Owner: The Flyball Blog URL:http://www.flyballblog.com Join Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:43:37 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog devoted to the dog sport of Flyball. Site statistics:Click here
Male Dogs, Ugh 2007-11-19 09:53:46 “I love the feeling of standing in cold wet pee in the morning,” not! Don’t get me wrong I like all dogs but from time to time, they act like… well… dogs. I have to remind myself sometimes that they are dogs. However, it’s a very quick reminder at 4:30 in the morning when you are standing in pee in your bare feet that you live with dogs.
We have a dog door and all of the dogs know how to use it and they do most of the time. The times when they don’t like to use it, is when it is cold and wet outside. My tough little Jack Russell terriers don’t want to get there little feet wet… spoiled dogs and two males to boot.
I have a really old (about 17 years old) non-flyball Dachshund mix and she has a hard time getting out the dog door, and one of my Border collies (male also) sleeps in a crate at night near my bed (he sleeps in the crate for a peeing problem too). He wakes me almost every morning wanting to go out. This is our morning ritual… I get up every morning
Military Mascots 2007-11-28 08:53:56 When I posted Operation Baghdad Pups, I was unaware of a grassroots organization called Military
Mascots who’s sole mission is “…to find and make contact with folks who may be able to help their adopted friend come to the US to be with their own families prior to their redeployment.”
Supporting Deployed Service Members and The Mascots They Love
Christopher has posted an excellent article on this organization and the SPCA International on his website Border Wars.
Larry
Rethinking Delegate Voting 2007-11-27 10:07:09 I think the NAFA delegate voting system is due for some rethinking. I think I know why the delegate voting system was developed the way it was and if someone knows differently please let me know. It was developed so that the clubs that participate at NAFA sanctioned events are the ones that should have a vote. This sounds logical to me. Why would you want clubs to have a vote if they are not participating in the sport at NAFA sanctioned events? However, why are all the delegate votes given to the club owner?
NAFA Rulebook, Chapter 4 - Delegate Votes
(b) All delegates shall be assigned to the club owner.
The Participants
Why are the participants left out of the voting process? After all, the participants are the ones that make Flyball happen. Flyball is a team sport so why don’t the team members get a vote. The club owner can choose to divvy up the votes or not. Why should they have all the power? Without the “teammates”, there would be no team.
NAFA Ruleb Read more:Voting
NOTA 2007-11-25 18:20:10 Well NAFA® election time is upon us again. It was announced this last week that only 20% of the votes had been returned. Seem like a low turn out this close to the closing of elections. Not much has been said on the flyball list this year but maybe that is because one of the usual writers is running for the BOD this time. Maybe some of the low voting has to do with the fact that some people are voting NOTA (None of the above) which was suggested by one of the candidates. Only problem with this is that ballots are to be destroyed after the election so no one will know how many have been returned with this written in. Or maybe displeasure with things is being expressed with the lower votes coming in and people just don’t care.
I see by the minutes of the last meeting that a balance and profit and loss sheet was distributed at the meeting (didn’t see a copy included in the minutes though) and some numbers are down. Light shipping is up (which I can see due to increases in ship
Hall of Fame and MVP 2007-11-25 17:42:10 The NAFA Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame and Regional Most Valuable Player Awards are for dogs to be recognized both nationally and regionally. The Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame is the most prestigious flyball award any flyball dog can be awarded. You can read about this year’s slate of candidates for both Hall of Fame and Regional MVP on the NAFA website.
Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame
The NAFA Hall of Fame was renamed to the Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame in memory of Clyde Moore, who served as NAFA’s Executive Director and passed away of a heart attack in March 1998.
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Operation Baghdad Pups 2007-11-24 21:14:17 I know this is another non-Flyball related post but this seems like a worthy cause to help our US soldiers and an animal in need. The SPCA International is working to bring companion animals of US soldiers serving in the Middle East to safe, happy, forever homes in the United States.
Charlie
One night, while on guard duty with the US Armed Forces in Iraq, Sgt. Watson’s squadron returned from patrol with a new buddy. Weak, malnourished, and at death’s door, a black and white puppy had decided to adopt the soldiers of the unit known as Charlie Company. Sgt. Watson wrapped the shivering puppy in a blanket, gave it some clean water, a portion of his own rations, and provided what refuge and comfort he could for a poor life he expected would sadly end in a few days – another innocent life cut short in a harsh and unforgiving environment.
But the puppy rallied back, thriving on the care, attention and affection of Sgt. Watson and the members of his platoon. A real survivor, th Read more:Operation
, Baghdad
Comment Moderation 2007-12-06 17:49:59 I have found it necessary to moderate the comments. However, anyone that has posted on the blog before should be able to post comments without moderation, but there may be a few exceptions. I will make every attempt to approve comments as quickly as possible. After your first comment is approved, subsequent comments should post without moderations.
I apologize for any post or comments about Greg, whoever he may be. Greg’s comment to this blog has been deleted.
Larry
Read more:Comment
, Moderation
On Thin Ice 2007-12-06 08:04:52 Here is a timely article that will break up the flyball political discussion and may actually help someone. Christopher, on the Border Wars website has put together and excellent article on surviving a fall though ice and you can read his article On Thin Ice
here.
December 21 marks the winter solstice, and some parts of the country are already experiencing freezing temperatures where ponds, lakes, and standing water are starting to freeze over. I live in the Southeast, the “Deep South,” so the only time we see ice is in our refrigerator freezers, but Christopher has included a brochure about Dog CPR. I never even knew that you could do the Heimlich maneuver on a dog, which is something good to know. Check it out!
Larry
Voting Analysis 2007-12-05 17:25:39 Based on some comments about voting I thought some further analysis of the vote was in order. The following graph numbers were taken from the NAFA voting results of the 5 candidates.
The most telling thing that I can see is the NO votes. Each delegate could vote for 3 candidates but from looking at the “No Votes” line, it is obvious that 19 delegates didn’t vote for a candidate. I don’t know that for sure, but logically you wouldn’t vote for a second or third candidate and not vote for a first.
If you subtract out the 19 that didn’t vote for anyone from the 80 that didn’t select a second candidate, you end up with 61 wasted votes. The question that I have is did the 61 delegates not selecting a second candidate knowing that they could select more than one candidate? It seems likely, if they knew that multiple candidates could be selected they would have.
I think the 3rd row is the most telling. If you subtract out the 19 that didn’t v Read more:Voting
, Analysis
The NAFA Verdict Is In 2007-12-04 09:33:34 The NAFA delegates have spoken with 918 total ballots returned (56.81%). It’s really a shame and there is really no excuse for the lack of participation. At least I’m glad that in my region (14), 80% (second highest rate of return) of the ballots were returned.
The Board of Director Votes and Percentages:
Dale Smith - 768 (83.66%)
Scott Stein - 591 (64.38%)
Alisa Romaine - 417 (45.42%)
Zachary Chernik - 320 (34.86%)
Chris VanWert - 314 (34.20%)
I have my own idea as to why the voting turned out as it did and I will leave you to form your own opinions.
Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame Votes and Percentages:
Lyric - Whippet - 322 (35.08%)
Bizzy - Border Collie - 319 (34.75%)
Crackers - Mix - 269 (29.30%)
Tab - Welsh Corgi (Pembroke) - 223 (24.29%)
Cyrano de Bordercollie - Border Collie - 113 (12.31%)
For complete election results, please see the NAFA website here.
Larry
Read more:Verdict
Canine Hepatozoonosis 2007-12-01 12:16:33 Say what, I know, that’s what I said too. Therefore, here is the medical description taken from the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine website…
Hepatozoon americanum / canis
Canine
hepatozoonosis is an emerging protozoal tick-borne disease of dogs that has been reported in the United States of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Florida. The causative agent of canine hepatozoonosis in North America is Hepatozoon americanum. It induces severe myositis and gait abnormalities, and is transmitted to dogs (the intermediate host) through the definitive host, Amblyomma maculatum. Another species is H. canis that causes a similar disease on dogs outside of North America. Transmission occurs when a dog ingests an infected tick, and then the organisms are released and invade canine host cells, where asexual reproduction and multiplication occur through schiziogony (Ewing & Panciera, 2003).
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Honey, Have You Seen My Straightjacket? 2007-12-14 17:10:30 I'm back and I would like to take a few minutes of your time to look at the measuring issue from the other side. Well, if you're a speed-reader it may only take a few minutes. I want to make it clear I am not worried that the dreaded NAFA Board of Directors is going to come after me and as such, I am back peddling from previous posts. I don't believe Tony Soprano is a board member, at least no yet. Until then, my concern that a member of the board is going to come after me, in the dark of night, to break my kneecaps is pretty minimal.
I just don't see the BoD getting together ringing their hands, with sinister laughs, and thinking if they could just shut Mike up they could easily implement their evil plan. (I almost wrote twisting their handlebar mustaches but then I thought one or two board members just might go Tony Soprano on my posterior. It's up to you to decide which members might.) Also, my ego is not so large that I believe that I am having a significant impact on the
Making Communication Better 2007-12-14 10:37:47 So after my rant yesterday, what can we all do to make communication better? I know that the NAFA Board wants to be open to a certain extent; after all, they did create the leadership chat, which very few people participate. What can they do better to keep their participants informed? How can they tell us how they feel about different issues and still maintain their objectivity?
For those that don’t know, all NAFA board meetings are open to the Flyball community. The date, time, and location will be published on the NAFA web site. I encourage everyone that can to attend these meetings if one is held in your area.
Responsibility
I talked about responsibility yesterday and more that anything else it was out of frustration. I want to keep this forum open to discussion for the benefit of everyone in the flyball community and we have people that want to abuse this gift. You can still maintain you anonymity without using a fake email address. I am not a big fan of rules but in
Flyball Paparazzi Syndrome 2007-12-13 08:00:06 This syndrome is the fear of actually having to answer questions in a public forum. It is sometimes displayed by people not wanting to be accountable, hiding behind someone else’s name, or using a false name when commenting on public forums such as this.
A good example of not wanting to be heard actually answer questions in a public forum is displayed by almost all that sit on the NAFA Board of Directors. God forbid, they might actually say something in public that some people might not agree with; or they might slip up and we in the flyball community might actually find out how they feel about an issue. After all, they wouldn’t want everyone to know what they are thinking.
The only time that you will find anything about what any of board members are thinking is to find some obscure line in board meeting minutes or buried in some chat transcript. I am glad to see that they are announcing on the NAFA web site the date and place of the next board meeting. I hope that people Read more:Syndrome
Withering Debate 2007-12-12 08:36:27 I hate conspiracy theories, I really do. I have found in my life experience that the simplest answer is usually the right answer. Oswald likely did act alone, if he didn’t what do I care they didn’t shoot at me. AIDS was not a CIA plot, some idiot likely got his freak on with a monkey all on his own. Area 51 doesn’t have a flying saucer hidden from us, when has the government ever been able to keep a secret for fifty days let alone fifty years. I truly hate conspiracy theories. I’m not saying outright that there was a master mind conspiracy to keep the flyball community confused, but I may be implying it, a little. The most important question that I have, next to “WHY”, what I would like the NAFA board to answer is, was the most popular request they received in the last year to change the subtraction from 4″ to 5″ for jump heights or was there another issue requested more often??
I don’t travel all over the country playing flyball. Read more:Debate
Missing Flyball Already 2007-12-10 10:13:08 I am not a very social person so I don’t like parties or going out on the town partying until all hours. Therefore, a flyball weekend is my only social escape away from the grind of everyday life. Yet, being without a team right now, I’m going to take some time off, regroup, and reevaluate my options. The hardest thing is keeping my self and the dogs in shape.
My wife and I went out yesterday, set up a flyball lane in our yard, and gave the dogs and us a good workout. Man we are all out of shape. After a few minutes of running my very young high drive Border collie, I was on the ground wheezing after he hit the tug and me so hard it knocked me off my feet. As I was trying to get to my feet I was thinking man I love this game. I really do and it only takes a few minutes of playing that you see your dogs never lose their enthusiasm for the game.
Here are 6 things I’ll miss the most while trying to regroup:
1. Hangout with people that like the same thing. I guess Read more:Missing
Subtracting 5 Instead of 4 2007-12-08 21:45:13 Announcements from NAFA Board of Directors Meeting
November 30, 2007 - Omaha, NE
A proposal exists to change NAFA Rule 8.2a to provide that jump heights will be set by subtracting five instead of four inches from the height at the withers of the shortest dog running, to a minimum jump height of seven inches.
The Board of Directors is calling for a delegate vote on this topic. The proposed issue is being published to the delegates for a three month comment period, after which a vote will be called. For the motion to pass, it must be supported by 2/3 of the delegates voting.
This is sure to be a hot button issue over the next few months. This is my first post on this issue and there are already comments about this on the blog. Here is what Mike says…
… My concern is that the outcome for this rule change is going to be determined on supposition and emotions without substantiated reasons for either alternative. If there is any hard data that indicates that the jump heights Read more:Instead
Voting Issues 2007-12-08 11:25:12 I hate to keep beating on this issue but I have gotten several private comments concerning online voting. I encourage the people that experienced problems to submit their concerns to NAFA.
Executive Director
I realize that the Executive Director was running unopposed, but several people told me that they wanted to exercise their right to vote No. However, when voting online and selecting No for the Executive Director their votes were changed to Yes. Apparently, the Executive Director isn’t as popular as everyone thinks but I guess we will never know. That’s probably why the Executive Director’s votes were not shown in the voting results.
Clear Directions
If you read my Voting
Analysis post, you know that I made several conclusions about why some clubs didn’t vote or maybe only voted for 1 or 2 candidates. The concern is whether the delegates knew that they could vote for 3 candidates. Was the instruction clear or did the voters decide not to vote for 3 can Read more:Issues
Lesson Learned 2007-12-07 07:45:44 I have learned a valuable lesson yesterday one in which I will try not to fall for in the future. If you haven’t been following events on the blog this week let me explain. On Tuesday of this week, someone posted a comment critical of my blog post and me. I don’t have a problem with that because after all, I want to spark discussion on various topics some of which are controversial. Nevertheless, I fell into a trap for I never expected that someone would actually stoop so low and steal someone’s identity.
To use someone else’s name and email address, and then post a derogatory comment is about as low as you can get. We are in the process of searching the IP address and whoever did this better hope they aren’t found. We know the network and the area where this post came from and it will be up to the person whose identity was stolen to pursue it further. To me, this is just sad.
Flyball is a game we play to have fun with our dogs. How does it go fro Read more:Learned
Large Chest Penalty 2007-12-20 07:43:36 I received a photo of a dog with a large chest and short legs that drives home my point on how the wicket penalizes such dogs. The photo below pictures a Labrador/Corgi mix, which weighs 60 pounds and measures 16 inches in NAFA and jumps 12-inch jumps. In U-FLI the same dog would jump 6-inch jumps. Even if NAFA adapted the 5-inch vs. 4-inch calculation, the dog would still jump 11-inch jumps.
For all of the wicket advocates out there, tell me how this is fair. I will concede that jumping 6-inch jumps may be too low but 11 or 12-inch jumps are too high for this dog. Every dog with this same make up that plays in NAFA events is being unfairly penalized.
Larry
Read more:Chest
, Penalty
Flyball Champions 2007-12-17 16:19:12 The 2007 NAFA Regional Champion winners have been selected and announced but has anything changed from last year or the year before that? The Regional Champions
race against other clubs in their region but isn’t the outcome pretty much assured from year to year? The same club is selected year after year and all of the other clubs are left with nothing. If there are several fast clubs in the region, they may switch back and forth each year but for the most part club placement is pretty static.
I wrote about this before on my post, Focus on the Championships. I still think that NAFA should look into this so more clubs get a share of the recognition. After all, there are more clubs out there than just Division 1. The people that race in other divisional levels need a larger share of the recognition. After all, they pay the largest percentage of the bills and deserve a chance to win at their racing level.
I know that people have proposed this to NAFA, yet nothing has been done.
Merry Christmas 2007 2007-12-24 21:10:34 Gloucester Cathedral Choir - In the Bleak Midwinter
Let us pray that strength and courage abundant be given to all who work for a world of reason and understanding, that the good that lies in every man’s heart may day by day be magnified, that men will come to see more clearly not that which divides them but that which unites them, that each hour may bring us closer to a final victory, not of nation over nation but of man over his own evils and weaknesses, that the true spirit of this Christmas
season ~ its joy, its beauty, its hope, and above all its abiding faith ~ may live among us and that the blessings of peace be ours ~ the peace to build and grow, to live in harmony and sympathy with others, and to plan for the future with confidence.
Merry
Christmas from all of us!
Read more:Merry Christmas
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