What is Flyball?
Flyball
is a team relay hurdles sport for dogs. The "ball" element of the
sport is that each of the four running dogs must catch a ball that
they trigger as they turn around on the flyball "box" and come back.
The team that completes the course error-free with the fastest time,
wins...
But,
of course, the dogs don't know they've won or not - what they
know is that they were challenged, they made great friends, they had loads of fun, and they were rewarded with lots of
affection. This is why dogs love flyball.
Learning Flyball
How long it takes for a dog - and their human "handler" - to learn flyball depends on a number of factors, including:
- The dog's interest in tennis balls
- The dog's ability to consistently jump over (and not around) the hurdles
- The dog's capacity to pass closely by other dogs at top speeds without chasing them
- The dog's willingness to return to their human
- The human's dedication to practicing with their dog
Tall order for your dog, you think? One of the great things about flyball is that dogs respond positively to the process of fun learning with their humans, and in the process become more reliable, more skilled at successfully socializing with other dogs, and more obiedient overall, which positively affects their lives outside of flyball. Dogs that become good flyball dogs, are noticeably good dogs overall.
The club members are all experienced dog handlers. They've handled a great number of dogs with different types of temperments (in fact, most of the humans regularly help in fostering dogs for rescue organizations). This knowledge and experience, combined with a bit of effort by the dogs and their humans, can help almost any dog become a flyball dog.
While how long it takes for your dog to learn flyball depends on a number of factors - including what is instinct to them and what needs to be learned (or re-learned) - they will receive the benefits of flyball from day one. All dogs can benefit from flyball. Learn about how to join Warp Factor