Basic Game

All the dogs who like to play ball are split up evenly into two teams. We then begin our game.  A game consists of four quarters, and a quarter consists of twenty five balls.  Each ball is thrown separately from outside of the pen.  The next ball is not thrown until the previous ball has been ruled a point or a dead ball.  At the end of all four quarters of play the points are tallied up and the team with the most points is the winning team.

* Please note that Dogball is played in the larger “high octane” pen and usually played with the larger dogs, however if you have a smaller dog who is high energy and likes to play ball, with your permission we will allow your dog to enter the larger pen for the duration of the game*

Points:  A point is scored when a dog gets the ball that was thrown in his or her mouth.

Dead ball:  A dead ball is ruled any time the ball is not picked up by a dog. (I.e. the ball is knocked out of the pen or just stops and the dogs lose interest in that particular ball.)

Alternative Credit:  A dog can also get credit for several things other than points and although it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game they are very important and fun.  Among these are catches, blocks, and assists. 

Catches:  A catch is scored anytime a dog makes a particularly good mid-air catch.  Your probably thinking “hey, isn’t a catch also a point?”  And you’re right!  A catch is marked down in addition to a point to give the dog extra acknowledgement.

Blocks & Assists:  Now here is when the team aspect of the game comes into play.  If two or more dogs go for the ball at once and one dog knocks the ball away from an opposing team member, then the dog that knocked the ball away is credited with a block.  If at any time a dog goes for a ball and doesn’t catch it but knocks the ball directly into the mouth of a teammate, then the dog that knocked the ball is credited with an assist.

The Dogball Championship, a.k.a. Dog Bowl, is a fun twist on the basic Dogball game in order to give each competing player a chance to shine individually.  Basically, it is a single elimination championship that starts by randomly matching up all the dogs.  Then throughout the next several games the individual scores of the dogs in each game determines whether that dog advances or not.  The last dog left standing is the Dogball Champion.  The Dogball Championship does not affect the outcome of the basic Dogball game and vise versa, for example a dog could be on the losing team of the game played that day but score enough individual points to advance to the next round in the championship.  Each champion will have some kind of reward.  Our last champion, Sadie Korniak received a full day doggie spa courtesy of the Barking Lounge. 

So that’s pretty much the in’s and out’s of Dogball and the Dogball Championship.  We wanted to create a fun, energetic activity that was exciting for the dogs (who get to play some good ball), the moms and dads (who get to root for their pups), and for us dog wranglers (who get to commentate on the games and learn more about each dogs personality and skills). 

Thank you very much for participating in our goofy Dogball fun! 

Play ball…