Muttineers

24/09/2026

Massive congratulations to Olaf & Cheddar, who run in Muttineers, for achieving their Flyball Dog award with the British Flyball Association! As well as achieving their Cadet award with UK Flyball League! We’re super proud of you boys!🐾

Kindly sponsored by Signs & Design🏴‍☠️🐾

24/09/2026

Yes, I know, another Thursday Post! That could only mean one thing... the report of our first UKFL League competition as a team! And what a day it was!!

another little piece of Menai Muttineers history has been written.

Last weekend we headed back to Cheshire Showground for the Live Wires competition and, for the very first time, the Muttineers entered UKFL League racing!

We had the Black Flags.

We had the Menai Muttineers sailing under their UKFL name of Rum Runners.

Snow and Rizzo were flying the flag in Little League Singles.

Skylar was getting valuable experience syncing with our good friends at Match Point Flyball

And Nellie and Sadie were back in PC, quietly working on the skills that will hopefully bring them into racing in the future.

In other words…

the whole ship was busy.

And what a weekend they gave us.

Let's start with the Black Flags

Arlo. Maggie. Coco. Izzie.

This team has become seriously exciting to watch.

There was one slight problem before we even started.

Brenda had finally been struck down by the dreaded Muttineers plague that seems to have worked its way through most of the crew over the last few weeks.

So Captain Dafz suddenly found himself running Izzie.

Running Izzie is easy.

Point her towards the lane.

Let go.

The important part comes afterwards.

CATCH HER.

Because if you don’t, Izzie considers herself available for another shift.

Arlo had a brilliant day and managed something we’ve been working towards for ages…

Not one.

Not two.

But THREE rolling starts!

Now, yes…

two of them may technically have been negative rolling starts.

Minor Details.

We’re concentrating on the positive here.

The fact that he is starting to understand that timing and producing confident rolling starts is a huge step forward.

Maggie was equally brilliant.

Every single run…

ball carried all the way home.

For anyone who has followed Maggie’s story, you’ll know how much work has gone into stopping that little habit of dropping the ball at the lights.

Now she’s looking more and more like a proper, reliable League dog.

Coco was beautiful to watch too.

Quick running and some lovely box, seeing her now hitting the box safely and confidently makes us incredibly proud.

That work has taken time.

But it has been worth every minute.

And Izzie?

Well…

Izzie ran like a demon.

Point.

Go.

Run.

Return.

And then…

CATCH.

Cannot stress that final part enough.

We were also incredibly grateful to Lauren from Valkyrie Flyball , who spent time watching the lines and helping us tighten up our crossovers.

Those little bits of advice from experienced people make such a difference to a developing team, and we really appreciate you taking the time to help us.

By the end of it, the Black Flags had recorded their first UKFL seed time of… 18.71 seconds!

And after racing in a seriously quick division, they came home with a very respectable…4TH PLACE!

Against the teams they were racing, we’re incredibly happy with that.

There is more time hiding in those crossovers.

There are little bits to polish.

But that is exactly what makes this exciting.

We’re learning.

Now for, THE RUM RUNNERS!

Olaf. Cheddar. Chip. Ember.

Our Menai Muttineers became the Rum Runners for UKFL League.

And what a cracking little team they are becoming.

Olaf was being handled by Tracey this weekend and, generally, his starts were brilliant.

Consistent.

Confident.

Most sitting somewhere around the 0.20 mark.

There was, however…

one start of approximately 1.15 seconds.

Apparently somebody forgot that watching the lights is quite an important part of being first dog.

No names mentioned.

The Captain’s log knows the truth.

Aside from that tiny navigational error, Olaf was brilliant.

Then there was Cheddar.

Cheddar Chops continues to make this whole flyball thing look suspiciously easy.

Perfect box.

Clean runs.

Every leg.

Every time.

He absolutely loves this game.

Somewhere underneath all the slobber is a seriously good flyball Labrador.

Your mam must be incredibly proud of you, Cheddar.

Then my Chippy.

Another brilliant day.

Safe turns.

Clean racing.

Happy dog.

By the final couple of legs of the last race, he started dropping that fourth foot slightly on the box.

Now, Chip is not used to doing quite this amount of racing.

One thing we discovered very quickly is that UKFL gives the dogs plenty of work!

So fatigue was probably beginning to show.

We didn’t ignore it.

After racing, we went back and did a little correction work to remind him where those feet belong.

Because even when he’s tired…

safe technique still matters.

But overall?

Another competition full of box turns that made his slightly obsessed Captain extremely happy.

And those Cheddar-to-Chip passes?

We’re getting closer.

Very close.

There is definitely more speed waiting there when the handlers get brave enough.

And finally…

Ember.

Ember has one very particular style.

Down the lane?

CANNON FIRE.

Coming home?

Sometimes slightly more…majestic swan.

But every competition she is gaining confidence.

Every race she is coming back that little bit stronger.

And we are watching a dog who once found parts of this sport challenging slowly realise:

“Actually… I can do this.”

That is worth far more to us than simply making her faster.

Put all four dogs together and the Rum Runners recorded their first UKFL seed time of… 21.65 seconds!

That is a huge step forward from where this team has been running before.

And there is STILL time sitting in those crossovers waiting to be found.

Then came the results.

The Rum Runners only went and got… 1ST PLACE!

First ever UKFL League competition.

First place.

Clean racing.

New seed time.

What more could we possibly ask for?

Well done, Rum Runners.

You raced your hearts out.

And now for the LL

Anyone who knows the Menai Muttineers already knows how strongly we (And I personally) feel about Little League and Foundation.

This is where confidence grows.

It is where dogs are allowed to learn without being rushed.

And sometimes the biggest victories have absolutely nothing to do with being the fastest dog in the building.

Snow

Little Snow had a fantastic day.

This was her first proper experience working from the start lights, so there were naturally a few false starts while she figured out exactly what this strange new part of flyball was asking her to do.

And then…

she managed a rolling start!

Our tiny Snow!

She ran beautifully throughout the day.

She still needs her prop at the box.

And that prop can stay there for as long as she needs it.

Because look how far this little dog has already travelled.

She is happy.

She is confident.

She is racing.

And she came home with… 2ND PLACE in Little League Singles!

The only real faults were those starts.

Starts can be trained.

Confidence is much harder to build.

And Snow has buckets of that now.

We could not be prouder.

Then there is Rizzo.

Good old, wonderfully laid-back Rizzo.

There is a lovely flyball dog inside him.

We know it.

His owner knows it.

And bit by bit, Rizzo is beginning to believe it too.

When he’s comfortable in the ring, he has beautiful box turns.

He understands the job.

He enjoys himself.

He just likes doing everything at Rizzo speed.

And honestly?

That’s fine.

Little League is exactly where he should be for now.

We are not trying to force him into Open or League because WE want him there.

We are building him into the happiest, most confident flyball dog that Rizzo can be.

Every clean run matters.

Every confident return matters.

Every time he enters that ring happy and leaves it happy, we have achieved something.

He does tire fairly easily, much like Chip, so we know stamina is another piece of the puzzle we can gently work on.

But there is no deadline.

There is no pressure.

Rizzo will tell us when he is ready for whatever comes next.

And this weekend he gave us some fantastic racing.

Clean work, lovely turns, and only a few false starts to put onto the homework list.

And at the end of the day… Rizzo came home with 3RD PLACE in Little League Singles!

We are incredibly proud of this boy.

Keep doing it your way, Rizzo.

We’ll keep standing beside you while you work it out

And now... PC... Where the real future flyballers are made!

Nellie and Sadie.

No trophies needed here.

These two earned something far more useful.

Experience.

Nellie is, technically speaking, an extremely capable flyball dog.

Her jumping?

Beautiful.

Speed?

Plenty.

Chute technique?

Honestly, she could probably do it in her sleep.

We even had a go on the start lights during PC, and got another rolling start for the club records!!

We even moved her onto the actual box during training this week and she nailed it…

But that’s another story.

The difficulty with Nellie is that somewhere inside this talented athlete…

is a Collie brain.

Movement?

Interesting.

Noise?

Interesting.

Another dog?

EXTREMELY interesting.

Skylar?
Irresistible!!

Random person minding their own business twenty metres away?

Potential new best friend.

And suddenly Nellie has completely forgotten that flyball exists.

But the ability is there.

Absolutely no question.

So we keep doing exactly what her owners have been doing brilliantly from the beginning.

Patience.

Exposure.

Good experiences.

PC.

Bringing her ringside to calmly watch racing for a few minutes.

Showing her that all this activity around her doesn’t mean she needs to join in with everything she sees.

And do you know why I’m so confident about Nellie?

Because we’ve seen this story before.

Remember Izzie?

The same Izzie who has just been racing League against some very quick teams?

She was once our famous chaser.

Look at her now.

So Nellie…

you’ve got some homework.

But Captain Dafz is 1000% convinced you’ll get there.

Because underneath that Collie brain is a dog who absolutely loves this game.

Then little Sadie.

Sadie is still very nervous.

She needs time to understand that these environments are safe.

So we brought her back into PC simply to experience it again.

And Sadie did something that might sound tiny to anyone outside the team.

But to us…

it was huge.

She did a runback... With her tail wagging.

That little tail meant more than any stopwatch could.

Because that was Sadie telling us:

“I’m okay.”

“I’m enjoying this.”

“I can do a little more.”

This is a dog who could easily shut down if we push too quickly.

So we won’t.

She will take this journey at her own speed.

Her mum, (remember Maggie), is now out there racing League against some seriously quick teams.

Maybe one day Sadie will be standing beside her.

Maybe it takes a while.

Who cares?

There is absolutely no rush.

Keep wagging that tail, Sadie.

The rest will come.

And to top it all off!

As if the weekend hadn’t already given us enough reasons to smile…

we had another lovely surprise.

Izzie — Flyball Cadet Badge

Arlo — Flyball Cadet Badge

Maggie — Flyball Cadet Badge

Coco — Flyball Cadet Advanced Badge

Olaf — Flyball Cadet Badge

Cheddar — Flyball Cadet Badge

What a brilliant little collection of achievements.

Then there was one more.

Chip and Captain Dafz were awarded the Millie Award, recognising the special bond between dog and handler.

That one caught me slightly off guard.

Anyone who knows the story of Chip and me will probably understand why.

This dog has taught me more about flyball than any course ever could.

He has frustrated me.

Challenged me.

Made me completely rethink how I train dogs.

We have spent more than a year rebuilding things together.

And so much of the training philosophy behind the Menai Muttineers exists because of lessons I learned through him.

I'm even in the process of writing a book with Chip, so watch this space!

So to receive an award recognising that bond…

Yeah.

That meant a lot.

A really lovely way to end the day.

So how did our first UK Flyball League Competition go

Muttineers Black Flags — 4th place and New UKFL seed time: 18.71

Rum Runners — 1ST PLACE and New UKFL seed time (and PB): 21.65

Snow — Little League Singles — 2nd place

Rizzo — Little League Singles — 3rd place

Nellie and Sadie — two enormous gold stars from the Muttineers for some incredibly valuable PC experience

A pile of new Cadet badges.

One very special Millie Award.

And a Captain driving home wondering quite how this little club has come so far, so quickly.

A huge thank you to Live Wires Flyball Team - Sutton Weaver for such a smooth, friendly and brilliantly organised competition.

Thank you to all the judges, ring party, officials and volunteers who gave their time throughout the weekend.

The atmosphere was fantastic.

We felt welcomed.

We learned a huge amount.

And yes…

you’ll be seeing these pirates again in October.

And on a personal note…

Writing all of this has actually brought a little tear to my eye.

When we started the Menai Muttineers, I had big ambitions.

I knew what I wanted the club to become.

But having an idea in your head and actually standing there watching it happen are two very different things.

Some of these dogs arrived with handlers who genuinely wondered whether their dog would EVER cope in a competition ring.

Some were nervous.

Some chased.

Some struggled with box technique.

Some couldn't hold a ball.

Some found other dogs difficult.

Some simply needed someone to give them time.

And now?

They are racing BFA Open.

They are racing UKFL League.

They are bringing home placings.

They are earning awards.

They're in the rings doing foundation, LL and PC.

They are making their handlers proud.

And, most importantly…

they look HAPPY doing it.

That is everything.

I am unbelievably proud of these dogs.

And I am equally proud of the people beside them.

The handlers who did the homework.

The people who kept trying when something didn't work.

The crew members who supported each other.

The box loaders.

The helpers.

The people catching dogs.

The people laughing when Captain Dafz inevitably gets something wrong.

This little team has become something very special.

And do you know what excites me most?

The next wave is coming.

New dogs.

New handlers.

New challenges.

PC.

Little League.

Foundation.

Ring Time.

Mat Time.

Honestly?

That is my favourite bit.

Open and League racing are unbelievably exciting, and believe me, we have plenty of work still to do with these teams.

But give me a brand-new dog who has absolutely no idea what flyball is yet…

Now we're talking.

Because somewhere amongst those new recruits could be our next Izzie.

Our next Maggie.

Our next Cheddar.

Our next Nellie.

Our next dog whose owner says:

“I don't know if they'll ever manage it.”

And we get the privilege of saying:

“Let's give them a chance.”

Then we start the journey all over again.

One jump.

One box turn.

One wagging tail.

One little victory at a time.

Our first UKFL League competition is officially in the Captain’s log.

And somehow… this still feels like the beginning.

22/09/2026

Congratulations to Arlo, Izzie & Maggie from Black Flag, for gaining their Flyball Dog award for 1000 points with the British Flyball Association, joining team member Coco with their award! As well as their Cadet award with the UK Flyball League! Their first season in open and they’ve smashed it!

Kindly sponsored by Signs & Design🐾🏴‍☠️

20/09/2026

And that is the raffle closed! Thank you everyone who took part to help us raise funds for the Menai Muttineers!

Watch you're phones closely, as well be doing the draw very soon!!

19/09/2026

And another congratulations is in order for Coco for achieving her Advanced Cadet award with UK Flyball League! We’re so proud of you Coco!!🐾🏴‍☠️

Congratulations to our very own little Coco on achieving Flyball Dog with the British Flyball Association!

Kindly sponsored by Signs & Design🐾🏴‍☠️

18/09/2026

Maybe a more bland poster is what we needed?

Pretty please support us🏴‍☠️🐾

17/09/2026

I know, I know… it’s Thursday.

We raced Saturday and Sunday.

But as the old Muttineers saying goes:

Better to sail into harbour late with a hold full of rum than arrive early with an empty barrel.

So here, finally, is our weekend write-up!

Last weekend we sailed back to Cheshire Showground for what we think was our final BFA competition of the year, hosted by Katy and the brilliant Carry on's Flyball Team crew.

And what a weekend it was.

We had truckers tooting their horns, fairground rides making all sorts of noises, lights flashing, music blaring and, at a couple of points, what sounded suspiciously like a full western shootout happening somewhere nearby.

In other words…

Absolutely ideal conditions for a group of dogs who occasionally find a plastic bag moving in the wind suspicious.

But honestly?

They were incredible.

For some of our dogs, sudden noises and movement have been genuine challenges in the past, so watching them work through all of that and still focus on racing made us incredibly proud.

SATURDAY — RAISE THE BLACK FLAGS

Arlo. Maggie. Coco. Izzie.

And what a show they put on.

The Black Flags came into the weekend with a team PB of 18.70 seconds.

They sailed home with…18.54 seconds.

Another new team record!

The crossovers were looking lovely too. There are still little fractions hiding there if we tighten them further, but these four are really starting to work together as a proper racing team.

And the box turns?

Beautiful.

Coco deserves a special mention here.

She joined us from another team and safe box technique was something we knew needed work. We have spent a lot of time rebuilding that with her, taking things slowly and getting those movements to the standard we want from a Muttineers dog.

And look at her now.

Confident.

Quick.

Safe.

And looking better every time she races.

We are ridiculously proud of her.

Arlo had another fantastic day too.

He stayed focused for almost the whole competition. Towards the end he glanced across at the opposite lane once or twice, but the important thing was what happened next…

He recovered.

He stayed with his job.

He did NOT chase.

For a dog who once found other dogs running towards him so difficult, that is a massive achievement.

What a proud moment for our boy.

Then Maggie gave us a tiny bit of unnecessary excitement during practice.

She reached the lights… and spat the ball.

Captain Dafz’s heart sank slightly.

We thought we had cracked that!

Then the real racing started.

And Maggie apparently decided practice didn’t count.

She carried that ball all the way home.

Every time.

Good girl, Maggie.

And finally…

Izzie.

This time we remembered the tuggy.

Progress.

Catching her was therefore considerably easier, although she did manage to slip through my hands once.

Not to chase though.

Oh no.

Izzie has apparently appointed herself the official Muttineers Fault Correction Officer.

If ANY dog makes a mistake, Izzie believes it is her personal responsibility to immediately re-run the lane and put matters right.

Perhaps we need to submit a new rule proposal.

Despite all of that madness, the Black Flags came away with:

1ST PLACE!

A new PB of 18.54 seconds.

And another list of little things to take back to training.

What a team.

ALSO ON SATURDAY — ONE LONELY SKALLIWAG

Our Foundation plans changed rather dramatically in the days leading up to the competition.

One dog was recovering after an unfortunate meeting with a cow.

One handler came down with flu.

Another had important things happening at home.

And suddenly…

poor old Rizzo looked around and realised the entire Skalliwags crew had vanished.

So Rizzo raced Foundation… all by himself.

Did he complain?

Of course not.

He ran his little legs off.

Clean racing all day.

Some lovely box turns appearing.

And good old Rizzo sailed home with a very well-deserved…

2ND PLACE!

One dog.

One Skalliwag.

One very proud team.

Well done, Rizzo.

RING TIME — NELLIE AND SADIE

You may remember Nellie from our last competition.

Easily distracted would probably be a polite description.

Dogs are interesting.

People are interesting.

Grass is interesting.

Skylar is particularly interesting.

Flyball occasionally appears somewhere further down Nellie’s list of priorities.

So with truck horns, fairground rides, sudden bangs and all sorts happening around the showground, I genuinely had no idea how she would cope.

Nellie…

you surprised us.

Full runs.

Lovely chute work.

Clean running.

No wings.

And we even started practising on the start lights, getting closer to working out where her proper start position might eventually be.

Compared with our last competition, the difference was HUGE.

This is exactly why Ring Time is so valuable.

No pressure.

No expectation.

Just experience.

And Nellie gained plenty of it.

Then there was Sadie.

Sadie is one of the newest members of our crew.

She is a lovely young dog, but naturally quite shy and nervous, so our plan was simple:

Introduce her gently.

Let her experience the environment.

Let her decide how much she could cope with.

She was perfectly happy walking around the showground on lead.

She came into the ring with Nellie.

She did some jumping.

She worked nicely on the chute.

But taking the lead off?

Not quite yet.

And that was fine.

Then came Mat Time at the end of the day.

And Sadie’s mum, Maggie from the black flags, came into the ring with her.

Suddenly…

different dog.

She flew over the jumps.

She gave us some beautiful chute turns.

She even put together a couple of clean runs.

And she LOVED it.

With the pressure gone, fewer distractions around her and Mum alongside her, Sadie finally showed us the little flyball dog hiding underneath those nerves.

Give this pup some time.

Give her confidence.

Give her good experiences.

And we’ll show you the happy, brave little dog that’s waiting to come out.

WHY THESE SESSIONS MATTER

Foundation.

Ring Time.

Mat Time.

We genuinely cannot say enough about how important these opportunities are.

They give young dogs, nervous dogs, inexperienced dogs and new handlers something they simply cannot get by jumping straight into racing, time.

Time to learn.

Time to make mistakes.

Time to gain confidence.

Time to realise the ring is somewhere safe and fun.

So we want to give a huge and sincere thank you to Katie and the Carry-Ons team for supporting Foundation, Ring Time and Mat Time so strongly at their competitions.

It matters. A lot.

You are giving developing dogs and handlers opportunities that may otherwise never exist.

And we absolutely appreciate it.

SUNDAY — THE MENAI MUTTINEERS

Then came Sunday.

Another day of tooting, banging and fairground madness.

This time it was:

Olaf.

Cheddar.

Chip.

Ember.

And once again, these dogs did us proud.

Olaf was back on the start lights and produced some fantastic starts.

We don’t currently get nearly as much opportunity to practise starts as we would like, so seeing him stay consistent meant we could gradually begin pushing things that little bit closer to zero.

And hopefully…

very soon…

we may have found ourselves a much easier way of practising proper start lights back at the training field.

Keep an eye on this page.

There may be something interesting brewing in the Muttineers workshop.

And it might be particularly useful for some other smaller clubs too.

Then there was Cheddar.

What else is there left to say about Cheddar Chops?

He ran every single leg clean.

He knows his job.

He loves his job.

And he has developed into an absolutely cracking Labrador.

A Super Labrador.

With Super Slobber to match.

Your mam should be incredibly proud of you, Cheddar.

Then my Chippy.

Apparently sausages are the secret to elite athletic performance.

Chip ran 100% clean and safe all day.

And once again…

every single box turn was spot on.

I know I sound surprised every time I write that.

I think part of me still is.

After spending so long rebuilding his box technique from the beginning, I don't think I’ll ever get bored of watching him run down that lane, hit the box properly and come home safely.

There he is.

Doing flyball exactly how I always wanted him to.

And we were starting to get some VERY nice nose-to-nose passes between Cheddar and Chip too.

There’s definitely more time hiding there.

Finally…

Ember.

Wonderful little Ember.

Ember goes down the lane like she’s been fired from a cannon.

Then occasionally comes home with the urgency and elegance of a swan gently crossing a lake.

But even that return speed started improving throughout the day.

What made me particularly proud, though, was everything happening around her.

I knew Ember before she joined the Menai Muttineers.

I know what she used to be like.

So with horns, flashing lights, moving fairground rides, bangs, sudden noises and all the chaos around Cheshire Showground…

I’ll admit it. I was a little worried about how she would cope.

Ember absolutely proved me wrong.

Every run.

No faults.

Focused.

Happy.

Doing her job.

There was one VERY early crossover onto Chip…

But that one belongs firmly in Captain Dafz’s fault column.

I sent her too soon.

Even that gave us something useful, though.

Neither dog cared.

Which means we now know we can start gently tightening that crossover without worrying about upsetting either of them.

Every mistake teaches us something.

THEN CAME THE RESULTS…

There was a little confusion during presentations when the Menai Muttineers were initially announced in 4th.

Something didn’t quite seem right.

Thankfully, the results were rechecked.

And it turned out the crew had actually finished…

JOINT 1ST ON WINS!

And 2ND OVERALL, with the second-fastest time in our division.

And another shiny new team PB:

22.19 SECONDS!

Our last competition PB was 22.81.

Before that, we were at 23.30.

Bit by bit…

this team is getting faster.

And the really exciting part?

We know exactly where there is still time to find.

WHAT A WEEKEND

So after two days of horns, fairground rides, suspicious gunfight noises, tennis balls and some seriously good dogs…

The Black Flags came home with:

1ST PLACE — 18.54 NEW PB

Rizzo the One-Dog Skalliwag:

2ND PLACE

And the Menai Muttineers:

2ND PLACE — 22.19 NEW PB

Then there were Nellie and Sadie, who came home without a racing result… but arguably with something even more valuable.

Confidence.

Experience.

And proof of what they’re capable of becoming.

What a way to finish what we think is our final BFA competition of the year.

A huge, massive, colossal thank you to Katy and everyone at Carry-Ons, the judges, ring parties, officials and everybody who helped make the weekend happen.

The atmosphere was friendly, supportive and exactly what we love about this sport.

And finally…

to the Menai Muttineers crew.

Thank you.

Our handlers.

Our box loaders.

Our ball collectors.

Our helpers.

Our supporters.

And even our junior box-loader-in-training, Oli!

Watch this space with that one.

A Captain might steer the ship…

but it takes the whole crew to bring her safely home.

And I wouldn’t swap this crew for all the treasure in the Seven Seas.

What a weekend.

What a team.

And what an exciting place we’re in heading towards next season.

Carry-Ons… I think it’s safe to say you’ll be seeing these pirates again next year.