What is a height dog?
Experienced dogs will have to jump over hurdles of a maximum of 14 inches but this depends on the height of the shortest dog in the team. The jump height is set at 4" below the shoulder height of the smallest dog. This dog is known as the height dog.
What is a flyball box?
Flyball is a relay race with teams of 4 dogs. They race over 4 jumps or hurdles to a spring loaded‘box’ which holds a tennis ball. When the dog steps on the box it releases the tennis ball, the dog catches the ball and runs back over the hurdles. Usually two teams are racing side by side. The winning team is the one which has all 4 dogs over the jumps and back without a fault (such as dropping the ball) in the quickest time.
There are at least five people in a flyball team. Four handlers and a ‘box loader’. The box loader is very important. Each box has two holes. Some dogs prefer to get the ball from the right hole (they are right-handed or right-pawed!) and others prefer the left hole. It is the box loaders job to ensure the tennis ball is in the correct hole for each dog. The box loader must also be good at shouting as calling the dogs towards them is an important part of the job.
What is the difference between a 'starter' competition and an 'open/division' competition?
(Thanks to flyball fever for this description)
1. Starters or Non-Sanctioned tournaments are intended for dogs at the beginning of their flyball career. As these tournaments are Non-Sanctioned by the BFA, the tournament hosts set the regulations, and dogs cannot earn points from racing. Many people also run older dogs or dogs recovering from injury in Starter tournaments. Although there are no official BFA regulations, it is generally assumed that dogs must be 12months old before they can race here, and that they should not enter again once they have earned 200 points. Starters competitions have netting up along the lanes and around the box, they run over 7" jumps unless the team decides otherwise.2. Open or Sanctioned tournaments are the main competition. Any team of up to 6 dogs and handlers can enter, but only 4 dogs running at one time. Races are best of 5, and typically dogs will have 5 or 6 races in one day. The team's fastest time of the day is recorded and added to the Seedings list (find this on the BFA website). The seeding list is used to form divisions for tournaments to ensure fair and close racing.Dogs can earn points in open for every leg the team completes successfully:
What is a swimmers turn and why teach it?
Flyball training involves a lot of 'box work' this is to teach the dog to turn on the box rather than run up to it, smash into it at full speed and then turn. This 'smash and grab' technique can cause joint problems. A swimmers turn helps the dog return from the box faster and helps to prevent injury.
Experienced dogs will have to jump over hurdles of a maximum of 14 inches but this depends on the height of the shortest dog in the team. The jump height is set at 4" below the shoulder height of the smallest dog. This dog is known as the height dog.
What is a flyball box?
Flyball is a relay race with teams of 4 dogs. They race over 4 jumps or hurdles to a spring loaded‘box’ which holds a tennis ball. When the dog steps on the box it releases the tennis ball, the dog catches the ball and runs back over the hurdles. Usually two teams are racing side by side. The winning team is the one which has all 4 dogs over the jumps and back without a fault (such as dropping the ball) in the quickest time.
There are at least five people in a flyball team. Four handlers and a ‘box loader’. The box loader is very important. Each box has two holes. Some dogs prefer to get the ball from the right hole (they are right-handed or right-pawed!) and others prefer the left hole. It is the box loaders job to ensure the tennis ball is in the correct hole for each dog. The box loader must also be good at shouting as calling the dogs towards them is an important part of the job.
What is the difference between a 'starter' competition and an 'open/division' competition?
(Thanks to flyball fever for this description)
1. Starters or Non-Sanctioned tournaments are intended for dogs at the beginning of their flyball career. As these tournaments are Non-Sanctioned by the BFA, the tournament hosts set the regulations, and dogs cannot earn points from racing. Many people also run older dogs or dogs recovering from injury in Starter tournaments. Although there are no official BFA regulations, it is generally assumed that dogs must be 12months old before they can race here, and that they should not enter again once they have earned 200 points. Starters competitions have netting up along the lanes and around the box, they run over 7" jumps unless the team decides otherwise.2. Open or Sanctioned tournaments are the main competition. Any team of up to 6 dogs and handlers can enter, but only 4 dogs running at one time. Races are best of 5, and typically dogs will have 5 or 6 races in one day. The team's fastest time of the day is recorded and added to the Seedings list (find this on the BFA website). The seeding list is used to form divisions for tournaments to ensure fair and close racing.Dogs can earn points in open for every leg the team completes successfully:
- Under 30seconds = 5points
- Under 26seconds = 10points
- Under 22seconds = 25points
What is a swimmers turn and why teach it?
Flyball training involves a lot of 'box work' this is to teach the dog to turn on the box rather than run up to it, smash into it at full speed and then turn. This 'smash and grab' technique can cause joint problems. A swimmers turn helps the dog return from the box faster and helps to prevent injury.
