'Drag racing for dogs'

There are a lot of ways to give your dog the exercise it needs.

Some people walk or run with their dogs religiously. Others use an enclosed area, like the off-leash dog park at Quidi Vidi Lake or a local baseball diamond to let the dog run free. All worthy options for keeping your canine friend healthy and active.

But for those looking to add a little more excitement to their dogs' fitness regimen while spending time around like-minded owners, flyball is the 'sport' of choice for your pup.

"It's pretty much drag racing for dogs," says Stephanie Conway, a Newfoundland Athletic Dog Association (NADA) flyball competitor, instruc-tor and, along with her three-year-old Border Collie-Terrier mix Sasha, a member of the province's first flyball team known as the Fog Dogs. "And it's a lot of fun."

The format is similar to any kind of relay race. In teams of four, the first dog bolts from a start line towards a spring loaded box 51 feet away while clearing four hurdles set a minimum height of seven inches. Upon clearing the fourth jump, the dog must hit the box to make a ball, usually of the pooch-preferred tennis variety, pop out.

"The dog then has to catch it and bring it back over the start line. As that dog goes over the line, the next one goes and they repeat the process," says Conway, who was brought to the sport after seeking ways to keep Sasha active and not chewing another hole in the bedroom wall.

"Whatever team finishes their four dogs first without any errors wins."

In the event of an error - dropped balls, return without the ball, missed jumps, etc. - the dog must do a rerun at the end of the succession of dogs.

"There will be times your dog wants to chase the dog in the next lane and go over their jumps instead of their own."

On the whole, Conway says, "most dogs catch on pretty quick" during training classes, an hour per week inside the Seahorse Equine Learning Centre on Stick Pond Road.

The first step on the road to flyball fame is establishing whether your dog is righty or a lefty to determine which way he or she will turn upon hitting the box and which side the ball should be loaded. From there, a dog must learn to tackle the jumps one at a time until they're comfortable hurdling all four in one run.

With the jumps conquered, Conway has the handler teach their dog how to perform a "swimmer's turn" on the box.

"Some dogs just slam their front paws into the box and that's it. We stress learning the turn because it eases tension. The dog will have two front paws on the box to catch the ball and push themselves off with their back paws so the strain is distributed on their whole body and it slows them down to reduce the impact."

Once the turn is mastered, the wildcard - i.e. the ball - is introduced and it's usually the dogs with really high "ball drive", the term given to a dogs interest in ball, who catch on quickest. Jack Russell terriers, Border Collies and Labradors are known to have among the highest ball drives.

But if your dog is more interested in slippers than balls, you can teach ball drive.

"You just need a motivator," says Conway.

"One of the fastest dogs on our team, her reward at the end is just another tennis ball. It's something you figure out in the first week or so of classes whether it's a tug toy, a squeaky toy, or food.

"You work with that to get them motivated to bring that ball back to you."

"As long as you have the best possible reward in the world to them, there shouldn't be any kind of issue," said Conway.

One of the most appealing aspects of flyball is that it's open to any dog, regardless of breed or size. In fact, small dogs are often treasured parts of a team as the hurdle height is set based on the smallest dogs' height. It also gives mixed breeds, rescued pups, and purebreds the chance to shine alongside one another, separating it from breed-exclusive dog clubs.

"I've seen a team of all daschunds," Conways attests. "As long as the dog is healthy and can prove they can do the course. Even a three-legged dog could do it."

What's more, your dog doesn't need any prior obedience training to partake. In fact, "anything obedience related pretty much gets thrown out of the window with flyball.

"It gets so crazy and energetic and you want your dogs to be hyper," Conways says. "Not to the point where they're chasing other dogs, but you want them ready to go.

"One dog who started with us last year was so timid and wouldn't go near anyone who wasn't her owner. After a few weeks of flyball, she came out of her shell to become a completely different dog."

Taking their dog show on the road

The Fog Dogs, 10 advanced dogs and handlers with a class of beginners not far behind, are set to compete in their first tournament this August in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and hope to host their first event in 2011.

"We were around last year, but we didn't have enough solid dogs to make a full-fledged team. We didn't feel they were ready to go to a tournament. But now our advanced dogs are ready and they know what they have to do."

A new session of beginner flyball classes begins this April, with intermediate and advanced classes available upon successful completion.

koliver@thetelegram.com

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