Flyball is a Full Contact Sport

DR! returned to Huntsville August 14th & 15th for Texas Heat's Great Balls of Fire tournament.  In past years, the August tournament has been a little bit smaller since some clubs are still recovering from Reliant.  Not this year - there were something like 40 teams!

We took our regular traveling teams - 4 Dogz with Ballz and Dogz in Da Hood.  No new club bests, but a highlight of the weekend was Pooper (fka Velvet - see previous blog post) running in BOTH lanes!  Pooper is a smart dog, new to the sport and realized how much quicker it was to bypass the jumps when racing another dog.  Pooper only did this in the right lane.  With the help of Kim's agility expertise (normal handler Duwain was out braving the treacherous rapids on a river), Pooper ran pretty much error free.

Pooper did, however, need to break in her new handler.

 

It's all fun and games until somobody loses an eye

 Now the club *may* try to blame the injuries on me as I have been known for things like shoving teammates into to the ring gates (Marcy) and punching folks in the mouth (Kim), but there were very good reasons for my violence - 

1. Marcy cut in front of me when we were racing (she forgot she was not running anchor).  I had a split second decision of her or me - I chose me. 
2. During one of those "oh crap I think I am going to early pass" moments, I hesitated for a split second, threw my arms back and felt my closed fists collide with something . . . I thought "now that doesn't feel like a dog" . . . my suspicions were confirmed when I heard the scream

So despite my history, I promise you I was not involved in the recent bout of injuries.

Anyway, back to the topic of the tournament.  BOTH of our teams took FIRST place in our respective divisions (Regular II - 4 Dogz & Open II - Hoodz).  Yep, we rock.

Newer member Alissa caught the fast flyball dog bug by running the ride which we call Marz.  And if I do say so myself, she did a spectacular job!  Even got a 3.94 on the clock with him.  Awesome job Alissa!

Oh, and even though Duwain was not in attendance, we managed to get a sleeping beauty pic.  Though this one is staged, me thinks Kim did a great impersonation.  The ball cap and ever so slightly opened mouth seal the deal.

P.S. To go along with the Flyball is a Full Contact Sport topic, apparently Veronica may have a torn ACL.  How'd she get it?  My dog.  Yep, Marz is as gentle as I am with our teammates.

Smells Like DR! Spirit!

After missing the May tournament, Dogz Rule! was more than ready to get back out in the rings and have some fun!  Oh, and we also played a little flyball too.

Hot Rod Hounds hosted this one and they did a fantastic job.  This time the tournament was back in Huntsville.   Did you know that Huntsville has the oldest TX prison facility (opened in 1849)?  It's a true fact - I googled it to make sure.  Check out Wikipedia if you don't believe me.   

We fielded two teams - 4 Dogz with Ballz (Division II) and Dogz in Da Hood (Open II).  Da Hoodz had it rough in their division; racing format was 3 of 3.  Once you get warmed-up after running a couple of heats, the race is over!  However, with several close races, they fought tooth and nail to snag a SECOND place win.  Pretty darn sweet!

Veronica and Boxloader Extraordinaire (aka Stephen) napping between races

Trixi was running lots of sub-6 times and even posted a 5.7 on the clock.  Perhaps she is like a fine wine?  Gets better with age?  Or perhaps it was because Kim actually got to run her some races -  I can't even remember the last time Kim got to run her own dog.  We likey when Trixi gets a fire under her bum.

The other Hoodz dogz (Nico, Eris, Sisko, Stella, Scooter) also ran really well.  Nico, the canine face of Hotel Contessa in San Antonio, pulled a new personal best of 4.67!!  Nico's trying not to let his modeling career go to his head.  But sometimes it is hard to be a celebrity.

Don't Judge.  Tis De Fame, De Pressure.  Tis hard to be bootiful. 

Our 4 Dogz with Ballz took third in Division II.  Well, we actually tied for second in tournament points, but LSR had one more heat on us.  BUT, that's not the good news!  DR! set a NEW CLUB BEST of 17.221 17.111 17.092!  Line-up was Remix, Marz, Ryp and Velvet.  Not bad for Velvet's second tournament.

Other points of interest:

• Newest member Alissa proving she knew how to party DR! style by showing up to dinner Friday night and getting pulled over by Huntsville's finest for having a headlight out.  She sweet talked him in to letting her off with a warning.  Atta girl!
• Duwain brought our newest FAVORITE toy to dinner . . . The Remote Controlled FART MACHINE.  Hilarity ensued.  We remotely activated those fart sounds throughout dinner.  It's amazing how fart sounds have the potential to bring people together.  They even enticed the nice young and impressionable children at the table behind us to start making fart noises with their hands.  The parents were none too pleased with us.

Tears of Laughter due to the Fart Machine.  It really is new and improved!

• Flyball Newbie Stephen (BLE=Boxloader Extraordinare) boxloaded for both teams and did a fantastic job!  He didn't even flinch when 3 dogs came running down the lane at the same time (more on this in a later post).
• Kim calmly stating "It smells like farts" in the lane right as the lights started going up the tree.  I do believe I was a little late on Remix's release I was laughing so hard thinking about the previous night's dinner (see Fart Machine above).

 And, what you all have been waiting for . . . 

Sleeping Beauty

Dogz Rule! Off To Huntsville

The club is heading off to Huntsville, Texas, for a great weekend of flyball hosted by our good buddies Texas Heat. They are trying out a new facility there and we are all excited about checking it out.

As usual, most of us are staying at the always-pet-friendly La Quinta!

Allow me to share a personal La Quinta story with you. I drove to Utah this past December with three of my dogs to spend the Christmas holiday with my good friend Gosia. The weather was threatening to become horrific--giant snow storm on its way down from the northwest. I was racing west and north as fast as I could. On our second day, I made it from Amarillo to Moab but found I just couldn't drive any farther. It was December 23 and I was worried about getting a room. Any room. As I was cruising down the main drag in Moab, I saw the familiar LQ sign. I parked, went in, and found they had rooms available! The woman at the desk was welcoming and friendly, and pulled the latest weather reports off the internet after she checked me in. The hotel had a large, clean, fenced potty area out back (with a stocked potty bag dispenser and a large trash can nearby) where the dogs could stretch their legs. As usual for LQ, the room was clean and quiet. We woke the next morning at 5am to heavily falling snow, but that's a whole 'nother story!

My red Dodge rental in the Moab LQ parking lot, December 24, 2008.

Anyway, we are certainly not expecting snow this weekend in Huntsville.

DR! is taking three teams to this small tournament. Stay tuned for results!