In the prologue for my book, Bark and Lunge, I describe Isis spinning and flipping while catching a soccer ball. She was partial to soccer balls, but reading Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls — One Flying Disc at a Time made me wonder if I could have transferred that drive to a Frisbee.
While I think Wallace might have the best subtitle of all time, the title doesn’t address the aspect of Wallace’s story that I most relate to. Wallace started out dog aggressive. Maybe he was just experiencing barrier frustration when he lashed out at other dogs while in the shelter, but he was in danger of being euthanized. Lucky for Wallace, Roo and Clara Yori stood up for him. Lucky for us, author Jim Gorant (who wrote about the Vick fighting dogs in The Lost Dogs) wrote their story.
By channeling Wallace’s drive into flying disc, Roo Yori effectively gave his dog a “job,” something trainers will tell you dogs need to keep them from developing bad habits and behavior problems. From that point on, Wallace seems never to have another aggressive episode.
At one point, Yori worries about throwing the disc in the direction of the grandstands. What if Wallace runs too far and wins up confused in the middle of the bleachers? As an ambassador for pit bulls, if Wallace got into any scuffles at all, it would be bad news for the breed.
From the description of the disc arenas, it sounds like other dogs were shielded from Wallace’s view while he was competing. Even so, I wouldn’t have been able to take Isis to such a public place. She would have barked and lunged at everything. Even if she never could have competed, I wish I’d figured out a way to make catching soccer balls her “job.”
Another aspect of Wallace’s story that resonated with me is that even when it seemed like the sport was rough on Wallace’s body, Yori kept playing disc with him. Yori recognized that Wallace’s love of/drive for the disc was so strong, that Wallace would play long after the lights at the park went out.
Isis was like that. Here she is with Rob, practicing weaving, hurdles, and what I call the “high jump.” You can see after she finishes, she runs right back to her ball.
And here’s a highlight reel of Isis catching the ball. Doing what came naturally to her. Just think what she could have accomplished if we’d actually trained her for this sport.
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Kari Neumeyer 
Have you heard of treibball? I think Isis might have liked it.
I think so too! I didn’t know about it until after she died.
Looks like Isis had a lot of fun and kept very fit with agility and her ball. X Talent Hounds
Wow – she had a pretty good vertical leap! Whether you are formally training her or not, your dogs benefit from the exercise – the don’t know if it’s ‘formal’ or not, they just know it’s fun! Thanks for joining the Hop and sharing Isis videos.
So active and fun for the pup…you did well….
It definitely looks like she found her calling! With Morgan, it might be using her nose. She really likes doing nosework games with my husband and she LOVES obedience. If I felt safe handling her around other dogs and people in a closed area, I’d try taking her to classes, but hubby is pretty insistent that I not.
Thanks, everyone! Both Leo and Mia like to run around with balls, but neither has the drive (shall we say “obsession”?) that Isis had. Maybe one of our next dogs will have an aptitude for flying disc.