Flyball Racing: The Dog Sport for Everyone (Paperback)

by Lonnie Olson (Author) "The sport of Flyball has changed dramatically over its life span of a quarter of a century..." (more)
Key Phrases: middle pounce, flyball racing, box loader, Joanne Weber, Electronic Judging System, Border Collie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Flyball Racing: The Dog Sport for Everyone
Imagine four dogs, competing against each other side-by-side on two separate racing lanes. Then picture a packed crowd of spirited spectators waiting to hear "Get Your Ball" and the excited barking of the competitors at the cue to start the race. If you can envision racing lanes with four jumps, spaced ten feet apart, and a Flyball box at the end of each lane—you know the thrill of Flyball Racing. The anticipation of a great race is just one of the resaons that Flyball Racing has become such a popular sport for dog enthusiasts all over the world. The enthusiasm pervades this comprehensive book that includes all of the details about this fun and friendly competition.

Flyball Racing: The Dog Sport for Everyone is the perfect guide for everyone from the novice participant to the experienced competitor. You will be taught how Flyball Racing has developed from its humble beginnings in a wood shop to a sport that, due to its large number of participants, has become a more formalized competition. You'll find out that all breeds (including mixed breeds) are eligible for play, how to train your dog for the sport, the equipment you need and the rules and regulations that direct all facets of Flyball Racing.

Other chapters include teamwork and how to build your own team, the role of the North American Flyball Association, how to get into competition and how to host a tournament. There is even a special section that breaks down the individual parts of flyball training in a performance checklist. The text of Flyball Racing is enhanced by numerous photos of competition in action that illustrate the spirit of the sport. An indispensable guide to a thrilling relay race, Flyball Racing is the ideal book to own, learn from and refer back to as you enjoy the competition.
A Howell Dog Book of Distinction

From the Back Cover
Flyball Racing: The Dog Sport for Everyone
Imagine four dogs, competing against each other side-by-side on two separate racing lanes. Then picture a packed crowd of spirited spectators waiting to hear "Get Your Ball" and the excited barking of the competitors at the cue to start the race. If you can envision racing lanes with four jumps, spaced ten feet apart, and a Flyball box at the end of each laneyou know the thrill of Flyball Racing. The anticipation of a great race is just one of the resaons that Flyball Racing has become such a popular sport for dog enthusiasts all over the world. The enthusiasm pervades this comprehensive book that includes all of the details about this fun and friendly competition.

Flyball Racing: The Dog Sport for Everyone is the perfect guide for everyone from the novice participant to the experienced competitor. You will be taught how Flyball Racing has developed from its humble beginnings in a wood shop to a sport that, due to its large number of participants, has become a more formalized competition. You'll find out that all breeds (including mixed breeds) are eligible for play, how to train your dog for the sport, the equipment you need and the rules and regulations that direct all facets of Flyball Racing.

Other chapters include teamwork and how to build your own team, the role of the North American Flyball Association, how to get into competition and how to host a tournament. There is even a special section that breaks down the individual parts of flyball training in a performance checklist. The text of Flyball Racing is enhanced by numerous photos of competition in action that illustrate the spirit of the sport. An indispensable guide to a thrilling relay race, Flyball Racing is the ideal book to own, learn from and refer back to as you enjoy the competition.
A Howell Dog Book of Distinction

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Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House; 1 edition (August 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876056303
• ISBN-13: 978-0876056301
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #772,369 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Vague and somewhat confusing, October 3, 1998

By A Customer

I read this book as someone already familiar with the sport of Flyball. I found that it was a general overview of the sport as opposed to a training manual that would help you to teach a dog to play flyball. The training advice is somewhat vague and dated. Current training techniques are mentioned, but not explained for a novice to understand. This book utilizes the old method of pattern training and does not go into teaching or proofing the elements of the course. I found the book Flyball Training: Start to finish to be a much more thorough and concise guide of great use to the novice or experienced enthusiast.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed explaination of teaching through Back Chaining, August 5, 2004

By	Kathleen Byrne (Vona, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This books gives directions for construction jumps,including a wonderfully simple "puppy jump", advice on solving problems (like getting a tight turn). She does sometimes seem to be relying on repetition to get your dog into the habit of what you want, but this would easily be used with clicker training to improve the time and reliability of these behaviors.
The most impressive part of this book though, was it's step by step detailing of how to teach your dog to run using BACK-CHAINING. She breaks the behavior into at least 12 different segments - starting with the last jump on the return and back-chains to the total run, including proofing the return to the 4th jump should your dog miss the ball and have to retrieve it before it's return run. (if you don't know what back-chaining is, check out Karen Pryor's clicker site - it's a GREAT learning tool)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, July 9, 2006

By	C. West (NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Everything you always wanted to know about flyball including how to build most of the equipment at home.