Dog sports (Video)

There are many activities Milwaukeeans and their dogs can do. The best of them are sport related. There are clubs and organized competition held regularly in the area.

One of the most popular pet sports is agility. Taken from the U.S. Army K-9 Corp training it has been adapted to a fun and challenging competition. The course contains several obstacles like weaving poles, a tunnel, a bridge and more. It is a timed event and there are off course penalties. Owners can only use hand and verbal commands. This is a workout for both human and canine.

For those dogs that like to run and fetch there are two activities to consider flyball and disc dog. Flyball is more of an observation activity for the owner while disc dog is a team participation with dog and human.

Flyball is a team relay race requiring the dogs to run jumps to a spring box to release a tennis ball, catch it, hold it and return over the jumps. The first team to complete the course wins and goes on to compete for the finals.

Disc dog is judged on both human and dog. Organized in 1970, this sport has been divided into two events. In Freestyle there must be innovative interaction between dog and human. In the toss and fetch the dog has one minute to catch as many discs as possible.

For the herding dogs, sheep trials would be the sport of interest. Rat trials are for those cute little toy dogs that become a fierce hunter when turned loose in a tunnel maze. There is dock diving competitions for the swimmers and obedience trials for the working breeds.

Most of these sports are open breed competitions. Milwaukee area dog owners can find these activities through Bay View Bark or breed clubs.