Picture two racing lanes side-by-side, each with a row of four low jumps leading to a spring loaded box which shoots out a tennis ball. Each team consists of four excited dogs awaiting their turn. The first dog on each team races down their row of jumps, hits the box, activating a mechanism that ejects a tennis ball. The dog grabs the ball and races back across the start/finish line. As the first dogs cross the line the next dogs on each team take off, passing at full speed. The first team with four dogs successfully completing the course is the winner! Success in Flyball racing is measured in seconds and the action is fast and furious! At tournaments, electronic sensors and timing machinery are used to capture the results. Indeed, some spectators have described the sport as “drag racing for dogs!”

Especially important is the fact that Flyball, the fastest growing dog sport in the United States and Canada with over 700 clubs competing regularly, is open to mixed breeds and shelter rescues along with registered breeds. While speedy dogs like Border Collies and Jack Russell Terriers are obvious candidates for Flyball, they are not the only dogs that excel at this sport. From the biggest Great Dane to the smallest Papillon, dogs love to play this game!

Our Dog>Gone Flyball Team prides itself on the fact that we have a diverse group of breeds running on our teams and being successful! We have been racing for five years and have seen many of our dogs reach impressive titles. Along the way, we've built a team that has a lot of fun! We invite you to stop by and observe our classes and see the dogs in action. (Please leave your own dog home when you visit as space in the building is at a premium.)

Flyball incorporates the perfect merging of canine obedience and agility-type skills in an exciting and fun sport! To learn all the many skills necessary to play Flyball successfully, a dog needs to be focused on its handler. Obedience training is essential since it trains the dog to focus on its handler while agility can improve the dog’s coordination and build its confidence.

Flyball takes obedience and agility-type skills a step further by teaching the dog to perform and make its own decisions while it is running at top speed on the Flyball course. The Flyball dog must also learn to perform its tasks while there is another dog in an adjoining lane doing the same thing at the same time. This requires the ultimate in focus and concentration in the face of major distractions.

The ideal Flyball dog is an agile, athletic retriever with lots of stamina! But you don’t have to have the “ideal” dog to get involved in Flyball since this sport offers the opportunity to participate at many levels. For some, the main goal is to race and be the fastest. Others race to earn points and title their dogs. And there are some people who just want a fun outlet for themselves and their dogs. There is a spot for all dogs (purebreds and mixed breeds) in Flyball; so enjoy the sport of Flyball with the breed of dog you love.