A starting light flashes red and then yellow like a drag race, but the sound of engines is nowhere to be heard. Instead the arena is filled with barks, howls and yelps — a deafening roar emanating from the tense bodies of dogs ready for action. The light turns green and a one-eyed Border Collie named Shae’s Wink takes off at a full sprint easily clearing the four hurdles along her route.

At the end of the run, “Shae’s” front paws hit a flyball box, triggering the release of a tennis ball. Her body has turned almost 180 degrees before her feet leave the box, carrying her back in the direction she came. Snatching the tennis ball with her mouth, she leaps the hurdles again. Shae is greeted with cheers as she passes her teammate, “Jay,” another Border Collie who then takes off, hurdling at top speed.

The only survivor of a puppy mill litter infected by parvo­virus, Shae was rescued by Michigan Border Collie Rescue. Then veterinarians had to remove one of her eyes, which was hanging out of its socket.

“When Shae was taken into rescue, she was a textbook case of a dog that had been pushed around,” says Deborah Royal, Shae’s owner and founder of the Junk­yard Dogs (JYD) All-Rescue Dog Sports Team in Romulus, Mich. “She didn’t like men, she hated children, she loved chasing cars, and she was tearing up her foster homes. I took her in as a foster animal, and I just fell in love with her. People told me that she would never play flyball, especially with only one eye. But today, at the age of 10, Shae is still playing flyball, running with adults and children.”

Shae is one of many rescue dogs that have found a new lease on life competing in flyball and agility competitions with Junkyard Dogs. JYD was founded in 2003. The club’s dogs also perform in demonstrations throughout the Midwest.

“We talk a lot at our flyball and agility exhibitions about the commitment of pet ownership,” Royal says. I would guess that 95 percent of Border Collies that go into rescue are there because they weren’t given a job. Dogs, like these, with high drive need jobs to do, otherwise they create their own jobs or act out destructively. It’s so important to focus their minds and their bodies in a positive activity.”

Royal stresses, however, it isn’t just rescued Border Collies that can be competitive in flyball. Junkyard Dogs has Basset Hounds, Italian Greyhounds, Staffordshire Terriers and mixed-breed dogs that compete. The common thread is that all these dogs that were unwanted in their previous lives are thriving in their new athletic careers.

Focus on Flyball
Flyball is a fast-paced, four-dog team relay sport that many human handlers describe as addictive. Unlike many canine competitions, any dog is eligible to play flyball. The United Flyball League Inter­na­tional (U-FLI) and the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) welcome dogs of all breeds.

Flyball races match two teams of four dogs that compete side by side on a 51-foot-long course. Each team is assigned a lane, and each dog races the length of the lane, clearing a series of four hurdles, to reach a spring-loaded flyball box. The box mechanically ejects a tennis ball when activated by the dog, which snags the ball in its mouth and races back over the hurdles to the start/finish line. The next dog in the relay can run the course only after the previous teammate has returned. The team with the fastest time wins the race.

Although most dogs involved in flyball compete on four-dog teams, some compete as singles or pairs. One extraordinary pairs competitor is “Vengeance,” a Border Collie who competes as part of the Lickety Splits Flyball Organi­zation in San Diego. Vengeance started her life on a sheep farm, but was in a herding accident with an electric fence. She was taken to the Lied Animal Shelter in Las Vegas.

“We spend a lot of time combing animal shelters and rescues looking for dogs that might be good candidates for flyball,” says Val Pearson, Vengeance’s owner. “Usually these are the dogs that are driving the shelters crazy, bouncing five feet up in the air at the edge of the kennel. Vengeance was one of those dogs and was only days away from being euthanized because she was dog-aggressive — considered by many to be unadoptable.”

Fortunately, Katie Kaylor from Touch N Go Flyball Team in Las Vegas sensed that Vengeance could be a good candidate, and rescued her from the shelter. After living and training with Kaylor for two years, Vengeance was adopted by Pearson.

Pearson, a psychologist, offers insight into the psyche of Vengeance and other rescue dogs that compete in flyball. “We spend a lot of time training the dogs — five to six hours a weekend and shorter sessions during the week,” Pearson says. “We work a lot on focusing their prey drive.

“In flyball there are eight dogs on the course at the same time all in high drive — barking, lunging, and ready to race. It creates a situation where you might expect dog fights, but that almost never happens. All their drive is focused on getting the ball at the end of the course and then getting back to the tug their handler is holding.”

Thus, Vengeance, who continues to struggle with dog aggression at home, is completely focused on the flyball course. Vengeance was paired with a Border Collie named “Spirit” who spent the first two years of his life tied to a tree. Together the team, dubbed “Spirit with a Vengeance,” set a U-FLI record in 2007 as the fastest racing pair in the world. Although their record was broken two years later, they still are one of the fastest rescue flyball pairs.

Though fun to achieve, records aren’t everything, Pearson says. Lickety Splits may be a competitive team with an emphasis on speed and accuracy, but the bottom line is about owners and dogs enjoying recreation together.

“We love spending time with our dogs — training them and watching them thrive,” Pearson says. “At the tournaments we have sponsored, we always have a Parade of Rescues. The owners walk all the rescue dogs out on the course. Every time somebody cries because here are all these beautiful dogs that nobody wanted and they are treasured by the people who play flyball.”

Speed and Personality
Lavada Montgomery is one of the original founders of another highly competitive club, Mutts in Motion, based in Fresno, Calif. More than half the dogs that compete with Mutts in Motion are rescue dogs. Montgomery currently has several dogs of her own that she adopted from rescue groups, including “Chammy,” a fuzzy, blonde 3-year-old Portuguese Podengo filled with spunk. Montgomery’s home was Chammy’s fifth in 18 months, and possibly her last hope.

“Chammy has an incredibly high energy level,” Montgomery says, “but to me, that’s an absolute joy. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, and she doesn’t want to get into trouble. She just needs a healthy outlet for all of that energy.”

Mutts in Motion has provided that outlet. Chammy sometimes competes against English Mastiffs and Bouvier des Flanders. The flyball hurdle height is determined by the shortest dog on the team. The English Mastiffs may not be the fastest dogs on the course, but Mont­gomery points out success in flyball is personality-driven.

“There are breeds like Border Collies and Australian Shepherds that traditionally do very well in the sport because they are small, leggy dogs with a lot of speed,” says Montgomery. “But you can inspire many different types of dogs to succeed. So many of these dogs just want to find their place in the world. They have discovered fun in life and discovered a release.”

“Dixie” is a blue merle spaniel/hound mix who truly was looking for her place in the world. At 6 months of age, Dixie was found wandering the streets somewhere in the Florida Panhandle and taken into the rescue system. As Betsy Waltonwould learn, Dixie was dog-aggressive, often limiting adoption opportunities in many people’s eyes. Walton, however, saw spirit and potential in this lost puppy.

“My sister has Australian Shepherds and competes in agility competitions. She suggested that I look into some local clubs that might offer agility classes and training for Dixie,” says Walton.

Walton discovered the Dog-On-It Agility Club of Central Florida. Dog-On-It is a member organization of the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA), which encourages participation from non-purebred dogs.

Walton and Dixie spent the first six weeks sitting on the sidelines at the beginner agility classes offered by Dog-On-It. “About half of the club’s 32 members compete with their rescue dogs, and some of the club members are extremely involved in rescue work,” Walton says. “They helped me slowly train Dixie to be around other dogs and get her in a calm-enough state so that I could actually start taking agility lessons with her.”

Walton and Dixie spent the next 18 months attending weekly classes. In the beginning, dogs and owners learn basic obedience skills. Dogs must know how to sit, stay and come when they are called. Owners also teach their dogs to roll over or give high-fives. These tricks are used as a way to teach the dogs to focus on their owners during training sessions. Then, the dogs are introduced to agility equipment such as the A-frame, collapsed tunnel and weave poles.

“We start slow in training and take baby steps,” says Walton. “Everything is reward-based, and the most important thing is creating a positive atmosphere for the dog. There may be a dog, for example, that is scared of things moving like the teeter. We have a small balance board that we start them on to show the dog that moving things can be good.”

Walton and Dixie trained for more than two years before they entered an agility competition. Dogs and handlers need to progress to where they are working together as a team. The dog must be familiar with all the equipment, and the owner must give the correct hand and body signals to guide the dog through the agility course.

Today, Walton and Dixie compete at the USDAA Starters level. “One day, we’re going to get our agility dog title, but for now it’s more for fun than anything,” she says. “When I tell people that I started in agility because of Dixie’s dog aggression, they can’t believe it. She just doesn’t have those tendencies anymore.“Dixie has blossomed in agility,” Walton adds. “She gets excited and vocal when we’re going to run the course. It has created a different type of bond between us.”

Using Body Language
Jackie Loeser runs Riverbend Agility Dogs in Stevensville, Mont., and has seen many rescue dogs — even deaf dogs — flourish in agility.

Loeser is a certified pet dog trainer and is qualified to teach basic and advanced obedience and puppy classes, as well as tracking, scent discrimination and agility. She also founded Bangtail Dog Rescue, which specializes in finding homes for deaf dogs, especially herding breeds.

“Many people give up on these dogs when they find out that they are deaf,” says Loeser. “Deaf dogs not only make great pets for the right family, but I’ve seen them do very well in agility, too.”

Loeser says successful agility competition with a deaf dog is dependent on the handler’s body language. Owners must ensure that the dog can see them in their peripheral vision while running a course. The dogs learn to read visual signals just as a hearing dog learns to respond to voice commands.

Nancy Dodd of Bozeman, Mont., adopted her dog “Garland Belle” from Loeser at Bangtail Dog Rescue. “I had a Samoyed, and Jackie called me because we thought Garland Belle might also be part Samoyed,” says Dodd. “After I had her for awhile though she started to get black spots. She has never grown much larger than a Border Collie, so we think she might be part herding dog.”

Dodd has four dogs at home that she trained through positive reinforcement with dog snacks and a clicker. Garland Belle couldn’t hear the clicker, so Dodd began to use a flashlight to get the dog’s attention. After Garland Belle settled in, Dodd began taking her to agility classes.

Dodd has learned to do everything with hand signals. In agility, handlers give verbal commands such as “out,” “over,” “walk it,” and “climb it.” Dodd can convey these commands and direct Garland Belle to particular obstacles using hand signals or by angling her body in a certain direction.

“It provides some very comical moments, too,” Dodd says, with a laugh. “You’re not allowed to touch the dogs in a trial. In the beginning, she might go in the wrong direction or stop midcourse. I would be standing in front of her flailing my arms and jumping around desperately to get her attention. It’s been interesting to compete with a deaf dog. At trials, it’s usually very loud with shouting and commands. When Garland Belle runs, I’m running very quietly. Suddenly, the entire arena gets silent. It’s almost as if people are thinking, ‘The dog is deaf, so we’re going to act like we’re deaf too.’”

Garland Belle gets a lot of praise for competing in agility, Dodd says. Many people find it hard to believe that a deaf dog can earn ribbons and medals in the sport. Dodd doesn’t feel that handling a deaf dog is any harder than a hearing dog — just different. She also recognizes that Garland Belle is a special dog.

“She’s trained as a therapy dog,” says Dodd. “She goes with me to visit cancer patients and patients on dialysis. She’s also a reading dog. Many children who struggle with reading may be embarrassed to read in front of teachers or their parents, but they are less intimidated when they are reading to a dog — particularly one who can’t hear them.”

As Dodd and the other owners of competitive rescue dogs have realized, the key to a dog’s success is recognizing their personality traits and finding activities that fit those strengths.

“I’m at the point now where I can’t imagine having anything but a rescue dog,” says Loeser. “There are so many dogs out there needing good homes. Whatever the breed, whatever the challenges, you can always find an activity that your dog will love.”