Flyball
Flyball is the fastest sport on four paws! Nicknamed "Drag Racing for Dogs", flyball is a relay race between two teams of four dogs. Each dog on the team has to jump over 4 hurdles, trigger and retrieve a ball from a specially designed flyball box at the other end of the lane and then return over the hurdles before the next dog on the team has their turn. The catch? If one of the dogs doesn’t complete their run cleanly, that dog has to run again! The first team to have all 4 of their dogs complete their turn successfully wins.
It’s one of the most exciting sports for both competitors and spectators because dogs of all sizes and shapes over the age of 12 months can (and do!) compete.
Spectators are encouraged to clap and cheer for their favourite team, and many of the dogs actually run faster, the louder the cheering! To make it fair for all dogs, the height of the four hurdles is set based on the ulna (top leg bone) length of the shortest dog on the team. This means that dogs with shorter legs jump smaller jumps than those with longer legs. Jump heights go down to a minimum of 7 inches and up to a maximum of 14 inches.
Cockers make particularly good flyball dogs because they’re small and fast. Whilst they mightn’t have the lightning speed of the working dogs, their height means the team’s jumps are set to their height, creating a huge advantage for the bigger, faster dogs in their team - meaning a faster overall time. It helps that most cockers are ball crazy and food motivated so will literally fly back for that treat at the end of the run.
It’s one of the most exciting sports for both competitors and spectators because dogs of all sizes and shapes over the age of 12 months can (and do) compete.
Spectators are encouraged to clap and cheer for their favourite team, and many of the dogs actually run faster, the louder the cheering! To make it fair for all dogs, the height of the four hurdles is set based on the ulna (top leg bone) length of the shortest dog on the team. This means that dogs with shorter legs jump smaller jumps than those with longer legs. Jump heights go down to a minimum of 7 inches and up to a maximum of 14 inches.
The sport spread to Australia in 1982, first appearing in Perth. It remained a demonstration only sport until 1996, when the Australian Flyball Association (AFA) was formed. Now, the sport is truly national, with active flyball clubs operating in most states.
Over time, the sport has evolved, with changes made to the design of flyball boxes and more modern training techniques used. These updates have meant that the sport has become faster, more competitive and most importantly, much safer for competing dogs.
There are a number of flyball clubs located across the wider Brisbane and local rural areas, with clubs also in far north Queensland, Gympie, Maryborough. Clubs are always looking for that speedy little height dog to create the advantage for their team. Cockers are perfect!
Today, the sport is truly international, with teams competing throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Africa and Australia, each with a similar set of rules. In Australia, the sport is mostly run outside on grass, but overseas, particularly in countries where it gets too hot or too cold to run the sport outside, indoor competitions are held on mats.
Cockers are fabulous pocket rockets and they love Flyball. If you have a Cocker who loves a lot of fun, and loves a ball, or even if you just think they might enjoy it, why not consider giving Flyball a go.
Contact our Club and we can put you in contact with our members who regularly compete in Flyball - they are more than happy to encourage more Cockers to give it a go. Our Club Member Dianne Harrower competes regularly with her pocket rocket Daisy and keen to help all Cocker enthusiasts to give it a go!
Here are list of some of the Queensland Cockers who compete and have titles in Flyball.
* Cobalt Spring Fling (Daisy) Australian Flyball Champion
* Cobalt Blue Dragon (Aeryn) Flyball Master Champion
* Bowsfieldon Bmy (Olive) Flyball Master
* Cobalt All Spice (Harvey) Flyball Master
* Cobalt Solitaire (Jasmine) Flyball Master Excellent
* Candlewind Never Say Never (Nova) Flyball Master
* Acijay Silver Bells (Ivy) Australian Flyball Champion
* Honeychocca Crush (Charlie) Flyball Master Champion
Photos courtesy of Dianne Harrower and Jenny Hughes, content supplied by Dianne Harrower
Contact Details
The Secretary, Cocker Spaniel Club of Qld IncBrisbane, QLD, Australia
Email : [email protected]