Dog Sports: Why We Love Them

Many people have a vague idea that dog sports exist. Events like Crufts highlight the more mainstream ones, like agility or flyball - but the list of things you can do with your dog is more extensive than you may realise!

There are things like:

• Disc dogs - for the frisbee mad dog that combines tricks whilst grabbing multiple discs in the air at speed.
• Nosework - emulating the scent-finding tasks of detection dogs in a variety of novel situations.
• Dock Jumping - dogs compete for jump distance off a dock into a body of water
• Treibball - the dog pushes and manoeuvres large exercise balls to the owner in a goal (think of it like dog snooker)
• Heelwork to Music - training a sequence of dynamic moves to a music track with an artistic reference to the timing and meaning of the song. Usually involves dressing up and props to tell a story.
• Tracking - the dog learns to follow a human scent trail to find a 'missing' person.
• Bikjoring - speed mountain biking over set distances with your dog attached to your bike
• Canicross - canine cross country running with time trials and distance classifications, with the dog pulling you on a waist lead.

And many more!

At Allsorts Dog Training, we are extremely proud to be able to offer a variety of sport classes, in fact, it is how the whole business started in New Zealand over 10 years ago.

With a background in Search and Rescue, Estelle wanted to offer fun tracking classes for the average pet dog team. She wanted people to learn how amazing dogs are and how these sorts of activities can help people understand how they see their world, how they learn and how clever they can be given the chance to utilise their natural instincts and the desire to have a job. It also a fantastic ways for dogs to build confidence, relationships and focus.

A dog’s main sense is their sense of smell, and tracking and nosework (scent detection) are games that most dogs really enjoy, and are naturally good at! As we’ve developed and grown at Allsorts, we have endeavoured to offer even more things for you to try with your dog. 

Nosework has become incredibly popular in New Zealand recently, but when we started it years ago, it was relatively unheard of, let alone accessible. So it was a pleasure to provide beginner, intermediate and advanced courses for the general public. This includes those with dogs that perhaps struggle in social situations. It's one of the sports we can include dogs with displays of reactivity or nervousness as it can be set up to be done in a rotational working fashion, so the dogs do not have to see each other when they work.

Many of the clients we work with for behaviour modification are invited to attend these types of course as it can be very useful in developing their focus and calmness. It can also become applicable in real life too, with dogs developing a desire to search, over worrying about those triggers around them. Prey drive in dogs is always there, it just has to be tapped in to and channeled.

We encourage all of those who come to train with us to do some sort of sport with their dog - whether it be to join the local agility club, teach your dog to run next to your bike, or create a more basic searching game at home. Facilitating tasks that your dog enjoys is an extremely rewarding experience. We have even developed our own dog sport Diverse Dogs, which combines elements of our favourite sports and activities, not limited to dog tricks, agility, obedience, treibball, scent work and assistance dog work. Launched in 2023 it has already proven to be incredibly popular

As humans, we have SO many options of what we can participate in to entertain ourselves. The niches that exist are vast, and you don’t have to look online long to find a local club for something you want to try out.

For our dogs, we often put them into a box of what they might want to do - if we give them a chance to have a hobby at all. One of the most common mistakes people make is assuming their dog doesn't want a job, but in our experience many dogs (especially teenagers) are craving some sort of mental challenge and physical outlet. Pigeon holing them by breed type also inhibits their chance to do something extra. We've trained all sorts of breeds to learn these fun games. The only limitation is you.

One of the biggest rewards with training a sport comes down to how you bond with your dog. The pride you feel when you realise you are making progress towards your goals in the sport because of teamwork is phenomenal. It’s not even about becoming the best in the game, you can look at what you’re achieving and celebrate the small steps forward - if you’re having fun, and your dog too - then you are both winners!

Being involved in something your dogs would naturally choose will boost your relationship so much, they learn that you bring them the highlight of their week, and together you learn so much about each other that once you start, you may be hooked for life! Give it go, don't be scared to try something new as most do not require any previous experience. Be the portal to your dogs happiness.

Allsorts Dog Training in Tauranga offers a range of Dog Activities that you can either sign up to start soon, or register your interest for:

• Nosework
• Treibball
• Tracking
• Dog Tricks to Music
• Happy Husbandry Games
• Diverse Dogs (which is a course showing a taster of a range of sports!)
• The Fun Scent Dog Games  - a have a go day at scent sports
• Dog Sports Day - a taster day for our other sports, new for winter 2023. Coming soon.

It would be great to see you there!

Authored by Sarah Endres
Dog Trainer and Behaviour Advisor