This page is going to go over some pre-flyball skills that dogs of any age or ability can engage in. These activities will be covered in your in-person flyball sessions, but we encourage you to practice these at home too. These skills may seem distant from the fast-paced racing you saw on our What is Flyball? page, but we have included a brief description of their importance with their video.
Many aspects of flyball involve your dog being off leash, however this means your dog will need to be put back on lead too. After every run, recall, boxwork at flyball, our dogs must be popped back on lead or held by their collar or harness.
This is a safety requirement from beginners, all the way to competition dogs. The Collar Grab Game builds trust and fun into that aspect of the recall.
Recall is a big deal in flyball as we need our dogs to return to us, quickly and with haste, everytime we call them, no matter the circumstances. There’s a variety of games on this video, try them out and see which you like most!
We require a lot of focus from our dogs at training, this game can help us build some of that focus before we even start flyballing.
Play is so important in flyball. This video talks through some different play styles and how to introduce them to your dog. The priority with play in flyball is that dogs need to play WITH their handlers, not just running away with a toy.
We recommend that you DO NOT attempt to recreate a flyball run or boxturn UNLESS INSTRUCTED to do so by a flyball instructor. This is a safety message.