Flyball is a fast-paced team sport for dogs. It began in the late 1960’s when a group of dog trainers in Southern California created scent discrimination hurdle racing, then put a guy at the end to throw tennis balls to the dogs when they finished the jump line. They decided to build an automatic tennis-ball launcher and the sport was born. America took notice when Flyball was featured on the Johnny Carson Show in the early 1970’s.

Soon after, dog training clubs in the Toronto-Detroit area added Flyball to their curriculum. The first Flyball tournament was held in 1983. The North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was founded in 1984 and continues to be the primary governing agency for the sport.

Flyball races match two teams of four dogs each, racing side-by-side over a 51 foot long course. The course consists of a start/finish line, 4 hurdles spaced 10 feet apart and a box. The first hurdle is 6 feet from the start/finish line and the box is 15 feet from the last hurdle. Each dog must run in relay fashion down the jumps, trigger a Flyball box which releases the ball, retrieve the ball, and return over the jumps carrying the ball. The next dog crosses the start/finish line when the previous dog reaches the start/finish line. The first team to have all 4 dogs finish the course without error wins the heat.