Today’s episode is with Daysi, the dogmom to Ailee @aileethebordercollie, a border collie from Austin, Texas with a fondness for tennis balls and Flyball! With a focus on mental stimulation as well as physical exercise, Ailee is putting her breed traits to work.
Daysi admits, when she first got Ailee as a puppy, she was completely unaware of what she was getting into with a large, high energy breed, like a border collie. But being a first time dog owner as an adult, Daysi was committed to raising Ailee to her fullest potential. And so with lots of research, socializing Ailee, and consistent training, Daysi has done everything she can to give Ailee her best life!
As Ailee has grown, her personality traits have developed, along with her mental abilities. After realizing her need for more mental stimulation, Daysi got involved in flyball with her local club, Rush! Flyball @rushflyballclub, part of North American Flyball Association or NAFA. Though Ailee is still training and is currently considered a “green dog”, Daysi plans to officially begin competing next spring. Most recently, Daysi and Ailee made the trip to Indianapolis, Indiana for the CanAm Flyball Classic tournament, where she was able to complete warm up runs.
When not training for flyball, Daysi and Ailee love to get out and about in Austin, which is an extremely dog friendly city. One of their favorite activities is paddle boarding and canoeing on Lady Bird Lake on the Colorado River which runs right through the center of the city. For hiking and trail running, they also have visited Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, on the north side of Austin. While we didn’t have time to include it in the episode, Daysi has also introduced Ailee to sheep herding training!
One of the motivation tools that Daysi uses for flyball is a tug, to recall and reward Ailee for a clean run. She bought a custom tug from ITZA tug, which does not have an online store and may be out of business now, but also recommended Etsy for lots of tug options. Her shout outs include her teammates @nevillethebrave and @littlepug_bigadventures. An app that Daysi recommends is BarkHappy @barkhappy.
For more information, or to find your local flyball club check out North American Flyball Association at www.flyball.org, or United Flyball League International, Inc. at u-fli.com.
Thanks for listening!
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