Bailey Sports: Disc Dog Blog

Bailey's 2008 Trials and Tribulations

2008-10-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

2008 has been a tough year for Bailey. In just our second competition of the year it became apparent Bailey wasn't as indestructible as I have always thought. I first noticed it when trying to get a few pictures of Bailey jumping over before we went out for our freestyle routine. He wouldn't jump over me. He kept angling to jump over me legs. That was weird, but I thought he was just being obstinate.

But then we took the field for our freestyle round.

Bailey was going crazy, as usual, before the music started. But once the tunes began it was quickly apparent something was wrong. Bailey didn't run hard after tosses. His tail was down while he ran, and then he refused to do a couple tricks. That was it! Bailey refusing to catch a disc!??! I stopped mid-way though the routine. Our day was done.

The weird thing was, he wasn't really showing any discomfort or soreness, other than his tail was down.

Well, the next few months proved to be very difficult for us. Bailey was definitely showing signs of discomfort, especially in the mornings and evenings. We took about a month and a half off of doing any frisbee work. Let me tell you, this was a very difficult feat to accomplish with Bailey the crazed disc hound, literally hounding me daily to play with him.

During this time we also tried out for the TV show, "Greatest American Dog". The casting people LOVED Bailey via his website and asked us to come on done for an interview. We went down and they really seemed to like Bailey and I. They asked us to come down to a media event where they took video of us inside and out doing backflips and stuff. They all but assured us that we were going to be in the show. But there was one little snag. The year before, ABC hired a production company to put together a pilot of the EXACT same show concept called, "America's Top Dog". When I say EXACT, I mean it was the SAME show concept. Bailey and I went to those interviews and were selected to be in the pilot. They created 1 pilot episode of the show. It was a blast! If they had used this cast and this competition idea in the actual show, it would have been soo much more interesting (Not because of me, but the others were great, well-trained, dogs and interesting owners). There was an immunity challenge of a Calendar Photo shoot, and a physical challenge of a HUGE multi-path maze the dogs had to run through! We stood on a platform above the maze and had to try to direct our dogs through the maze (we had no idea what the competition was until we got there). The maze had spinning platforms, waterfalls, water filled pits, underground tunnels, powerful winds tunnels, plastic ball filled pits, hallways with sticks criss-crossing this way and that that the dogs had to navigate, and finally a big mirror room with meaty dog bones everywhere in which you had to get your dog to push a button that would open an escape door. There were 3 doors, two of which opened on to smoke filled tunnels, and one open onto stairs that lead right up to the owner. They had this camera on a crane that tracked the dogs progress through the maze. For each dog the camera m=would move slow and stop at the place where the dogs would eventually get stuck. Out of 6 dogs, I think only 3 made it all the way through. The funny thing was when it was Bailey's turn, he just FLEW through the whole maze. Nothing really bothers him. The camera was like, zip, zip, zip, blam Bailey was in the final mirror room. Literally 15 seconds (the other dogs that made it thorugh took about 5 to 7 minutes). In the spinning platform room that had these thin wood rods sticking up on the platform, supposed to be obstacles, that Bailey just snapped like twigs as he ran through them. Funny! After we were done, they made me take Bailey back into different parts of the maze and told me to, "Make him look confused". LOL.

As for the casting of "America's Greatest Dog" I am pretty sure they had to choose between me with Bailey and JD with Galaxy as the disc dog representative of the show. They didn't let me know until the VERY last day of final cuts, the same day that I found a copy of and sent them the contract I signed for the ABC pilot. My lawyer said there was NOTHING in the contract that would be a problem for the new show. But I have a feeling they had two good frisbee (well-trained) dog options, and they decided to go with the option with less complications. I understand the decision. And when all was said and done, it was good that we didn't make it on the show. Bailey would have been sore during the whole show.

Our next attempt was at the UFO Major in La Mirada. I decided we would only try a little Toss & Fetch and Bailey was looked real good in the first round scoring a solid 10 points. But it was just TOO DAMN hot! The temperature was easily over 105 degrees. So after watching Bailey lacklusterly chase my first toss, I called it quits on the day, and the weekend.

It was becoming apparent to me that Bailey's future in competition was going to necessitate intervention on my part in the way of activity management. You see, when playing at home with Bailey he was still a monster! Crazed in his enthusiasm, and he still had all the skills. But when we were at a competition all day, he seemed to be more affected in his enthusiasm and discomfort. Especially after a competition.

We ended up taking another 2 months off of competition to try and heal, and for me to assess if competition was still in Bailey's best interest. He loves to play! He loves to run! He loves to compete! I mean his favorite game is standing five feet from you while you try to kick a tennis ball past him. It's all about the competition! The eyes lock, the tail stands straight up, the muscles strain, and then he explodes to block/catch the ball. It's amazing, he sees the angle of the foot, which side of the ball the foot is likely to hit, and he jumps early. Almost ALWAYS the right direction. It's a blast trying to trick him. HE LOVES COMPETITION.

Well, this was a VERY rough two month hiatus as somehow, we still don't know how it happened, Bailey ruptured the lining of his lung, spilling air into his chest cavity. This is typically a trauma related injury, but the fact is we weren't doing much of anything because I was trying to rest his leg and back. So when it first presented, it seemed like he was just sick. He had low energy and his eyes looked watery and long. I just assumed he had the flu. Had I known what it was, a LACK of OXYGEN, I would have rushed him to the hospital (folks, he almost died!). Then he started feeling better, so we went to the park and I tossed the ball to him for a few minutes, and BLAM, he was right back to where he was when it all started. At this point, I knew something was seriously wrong. We had chest x-rays taken and at first we though it was pneumonia. We sent the x-rays off to a specialist and he came back with a pneumo-thorax injury diagnosis. Possibly trauma induced. So at this point, he was under strict orders of NO ACTIVITY AT ALL for at least 2 to 3 weeks, along with a regimen of anti-biotics. Now if you know Bailey at all, you will understand how major a task that turned out to be. But we did it. Nothing for 3 weeks. The doctor said that with Bailey's young age, and the shape that he was in, he should be able to heal this up on his own. And sure enough, he heal amazingly! Not only was his breathing back to normal, but the 3 weeks of NO activity appeared to allow his leg and back to get the complete rest they needed as well.

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As a little side note:
I have VPI Pet Insurance. The initial diagnosis that was turned in fro the VET was for Pneumonia. But after the specialist looked at the x-ray they realized it was the rupture of the lung, and not Pneumonia. After 45 days of waiting VPI denied all my additional VET bills because they said it was too excessive for a Pneumonia diagnosis. I explained to them that it wasn't Pneumonia and they said, "have the vet send us all his records, and we'll adjust the claim accordingly". My vet sent them all the records, and after ANOTHER 45 days, they denied it again! Saying that Pneumonia didn't necessitate all the procedures. Ugh... I caled them directly and tried to explain, they said I could resubmit again and wait another 45 days for an answer!!! But I couldn't talk to anyone making the decisions. Then a few weeks later I get a reimbursemnent check from VPI, for... Wait for it... Wait for it... $0.01. Yes, that is 1 penny!!!! Such Bull! I don't even know how to respond to that. I haven't yet.
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We headed out to Colorado for the CCC (Colorado Canine Challenge) and Quadruped with little to no expectations. We just love the event and people in Colorado, and I love the drive through the Rockies.

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The previous year I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. There is this strecth as you leave UTAH and head into Colorado that there is literally NOTHING for about 150 miles. My phone had no signal. I luckily rolled into a rest stop, with no gas. And as fortune would have it, the lady who cleans the restroom 3 times a week happened to be there with a heavy-duty cell phone. Amazingly, once we contacted AAA, there were there withing 20 minutes with gas! They don't respond that quick to Santa Monica!
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The first day was great, we didn't do anything special on DAY #1, partly due to the torrential rains and thunder and lightening for the first half of the day and partly due to the fact that we hadn't done any real work on our routine for close to 5 months. Bailey put up a respectable 11.5 in Toss and Fetch, and our freestyle wasn't anything to be remembered. Except, that Bailey was able to do the freestyle, so I will remember it forever. I has so happy and proud of him!

DAY #2 brought us the Quadruped. Last year Bailey and I luckily weaseled our way into the finals and grabbed a 3rd place trophy in the Quadruped. This year we didn't expect anything but to have fun. They Disc Dog gods took pity on us this year and handed us a 2nd place trophy! You can read more about this in the Disc Dog Events section of the site.

So with this very successful competition under our belts we confidently looked forward to the UFO Local in Lancaster that was coming up two months later as our next try, that would be the introduction to a Disc Dog filled month!

It was here that I realized Bailey, even though he seemed to be, was not the puppy he looked to be. After a decent freestyle round, bailey seemed to slow down in the toss & fetch event. "What is wrong!" I thought. I was very dissapointed and strongly considered an early retirement for my pup, from competition. If he wasn't having fun, then it wasn't worth doing. But then a though hit me. Perhaps I was the problem. I had never really rested Bailey before at competitions. I mean, I didn't run him into the ground, but he would never be put in a crate between rounds. I would walk with him everywhere. To meet and visit. To get lunch. He was my buddy, and he came everywhere with me. It dwaned on me that perhaps I was wearing him out so that by the time his second round was upon us, he just was plain tired.

So I made the decision to go to Northern California, for the Crusty Classic, and try an experiment. I was going to COMPLETELY rest Bailey before, between, and after his rounds. This was a two day event, so this would be quite a test.

Well, the results were two of his best freestyle performances, where he had a chance at a 2nd place finish on Day #1, if I didn't throw our first Toss and Fetch throw right into the ground. And on Day #2 he had a chance at first if only I could throw 25 yards to a bullseye. We got one bullseye, but on the last throw he was just too fast and outran the toss. The point here is he was flying! Enthusiasm, speed, and a tail flying hi as he was in heaven.

Bailey's Back! And we're looking forward to the AWI in little over 1 week.

See ya all there!

Hold the pet industry accountable

2007-10-16T17:35:00.001-07:00

Just a little something off the top of my head. Let me know what ya think.

While I do not endorse the pet store industry, I also realize it is not possible to just tell people to stop buying animals from these resources. Unfortunately there is a powerful engine that will continue to drive the supply, IGNORANCE and MONEY.

It's all about money.

Why would a pet store worry about checking if their pets are going to good homes? Why should they care about the health of the pets they sell? It would only interfere with the sales and their profits.

Unless, the quality of their buyers was directly connected to the profit margins of the store. Then perhaps we could rely on these pet stores to check that their animals were going to a good home.

How could we accomplish giving the pet industry a conscience? If city government got involved we could hit these stores where they respond the most. In their wallet. If the city started a program that allowed ANYONE who purchased a dog from a store, that no longer wanted the dog, to turn their dog in (with receipt) and the selling store would then be fined for the costs of housing the animal until it could be adopted out. This would/should also cover dogs that can be proven to be the offspring of sold dogs, that are turned into city facilities.

These fines could also subsidize the caring for stray dogs looking for homes, and perhaps turn many of these city into NO-KILL shelters. Why not demand that the industry that is spurring on these tremendous costs to the city, and powering the horrific slaughter of innocent (and loyal) animals pay restitution to the public in the form of responsibility for their actions?

This would DRAMATICALLY reduce the profitability of irresponsibly selling animals, and dramatically reduce the profitability of selling animals in general.

In addition we can further clamp down on the profitability of irresponsible animal vendors by having the registration authority for pure breeds take on a more responsible role for the sake of animals they profess to caring so much about. It should not be possible for puppy mills to legitimately register their dogs with the AKC. The AKC owns much of the responsibility of placing high values on many of the most sought after breeds of dog. Papers from the AKC should represent more than just whether a dog is of pure blood within the lines of a breed. Official papers should represent a responsible breeding environment, and a responsible selling pipeline. Breeders should go through a quality control process that ensures they are responsible when it comes to the lives and health of their product. This may result in higher costs for getting a papered pure breed dog, and perhaps the government should subsidize the AKC to help establish and enforce guidelines.

Pet stores should only be able to obtain papered pets from registered breeders. Pet stores should be forced to sell to caring qualified pet owner customers to avoid fines from returned pets. This would also force the pet stores themselves to educate the public in order to better prepare a prospective customer.

The most effective way to change the pet industry is through the wallet and licensing rather than through legal actions and propaganda. Let's push for legislation that will save millions of animals, generate revenue in which to keep the process moving, and get off our soapboxes because the people who should be listening are deaf to the suffering of other entities, unless those entities can sue them.

Bailey the mango Muncher

2006-10-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Bailey is a pretty particular eater, a rare trait for a Labrador. He won't eat cereal, or crackers not made for four-leggers and he has NEVER shown a particular affinity for foods that have not spent some period of time trodding this wonderful planet of ours prior to being on his menu. But today I was munching on some frozen Mango chunks as a little mid-day snack when he came over to investigate. With a little chuckle I proffered a small chunk of Mango knowing he would turn up his nose with a look of "are you nuts?!? I'm a dog!" But to my surprised he slurped it up and eyed me up for more. Wow... My dog loves Mango. Cool.

What veggies do your dogs love? I'm sure carrots are at the top of the list.

Jz.

Bailey had a hard week...

2006-10-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Bailey's week was a rough one. For the most part, outside of knocking out his two front teeth going after a tennis ball on the cement, he hasn't really dealt with illness. But last Monday was the start of an unpleasant 6 days for Bailey and myself.

On Monday night Bailey started vomiting EVERYTHING he was hording in that bottomless Labrador stomach of his. This continued throughout the night into the next day.

As a little side note: I discovered that Bailey has a very appreciated dislike for desecrating his home. Everytime he needed to expunge the contents of his stomach out of his "Barkhole" he would run to the door. So I just left the door open all night, and I could hear his little paws heading out the door everytime the nausea hit. Of course, I'd get up and watch over him in the yard each time, which made for a very LONG night.

As the vomiting subsided, the canine backdoor opened to a flood of water waste. My initial impulse was to avoid a trip to the VET as I felt they would probably just run a couple tests that would reveal nothing (as usual), charge me a lot of money (as usual), then just give me an anti-biotic hoping this would fix the problem. The poor little bugger then suffered through 4 days of diarrhea and listless discomfort as I tried all sorts of dietary remedies... To no avail.

FINALLY I decided the VET option was the way to go. So we went in. They ran a bunch of tests that told us nothing, they charged me alot of money, and they gave us an anti-biotic.

Well, whatever was messing with my little boy must have been either a bacteria or a proto-zoa as the anti-biotic seems to be doing the trick. One day after beginning the treatment Bailey's appetite has returned, and the back-door to the pooch factory seems to be working again!

So Bailey is getting back to normal, just in time for a big competition this weekend. Unfortunately I was hobbled this same trying week with a ruptured Calf muscle (not the Achilles Tendon... Thankfully). So if we decide to compete, it will be with me pretty much stading still and tossing discs...

Hope to see you out in Lancaster this weekend rooting on Bailey as he tries to attain victory carrying me on his back.

Jz.

Nature breaks during competition

2006-07-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

There are a variety of organizations with varying rule sets regarding how a Disc Dog competition should be administered and run. For the most part, these differences allow for an interesting diversity of experience when competing from competition to competition. But one subject has come up time and time again as a point of controversy. This subject is how to deal with dogs that take nautre breaks (urinate and/or defecate) during competition.

Some organizations are sympathetic to the dogs and their immediate natural plight and allow for stoppage of time so that the four-leggers can complete their personal maintenance mission without any time pressure. But this brings rise to accusations that handlers abuse this accomodation and train their charges to eliminate on command in order to rest their dogs, or gain advantages related to time. Unfortunately, their accusations have proven true in some cases.

While other organizations call for an immediate cessation of the canine's competition round and a hefty penalty for daring to defile the competition venue (as if the pups disregarded the rules that were read to them before the competition began). This seems a bit harsh an action to take on a pup that simply raises his leg on a nearby tree, or takes a quick squat. Let me tell you, no matter HOW MUCH YOU WALK YOUR DOG before a competition, some dogs will even pee air on a tree if the tree is in his immediate vicinity. They are dogs! This is what they do.

This past weekend I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness a new dog and handler penalized by this unfortunate rule. The gentleman had a big Yellow Labrador, yes just like my Bailey, and proceeded to go out in round number 1 and throw a top round of 17 points! I believe this may have been his first competition! Wow! So, he is understandably excited about his performace, and the sport of Disc Dogs. The second round begins and he starts it off strong with a good throw and catch. On his second throw he makes a bad toss and the disc flies into the thick array of trees lining the field. His dog climbs under the fence and hunts down the frisbee in the brush, and as he turns to come back on the field he simply raises his leg for 1 second on one of the MANY trees around him. Boom! Done! His round is over, and he suffers a penalty. He continues to throw because he can't understand why the judges are telling him his round is over. He then comes over to the judging tent to try to make sense of the incomrehendable situation. To sum up the rest of the proceedings, he leaves the Disc Dog area a disgruntled disc dogger, and I'm not sure if we'll get to see this great team again.

It seems to me that the best solution to this problem is to have no solution. If the dog stops to pee, then that is what the team is doing with their allotted time during competition. TIme should not stop, and the handler should have to pick up after their charge before continuing, but no further penalty should be imposed. Harsh arbitrary rules such as these aren't going to stop dogs from being dogs. They are only going to hurt feelings, and disenchant those who would otherwise love to get involved in this fun sport.

These are just my feelings on the subject.

Illusions of Immortality

2006-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

This past 6 months has been nightmarishly surreal. Seemingly healthy and happy one day, then BAM, they're gone.

Indescriminate of who or what we are:

Friend:
Greg, a recent addition and invaluable asset to our disc dog community. Greg was quick to answer the call for volunteers in a community dedicated to keeping four-leggers happy and healthy chasing plastic discs. In my brief dealings with Greg I found him to be a friendly, compassionate, intelligent human being who unfailingly managed to make those around him smile. He was taken from his family and friends long before his mind, body, or spirit would have ever been willing to depart.

Canine Companions:
Tufe - a beautiful Dobbie, Sammy - an elder stateman of the disc dog world and inagural canine of the Wang family, Nitro - young speedy disc cruncher, Hula - a spirited little Heeler making her way up the disc dog charts, and unfortunately the list is larger and ever growing.

How can life be so fleeting when Life seems so rightfully ours, so permanent in abstraction from the overwhelming evidence of our everyday experience? Even when presented with this evidence, we each think ourselves invicible from moment to moment. Only when we look beyond the moment do we see the inevitable denoument to our unfolding stories. Or when our loved ones are snatched from our physical worlds do we lose our comforting illusions of immediate immortality. Painful and disconcerting as this revelation is, a tribute to the power and adaptability of our minds, we only stay disapointingly enlightened a short time blessedly falling headlong back into our soft cloud of numbing mercurial safety, scarred and marred but again oblivious.

I can imagine that our canine companions romp in this world of illusory invincibility, only rarely (if ever) being disillusioned with reality. For this we can be thankful, and we can reflect on the joy we gave our beloved pets while they frolicked uncaring of what all too sudden would be a severing of their mortal coil. Watch over them, you are everything to them at this moment, and "now" is all they care about.

To us all, live for the moment, because you are only invincible for the moment past.

Bye to another Disc Dog.

Wannabe Athletes

2006-05-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the Disc Dog world is infested with too many wannabe athletes that are living vicariously through their canine to achieve an erroneous sense of athletic accomplishment. Come on folks, it's the pup that's doing all the running and jumping! Ok, so you now are a pretty adept disc tosser, NOT AN ATHLETE!!! I say this because there is too much politicking that goes on in this wonderful sport. Too many inflated egos looking for their place in history... History!?!

Enjoy the bond you have with you dog. Enjoy the excitement and pure bliss your pup experiences as he works hard for you and pleases himself nabbing the little disc duckies flying through the air! Allow the world to experience the amazing opportunities working with your dog can open up in the relationship of canine and man. Worrying about your little place in Disc Dogging lore, and how you can keep yourself at the top of the game at the expense of the game is petty and a dis-service to something that has given all those lucky enough to navigate through all the bull, such a wonderful gift.

I sincerely hope I'm decimated in competition by a cavalcade of new talent and new imagination in the years ahead. At the same time I will go out there and try my best to safely do my best with my pup as long as he enjoys the sport. I will share my knowledge and encourage ANYONE to come on out and compete (maybe I won't tell ya everything during the comp, but come on by after and I'll share what lil knowledge I do have [come on, I do want to win whenever I play]). I miss seeing Bob and Nick exhibiting their amazing skills, I wonder if all the name calling and other unnecessary garbage has led to a decline in their participation. But actually, I don't care to know. I don't want to hear reasons for this and reasons for that. Let's just enjoy the opportunity we have to play with our doggies.

Anyway, let's all just get along. And if anyone is offended, then... you should be! Cuz I'm talking about ME, YOU, and whoever else will be offended by this little blog entry! We are all wannabes!!! Deal with it! Actually, deal with it like a mature adult, and do something good for the sport, rather than try to tear it apart.

That's my 0.02 cents worth.

Jz

Southern California Disc Dogs Events

2006-03-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

Recently a visitor to one of our events remarked on the lack of promotion that goes into Disc Dog events here in Southern California.

This initial response this person received was a litany of discourse as to how difficult setting up one of these event is and that the organizers are donating their time and effort with no financial rewards. While this is all true, as I recently found out after organizing my first event in West Los Angeles, I recognized the merit of the comments of the visitor to our Disc Dog event.

I myself had made the same observations over the last couple years of my involvement in this wonderful sport. I lamented that more wasn't being done to spread the amazing bond building fun that Disc Dog sports give a canine and his human pack leader. I was surprised at how little information was available with regard to setting up and promoting these Disc Dog events. But, I was very pleased when members of the D2isc Board of Directors (not me) proposed that we begin compiling this information for future events.

As I have learned more and more about the people involved and the politics that go along with any endeavor that includes many people, I have tried to get myself more involved in growing the sport to a status I believe it deserves.

It is my hope that we take advantage of opportunities to grow the sport by bringing more people out to the events, and organizing larger events that appeal to sponsors. In hopes that a little recognition of the quantity, and quality, of work througout the year by the dedicated Disc Dog teams here in SoCal will spur interest and a friendly competitive spirit I am going to track the results throughout the of the Disc Dog events.

So let me know what you think in regards to growing the sport of Disc Dog. Do you think it will hurt the sport? Do you think it will cause the sport to change? Is this good or bad?

Disc Dog Sports in Southern California

2006-03-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

Visit Disc Dogs in Southern California website for the most up-to-date listing of events in Southern California.

http://www.d2isc.com