There are many ways that you can have fun with your dog, many of which you may not have imagined! The I Love Dogs Expo will present entertaining demonstrations of several exciting dog sports.

Flyball is a high-speed team sport for dogs that was invented in California in the late ’70s, and is now organized by the North American Flyball Association, (NAFA). Flyball is a relay race with four dogs on a team. The course consists of a starting line, four hurdles spaced 10 feet apart, and a box at the other end for a 51 foot overall length. The dogs jump the hurdles and step on a spring-loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball. The dog catches the tennis ball and then runs back over the 4 hurdles. When the dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes. The first team to have all 4 dogs run without errors wins the heat. Tournaments are usually organized in either a double elimination or round robin format. There are hundreds of flyball teams throughout the Western world, and over 35 in California.

If your flyball team is interested in participating at I Love Dogs Expo, click here to reserve a team sport engagement.

Dog agility is a competitive sport that tests a person's skills in training and handling of dogs over a timed obstacle course. Competitors race against the clock as they direct their dogs to jump hurdles, scale ramps, burst through tunnels, traverse a see-saw and weave through a line of poles in an obstacle course configuration designed to challenge a handler's competitive and training skills. With scoring based on faults similar to equestrian show jumping, dog agility has become an exciting spectator event. See the NADAC, the USDAA, or the AKC for more details.

If your agility team is interested in participating at I Love Dogs Expo, click here to reserve a team sport engagement.

In 1974, 50,000 spectators at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles jumped to their feet and cheered when an uninvited canine athlete named Ashley Whippet ran 35 miles an hour, leaped nine feet in the air, and caught Frisbee discs from his owner Alex Stein for eight uninterrupted minutes between innings. But neither that audience, nor the millions watching the pennant-crucial game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds on television, could have predicted they were witnessing the birth of a canine competition that would soon thrill legions of dog lovers throughout the world.

Disc dog competitions involve four events: the catch and retrieve, accuracy, long distance, but by far the most entertaining is the freestyle. This event consists of a timed routine, usually performed to music. The routine is a choreographed presentation of tricks that involve many different types of throws and catches. Some of the more spectacular tricks involve the dog leaping off the leg or back of the thrower and catching a flying disc that is tossed high in the air for the dog. An advanced trick may have the dog doing a half back flip combined with a half twist while catching a disc tossed over their head from the front. Don't worry if you can't picture it, just come to I Love Dogs Expo and see for yourself!

If your disc dog team is interested in participating at I Love Dogs Expo, click here to reserve a team sport engagement.

Weight Pull events give dogs an opportunity to perform a function that comes naturally to many dogs, one that they obviously enjoy. Dogs are placed in a harness and pull a weighted vehicle and pull 16 feet. The weight vehicles operate either on wheels, on snow or on a rail system. The dogs are scored based on how much weight they can pull and by the proportion of their body weight to the amount of weight pulled. From the smallest of breeds to the largest, all dogs can compete.

If your dog pulling group is interested in participating at I Love Dogs Expo, click here to reserve a team sport engagement.