puppy&dog PLAY & EXCERCISE

by Glenn Hamilton and Emily Venator

Your new puppy has completed basic obedience training... sit and stay, come when called and how to interact well with other dogs. where do you go from here? why not investigate Flyball as an activity for you, your family and your dog to enjoy together.
Sometimes described as “drag racing” for dogs, this exciting sport involves two teams of evenly matched dogs racing against the clock and each other in a relay race for the win. The dogs must jump over a series of four hurdles, trigger a device (the Flyball box) that releases a ball, return with the ball over the four hurdles and pass their canine teammates at the start/finish line on the “fly”.
It is believed that the sport was first played at an obedience class graduation in California in the early ’70s. The instructor was looking for a means of demonstrating the skills that his students had learned by showing their retrieving, jumping and recall skills but most important, showing the dog’s social skills. Interest in Flyball has grown in leaps and bounds, and is being played in Australia, england, throughout europe and in Japan. The north American Flyball Association has been the governing body of the sport for over 20 years in north America with over 700 clubs registered and 20,000 dogs in their record books. There are over 50 clubs just in ontario. The rules of the sport are the same no matter where you compete.
The Flyball community welcomes any breed of healthy, active dog with owners who want to try an energetic dog sport. people aged six to 60+ participate in Flyball tournaments every weekend. Dogs compete in events sanctioned by the north American Flyball Association (NAFA) for points towards titles and championships. Flyball is a team sport and your weekend will be spent enjoying the company of new friends and teammates.

Training?
Typically, dogs begin training for Flyball after they are six months of age, have completed basic obedience training and have strengthened their puppy limbs.
One of the first steps is to teach your dog to run or recall to a “motivator” that builds a stronger bond between you and your dog. The motivator can be a favourite toy, a sock or even food. You will create a game of chase with the dog enticing him to run to you for their reward. It’s not just the dog that has to do the racing, the handler is a major part of the team (so you will need to invest in good running shoes!). Training for competition may take many months before your dog is ready to be entered in his first sanctioned tournament. over these months, you will be attending training sessions with a trainer or club. You will be teaching your dog how to recall at their fastest speed, how to carry a ball, how to jump over the hurdles, how to trigger the Flyball box, how to ignore the other dogs and how to exchange in a lineup with their canine teammates. The ability to carry a ball is a very minor part of the sport. The key to success is the off-lead recall and ignoring all distractions along the way! Although any dog can be taught the skills of Flyball, each dog’s competitive nature may be different.

Competing?
Purebred dogs, mixed breed dogs and rescue dogs all compete together as there is no distinction in the sport with reference to pedigree. You will need to obtain a Competition racing number from NAFA for your dog before you enter your first tournament but your club can help you with that small purchase. The CRN registers your dog and allows the organization to track points and titles earned throughout the dog’s racing career.
Dogs must be over 12 months of age to compete in a sanctioned Flyball tournament and many compete well into their twilight years. As long as your dog is healthy, stays fit and enjoys the sport, there is no reason for them to retire.
NAFA has introduced a Veterans’ division for dogs over the age of eight years of age. This division allows the oldies from different teams to race together over the lowest hurdle height. The dogs can still receive points towards titles and tournament placements. It’s not unusual to see dogs still playing Flyball still at 10 years of age! There are over 30 sanctioned tournaments held at hockey arenas and community centres across Central Ontario in the 2006 season. Entry fees for the events are in the range of $25 per dog on a six-dog team. When compared to the cost of other dog sports, this is more than reasonable for a weekend full of fun!

Racing!
A typical weekend at a tournament would see you and your dog race up to 25 times in several races. Races are well spaced out and the athletes get plenty of time between races to wind down and rest. Think “Little League for Dogs”!
Flyball tournaments are divided into divisions based on an estimated ‘best’ seed time that a team submits for their canine athletes. Teams race against other teams with similar seed times to decide the divisional winners.
Seed times can range from the very fast teams to those that are running over 24 seconds for all four dogs in the team. There is a place for everyone! Tournaments are also divided into ‘classes’. The Regular division of racing is similar to an ‘open’ class for which there are no restrictions on the dogs that you may race. The Multi-breed class includes dogs of all different breeds competing against one another. Imagine a team of a border collie, a poodle, a German shepherd and a mixed-breed dog racing against a completely different assortment of dogs in the other lane. It’s always fun, challenging and interesting when you can see the different breeds in action!

Intrigued?
Information on the sport and locating teams in your area can be found on the NAFA Web site at www.flyball.org On many weekends, Flyball teams can be found racing in every province in Canada and throughout the U.S. so take the time to visit an event, meet the clubs and see if Flyball is the sport for you and your dog.