Looking for experienced flyball doodlers?

[Tara and Dublin]

I am looking to learn about this sport and possibly give it a try.  We live in Florida, not sure where to start or what to look for in regard to a reputable team.  I figured somewhere on the DK network there has to be doodlers with lots of knowledge on this topic!!!  Pros and Cons about the sport are all welcome...thank you!

[Tara and Dublin]

She just posted...thanks for the direction!!!

[Leslie and Halas]

I will have more time to write something more detailed later, but check out our page.  We're loving flyball.

[Tara and Dublin]

You are a ROCKSTAR!  Thanks.

[sandy b]

Tara, I have been thinking this might be fun for Max after viewing Halas video sometime ago. There are a number of teams in Florida - check out www.flyballdogs.com. There is a meet Mar 19 or 20 in St. Pete. I think it might be fun to attend.

[Tara and Dublin]

I will thank you...and in case you were not aware...Max is adorable!!!!

[Leslie and Halas]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.  It's been a busy week!  We have a local obedience club, and two flyball teams have started there.  I'm not sure if that's how most other teams start or not, but you do need a large area to practice and/or have tournaments, so I would guess that a lot of teams practice at an obedience club.  At our obedience club, you have to have gone through at least beginner obedience to even start flyball.  The sport looks and sounds chaotic, but the handlers/owners actually have amazing control over their dogs, so an obedient dog is essential.  We spent about a year learning before we could do a full run, which means going over all 4 jumps, hitting the box, grabbing the ball, and coming back over all 4 jumps, holding the ball the entire way back.  After that, it was another couple of months getting used to passing another dog and running as part of a team.  Even when we had that down, we still had to go to a tournament or 2 just to watch and get used to all of the noise and activity.  Running with just your own team in a quiet facility is a lot different than running against another teams with a ton of other dogs, people, and distractions around.  So it's a long process, but it's really fun, and the dogs seem to love it.

 

I'd say the Pros are bonding with your dog, keeping your dog's body and brain active, meeting other dog-people, stuff like that.

 

I can really only think of a couple of Cons.  There is potential for injury, either from training or a collision with another dog.  Halas collided with another dog in November.  It was a much bigger dog, but luckily they just hit shoulder to shoulder, and neither dog was injured.  But it did scare Halas, so now we're working really hard to get him running with the team again.  He's still a little nervous about another dog running towards him.  He's never been injured from training, but we've had other dogs with some leg injuries.  An injury can keep a dog out for several months sometimes, just because they don't know how to take it easy when they come back.  The dogs love it so much that they want to go full speed no matter what.  The initial training is so important, because getting the dog to hit the box the right way will save a lot of possible wear and tear on their shoulders and legs and help prevent injury.  There is also quite a lot of travel for some teams.  Most of our tournaments are within a 3 hour drive, but that's still gas money and a couple of nights in a hotel, so it can get expensive.  And we've been at tournaments with teams that have come from several states away, so some teams do a lot more travel than we do.

 

I hope this gives you a starting point for your search.  I would check with local obedience clubs in your area.

 

Here are websites for the 2 flyball leagues in the US (at least the only 2 that I know of):

http://www.flyball.org/

http://www.u-fli.com/

 

[Tara and Dublin]

GREAT PIX!!!!!  Sounds like a lot of fun.  I spoke with my sister-in-law who participates in flyball with her jack russell and she loves it!  I will be making some calls next week to figure out what is next and what direction.  Looks as though I have found a few sports to look into such as....flyball, agility sports and dock diving/racing.  Will be interesting to check this all out and see if the time and commitment is something Dublin and I can do together.   Thank you so very much for your response.  You are a rockstar HALAS!!