Do you know sport people?

krissy

New Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
809
Likes
1
Points
0
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
#1
I'm curious. Here on Chaz we have this great global network of people who really live and breathe dogs. People who are involved with their dogs daily. Mostly, I'm interested in the number of people who participate in some sort of sport with their dogs.

It's kind of crazy to me because... well... honestly I do not know a single person outside of my agility classes who does sports with their dogs. I'm a vet and I have ONE client who participates actively in flyball with their 3 (soon to be 4 as they just got a puppy) dogs. None of my friends do anything with their dogs. No one I knew in my class did sports with their dogs. None of my coworkers do anything with their dogs.

So... do you know people in real life that also do agility/flyball/disc/obedience/whatever with their dogs?
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Messages
570
Likes
0
Points
16
Location
WI
#2
My closest group of friends are my sport friends. :) New England is a pretty big area for IPO, so I'm lucky to have met a lot of cool people.
 

Gazehounds

New Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
24
Likes
0
Points
0
#3
A large number of my friends lure course or straight race with me and I know folks who do agility, rally, flyball, etc. But, I have many friends who do not do any dog sports at all, or even own dogs.
 

Beanie

Clicker Cult Coordinator
Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
14,012
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
39
Location
Illinois
#4
Well, yes, but I met most of them AT dog sport events... so I don't think that counts LOL.


As it turns out, I found out my best friend from high school's aunt is the trial secretary for an agility club about an hour or so away. I don't know if her aunt did agility when we were in high school or not, I never heard about it, or if it's just some weird/crazy coincidence!
 

momto8

New Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
792
Likes
0
Points
0
#5
We have a pretty decent group around here that do straight racing and coursing with us! A local Ibizan does rally! We do straight racing, coursing and rally with ours! And after trying some agility demos with ours at our last show are going to be looking into that as well!
 

Laurelin

I'm All Ears
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
30,963
Likes
3
Points
0
Age
37
Location
Oklahoma
#6
Well are we talking about outside of the agility folk? I consider them friends and yeah, a lot do all sorts of things with their dogs. I'm out there training with people 2 times a week most times. Confo, disc, a little flyball (I know flyball folk but they don't overlap too much), nosework, barnhunt, rally, therapy work, treibball, stock work, etc. I can't go to a dog trial around here without running into people I know. I went to an obedience trial and saw three agility people there that I had no idea did obedience.

Like work friends and old schoool friends and church, etc? I know a coworker who has a therapy dog they take to hospitals which was neat to find out.

I also had a really good high school friends' younger sister recently ask me about the agility schools in the area. I'm super stoked she might be training where I do. She's really sweet and I had no idea prior that she was really into dogs.

I also know people who hunt with dogs.

Also the one guy in my agility classes now is a friend of a coworker's and works at another company for my same industry. That was interesting finding that out too.
 

JacksonsMom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
8,694
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Maryland
#7
Nope, I don't. Okay, well ONE sort of/kind of ish. One of the dogs I used to dogsit for, I became friends with, and she started taking her Boston/Beagle mix to agility classes, but it was strictly 'just for fun'. She also just had a baby so it's on pause for the moment anyway.

I only can count on one hand the people I know in 'real life' besides family (as in not friends from the internet that I've met, dog park, or dog related activities lol) that are really 'into' their dogs (even though they don't do sports). But I mean into as in, I see them doing a lot with their dogs (outings, walks, parks, etc) and their dogs are really a big part of their family and not JUST a 'pet' that never leaves the house (not saying there's anything wrong with that, either).

But yeah.
 

SpringerLover

Active Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
3,415
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
B-ville
#8
I've met the majority of my friends through dogs.

I met my boyfriend through my dog friends!

I can count on one hand the people I am friends with that either don't own a dog or aren't above average pet owners.
 

krissy

New Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
809
Likes
1
Points
0
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
#10
I guess once you are really into sports you make friends that way. I suppose I mean more so before you got heavily into sports and made friends at trials... just people you knew that had dogs... did ANY of them do sports?
 

Laurelin

I'm All Ears
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
30,963
Likes
3
Points
0
Age
37
Location
Oklahoma
#11
When I was a kid we knew the lady we got Trey from for years beforehand and she did sports with her shelties. Does that count?
 

DJEtzel

Active Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
3,267
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Kalamazoo, MI
#12
I guess once you are really into sports you make friends that way. I suppose I mean more so before you got heavily into sports and made friends at trials... just people you knew that had dogs... did ANY of them do sports?
A lot of the people that I was in training classes or went to the dog park with trialed, yes.
 

adojrts

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Messages
4,089
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ontario, Canada
#13
I guess once you are really into sports you make friends that way. I suppose I mean more so before you got heavily into sports and made friends at trials... just people you knew that had dogs... did ANY of them do sports?
No, not at first. I knew the odd person that showed dogs or had field retrievers etc but I had no interest.

First came the terrier trials and hunting, then I quickly and deeply became addicted to agility.

Now it is a life style.

I would have to say it is rare that I have friends that are not seriously into dogs or horses.
 

MicksMom

Active Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
3,978
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Warren Co, NJ
#14
Well, yes, but I met most of them AT dog sport events...
Same here. I know quite a few people who do obedience/rally, agility, tracking, nosework and judge through where we train. Most I'd call acquaintances, and a few friends. I've also made a very very good friend from there.
 

Shai

& the Muttly Crew
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
6,215
Likes
0
Points
36
#15
I suppose I mean more so before you got heavily into sports and made friends at trials... just people you knew that had dogs... did ANY of them do sports?
Yeah I have a friend that does some IPO and is starting SAR, some folks I know that did/do competition obedience, a fair number of hunting and and herding people (both real work and sport). One coworker that does conformation quite a bit.

Granted I know a lot more now and some of those people were met after I got heavily into sports but I met them totally separately.
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2013
Messages
139
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
The Bay Area
#16
I guess once you are really into sports you make friends that way. I suppose I mean more so before you got heavily into sports and made friends at trials... just people you knew that had dogs... did ANY of them do sports?
Nope. Granted that was 7, maybe 8 years ago now. But we had some friends that had a dog, maybe two. Friends that didn't. Friends that had A cat.


Now through classes and events and what not - that vast, vast, vast majority of our friends (in real life) are total dog geeks.

Having a bunch of fellow dog nerd friends does make things easier. Our friend with 5 doesn't blink when we come down for the weekend with 4 of ours. Heck she has multiple crates in her guest bedroom!
 

Southpaw

orange iguanas.
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
7,788
Likes
1
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Minnesota
#17
Oh gosh no. To put it this way, I 100% consider myself an "average dog owner," and yet I still do much more with my dogs than basically any other person I know.

I'm impressed if I meet someone who even knows what agility is.
 

Elrohwen

Active Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
1,797
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
#18
I'm friendly with people who I train with, but I wouldn't say they are friends at this point. I don't go to dinner with them or over to their houses, but I enjoy talking to them and hanging out at doggy events. I'm friendly with a number of local-ish Welshie breeders too.

Among my regular friends, not a single one does any kind of dog sport or activity. I'm not sure if any have even take a basic obedience class, though the ones with dogs love them dearly. I can't even think of anyone I know, friend or not, who does dog sports or activities except a few people who have hunted with dogs.
 

MericoX

Roos, Poos, & a Wog!
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
5,326
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
39
Location
In depression
#19
Most of the dog people I know in "real life" are the people I work with at the shelter. But none of them to the extent that do other stuff with their dogs.

I know a few people from doing agility, but no one I'd rezlly go out and hang with.
 

Laurelin

I'm All Ears
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
30,963
Likes
3
Points
0
Age
37
Location
Oklahoma
#20
Now that I've finally just decided to embrace my dog geek in front of my 'normal' friends, I've gotten a lot of questions from them. One coworker was really disappointed that our last trial was out so far away because he wanted to watch some of it. My one coworker has retired greyhounds and was familiar with agility and was asking me all kinds of questions at lunch.

A lot of times I'm trying to explain why I'm at 'dog training' so much. I'm pretty sure they just think my dogs have a lot of behavior issues and need lots of training.

I LOVE having dog people in real life to talk to that don't glaze over when you mention something dog-geeky.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top