Training a Flyball Dog

It's time to train your dog!

NOTE:
*** Please keep in mind that every dog is different and learns at it's own pace. While you may want to jump right into the sport of Flyball your dog may have no idea what you want of him/her when you ask. Training for any human sport takes time and practice, the same is true of Flyball. Your dog may take a good several months to start looking like a Flyball dog. Heck, one of our team members took about a year before she even ran a lane by herself correctly. The most important thing is to stick with it and HAVE FUN!
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Step 1:
In training for Flyball the first thing you need to do is find out what kind of enthusiasm the dog has for BALLS! Do yours like to play fetch? If so you're further ahead than you know. A dog will not want to do something that is not fun so no matter what ... HAVE FUN!

Step 2:
Once your dog likes the ball it's time to teach them that when you throw the ball they MUST bring it back to you. This may take some time as a lot of dogs figure they've got their trophy why should they give it up just to have it thrown away so they have to go chase it again. Again, you must make this ... FUN!

Step 3:
Once the dog will retrieve the ball then we start them on "The Box". This can be a challenge for some dogs and takes lots of patience. We start by letting the dog sniff the box and giving treat rewards when they get right up close to the box. Once they are use to it we entice them to step on the box ... anywhere to start ... gradually reinforcing them to step on the padded front trigger portion. As always this is done slowly and with lots of praise and reward so as not to scare the dog off the box.

***NOTICE ... we do NOT use a ball in getting the dog use to the box!

Step 4:
Now that the dog knows and is accepting of the quiet box it's time to add the trigger noise. Cock the trigger but DO NOT load the ball yet! Now, enticing the dog with a treat, get the dog to put his/her foot on the trigger. The moment the trigger discharges and the box makes the noise reward with the treat and TONS ... I MEAN TONS ... of praise. Initially most dogs jump back the first few times and may not want to go right back to the box. Use gentle coaxing to get them back to the box. They soon realize that the noise made by them pushing the trigger is a good thing and that they get a treat for making it happen. This step also takes some time to work through so don't rush!

***PLEASE NOTE: these first 4 steps may seem simple and for some dogs they are but for others it may take weeks, even months, of training to get to this point. (it took my Husky 8 weeks to get here ... it took my Jack 3 weeks)

Step 5:
Time to introduce the ball again! Now that poochie is accepting the box and it's noise we ask them to trigger the box and then roll the ball off it for them to get and bring back to mom/dad. After a while, once they realize the ball goes with the box, we start to place the ball in the box hole and let the dog trigger the box to get the ball to release. This turning point may take another few weeks for some dogs as they would rather steal the ball from the hole rather than trigger the box to release it. Once the dog realizes how much FUN this game is you'll find they have a hard time stopping!

Step 6:
Now your dog will go up to the box, trigger it and take the ball back to you ... great! Now it's time for a LONG recall.
You hold the dog back some 10-15 feet from the box while the dog watches the "ball-loader" (what we call the person who's job it is to load the box) place a ball in the box. You give your dog their command to get the ball and they (hopefully enthusiastically) trot or run up to the box, trigger it, and bring the ball all the way back to you. YEAH!!!!

***You've probably been training now for 3-4 months ... congrats for sticking with it!

By now your dog is seeing just how much FUN this new game is and both of you are really enjoying your time together!

Step 7:
It's time to add a jump ... JUST ONE to start!
Now, place the last jump away from the box (about 10 feet or so) and you stand behind it with poochie. Ball-loader loads the ball into the box and you send your dog. As the dog returns WITH THE BALL (hopefully) you call him/her back over the jump to you while taking several steps backwards - please don't trip! They usually catch onto this step fairly quickly. You gradually progress backwards down the lane adding the next jump in the sequence as long as the dog does well. After a couple weeks of working on this your dog will be able to start at the beginning of the Flyball lane and run down over all 4 jumps, trigger the box, grab the ball and bring it back over all 4 jumps to you. YEAH!!!!

Step 8:
Now that your dog will run on a Flyball lane BY HIMSELF, it's time to let him give it a whirl with a couple other dogs on the team. He/she may have a little brain fart at this point thinking it's time to play instead of run Flyball but with a little reminder and they'll be fine. If not, take them off of the race lane and make them watch as all the other dogs have their fun. It's kind of like a "Time-Out" for kids. Once they realize that if they screw around with the other dogs they don't get to play ball most dogs have no problems getting in line and doing what they are suppose to. However, you may have to use the "Time-Out" several times before they get the point ... they're just like kids!

Step 9:
Fine tuning is done with every athlete so it's no wonder that a Flyball dog needs the same kind of work. They need to learn to pass the other dogs on their team without problem, they need to learn to stay on their lane while other dogs run next to them on a separate lane, they need to learn not to keep running back and forth on the lane when it's not their turn but rather come back and wait for the next run. These are all things that come with time and practice, patience and understanding.

*** Congratulations ***
a FLYBALL DOG is born!

It only took you 6-8 months (or longer) to get there but you finally have a working Flyball dog! Though it seemed to have taken forever, the reward that you get from spending time with your pooch while training to become a Flyball dog and in racing on a team with your dog and the exercise you both got will last a long, long time!