Flyball seminar

This weekend I had the chance to attend a Flyball Seminar organized by the Alldogs, a training center in Algarve.
It was a very fun experience and the simplicity and easiness of the dogs in learning such a fun sport quickly provided a very joyful experience.
The organization of this seminar was impeccable and this also allowed for us to focus all our attention in Joachim Müller teachings, so a huge congratulation to the Alldogs organization.

Angel, CHPT For Angelus do Vale D'Huyo, in a video made with love and care by Fátima Casais of Alldogs.

But what is Flyball ? 

Flyball consists of a relay race between two teams of four dogs.

Each dog must jump over four hurdles, retrieve a ball by triggering a flyball box pedal and then return over the hurdles to the start/finish line.
Flyball is a canine team sport and it is considered one of the most fun sport to the dogs and their owners.
The team can be composed by any dog; regardless of breed, size, shape or formal training

The Flyball field:

• A complete racing lane from start to flyball box measures 15.55 meters.
• The distance from the start to the first hurdle is 1.83 meters. Between two consecutive hurdles, the distance is 3.05 meters.
• The distance from the last hurdle to flyball box is 4.57 meters.
• The distance between the two lanes is 5 meters (with a max. deviation of 1 meter) from centre to centre of each lane.

The race:

• Each relay team consists of four dogs, with up to two reserve dogs that can be interchanged between heats.
• When the last light turns green the dogs are off and racing (crossing the start/finish line before the light is green results in a foul).
• Each dog must jump the four hurdles, retrieve the ball and jump back over the hurdles to complete their lap. Missed jumps and dropped balls require the dog to rerun the course after the rest of the team has finished.
• As soon as the first dog’s nose returns across the start/finish line the next dog is off!
• The first team to have all four of their racing dogs complete their run cleanly wins the heat..

A video that explains more about flyball:


Other dog sports:

• Dog Surf: http://casacalado-dogsport.blogspot.pt/2012/06/dog-surf.html


• Dog Frisbee: http://casacalado-dogsport.blogspot.pt/2010/01/dog-frisbee.html 


• Herding: http://casacalado-dogsport.blogspot.com/2009/10/herding.html


• Obedience Competition: http://casacalado-dogsport.blogspot.com/2009/08/obedience-competition-team-sport.html


• Dock Dogs: http://casacalado-dogsport.blogspot.com/2009/08/dock-dogs-water-sport.html


• Water trial for Portuguese Water Dog: http://casacalado-dogsport.blogspot.com/2009/08/water-trial-for-portuguese-water-dog.html