I am not sure or not whether this is my newest favourite thing, but it is certainly a thing that came to my attention at the Canberra Show earlier this year. I had not heard of Flyball before. It is described in the Australian Flyball Association website as ‘a relay race between two teams of four dogs. Each dog must jump over four hurdles, retrieve a ball by triggering a flyball box pedal and then return over the hurdles to the start/ finish line’.
Whereas the site continues to say, ‘Flyball is a canine team sport which is founded on the activities that dogs love to do - run, jump, fetch, retrieve, compete and most of all: their desire to please their owners’. But it would say that, wouldn’t it? A common internet search ‘is Flyball good for dogs’ returns the result, ‘it places greater stress on the body, increasing the risk of a potential muscular injury.’
Other questions ask which are the best breeds to participate in Flyball. The answer here is ‘There is no discrimination in Flyball. Any dog; regardless of breed, size, shape or formal training, can participate and join in on the fun’. It’s true, we saw a range of dogs competing, with the border collies and kelpies enjoying themselves and the smaller terriers and hounds executing incredible flying leaps.
There is lots of noise and organised chaos and some beautiful dogs who missed the ball every time or collided with the hurdles, but the whole thing seems conducted with high spirits and humour. As long as they are all having fun and not feeling any pressure to perform, I think they are all good boys and girls.
