Flyball is fast, furious and fun! This is a great sport for the "fetch-a-holics" and a wonderful team building experience for humans and dogs alike.
What is flyball?
This sport is a relay race between two teams of four dogs each. One at a time, each dog runs down a lane of four hurdles, retrieves a tennis ball from a special springboard box, runs back to the start over the hurdles, and then the next dog begins. The team with the fastest time advances.
Each team usually has a starter dog that is by nature, amped and ready to go, a couple of steady, predictable dogs, and a "hurdle dog." The jump (or hurdle) heights are set to the height of the smallest dog on the team. By having a short dog on a team, the hurdle is lowered for all of the dogs.
Getting started with flyball
Flyball requires a dog to retrieve, jump, and perform a swimmer’s turn on the ball box all while maintaining his focus running alongside other dogs. Each new skill is taught separately until the dog reliably performs each skill every time.
- A dog is first taught to retrieve a tennis ball.
- When the dog is proficient at the first stage, she is then taught to retrieve a tennis ball while jumping over hurdles.
- When the dog is proficient at this stage, much time is spent accustoming a dog to the “box” which is a spring-loaded box holding the tennis ball. This is done by positively associating the box with good things like treats and tennis balls.
- The dog is then slowly “shaped” into performing a swimmer’s turn on the ball box as this technique is the most efficient as well the least stressful on the dog’s body.
- The boxes have two slots for the balls. When a dog is taking off to run down to the box, the handler signals to the box loader if the dog turns to the right or left and the box loader then puts the ball in the appropriate slot for each dog.
- Finally, practice is done with dogs running alongside each other or in opposite directions to teach dogs to stay on course and on task even with the distractions of other dogs running by.
Tips for success
It is interesting to note that dogs have an individual preference for turning right or left. To see which side your dog prefers, initially train a dog to retrieve a ball laid on the ground against a simple wall, and observe which way the dog innately likes to turn. When teaching the dog to use the ball box, take this into consideration as you teach the dog to perform a right or left swimmer's turn.
Do not rush the process of teaching your dog the individual steps of retrieving, jumping, swimmers turn on the ball box, and running with other dogs.
- Take your time and reward each small success for your dog. This is especially important when teaching them to interact with the ball box. The spring in the box and the sound it makes can spook a dog if introduced incorrectly.
- Find an experienced flyball trainer who uses positive reinforcement techniques only to help you.
