r/k9sports

Hey all,

Came across this subreddit and looking for options for a Maltese and Morkie regarding dog sports.

They’ve had some behavioral issues and they are in a training program that consults with a board certified veterinary behaviorist that includes at home training lessons. (Thank god for pet insurance paying the bill)

When the training is completed, Im looking for a safe sport for toy breeds that I can do with them once or twice a week to keep them learning and burning energy.

Im also curious if anyone has a personal review of the new ruffland mini kennels.

Any suggestions is kindly appreciated.

Really wanting to get into Rally with my lab. So far I’ve figured out that at the Novice level there is an A and B and it’s on leash. What signs would be in the Novice level? How do I read the sign? Apparently I need 3 qualifying runs for a title, can I do that in 1 weekend or does that mean 3 trials? What style of heeling is needed? Any resources or creators for me to look into? Most classes near me are waitlisted and the one that I did take left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I know the answer is “whatever works for you,” but I’m curious how you decide which trials to sign up for during a multi day show when there are 4-5 trials offered.

For example (we are novice rally)

Friday trial 1
Friday trial 2
Saturday trial 1
Saturday trial 2
Sunday trial 1

Which would you sign up for? Show is local, no shortage of opportunities to show, no rush to collect title(s). Mostly just curious what you prefer in terms of human and dog attention span, maximizing focus, fitting in with other commitments, etc.

we want to hear your brags, progress, training success stories, training failure stories, goals, whatever it may be. use this thread as a place to just talk about what you’ve done the past week or even what you’d like to improve on in the following.

feel free to link any pictures, videos, etc. to your comments.

The new 2027 Kia Telluride has come out and has an hybrid AWD with 4500lb tow package option. I’m SUPER interested and have heard great things so far about the Telluride.
But I am curious if anyone has taken a 2nd row captain seat out of a Telluride — if so, is there space to:
a) ideally stack two ruffland intermediates on top of each other?
b) have two rufflands side by side, with the remaining captain seat still up?

If anyone has dimension of either the height of the stacked crates (side door) or the interior of the Telluride (seat removed isn’t a figure I can find online since it is an aftermarket adjustment).

I currently have 4 dogs (all 30-45lbs) that I can transport in my Subaru. But it’s getting a little tight with other show gear/suitcases/equipment AND I occasionally need the ability either transport a 5th dog OR a person in the 2nd row. A minivan is on the short list, but I’m not keen to give up AWD or tank my gas mileage since this is also my daily driver.

Thoughts? Experiences? Is there another vehicle that I should consider? TIA!

Okay y'all, I need help spending some money.🤣

The other day I purchased a waterproof deck box to store the equipment I already have in. When I put everything in it and it was still nearly empty I jokingly said to my husband that I needed to buy more equipment to fill it up with. He said "yes you do." So now I'm shopping!

I currently have a 14" balance disk, 4 paw pods, 2 fitbones, and a set of cavaletti (the ones with the cones). Looking to stay under $100 per piece for now and small enough to fit in an 85 gallon deck box for storage (or safe to be left out in the elements in Texas). We mostly do conformation, but dabble in rally and agility and looking to maybe (hopefully) start a dog or two in dock diving. Tell me what equipment you love, or don't love. I'm open to all the recommendations and ideas.

I am considering becoming a nosework instructor, as the title says. But I am having some imposter syndrome feelings about it. How about a reality check? Would you take lessons or classes from me?

The good, I think:

Background in dog sports (competition obedience, rally, agility, nosework, light field work) since 2010-ish and was a very involved pet person (pet classes, all dogs had CGCs) prior to that since about 1998. Background before that in training and showing horses.

My dog has multiple placements and high in trials in NACSW. We don’t have much time for AKC at the moment. Also we got a Summit title our first time out a couple weeks after getting our ELT3 and turning 5. I have an up and comer dog who is doing well but no competitions yet.

People, and by people I mean experienced people, mostly complement me on my leash handling skills, staying calm under pressure, patience, managing drive and arousal, and general handling skills.

I train often and with multiple COs as well as some online coaching. I’ve been setting hides for my ELT and Summit friends (who were all NW2/3 when we started) in novel locations for going on 3 years now. Time flies!

I started teaching agility/sports pre-foundations classes about a year ago at my agility coach’s place. Mostly puppies. I’m not a great agility handler but my dogs are always trained really well. In fact my coach paid me a really nice but backhanded complement the other day that if my dog had a world team handler with the training I’ve put on her she could be a world team dog. 😂 Anyway, my class now are repeats and threepeats. People come back. They are all ready to move on from me now and they look great!

The bad, I think:

I’ve had just one nosework dog (not including my up and comer) and I won’t lie when I say she’s a one in a million dog. She’s also not an “off breed”. That said, a lot of people could not handle her and it’s not like she didn’t require work because she did and still does but she never required work on her motivation. We’ve dealt with things like box smashing, arousal and blinking hides, thresholds, close hides, distractions.

I live in an area with a lot of CNWI instructors who are also COs and judges and who have more nosework experience than me. But not with dogs like mine, they tell me. They are also much older than me and some are threatening retirement. I don’t plan on getting a CNWI at this time.

I have a full time job and plan to keep it. I would not go full time as a nosework instructor unless I was retired and that won’t happen for at least 15 years. So classes or lessons would need to be in the evenings, one or twice a week. I also won’t be giving up my weekends.

My interest is in high drive dogs and handling—the people side. My style is dog driven with strong foundations. I’ve had soft dogs and know a lot about pressure. It feels a little niche to me.

I have a six-month-old male Doberman from IGP3 parents and grandparents. He has been going to weekly bite club and basic puppy obedience classes from day one and excels at all the basic “pet” dog stuff, but shows no real interest or enthusiasm for formal obedience training or “working”. My older dog is a dachshund, but she is highly food motivated and handler-focused so a dog who is just disinterested is new to me. I have been working with both a trainer and his breeder, and have been rewarding for any engagement, but I haven’t had any success getting him to offer effort towards focused heeling. I know he’s just a baby so I don’t expect much, but I want him to be pushing me for his high value treats, and instead he’d rather lay in the grass and watch the birds go by. When I try to lure a focused heel, he immediately drops his head, and leaves to go eat grass or chase his tail.

STSK9 continues to advertise their heeling course to me on Facebook and it looks like exactly what I need—help teaching a distracted unmotivated dog a flashy focused heel. However, I’m extremely doubtful of online courses with “too good to be true claims” and expensive price tags. Has anyone had an experience using their courses specifically for heeling? Or should I just keep trying to get 0.1 seconds of effort and paying to train in-person?

Hi, since dog pacer went out of business 2 weeks ago, I can't order a treadmill from them. I don't want a slat mill (because of the noise) -- and recommendations for a doggie treadmill. I am okay with paying more but I don't have space for HUGE equipment. I m looking for dog pacer equivalent sizes.

https://preview.redd.it/16tt4cf5np1h1.png?width=826&format=png&auto=webp&s=d159cb8b175f691889d0cf7c5b2480d79def15c4

https://preview.redd.it/yjzhz4kmnp1h1.png?width=1590&format=png&auto=webp&s=f9a635cd6feca3343951de8eb626c577394627d3

https://preview.redd.it/yhvn0lszmp1h1.png?width=1614&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f795a7c4df9e6373c61e1da5aa7a16782ed675f

https://preview.redd.it/rdje7a70np1h1.png?width=954&format=png&auto=webp&s=b089ab0ad37346a82b0fb15cccde059681f5e79f

I have a young Belgian Malinois that I have recently started on a pivot bowl. He has learned to place both feet on the platform and does so readily and quickly. We are currently easing into rear leg awareness and adding bits of movement, and I am running into an issue wherein I attempt to lure him to turn, and as he follows he will lift one paw up off of the bowl. This is causing him to lose balance and struggle to turn while keeping his front feet on the bowl.

He has however had moments in doing this where he successfully moves his back legs to the side with one paw on the bowl, and one paw lifted up to his chest. I was rewarding for this with the idea that we could polish it over time, but I am worried this is creating a bad habit / bad form; On top of it very obviously making it much more difficult for him to maintain his balance while pivoting.

Does anyone here have advice for getting him to stop picking a paw up? I am unsure if it is appeasement (He is pretty low confidence at the moment) or just him being too focused on the lure. Should I also avoid rewarding when he turns with his back legs if a paw is up, or just reward for the small success regardless?

Hi, everyone, I’m getting a new Border Collie puppy for agility. I’d like to get pet insurance for accident/illness but I want to make sure I go with a company that won’t penalize me or refuse coverage if they know I do sports. I’m also wondering if there are companies that will penalize you if you titer instead of get every vaccination as well.

I’ve been recommended Embrace and Pumpkin seems okay. Any specific experience with either of those?

What's maintenance and upkeep costs like? I'm going to buy one soon. what am I missing?

Is there any downside optically to a serious handler doing virtual titles? I am 100% deadass

I don’t view it as a performance metric, want an excuse to practice making videos, and enjoy lighting my money on fire