The Three R's of Flyball

Dog Training
Flyball
Three R's

Flyball is easily understood to be a series or "chain" of behaviors. These behaviors are trained seperately and then put together in sequence when the dog has demonstrated mastery of the seperate parts. How can we, as trainers, use this concept when developing a training program?

There are THREE seperate and distinct portions of the flyball run. A run begins with the "go-out" portion. For the sake of memory, let's call that "R" the retrieve. The dog is sent to get his ball so "retrieve" makes that easy to remember and it is accurate.

The second "R" to remember in the chain is the reverse, otherwise known as the box turn or swimmer's turn. Box turn and swimmer's turn describe what the dog is doing but, assigning the behavior a word beginning with an "R" makes it easier to rememember so I choose REVERSE. Besides, it is also accurately describing the dog's behavior and the purpose of that behavior: To catch the ball (retrieve) and change direction (reverse).

The third behavior we assign an "R" to is the recall. After the dog has has retrieved his ball and reversed his direction down the flyball course, we want a lightening quick return to his handler, thus choosing "recall" as the word we want to associate with this portion of the flyball run.

So, now we have three very easy descriptive words that label the three critical portions of the behaviors we teach a dog to perform flyball. No matter how much more we break down the behaviors, it is these three elements that make up the basics of flyball and where we begin each dog's lessons. We can also use these elements to evaluate each individual's progress in training or to analyze training issues. We can also use these elements to develop class structure and lesson plans for teams or training clubs. There is a never-ending list of possibilities that help us to organize our efforts to train and improve our flyball canines by using the three "R"s as a core curriculum.

I shall go into more detail in later articles how picturing the flyball run into these three basic elements saves time and effort and will result in a better trained flyball dog.

See ya at practice!