Flyball 101 - The Dog's Dog Sport

By Susan Weber

This 101 article is about a DOG's dog sport - the one they would choose to play. Let me explain the game and we will come back to this statement later. ☺

Flyball is basically a relay race or doggy drag racing. There are two teams. Each team consists of 4 to 6 dogs. Six dogs can be listed on the team roster, but only four race at a time. There must be a handler for each dog running. Each dog (one from each team at a time) runs down a lane jumping four hurdles evenly spaced along the way, hits a box at the end which pops out a tennis ball, gets the tennis ball, and returns over the hurdles on the way back. The first team to have all four dogs finish correctly wins that race. Sounds too simple, right? Of course it is!! The word "correctly" implies that there are rules that must be followed. So, let's break it down.

First, the set-up and equipment. A flyball lane is at least 85 feet long. There is a start/finish line. The first jump is placed 6 feet from the start/finish line. The other 3 jumps are placed at 10 foot intervals. There is 15 feet between the last jump and the flyball box. There must be at least 5 feet behind the box and a minimum of 29 feet in front of the start/finish line (commonly called the runback area). Most people prefer more like 100 feet of runback because the dogs are coming back so fast it is hard for them to stop in a short amount of room. The jumps are set anywhere from 6" to 14" depending on which venue. In both though, the jump height for a team is set according to the height of the shortest dog on the team. So, the two teams running can be jumping different heights. This is why you usually see one small dog (commonly referred to as the height dog) on every team. The quest is to find a dog which will bring the jumps as low as possible while not impacting the overall speed of the team. (Think Farmdog!!!!) Last, there is the box and balls. The boxes are varied and can be made of different materials. There are certain specifications it has to meet as to width and height, but the main consideration is that a dog can hit or jump on the front panel and a ball will shoot out at least two feet. The ball does not have to be a tennis ball, but it has to bounce. Now, let's talk about the start. The four dogs that are running and their people can line up anywhere in the lane in front of the start/finish line. (The picture on the left shows Mel with Flora and Tim with Levi as they line up for the start) There is a set of lights like you would see at a drag race. After the start dog's handler on each team indicates they are ready, the judge starts the light sequence. It cycles through 2 or 3 yellow lights (depending on the equipment being used at that tournament) followed by a green light. The person can let go of the start dog at any time, but the dog cannot cross the start/finish line before the light turns to green. Sound impossible? After a lot of practice, the person generally knows about how far from the line to start the dog so they can let go on a specific yellow. There is usually a tape measure along the lane edge showing the distance from the line. If the dog does cross the line early, it is a false start and the race is started over again. Each team can have one false start per race. If a team has a second false start, the race continues and the first dog has to run again at the end after the other three have finished. Because false starts can add a lot of extra running for the start dog, that dog has to be one with a lot of stamina. The second dog cannot cross the start/finish line before some part of the returning first dog has crossed it. The same holds for the third and fourth dogs. The ideal is to have the dogs nose-to-nose right at the line. Again, the person letting the second dog go has to judge the time and distance at which to let their dog go. This brings me another point. There are posts on both sides of the start/finish line in each lane with laser lights in them to detect when each dog crosses and indicate if the wrong dog crosses first. This means the dogs have to pass each other in a limited space - the width of the lane.

As you are looking down the lane towards the box, people and dogs line up to the right of the lane getting ready to run and run back down to the left of the lane calling their dogs back. This teaches the dogs to move right going down and left (actually their right again) coming back. You do not want a lane hog (dog that runs down the center of the lane).

The middle part of the run down and back is the stretch of jumps or hurdles. This is quite simple. The dog has to go over each jump in both directions. It doesn't matter if they go over one twice; they just have to go over all of them. So, say the dog drops the ball between the first and second jump on the way back. He leaves the lane to get the ball and re-enters the lane back at the first jump doing it again. As long as he completes the rest of the jumps, all is fine. If any jump is not completed, the dog is "flagged". This means he has to run again at the end of the line-up.

The hardest part of the run is probably the box. The dog must "trigger" the box to spit out the ball. If the dog just leans in and takes the ball out of the box without triggering it, it is called "stealing" and the dog is flagged (has to run again at the end of the line-up). For safety reasons and efficiency reasons, most dogs are taught to do a swimmers turn on the box. This means they are already in the act of turning when they jump on the box, getting all four feet up there, catching the ball near the box, and pushing off with their back legs for the return. It doesn't matter if the dog catches it or not, but they have to bring back the ball which came out of the box - not any extraneous balls that may be laying around nearby from a previous dog's run (or they are flagged ☺). (Tilly, shown on the left, is hitting the box, catching the ball and getting ready to flip around and bush off back down the lane) The dog must bring the ball all the way back over the start/finish line or they run again at the end of the line-up. -- Video 1: Anna doing a run and a box turn at practice. You can see her turn in slow motion to get a better idea of what takes place. We haven't talked about the challenges of two lanes of dogs running. The dogs have to mind their own business. Dogs cannot leave their lane to go chase the dog running in the other lane. Are you listening herding dogs? If a dog crosses into the other lane (unless it is innocently chasing its own ball which rolled over there and doesn't get in the other dog's way), the race is stopped for interference. The win goes to the team that was interfered on. The judges are very watchful for any signs of aggression on the interfering dog's part. If it continues to cross, it may be asked to leave. Most dogs ignore the dog in the other lane, but some are very competitive. You can see them look over and put on a burst of speed if the other dog is ahead☺.

(In the picture on the left Flora heads for the start as the first team dog approches the finish line. You can see the starting lights just to the left of Flora, the split times at the end of the lanes and the boxloaders are placing the balls in the box for the next dogs. Mel, lower left, holds a Frizbee to lure Flora back home) The first team with all four dogs completing the run correctly wins the race. The make-up and rules of a tournament (heats vs. races, round robins, etc.) will be left for another article. But, simply there are two parts to flyball. One is the points earned for a dog. The points are earned based on how fast each race they ran in was completed. They belong to the dog as opposed to the team and earn the dog titles. The second part is the team wins/losses. They determine which team wins the tournament and apply towards placements in regional and national statistics and recognition.

Let's talk a little more about all the other people involved in a race besides the handlers. There is the judge, of course. His job is to start and end the race and make sure the rules are applied. At the start/finish line in each lane, there is a line judge. They watch the lights and make sure there is no false start or early passes as well as making sure the dog brings the ball all the way back over the line. Down near the box in each lane, there is a box judge who makes sure the dog triggers the box and gets the correct ball. Both the box and line judges watch the lane to make sure the dog completes all the jumps. At the box, there is a boxloader who is responsible for loading a ball into the box before each dog gets there. Each team usually has a ball shagger who collects all the tennis balls at the end of each run and makes sure they are occasionally returned to the boxloader so he never runs out ☺. -- Video 2: Flyball racing. Two Farmdogs running against eachother. Nellie (start dog) in the left lane and Hannah (3rd dog to run) in the right lane.

In this picture Anna crosses the line before Luke can go down the lane. A team also has a captain who must decide which of the six dogs are running in any given race, the order, and give that information to the line judge. Most teams will also have a pass-caller who stands at the start/finish line and gives feedback to the handlers on how close or far their passes are so that they can adjust.

Unlike most of the other dog sports, flyball is a team sport which adds a whole new dimension. Not so much for the dogs as for the people. You have to like and get along with the other people on your team. The team has to agree on what their goals are - competitive or just for fun, wins vs. points, how often to go to tournaments, etc. Disagreement can make practice and events miserable. The picture on the right , Deb with Solo explains to Sue with Nellie about back field coriography. Deb was the Farmdog Family Affair team captain in November 2008. This was the first time that we were able to put together an all Danish/Swedish Farmdog Flyball team. We all look forward to doing this again as an annual event.

Now, finally, let's go back to my opening statement. Why do I say that flyball is THE sport in a dog's view? Let's see. They get to run fast, get a ball, and get rewarded when they get back with food or another fun toy or game of tug. There are relatively few rules. They don't have to get wet. They not only get to pull when at the line, but they can bark and bark as loud and as much as they want to. Really, what's not to like?

Luke Tugs	Hannah Tugs	Target Jumps
Good Friends Keep Warm	Deb Races Solo	Cooper and Anna Dance
Sue and Deb do the Hokey Pokey	Sue with Nellie, Deb with Solo, Mel with Hannah, Sally with Anna	Sue just started with Nellie and is calling her to run back, Sally is getting ready to let Anna go. Mel will step in where Sally is to release Hannah and Tonya and Lego will finish the race for another Farmdog win.

There are two different flyball venues. Most of this article applies to NAFA, but the basics and rules are very common between the two. Check them out:

NAFA (North American Flyball Association) - www.flyball.org

U-Fli (United Flyball League International) - www.u-fli.com

Farmdogs That Play or Have Played Flyball

• Anna: Lickety Splits Flyball Team
• Cooper: Orange Crush Flyball Team
• Flora: Pawdemonium Flyball Club
• Hannah: Pawdemonium Flyball Club
• Inge: Silver Streaks Flyball (Retired)
• Lego: Pawdemonium Flyball Club
• Levi: Pawdemonium Flyball Club
• Luke: Lickety Splits Flyball Team
• Maverick: Touch-N-Go Flyball Team
• Nellie: Orange Crush Flyball Team
• Ruby: Pawdemonium Flyball Club
• Solo: Pawdemonium Flyball Club
• Suzy: acramento Flyball Club
• Target: Paw Law Dog Training
• Tilly: Orange Crush Flyball Team(Deceased)