Flyball!

Hey folks!

Does anyone here have any infinite wisdom about flyball that they would like to share??

I would like to get a flyball box for Zoe. She has a super high prey drive(IMO) and prefers a ball or a frisbee.........even over treats!! I would like to get a couple of boxes to have at home so she can do keep on running when I can't!!

I found How To website on building a box but it looks pretty darn complicated!! Here's the site: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/2119/boxplan.htm

Does anyone know of an easier one?? Our financial situation is pretty tight right now so I can't purchase one and I dislike shopping online!

If anyone has any ideas, that would be great!

Does anyone here have any infinite wisdom about flyball that they would like to share??

What would like to know? I compete on 2 teams in my area.

Are you looking for teams,equipment? I would be more than happy to help you out. There are very successful flyball teams in your area.

You don't need a box to start your training. I teach classes twice a week and we start with a pylon or an empty bucket. You want to teach your dog a swimmer's turn so that when he is on the box he turns and doesn't slam the box. Slamming causes a lot problems for joints.

Here is a picture of a nice turn. Notice there is a cone and a jump in front of the box and no ball. We started with the cone. There is no ball because that's another step.We teach flyball in steps. The turn and the jumps are taught separately and then we put it together. It takes a year at least to teach a dog to do a proper flyball run in a lineup with timing and passing. If you try to throw a dog/handler team in too early you can create a dangerous situation or some other issues could develop which are difficult to fix later.

Step 1

Is dog left handed or right handed? How do you find out? Roll a ball or toss a toy into the corner of a room, send you dog to get it. Do this 3-4 times. When your dog retrieves it out of the corner does he turn right or left to come back to you? After several tries, does he consistently turn one way - then that determines if he left or right handed.

Step 2

Set up a construction cone or empty bucket on the ground in front of you. Have your dog beside you, remembering what side he turns , put him on your left or right. Lure your dog around the cone with whatever motivator you know he will love, ball,food, tug. Repeat several times.

Make sense so far?

Canis

Oh thank you wise one!! lol No really, thank you!!

Are you looking for teams,equipment? Not looking for a team, just looking for equipment. I do not want to compete, just want to give Zoe another way to exert her energy. She anticipates the moment you throw a ball for her, so I thought I might try her with flyball. I also would like to set up a small agility course too. I'm looking for mental and physical stimulation for both of my dogs and thought flyball and/or agility would benefit them both. They don't need to be as fast as bullets or absolutely perfect at the sport, just well exercised. :)

Thanks for the training steps, so far! Does it make a difference if the dog is on a leash while doing these steps?? Our yard isn't fenced, so running loose is not an option(we have a hundred foot run which she is attached to, to run back and forth). I just wonder if the leash or tie out will interfere with whether or not she is left or right handed.

Thanks for the training steps, so far! Does it make a difference if the dog is on a leash while doing these steps??

Actually we start our new dogs on leash and it doesn't interfere for the around the pylon exercise.

There are plans on the internet to build flyball jumps. It's inexpensive and if someone is handy around the house it could be done over the weekend. We train the jumps by setting them up according to the rules. Each jump is exactly ten feet apart. We put snow fencing along the outside of the jumps using stakes in the ground. It's easier if there are 2 people for this. Someone holds your dog and you go to the end of your run (the last jump) and call your dog to come over the jumps using your motivator in your left hand. This works well if you have a ball or a tug. The person holding your dog lets him go down the lane and you reward when they reach you at the end with their motivator. With puppies we have lower jumps ( 4 inches) and we start with one jump at that time and build up to 4. With larger dogs you can do the same or if your dog has done agility jumps before, this should be easy. We do this recall exercise 5-6 times in a row and then we move to the "around" the cone/pylon exercise. You can do the jumps with a leash but I wouldn't recommend it for long because once the dog figures out what to do they pick up speed and thel eash could become tangled.

It's fun and the dogs enjoy it. I just got in from one of the classes I teach. We do ours outside in a large field. I also do agility training and there are a couple of inexpensive ways to have fun. Set up some kitchen chairs in the backyard and use a broom stick for a bar, set up across the seat parts of the chairs and voila you have a jump. Again if someone in your family is handy you can have them build you a small contact trainer out of scraps of wood. A plank of wood with a toilet flange screwed on the bottom and you have a teeter board. Two bricks at either end of a long board of wood (4-5 feet long, 12 inches wide) and you have a small dog walk.

You are only limited by your imagination.

Canis

Thanks for your advice Canis! I'll start working on the steps you have given me so far!
My Mom's hubby is a pretty handy guy. I am going to have him look at the website I posted(for the flyball box) and see whether or not he wants to tackle the job! It'll give him something to do for the winter anyway!! :rolleyes:

If I need more help, I'll post it in this thread, if that's ok with you! And I'll keep you updated on our progress!

Of course it's ok!!!

Listen your friend who will hopefully build your box, once you know what side your dog turns you should have the hole for the ball put on that side. In the middle he won't be able to turn. Take a look at this site with boxes.

http://www.flyballboxes.com/flyballboxes.asp

Click on the logo atthe bottom and you can see some pictures of the box. You won't need the small holes on the box.

Here is a website for jumps. Those are pretty easy.

http://www.flyballequip.com/jumpplans.htm

Good luck and have fun!!!

Canis