Flyball is a team sport for dogs that was invented in California in the late 70s.

Legend has it that Herbert Wagner first showed it on the Johnny Carson Show to millions of Americans. Soon after, dog trainers and dog clubs were making and using Flyball Boxes.

In the early 80s, the sport became so popular that the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was formed, and they are the worldwide authority for Flyball.

What It Is
Flyball is a relay race with four dogs on a team. The course consists of a starting line, four hurdles spaced 10 feet apart, and a box.

The first hurdle is 6 feet from the start line and the box is 15 feet from the last hurdle for a 51 foot overall length.

The dogs jump the hurdles and steps on a spring loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball. The dog catches the tennis ball and then runs back over the four hurdles.

When the dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes.

Winning Flyball
The first team to have all four dogs run a course without errors wins the heat.

Tournaments are usually organized in either a double elimination or round robin format.

Double elimination is usually best of three or best of five. Round robin is usually best three out of five, and the first team to win three heats receives one point towards their standing in the tournament.

The hurdles’ height are dependent on the height of the dogs in the team – four inches below the shoulder height of the shortest dog, eight inches is the minimum height and 16 inches is the maximum height.

Point System
The dogs earn points towards flyball titles based on the teams time:

Less than 32 secs: each dog receives 1 point
Less than 28 secs: each dog receives 5 points
Less than 24 secs: each dog receives 25 points

For more information about flyball fun, click here.

Tags: Dog sports, Flyball

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