# Tell Me About Flyball....



## SoGolden (Jul 17, 2008)

So, someone please tell me about flyball... How old does your dog need to be to start? Do Golden's like it? What does the owner have to do? What are the "rules"? Where can I get more info? Thanks!


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

go to:
http://flyballdogs.com/FAQ.html
http://www.flyball.org/


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## LibbysMom (Jan 15, 2008)

I've been wondering the same thing. I'd love to get the dogs (ecspecially Murphy) involved in either flyball or agility.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I know that emma&tilly do that with harry


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

Ooh flyball is a great sport to get into with your dog! I have been training with Harry since he was 4 months old...(very slowly of course, our team captain has made 'puppy jumps' which are about 2 inches high and covered in foam!) Basically there are two lanes set up, each lane having 4 jumps and then the box (which holds the tennis ball at the end) You have to release the dog and they have to jump over the 4 jumps, triggar the box and collect the tennis ball and run bck over the jumps to you again. The team runs 4 dogs in a relay race. If any of the dogs in the team drop the ball or miss a jump then that dog has to run again at the end. The fastest team wins! As an owner all you really need to do is release your dog and get them back again! Obviously during the training of flyball there is more too it than that! The dog slowly gets used to up the lane and coming back to you again...some take to it better than others. 

Heres a quick video taken at training...it is Tilly (my GR's) attempt at flyball so she is going very slowly and doesn't have much interest in the ball (she has a go just for fun!) and there are a few clips of Harry when he was much younger and still very much in training! As you can see he jumps out the netting a few times! In the real tournaments there are no nets around the lane so they have to be very focussed on what they are doing! In the UK we have something called 'Starters' at tournaments, where beginners can compete like a real tournament, the only difference being that they have the orange netting up around the lanes and they can't actually collect any points for their certificates.





 
Any dog can run in flyball, you see all shapes and sizes at tournaments, from tiny terriers to old english sheepdogs...there are plenty of GRs that compete!! Ooh yes I forgot to mention, the size of the jumps depends on the dogs in your team....the smallest dog on the team is called the 'height dog' and that dog dictates the size of the jumps...we have a small border terrier called Millie that keeps the size of the jumps down to 6 inches!! If you have a team full of large dogs the jumps can be as high as 12 inches (I think)

Here is another quick vid of the actual team running taken last year at training (Harry is now on the real team!!) As you can see there is no netting up and the dogs are running much tighter (they have to cross each other at the start line) You end up setting one dog off just as the other begins to return..that means they crossover JUST on the line. This is the hardest part to trian in flyball as it is very unnatural for a dog to run super fast towards another dog...





 

Sorry to bombard you but hope any of that helps!


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## SoGolden (Jul 17, 2008)

*Flyball Fun*

Oh, I just realized you are in the UK when I heard the accents in the video! Loved the part where Harry was running in his lane and I thought I heard loud engine noises (GO HARRY!) It looks like a lot of fun. I am hoping to find something for my Harry to participate in that doesn't take too much out of me physically. If we were in your neighborhood, we would come over to watch! Thanks for sharing. I will be watching for more of your posts about Flyball.


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

LOL, I didn't realise you had a 'Harry' aswell!! 

As much as Harry seems to be engine powered at times I do believe that was a helicopter above us making the noise!!

oh and yes, I have heard a few people say they started flyball because they couldn't keep up with their dogs in agility, which was one of my concerns about agility! Flyball doesn't really wear you out too much as you just really need to run up towards the line and then run away to speed the dog up on the way back...it is a lot of fun!! At tournaments (when you are there all day!) everyone on our team brings food and wine and it is lovely sitting out with all the dogs around...I wish you could come over for a visit!! 

We are at a tournament on Saturday so I'm sure I will be posting about how we get on!! 

Just to add, here is a flyball team locator for the US...http://www.flyball.org/getstarted/ I do hope you find a team near you!! For some strange reason flyball is pretty big in Yorkshire and there must be 10 teams within about 10 miles of me...so there are lots of local tournaments to enter!


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

Deland tournment in Fl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-lCiFQylU
box turns as same tournment with the same dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLORJqEqyWo


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## Max's mum (Sep 8, 2008)

Hi all, new to site but overwhelmed by all the gorgeous dogs! My seven year old golden has just got into flyball and LOVES it. He acts like a puppy all the time anyway, so he loves the chance to be with other dogs and have fun with is mum. OK, so I love it as much as he does, but he definatly smiles when he runs back with the ball. I would certainly get my next dog into it as well, but not wait until he was so old as some older goldens seem to struggle a bit, though admittedly their excess weight from being spoiled does not help.
Hope this helps, and I will post a video of my boy in training once I work out how!
Max's mum.


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## Sassy Girl (Sep 19, 2008)

Hi everyone,:wavey:

I am new to the board, I don't have a golden, but do love three who are one of my good friend's dogs. I have terriers and bcs but am active in flyball as well and thought I would chime in....

I compete with my own dogs in flyball, Captain a team and train flyball classes at a local dog daycare in Sunnyvale, CA. It is a great sport for any dog and I've had many goldens come through my classes. Emma&Tilly posted some great info for you to read up on. 

If you are interested in the sport, locate a team or trainer that holds classes near you and see if you can drop in on them to see what the atmosphere is like and get to know how they run their training. This will give you a good basis to see the sport first hand and you can evaluate your dog's interest prior to signing up for a class. 

Here are some pics of my flyball team running flyball....this is from a demo at the NorCal Golden Retriever Rescue Wag n Walk, enjoy!


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## Thor0918 (Feb 28, 2008)

Was that Harry jumping over the fence?? That cracked me up. This whole thing looks like tons of fun.


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

Thor...yes that was Harry jumping out of the fence! He must have only been 6 months there so was still learning! 

Hi Sassy girl, how great to hear from a fellow fly-baller! Seeing as you have your own team I might pick your brains about some problems I am having with Harry in tournaments if you don't mind??!

Im having trouble with Harry in the right hand lane....as he is running back to me he is watching the other teams dogs and the movement (Im sure he has some sighthound in him) makes him chase the other teams dog on its way out...he completes the jumps and crosses the line but veers off and to the other team. we have lost a couple of races because of this interference at the last tournament, we had to put in another dog after it happened twice. This only happens in the right lane as when we are in the left lane he isn't really running towards the other lane on his way out (if you get what I mean) he doesn't even do it in training which Im sure is because it isn't as hyped up and noisy...Im not sure how to work on this...I have tried the yummiest treats and even a new toy that is just for flyball...but it is that chasing instinct that kicks in that sends him off course...the little bugger has ONLY just started doing it aswell, he was always sooooo reliable at coming back when he was younger (he is 2 btw)

sorry to bombard you when you have only just joined but any advice at all would be great!


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## Sassy Girl (Sep 19, 2008)

Emma&Tilly - We have a team dog that does this same behavior, always crosses in the opponents runback area when in the right lane. This dog is new to my team so we are in the same boat you are. My first question, which way does Harry turn? Also - do you guys do any side x side lane work? I would break the course down and get the runback and recall worked out over a smaller course first then build him back up to full course. Start with side x side box work, then when he consistently returns to you every time, then build up to 1 jump and box and then 2 jump and box. Always have another dog in the other lane working and always be more exciting than the other lane. I would also use a combo of his regular motivator with treat jackpots when he does it right.


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

Thank you so much Sassy girl, that is really helpful! Harry turns to the right and apparenty he does some really good swimmers turns (not that I get to see it really!)

We always have 2 lanes set up at practice and your idea is great, I could really see that helping...although I honestly don't think I will be able to do that type of one on one training for some time. There has recently been loads of new dogs starting and for the past few weeks the right hand lane has been completely in nets for the entire time. Im feeling a little frustrated I guess as when all the brand new dogs have had their training and then the starter team have done theirs, there seems to be little time left for the main team. That is fine for most of the team as they are 100% reliable...but Harry who is new to the team is kind of at an odd level, still needs input with this one problem he is having at tournaments but is generally very reliable in training. Its not even that Im frustrated with the team captains as there are just so many dogs to get through at the moment, I know they need to let all of them have a go. They were talking about having 2 training nights, one for starters and one for the main team which would be much better...then I could see that type of training for Harry happen. I even specifically requested that we could try and work on Harrys problem but it got forgotten about with all the new dogs...

We have a tournament on Sunday where harry will be running in the main team, if worse comes to worst we will have to just run him in the left lane at tournaments! Although Im crossing my fingers for his intermediate certificate this time!!


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## Sassy Girl (Sep 19, 2008)

I know how time can be of the essence at practice. We have a large group of dogs at different levels and it is hard to get everyone the time they need. Something else you can try doing is teaching a reliable hand target and have him recall to your hand. This you can work on at home by yourself and at the park to build in distractions. 

Also - what are you using as your motivator?


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

Good idea about the hand target, we do some clicker training so that should be quite easy for him to grasp quickly. 

I normally use treat as a motivator for him, he used to come back to any old treat I had but now I make him liver cake that I keep JUST for flyball, so I am hoping he gets the idea that he only gets his most favorite treat when he comes back at flyball. I have tried using a new toy just kept for flyball... I even used a sock! (he loves stealing socks so thought he might come back to me waving a sock about!) he comes back to it for the first couple of times but then after a few runs I can see he isn't looking at the toy/sock anymore and much prefers a treat. I think treats are my best bet with him as he is a greedy boy! I think if I were allowed to throw a ball on his way back that wold work but Im obviously not allowed to do that at tournaments...I think the movement of a ball would keep his eye off the other teams dogs. Anyway, we will see how he does on Sunday and hope for the best!! Thanks again!


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## telsmith1 (Sep 11, 2006)

SoGolden said:


> So, someone please tell me about flyball... How old does your dog need to be to start? Do Golden's like it? What does the owner have to do? What are the "rules"? Where can I get more info? Thanks!


Therese, I can put you in touch with one of my puppy owners if you would like. Izzy does flyball and has earned several flyball titles. PM or email me and I will get you in touch with her.


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## Sassy Girl (Sep 19, 2008)

Our border/jack uses a ball as her motivator as do a few of our team dogs. Instead of tossing it the handler just does a little pop and the dog catches it on it's return or tosses it right to them for a catch.

With our border/jack we have actually included some of her tricks to keep her focussed in the runback area, as long as she is interacting with us she doesn't care what goes on around her.


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## flyballfan (Oct 23, 2008)

I am new to this forum and I thought you might like to see an all Golden Retriever Flyball team in action. This team competed as part of the Dream Team Challenge at the 2008 U-Fli National Championship in Memphis, Tn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y05A8NuUyvg


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