What is flyball?
Flyball is a fun, fast and furious dog sport that involves a team of four dogs completing a course in a relay fashion. This course is 102 feet long and consists of four jumps and a flyball 'box'.
The dogs have to run down over the four jumps, trigger the spring-loaded box, retrieve the ball that is 'fired' as a result and then return back to the start/finish over the four jumps again. The following dog can only cross the start line when the preceding dog has crossed the line on its way out.
The winning team is the fastest team to complete the course without errors. Every dog that finishes is a winner too.
LandSharks 'Shark Frenzy' Tournament, 2017
Who can play?
Flyball is a sport for any size and all breeds of dog: as long as your dog is fit and healthy it can play. Many flyball champion dogs are simply pets with a hobby rather than a dedicated sport dog.
Smaller dogs are, in fact, valuable as the jump heights are set according to the hight of the smallest dog on the team. That is why they are known as 'height dogs'.
Although you may see a large amount of herding dogs in flyball, competition is opens to all breeds and mixed-breed dogs. This includes rescues and non-pedigree dogs. Dogs earn titles and awards based on points earned by their team in racing.
The best part of flyball, in our opinion, is that dogs and people work together as a team. We develop friendships and teamwork as we play and compete with our dogs.