look for.

That would probably mean.

That this would not be the sport for your dog.

Is if you have a dog with aggression issues.

Whether those are dog or people issues.

That can be problematic.

Because on the course.

The dogs as they're doing their relay.

Are running past one another.

It's a very, very hyped up state.

Where some dogs that normally wouldn't be aggressive.

May even get a little bit agitated.

And in addition to the dogs being there.

Running past one another.

There are also a lot of people around.

Because the handlers will be right there with their dogs.

One getting their dog.

As another one is releasing their dog.

To continue the relay race.

So if your dog tends to get aggressive.

In those types of circumstances.

Then it may not be the sport for you.

It's very important that there's no aggression.

Because there's just too much going on.

At one time.

And the rules actually do state.

That if a dog has an aggressive incident.

That they'll ride it up.

And after a certain number of ride ups.

Then the dog's not allowed to play anymore.

But if you have a dog that's friendly.

And just loves to go out.

And wants a job to do.

And especially if it's a high energy dog.

That loves to run around anyway.

Then this can be a really good sport.

To get them involved in.

Dogs are not allowed to compete in fly ball.

Until they're at least one year old.

This is similar to an agility rule.

And the reason why being.

That going over the jumps.

And using the box.

Which they almost kind of jump on the box.

When they do their jumps.

Or their turns on it.

Can be really really hard.

On the joints and the legs of a growing dog.

So they want the dog to be old enough.

That it's not going to hurt them.

Before they get them started.

For this reason.

In some places fly ball classes.

Will require that your dog be a year old.

Or older before you start training.

In other places.

They have classes that are kind of.

An introduction to the skills.

That would be used.

In fly ball even though the dogs.

Just won't be doing the jumps.

Or the turns.

But some things that you can do with your dog.

Right away even from the time.

That they are very very small.

To get them started.

Are things like basic obedience.

So that they know to listen to you.

Even when they're very excited.

And raring to go.

It's important to still be able to have control.

Over your dog.

A recall is very very important.

Because they say.

That's one of the most important things.

In fly ball.

Because if your dog wants to go.

Get the ball to play the game.

Then they'll run down to the box.

And grab that ball with no problem.

But getting them to then.

Come back to you with it.

Is just as important.

And sometimes can be a little bit tougher.

So if your dog has a really good recall.

And will come to you whenever called.

Then that helps a lot right there.

Kind of teaching your dog.

The retrieve.

Essentially how to play fetch.

With you.

And there are a number of different ways to train.

So that you kind of prep your dog.

For doing the turns.

Just playing normal fetch.

And all kinds of things that you can do.

If you really really get into it.

But these are just kind of the essentials.

So to get you started.

There are a couple of websites out there.

That are pretty good.

And they'll give you some basic information.

One of them is.

The North American Flyball Association website.

On there.

You can look to try.

And find a team to join.

If you're interested in doing that.

Now keep in mind with flyball.

It is probably the only dog sport.

Where you can only do it in a team.

Most other dog sports.

You know there may be.

Team components to it.

But you also have the option to do it individually.

But with flyball.

It's very very much a team sport.

And flyball matches.

Where just one dog runs at a time.

So finding a team can be pretty important.

If you get to the point.

Where you want to compete in flyball.

So you can find that.

On the North American Flyball Association website.

As well as get the basic rules.

And a much more detailed overview.

Of what happens in flyball.

And what it's all about.

There.

Then in addition.

There's another one.

Actually.

There's another one.

On the North American Flyball Association.

That's at flyball.org.

There's also another website.

At flyballdogs.com.

And that one.

That one is just chock full of all kinds of information.

Including training tips.

And kind of how to get started there.

And different things that you can do.

And that's where you can actually find.

Some training tips.

Before you're ever even necessarily.

Doing part of a team.

You know the very basic.

There are parts on there that will teach you.

How to teach your dog to retrieve.

Down to you know very very specific.

Little you know technique things.

To help your dog speed up later on.

And make training later on.

Easier and that kind of thing.

But it's really really neat.

A great way to kind of figure out.

If you want to get started in flyball.

Is to find a flyball competition.

That's going on.

And go watch one of those.

And you can look around on those websites.

To find that information as well.

So now as I said.

I haven't done flyball myself.

So I can't really share my own experiences.

On it.

But I believe there are a few listeners.

Who have already said that they've done flyball.

Or are currently doing flyball with their dogs.

So if any of our listeners.

Would like to you know write in.

Or send a voicemail.

Sharing their experiences with flyball.

Then I would love to share those with the listeners.

And hear the things that you have to say.

About it.

Maybe your favorite parts.

Or the challenging parts.

Or anything else that you would like to share about it.

Because apparently.

It's a very addicting dog sport.

And a very fun one to get into.

So thanks Jessica.

For writing and asking us about that.

And then next up.

We're going to tell you about this interview.

That Walter heard on the radio today.

Yeah actually.

It was kind of funny.

Because I heard the interview.

When I got into the car.

I had started the car.

To warm it up.

And started putting down some of the seats.

And the radio came on.

And they were talking about pit bulls.

And I was like okay wait a second.

What is going on?

And it was actually an interview.

With an author of a book that's recently come out.

Named Ken Foster.

And he was basically talking about his book.

And some of the stories that were in it.

And he shares some of the vignettes.

And the name of the book is.

The Dogs Who Found Me.

What I've Learned From Pets Who Were Left Behind.

And of course that's right up K9Cast's alley.

And I imagine it's right up y'all's alley.

So I'm going to.

We're going to put a link to the interview.

In the show notes and in the enhanced podcast.

And I think you guys.

Would really really appreciate the interview.

And what Ken has to say.

And I know that Tara thought it was pretty cool.

I gave her a call.

As soon as I started hearing him talk about pit bulls.

So I took her to the radio.

And listened to the interview.

And of course we were midway through it.

And were pleasantly surprised to see.

That it was very easily accessible online.

So be sure to go ahead and check that out.

I know you guys will like it.

Yeah it is a really neat interview.

And I don't know how much of.

The information in the interview.

May be in the book or vice versa.

But the interview.

They just covered so many topics.

That we found to be really neat.

One of the parts.

That I thought was most interesting.

Is that this guy.

Mr. Foster.

Had actually moved to New Orleans.

Not very long before.

The hurricane Katrina.

Came through there.

And he talked about how.

He may not have even evacuated.

If it hadn't been for his dogs.

He was basically hanging out with some friends.

And they were talking about it.

And as people who live in hurricane prone areas.

Tend to do.

After a certain number of scares.

And I know this.

We've been through it ourselves.

You get kind of jaded to it.

And after so many close calls.

That then completely missed your area.

You start to think.

This is just another one.

Where they're telling me to leave.

And I left for the last four.

And nothing happened.

So he and his friends.

Were just kind of sitting around.

And talking about whether or not.

They were going to leave.

And me being here is one thing.

But I can't have my dogs.

In this type of a situation.

This just isn't going to work.

So he figured.

He was just going to be gone for a day.

And it was going to be just a close call.

But nothing happening.

So he loaded his dogs.

And some food in the car.

And took a change of clothes.

And took off.

Which of course ended up being very lucky.

So it's kind of neat.

That he made him decide.

On a course of action.

That probably totally changed.

A lot of outcomes.

At least for that portion of his life.

And he talks about how.

Having the dogs has done that.

And has affected his life in major ways.

In other situations as well.

And even credits them.

With saving his life.

As I was about to say.

That's not the only time the dogs have saved him.

So definitely worth checking a look.

Or listen to this interview.

And again the link to it.

Will be in the show notes.

And in the enhanced podcast.

And you need real audio or windows media player.

To listen to the interview.

But check it out.

We thought it was really really neat.

Always cool to hear.

Different people's takes.

On their dogs.

So next we have the doggy dictionary.

This is sent in by Shana.

And this is just.

Some cute dog humor.

That we thought you guys would get a kick out of.

Now I've actually.

I've seen it online.

And I went and looked it up online.

Since Shana sent it to me.

Because I was trying to find out who the author was.

But.

I found it in a number of places online.

But I haven't seen an author credited.

So if I knew who it was.

Then I would love to credit them.

But unfortunately I don't have that information.

But in any case.

It's very amusing.

So here's the doggy dictionary.

Dog bed.

Any soft clean surface.

Such as the white bed spread in the guest room.

Or the newly upholstered couch in the living room.

Drool.

Is what you do when your mom and dad have the food.

And you don't.

To do this properly.

You must sit as close as you can.

And look sad.

And let the drool fall to the floor.

Or better yet on their laps.

Sniff.

A social custom to use when you greet other dogs.

Place your nose as close as you can to the other dog's rear end.

Several times.

Or until your person makes you stop.

Garbage can.

A container where mom and dad put food they don't want.

To test your ingenuity.

You must stand on your hind legs.

And try to push the lid off with your nose.

If you do it right.

You are rewarded with margarine wrappers to shred.

Beef bones to consume.

And moldy crust bread.

Bicycles.

Two wheeled exercise machines.

Invented for dogs to control body fat.

To get maximum aerobic benefit.

You must hide behind a bush.

And dash out.

Bark loudly.

And run alongside for a few yards.

The person then swerves and falls into the bushes.

And you prance away.

Deafness.

This is an affliction which affects dogs.

When their mom or dad want them in.

And they want to stay out.

Symptoms include staring blankly at the person.

Then running in the opposite direction.

Or lying down.

Thunder.

This is a sign that the world is coming to an end.

Mom and dad remain amazingly calm.

During thunderstorms.

So it is necessary to warn them of the danger.

By trembling uncontrollably.

Panting.

Rolling your eyes wildly.

And following their every move.

Waste basket.

This is a dog toy filled with paper.

Envelopes.

And old candy wrappers.

When you get bored.

Turn over the basket.

This is an affliction which affects dogs.

After eating.

It is polite to run up and down the front of the sofa.

And wipe your whiskers clean.

Bath.

This is a process by which mom and dad drench the floor.

The walls and themselves.

You can help by shaking vigorously.

And frequently.

Lean.

Every good dog's response to the command sit.

Especially if your mom and dad are dressed for an evening out.

Incredibly effective.

Before black tie events.

Bump.

This is a way to get your mom and dad's attention.

When they are drinking a fresh cup of coffee or tea.

Goose bump.

A maneuver to use as a last resort.

When the regular bump doesn't get the attention you require.

Especially effective when combined with the sniff.

And last but not least.

Love.

Is a feeling of intense affection.

Given freely and without restriction.

The best way you can show your love.

Is to wag your tail.

If you are lucky.

A human will love you in return.

Thanks Shane.

For sending that in.

Thank you.

Those were awesome.

I had a hard time reading it.

Because I kept having to stifle giggles.

I had to get away from the microphone.

So it wasn't just a podcast of me laughing.

Especially the last one.

That one just kind of makes us smile.

And take a little moment.

To just hug our dogs.

Who are in here with us as always.

While we are podcasting.

Now we are going to take a quick break.

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And now it's time for listener pictures.

These pictures were sent in by Mark.

Who says that.

He and his dog Martini.

Who is in these pictures.

Did well a few weekends ago.

In four AKC novice agility trials.

He says he did two standard trials.

And two jumpers with weaves.

What's the difference?

Well the difference is that.

Jumpers with weaves.

Is pretty much what it sounds like.

It just has to do with.

The obstacles.

That are used in each course.

There's more different types of obstacles.

In a standard course.

Than in the jumpers with weaves.

And he says that they won eight ribbons.

And you can see in this picture.

There's Martini with the eight ribbons.

And he also included a picture.

Of Martini in action.

And I like this one because.

It kind of looks like Martini.

Is just flying through the air.

You don't really.

She's at the very top of the jump.

Kind of going straight over it.

And obviously she did well.

Getting eight ribbons.

Two in each trial.

So that is just really really great.

Thanks for sending those in Mark.

And we're also happy to hear.

That you guys did so well in that trial too.

And you can see these pictures.

In the listeners picture gallery.

Online at caninecast.com.

Or in the enhanced podcast.

On color iPods and in iTunes.

Thanks Walter.

And so now we've reached the end of our show.

We're looking forward to doing the next one.

Putting that together.

And we hope to hear from more people.

Who have been doing agility.

And fly ball.

And also any other dog sports.

That you're doing and are interested in.

We'd love to cover those as well.

So we look forward to hearing from you.

Either on email or on voicemail.

So the information for that.

Will be available for you at the end of the show.

And now we've arrived.

So until next time.

If you haven't already.

Remember to spay or neuter your dog.

It's the best thing you can do for your furry friend.

If you have a question for Tara.

Or a comment about Caninecast.

Please send an email to.

Caninecast at gmail.com

Or you can.

Leave a voicemail at.

206-338-DOGS

And you can leave a comment.

On our website at.

Caninecast.com