Learn about Breitensport Jogging Cycling Agility Canicross / CaniX Flyball with hovawarts.
Flyball
As with most dog sports there is a lot of training and discipline involved. Hovawarts can gain immense satisfaction from flyball, it challenges their minds, is social and active, and demands that their owner works with them – in short it presents yet another excellent opportunity for the adaptable exuberant hovawart to utilise some of his talents.
Many people use flyball just to relax and to socialize with others, whilst others train to championship levels, but most flyball dogs are pets with a great hobby. Although certain herding breeds dominate flyball, it may owe it's huge popularity to the fact that it is not limited to pedigree dogs, it is open all, to mixed breeds. Neither is flyball limited by the size of the dog. Smaller breeds often compete with others of various sizes, and are often highly valued because the height of the hurdle is based upon the height of the smallest dog in a team.
International dog sport
Flyball developed as a sport during the late 1960's and early 1970's in America. When the tennis ball-launching apparatus was added the now familiar flyball box was born. Flyball is an international dog sport with National tournaments, and European championships. The European championships were held in Britain during 2007, the Czech Republic in 2008 and are due to be held in Belgium in 2009.
Relay Race
Competitively, flyball is run as a relay race with teams of four dogs. The teams race against each other from a start/finish line, over hurdles, to the box that releases a tennis ball; which is caught when the dog presses the spring loaded pedal, and then back to their handlers while carrying the ball.
Each dog must carry its ball over the start/finish line before the next runner can begin. The first team with all four dogs across the finish line without mistakes, wins. Penalties are incurred if the ball is dropped, or if the next dog in the relay is released too soon.
Competitions and teams
Competitions are usually hosted by a local flyball club and are governed by national rules. The host flyball club uses judges who are approved by the national organization and the club applies to the national organization for permission to hold a competition; most competitions are two-day weekend events.
The teams are often seeded into divisions against other teams of similar speed, which enables the races to be more exciting. Each team in the division will usually race against all the other teams. The overall winner is the team with the most wins. The dogs can earn titles and awards, based upon points earned by their team in the competition.
The Flyball course
The course itself consists of four hurdles placed 3 m apart, with the starting line 1.8 m from the first hurdle, and the flyball box 4.5 m after the last one, giving a total course length of 15.5 m. The hurdle height is determined by the shoulder height of the smallest dog in the team.
