Why would you want to teach you and your dog Flyball?

• Build a stronger relationship with your Dog
• Speed up the Flyball learning process
• Your puppy is too young to start Flyball classes
• No classes in your area
• There’s a waiting list for Flyball classes
• Start learning Flyball immediately

Equipment needed to start learning Flyball:

1. Tennis Balls. There are three different sizes of tennis balls. For the smaller dog breeds or puppies, you might want to start with a small or medium size tennis ball. See additional resources listed below for where you can purchase smaller tennis balls.
   
   
2. Leashes: retractable leash (recommended) and a long leash (30-50’).
   
   
3. Jumps. Obedience or agility jumps will work, though they don’t have to be anything fancy. There are plans on the internet where you can make special Flyball jumps though those are not even needed to start learning Flyball.

   At a minimum, all you need is something for your dog to jump over: a small pillow, board, picnic table bench, small box, tape a few 2" PVC pipes together, shoe box, almost anything.

   To start Flyball, the jump height should be minimum and in proportion to the size of the dog. The official Flyball height is anywhere from a minimum of 8" to a maximum of 16" depending on the height of the smallest dog on the team.

   If your dog is still a puppy, don’t start working on the jumps until your Vet says it’s okay (you don’t want to put undo stress on their growing bones and joints) and even then, start low and work up to their standard height, which is 4" shorter that their height measured at their withers (shoulders) but no less than 8" and no more than 16".

4. Flyball Box. This too is something that puppies shouldn’t start until the Vet says their bones are strong enough, just like the jumps. There are Flyball box plans you can make your own box (not as easy as making jumps) or you can purchase already made boxes or if you’re in the Northern Virginia area, you can rent a Box by the week from our Flyball Team (see additional resources below).

The skills required for playing Flyball are laid out below in outline form, but can actually learned in almost any order (except for learning the Flyball BOX; there you need to have learned the CATCH and RETRIEVE first), though below is the recommended order. You can work on some of them simultaneously.

1. The first skill is the CATCH.

   Not every dog is born with a good catch but they can be taught it with some patience. Others already know it and you won’t have to spend any time on this area and can move right on to the Retrieve. But you need to test or start here.

   Take a tennis ball and throw it to your dog, just like it would come out of a Flyball BOX (a horizontal throw about 20 inches from the ground). If they catch it, you’re almost there.

   If not, then start with a food treat (or a toy) that they really like, but make sure it’s in a very small piece, and lightly throw it at their nose. I used popcorn for my Jack Russell Terriers (JRTs). It may take awhile, but eventually they will master the treat/toy catch and then you can transition to the tennis ball.

   Keep the throw soft and slow at first and gradually make it faster. Don’t throw the ball high into the air for them to catch it. The dog needs to be able to catch it like it’s thrown from the Flyball BOX; about 20" from the ground and no more than from a distance of 20".

   If they are having a hard time with a tennis ball, make sure the ball isn’t too big for their little mouth. (See above for different tennis ball sizes).

   Practice this just a few minutes a day and gradually increase the time.

   This must be fun for them and not work. Don’t scold if they can’t do it right away, just keep tossing small treats at them and REWARD* them when they do it right. Eventually they will get it.

   *When I say REWARD I mean: say good, happy things like "good catch Rover" in your most positive, happy, excited voice and/or rub their chest, scratch behind their ears, or just play with your dog; do anything that your dog would consider a fun, happy thing.

2. RETRIEVE AND RETURNS: This is another area that some dogs seems to have been born with the ability to RETRIEVE right away and others need to spend a great time developing, but any dog can eventually do it if the owner/handler has the patience and gives it the time to teach it properly.

   You can either start this with a tennis ball or a favorite toy and gradually introduce the tennis ball.

   Even if you are sure your dog has the RETRIEVE down pat, start this on a leash.

   Throw the tennis ball a short distance (a few feet) and tell your dog to go GET IT. (This is a good time to start reinforcing standard COMMANDS like GET IT. When they actually get the ball, call the dog’s name and lightly pull on the leash and make sure they bring the ball back to you. REWARD! Reward the dog for doing this correctly.

   Keep throwing the ball farther (keep using a longer leash) and make sure they are bringing the ball back to you until they have no problem doing it at a distance of 50-80 feet.

   Once they have mastered it on the leash (you no longer have to pull on the leash to get them to bring it back to you) do it without the leash. If they don’t bring it directly back to you, go back to using the leash until they do it correctly, 100% of the time.

   Here again, do this for a few minutes at a time. Don’t let this get boring and always quit on a positive note, after they do it correctly, even if you have to go back to the beginning. Keep this fun. Some dogs (Retrievers and Border Collies) can do this for hours at a time and never seem to get bored with this. Others, (like Jack Russell Terriers) get bored easily and you must slowly increase the amount of time they do this, as well as keep making it fun. It’s like they have to see the point in doing this and repetition just for the sake of repetition, or just because you told them to get, won’t cut it. It’s your job to know your dog and to figure out how to keep it fun. Most of the time a little variation is all it needs. Change the REWARD with a treat now and then.

   After the dog gets the ball and they are running it back to you, run away from the dog and make them chase you, intermix the RETRIEVE with a few CATCHes or JUMPS. Bottom-line, keep it FUN.

   Nope, you’re not done with the RETRIEVE and RETURN yet. Now that you have come this far, you need to make it retrieve more like the actual retrieve in Flyball. Some dogs take to the RETRIEVE and RETURN because they like to CHASE the ball. There is no chasing in Flyball. In fact, those breeds that like to chase things (JRTs) have the hardest time working on a Flyball team because they must learn not to chase their other team mates or players on the other team. So if your dog likes to chase others, then as fast as you can move from the first half of this RETRIEVE and RETURN to the Retrieving and Return from a STATIONARY POSITION the better.

   STATIONARY POSITION: Now take the tennis ball and with your dog, go place it on the ground a few feet from you. Don’t let your dog get the ball. Take your dog back to where you started, and (with them on a leash) have them GET IT and bring it back to you. Hopefully you won’t have to use the leash to bring it back to you. If it doesn’t work the first time, make sure your dog can see the ball and/or shorten the distance. Keep increasing the distance until it’s a good 50-60 feet.

   Now you’re ready to give the ball to someone else or put the ball at their feet and send your dog to go get it. This is the closest to an actual Flyball Action without the JUMPs and BOX. If adding the person to the routine flusters your dog, start slowly, do it in small steps and gradually decrease the distance from where you put the ball and where this other person its, similar to the other steps in this routine, but this time it’s backwards.

   Congratulations! You have finished one of the most basic and important foundations of learning Flyball. Now we can start adding the fun stuff.

3. JUMPS. If you have a puppy, make sure you keep the height of the jumps very low, only to the height of their knees at the most, until your Vet tells you that their bones and joints are developed enough to handle more. Dogs can not compete in a Flyball tournament until they are at least one year old, so don’t push this on them. Keep it fun.

   Take whatever you have available to use for jumps and place at least a couple of them just a few feet apart. With your dog on a leash, get on one side of the jump while leaving your dog on the other side, and then call them by their name followed by the command JUMP. If they don’t immediately come/jump to you, either make the jump shorter/smaller if you think it’s too tall or just lightly pull on the leash so they understand what you mean. When they do it successfully (even if the first few times aren’t perfect) REWARD! Then turn around and do it again.

   Once they have one JUMP, add another JUMP. They don’t have to be in a straight line. You just want them to be able to JUMP on command and enjoy it. It has to be FUN, not a chore. Keep adding a JUMP until they are comfortable jumping and they are enjoying it. Then you can start placing them in more of a straight line and having them JUMP.

   At this point it helps if you have someone to help you, but it is possible to do it by yourself. If you don’t have someone to help you, tell your dog to STAY (or have your assistant hold your dog) and you go to the other side of one JUMP. Call your dog and as they get to the JUMP, give the command to JUMP. If they avoid the JUMP to get to you, walk them back to the JUMP and give the command to JUMP. Once you can do this a few times successfully, then add a second JUMP. As you master two JUMPs, keep adding another JUMP until you get to four.

   Once you have four JUMPs down, then fine tune this by making sure the distance between the JUMPs is 10 feet. You don’t have to start out with the JUMPs 10 feet apart, but you do have to end up there. Then, once you have that down, and your dog is old enough, start slowly increasing the height until it’s the maximum your dog would have to JUMP (4" less than their height at the withers with a minimum of 8" or a maximum of 16").

   I know this can be the most boring part, esp. for the handler, but it is the area that the dogs have the hardest time with during their first tournament. The dog and handler get into a totally new environment of a tournament, and that’s the first thing the dog "forgets". They miss or avoid a hurdle or two. It has to be a consistant, fun part of the game of Flyball, otherwise they become so focused on getting the ball, they do what comes naturally, they take the route of least resistance to get the ball or to bring it back to you. Even when a dog has been doing it perfectly for weeks, they get amnesia, so keep practicing it and making it fun.

4. BOX: New instructions coming. 
   

5. Keep these lessons short and fun. Do it a few times a day or go work on the RETRIEVE or JUMPS or CATCH. You have to keep this fun for both you and your dog. This could take some time and you have to have patience.

6. Putting it all together: Resist the temptation to set up all the JUMPS and a BOX and send your dog down the 51 feet runway to get the ball. Continue slowly putting the pieces together and PROOFING your dog at every step.

   Set up the Flyball course: starting line, followed by the first hurdle 6 feet later, then the other 3 hurdles are spaced 10 feet apart, followed by the box 15 feet after the last hurdle for a 51 foot overall length. Usually there is anywhere from 30-50 feet of run back room before the start/finish line.

   Start out by placing your dog behind the FIRST HURDLE (closest to the start/finish line) and call your dog. Proof your dog, in other words, continuing this until it can be done 100% accurately, without a leash. Then after it’s done a few times with no problems, move on to the second hurdle, repeating the exercise. Continue to the third and fourth HURDLEs.

   Once your dog is PROOFED on the return, then continue.

   Place your dog just in front of the hurdle closest to the Flyball BOX and send them to GET IT and make sure they bring the ball directly back to you. If your dog doesn’t bring it directly back to you, repeat this excerise using the leash until your dog can bring the ball directly back to you. When they have done this perfectly a few times, then go on to the next step.

   Now send your dog, still being just in front of the hurdle closest to the BOX; send them to GET IT, but now make your dog bring the ball all the way back to the finish line, jumping over all the hurdles. This is where it helps if you have an extra person to help you. Ideally you would want someone else sending your dog to the BOX and you station yourself at the FINISH line calling your dog.

   Now set your dog behind the hurdle closest to the Flyball BOX and send them to GET IT, making sure your dog brings the ball directly back to you, jumping over all the HURDLES and crossing the FINISH line returning to you.

   Anytime your dog avoids a HURDLE, you must take them back to the missed HURDLE and have them jump it and all the rest to the FINISH line.

   Once your dog is PROOFED at a HURDLE, continue to the next HURDLE until you are starting your dog at the START line and they are completing the Flyball Course all the way to the FINISH.

7. CONGRATULATIONS! Now you need to keep practicing this while fine-tuning for speed and start practicing with other dogs. Contact your local Flyball Club and ask about practicing with them, testing into their club and/or joining their club. If there isn’t a Flyball Club convenient to you, START YOUR OWN!

BASIC SUGGESTIONS:

• COMMANDS. You, the dog handler, must consistantly use the same commands at the appropriate times so the dog can learn and understand exactly what you mean.
• For two reasons, don’t leave tennis balls out-use only with supervision, because 1)they can destroy a tennis ball and make themself sick and 2)you don’t want the tennis ball to be just another toy. You want it to be a special toy that is associated with having fun with YOU and Flyball.
• Join or start your Flyball team if there isn’t one in your area.
• Attend a Flyball tournament, long before you are ready to compete. Even volunteer to help with a tournament. Volunteers are always needed for tasks such as Line Judge, Box Judge, Timekeepers, as well as many teams need help with Boxloader, someone to shag balls, or even a handler for a dog (sometime a handler can’t attend a tournament, but will send their dog with someone).
• Keep your dog’s nails trimmed short, otherwise their nails could get caught in the box and actually get ripped out.
• Watch your dog’s pads, esp. if you practice on rough surfaces. Toughen them up if needed.

TOURNAMENT BOUND SUGGESTIONS:

• Make sure your dog can comfortably stay in a crate or any safe area that they can rest in between heats.
• Travel with your dog so you both can be confortable and well rested when you have to travel to a tournament.
• Have one person train your dog, but teach them to be able to have more than one handler so that someone can help you with training and in a tournament.

RESOURCES:

• Tennis Balls

  Any tennis ball will work, but if you have a smaller size dog, smaller tennis balls are permitted. A link to purchase smaller tennis balls is: SitStay GoOut Store

• Hurdles

Buy one: See the following web pages for places to buy hurdles:
J and J Dog Supplies: http://www.jandjdog.com/flyball/flyballhurdles/hurdles.html

Make one: See the following web pages for instructions on how to make hurdles
http://muskie.-------.---/~flyball/marketplace/flyer.html

Rent one: If you live in the Northern Virginia area, contact our local Flyball club, FBI, to rent hurdles. We have a set purchased from J and J Dog Supplies.

• Flyball Box

Buy one: See the following web pages for places to buy a Flyball Box: http://muskie.-------.---/~flyball/marketplace/#boxes and http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/xcergy/index.htm

Make one: See the following web pages for instructions on how to make a Flyball Box: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/2119/boxplan.htm

Rent one: If you live in the Northern Virginia area, contact our local Flyball club: FBI to rent a box. We have a small box (purchased from J and J Dog Supplies) and only recommend it for puppies and small dogs that weigh less than 20 pounds. We also have a couple of other boxes that we will rent out by the week, when available.