Dog Sports

The sports we train and compete in

Use this page to introduce the sports that shape your dogs, your kennel goals and the kind of active life you breed for.

Sport

Canine Athletics

Canine Athletics is a multi-discipline sport that allows dogs to compete in up to 15 different disciplines, including Longjump, Highjump, A-Frame, Hangtime, and Tug of War. Each discipline tests a dog’s speed, strength, endurance, or agility, creating a comprehensive challenge for well-rounded athletes.

Competition Structure
The sport offers a variety of disciplines, and each dog competes based on its natural abilities. Points are calculated by considering the dog’s performance relative to its height, ensuring fair competition across all breeds.

Training and Preparation
Training for Canine Athletics involves developing a dog’s physical and mental skills through regular practice. At Rebel Sporting Arena, we focus on structured training that helps our Staffordshire Bull Terriers excel in multiple disciplines, ensuring they are prepared for every aspect of competition.

Rebel Offsprings’ Involvement
At Rebel Offsprings, Canine Athletics is central to our training and competition philosophy. Our Staffordshire Bull Terriers are highly versatile athletes who thrive in this sport, competing at a high level across various disciplines. By consistently training across all 15 disciplines, we give our dogs the chance to develop and shine in a diverse range of challenges.

Growth of Canine Athletics
Together with Sweden Dog Sporting Club, we have organized numerous competitions to help expand the sport across Sweden. Our goal is to make Canine Athletics more accessible to dog owners and foster a community where dogs can compete in a structured and enjoyable environment.

A Positive Outlet for Breeds like Staffordshire Bull Terriers
Canine Athletics also serves as a productive outlet for breeds like Staffordshire Bull Terriers, which have historically been used in more aggressive settings, such as dog fighting. The structured nature of the sport allows these dogs to channel their strength, determination, and energy into positive and challenging activities. By participating in disciplines that test speed, endurance, and focus, dogs are mentally and physically stimulated in a safe environment. This reduces frustration and helps prevent behavioral issues that can arise from under-stimulation.

Sport

Barn Hunt & Ratgames

Ratgames and Barn Hunt are two thrilling dog sports that tap into a dog’s natural hunting instincts and sense of smell. These sports provide a safe and structured way for dogs to engage their innate abilities while fostering teamwork between dog and handler.

What Are Ratgames and Barn Hunt?
Ratgames is a sport designed to highlight a dog’s ability to locate hidden rat scents in controlled environments. The dog relies entirely on its instincts to succeed, with minimal input from the handler. In Sweden, dead rats are used due to legal regulations, placing full emphasis on the dog’s scent detection skills.

Barn Hunt is a similar sport where dogs navigate an area with straw bales to find hidden rat scents. Like Ratgames, Barn Hunt in Sweden also uses dead rats, ensuring a focus on scent detection in a safe and ethical environment.

Rebel Offsprings’ Involvement
At Rebel Offsprings, we actively train and compete in both Ratgames and Barn Hunt, recognizing the incredible hunting skills of our Staffordshire Bull Terriers. These sports not only provide physical and mental stimulation but also honor the breed’s historical role in vermin control.

Our approach emphasizes developing the dogs’ natural instincts while maintaining control and discipline. This method ensures they remain focused and efficient, helping us evaluate their drive and suitability for these activities.

Why Ratgames and Barn Hunt?
Both sports offer unique opportunities for dogs to engage their prey drive and excel in scent detection. They promote mental and physical health, making them ideal for high-energy breeds like Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

Sweden’s Role in Growing the Sports
As part of Sweden Dog Sporting Club, we are proud to have introduced Ratgames as the first club in Europe to offer this unique sport. Additionally, we aim to expand Barn Hunt’s presence in Sweden, where it is still new, unlike Norway, where the sport is already well-established. Through competitions and training, we connect dog owners with their dogs’ natural instincts in a structured and enjoyable way.

Achievements
Our very own Rebel Offsprings Pepper made history as Sweden’s Ratgames Dog of the Year 2024 and won their group in the 2024 Ratgames Christmas Special Competition. These achievements highlight the dedication of our training methods and the exceptional quality of our breeding program.

Sport

Greyhound Racing

Greyhound Racing is a fast-paced sport that originated in the late 19th century. Developed in the United Kingdom, it was adapted from traditional hare coursing and moved to a race track environment where dogs chase a mechanical lure around an oval track. The sport quickly grew in popularity and spread to other countries like the United States and Australia, attracting those who appreciate the speed, agility, and drive of these dogs.

The sport tests a dog’s speed and focus, with Greyhounds traditionally being the main participants due to their sprinting ability, reaching up to 72 kilometers per hour. However, other breeds can compete as well, particularly in their own designated classes.

Our Involvement in Greyhound Racing
At Rebel Offsprings, we have been involved in Greyhound Racing for several years. Both Emelie and Thomas have worked at our local race track—Emelie as a trainer and Thomas as head of livestream for competitions, as well as introducing new sports to the club. While we no longer have a Greyhound in competition, we were proud to have one racing in the past, which gave us valuable experience with the sport.

Staffordshire Bull Terriers in Greyhound Racing
Staffordshire Bull Terriers traditionally aren’t associated with racing, but we have worked to introduce them to the sport. Our dog Wine made history by becoming the first Staffordshire Bull Terrier to earn a SHCF Greyhound Racing License. Although Wine is no longer with us, her daughter City now holds the license, continuing the tradition.

While Staffordshire Bull Terriers may not reach the speeds of Greyhounds, they bring their own strengths to the track. Competing in their own class, these dogs showcase determination, power, and a strong prey drive. We hope to see more Staffordshire Bull Terriers joining the sport, as they have the drive and ability to thrive in this challenging environment.

Training and Competition
Currently, City is the only dog we have competing in Greyhound Racing. The training is focused on building speed, endurance, and focus. Like all racing dogs, she undergoes regular conditioning and mental preparation to ensure she is ready for the demands of the track.

In addition to Greyhound Racing, we also participate in Lure Racing on a 100-meter straight track. This sport, while shorter in distance, offers a similar challenge of speed and prey drive, keeping our dogs physically and mentally sharp.

Looking Ahead
As we continue to work within the sport, we hope to see more Staffordshire Bull Terriers entering the world of Greyhound Racing. The breed’s strength and enthusiasm make them well-suited for the track, and we are excited to see what the future holds for these dogs in the racing world.

Sport

Weight Pull

Weight Pull is a sport that tests a dog’s raw strength and determination. The goal is for a dog to pull a weighted cart over a 5-meter distance within a 60-second time limit. The sport has its roots in the working history of dogs, particularly during the Klondike Gold Rush in North America, where dogs were used to pull heavy loads for miners. Over time, these practical skills evolved into formal competitions, first as informal challenges between miners and later as an organized sport​.

Today, Weight Pull is a popular dog sport across the world, governed by organizations such as the European Weight Pull League (EWPL). The competition format is simple: dogs are divided into weight classes, and each dog must pull a cart loaded with increasing weight over a fixed distance. The dog that can pull the most weight relative to its body weight is declared the winner, showcasing their physical strength and endurance.

Competition Structure
In a typical Weight Pull competition, dogs are fitted with a specialized harness and attached to a cart on wheels. They must pull the cart loaded with weights across a 5-meter track. The weights increase with each round, and the competition continues until the dog can no longer move the cart within the time limit. The winner is determined by the Pound-for-Pound (P4P) ratio, which is the amount of weight pulled relative to the dog’s body weight.

Training and Preparation
Training for Weight Pull involves building a dog’s strength and stamina. It includes regular conditioning exercises, progressive pulling routines, and mental preparation to keep the dog focused and determined. Proper harness fit and pulling technique are also critical to prevent injury and ensure efficient performance.

Rebel Offsprings’ Involvement in Weight Pull
At Rebel Offsprings, Weight Pull has been an integral part of our training and competition routine for over 10 years. Our dogs have achieved European champions, international point champions, track records, and P4P records in the European Weight Pull League and the European Weight Pull All Stars.

Thomas founded the largest Weight Pull club in Norway, which continues to grow and thrive. In addition to training and competing, Thomas travels across Europe to attend events and produce Weight Pull TV, where competitions are live-streamed to a wider audience. This has allowed the sport to gain more visibility and engage enthusiasts from across the world.

Although we no longer compete as actively as before, we are building a competition-approved Weight Pull track on our farm and continue to train our dogs weekly. This dedication ensures that our dogs remain in top shape for future events, and the new track will offer a space for both training and potential competitions in the future.