Pet Style

If you haven’t heard of flyball yet, chances are you will soon. It’s the latest craze among owners of high-energy dog breeds and is sweeping the nation — as well as Northwest Tucson. 
 

Inese Kalnins had just finished up agility classes at Garvin’s Pet Training when she heard about flyball and thought it would be something her two young border collies would enjoy. “Our dogs had their obedience training at Garvin’s and were taking agility classes there. When [trainer] Maureen mentioned trying flyball, we thought, ‘Sounds like fun!’”
 

If you’ve never seen flyball in person, it’s worth a look — YouTube is filled with videos of competitions. It consists of teams of four dogs in a relay-style race. The first dog runs down a lane, outfitted with hurdles, until it reaches a box, which upon being hit or stepped on, releases a tennis ball. The dog catches or retrieves the ball before turning and running back to its owner, who sends the next dog on its way. This is repeated until all four dogs complete the course. Generally two courses are laid out side by side for teams to compete against each other.
 

The sport was invented in the 1970s, but took off after an appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, leading to the first tournament in 1983. The big draw is that it’s one of few canine competitions where mixed breeds can run beside their purebred pals.
 

Maureen Odenwald of Garvin’s Pet Training describes flyball as the perfect sport for dogs with lots of drive and a “love of the almighty tennis ball.” Odenwald, who also teaches canine agility, got hooked on flyball while trying to find a sport for her dog who did not enjoy agility competition. “My second dog favored the ball more, so I thought I would give him something to do. As it turned out, while I was teaching him, Lucy, my agility dog, was sitting on the sidelines watching, and when she could no longer take it, she ran over and shoved poor Bruiser out of the way, performing flyball perfectly with no instruction.” 
 

Since its inception, flyball has grown to a nationally regulated sport with more than 700 clubs and 16,000 registered dogs. It has even inspired its own, seemingly Olympic-caliber, Electronic Judging System that uses infrared timing sensors to track starts, passes and finishes — to the thousandth of a second. 
 

Are you wondering if your dog has what it takes? According to Odenwald, “If you are looking for a top competitor, you are going to see herding breeds and terriers, but the truth is, it is not so much the breed that is going to like it but the individual dog.”

While Kalnins isn’t looking to compete after this class cycle is over she plans to continue at home because of all the other benefits of the sport for her dogs: “They gained confidence and are less dependant on one another. There’s obedience involved and socialization with dogs and people, which are all valuable skills to have.” 
 

Although, Tucson doesn’t host a national event, there is a local club in town. “You only need one dog of your own, as you can pair up with other flyball enthusiasts,” says Odenwald. Classes at Garvin’s start regularly, so call for the schedule and Maureen or another trainer can evaluate your dog’s skill level, but it doesn’t take much for any dog to excel, she says. “Your dog will need to come when called, have basic obedience skills and a love of the ball.” Capes not required. 



Here’s how to get started.

* Online K9 is Tucson’s only Flyball club. You can find them at Flyballdogs.com/onlinek9 or by emailing Robin Combs at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

* Ask about flyball at local obedience classes including Garvin’s Pet Training at 520.790.DOGS.