Flyball by Ally Stern from Dogzworth

Do you and your dog feel the need for speed?

Ready, set, go!  Flyball is a fast, fun team relay sport for dogs and their families.  It's a great outlet for high energy dogs!  But, it’s also for high energy owners.  Some of my friends jog or join a gym.  To stay in shape we play flyball.  It’s the only team sport for dogs and their handlers.

What is flyball?

The flyball course consists of 4 hurdles set 10 feet apart and a mechanical ball launching flyball box.  Dogs race one at a time over the hurdles and trigger the flyball box.  The flyball box shoots out a ball, the dog retrieves the ball and runs back over the hurdles with the ball.  When the dog crosses the start/finish line the next dog on the team takes his turn.  Four dogs race in every heat.  Teams race other teams of equal ability and racing is side by side, in separate lanes.  The first team to have all four dogs successfully complete a run wins the heat. 

All dogs, including pure breeds, mixes and small dogs are welcome to participate.  The Border Collie is the most popular breed for flyball.  Mixed breeds and Jack Russell terriers are also popular but any dog that loves running, jumping and retrieving is a prospect for the sport.  Puppies as young as 8 weeks old begin to learn the skills needed for their flyball careers.  Since too much jumping can damage a puppy’s bones and joints dogs must be at least 1 year old to race in tournaments.  Most of their training begins when puppies are 8 months old.  If a dog stays healthy and free of injuries he can race until he’s a teenager.  I retired my first two flyball dogs when they were 13 years old.  Handlers range in age from children to seniors.

Why play flyball? 

 

It’s an excellent mental and physical workout for your dog.

 

It’s the only team sport for dogs so it’s a chance to form close friendships and work with others towards a common goal. 

 

Flyball welcomes purebred dogs and mixes. 

 

Small dogs are highly valued team members since the smallest dog on the team determines the team’s jump height.

 

Food and/or toy rewards are allowed in the ring and everyone is encouraged to reward their dog after each run.

 

Tournaments are held indoors so bad weather is never a factor.

 

Entry fees are reasonable- the cost is around $40 per dog for a 2 day weekend.  You also get good “bang for your buck”.   Each team gets approx 8-12 races per weekend and each race is 3 to 5 heats.

 

Tournaments are held all year long. 

 

Depending on the dog it usually takes 2-12 months to train him to play flyball. 

 

Prerequisites

 

  • Your dog should come when called (a good off leash recall)
  • Good physical condition (joints and atheletic weight)
  • Energetic and ball crazy dogs are excellent candidates for flyball but these abilities can be developed during the training

 

Flyball ring set up and flyball associations

 

The North American Flyball Association is the ruling body for NAFA-sanctioned Flyball competitions. A complete set of NAFA Rules and Policies can be downloaded from NAFA’s web site at www.flyball.org

 

In order to race in a NAFA sanctioned tournament, dogs need a Canine Racing Number (CRN) and teams must register with NAFA. 

 

The flyball lanes are set up preciously according to the NAFA rules.  Great care is taken during measuring.

 

In tournaments, all the dogs racing on a team earn points towards flyball titles.  Points are based on the team’s time:

 

Team completes the heat in less than:

32 secs: Each dog earns 1 point

28 secs: Each dog earns 5 points

24 secs: Each dog earns 25 points

 

U-FLI is another flyball organization.  Like NAFA it sanctions tournaments and awards titles.  Rules are very similar to NAFA but the jump heights are lower.  U-FlI tournaments include team racing, individual and pairs.  In Canada, some tournaments are sanctioned by U-FLI but the majority of events are sanctioned by NAFA.

 

Equipment Needed:

 

1 flyball box,

4 flyball jumps (per lane)

balls & 2 storage buckets for the balls,

rubber matting,

target board and a couple of props to place in front of the box. 

Let us know if you need information on where to purchase flyball equipment.  If you are handy equipment can also be built. 

 

Team Structure:

 

A flyball team can run as a democracy or any way it chooses but the flyball associations require that someone is ultimately in charge of each team.  This person is called the team owner/captain.  The ideal min number of people on a team is 7 people-

 

4 handlers

1 box loader

1 coach/pass caller

1 ball shagger

 

Some general tournament rules:

 

  • The handlers must stay behind the start/finish line.
  • The first dog cannot reach the start/finish line before the starting lights signal the start of the heat.
  • The second dog released cannot reach the start/finish line before the first dog reaches the start/finish line on the return run - the same being the case for the third and fourth dogs and any dogs that must run again.
  • The heats will be restarted once per team for a false start, or if the box malfunctions.
  • If there has been a fault during a run (dropped ball, bad pass, didn’t trigger the box, etc), the dog must re-run at the end of his team’s line up.
  • A team will forfeit the heat for interference

 

Want to learn more?

 

Google flyball and find a team near you!  Many teams offer lessons to new dogs or they will be able to help you get started in the sport

 

 

 

Ally Stern has been teaching and playing flyball since 1996 and her dog Bizzy is the 6th highest pointed flyball dog in the world! She earned 135.064 points. Her dog Circus is #16 on the highest pointed list and he's still racing and earning points, Circus currently has 115,220 points. Ally is the owner and a trainer at DogZworth in Montreal, QC.
http://www.dogzworth.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/DogZworth-Flyball-Agilit%C3%A9-Ob%C3...

 

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