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Flyball is a relay race between two teams of dogs and handlers. Each dog on the team is released by his handler, then he must go over four jumps in a row, trigger a flyball box which ejects a tennis ball, grab the ball, and return over the four jumps carrying the ball. Then the next dog on the team can run. Sounds easy doesn't it? Here are some movies to give you an idea of how flyball is run. The first is a single dog, Towzie Tyke Owen Mor (AKA Ozzie) doing his run. Ozzie is using a single hole box, meaning that it has one hole to eject balls in the center. The jump heights are set to 4 inches lower than Ozzie's shoulder height, or 10 inches. This video was taken by Terri Parrow in December 1999. Ozzie running the lane The next two are of a full team running. These teams are using a three hole box with two full size holes on the left and right of a smaller hole in the center. The smaller hole allows the smaller balls, used by some of the smaller dogs, to eject cleaner so they are caught easier. The right and left holes encourage the larger dogs to do a swimmer turn, banking off of the box, rather than slamming into it and then spinning on their rear legs. The jumps are set to 4 inches lower than the smallest dog on the team (Free's) shoulder height, or 9 inches. This video was taken by Mary Mynaugh in July 2000. Border Collie, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, and Free Lab Mix, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, and Free |
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If you have a dog that LOVES balls and running, then check out these links:
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No Speed Limit Flyball Club (our club)
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Norm Glover's Flyball Box Workshop - if you are interested in flyball boxes, this is a good link
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North American Flyball Page
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United Kingdom Flyball Page
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