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Flygility


dlmckay

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Hello, thought you might be interested in seeing what we do here in NZ... flygility...

 

Flygility is a dog sport that mixes elements of agility and flyball. As in flyball the dog is sent to fetch a ball from a flyball machine and returns the ball to the handler. Courses can be longer than in Flyball, 30m from start line to the box, and use agility obstacles. In New Zealand, the sport is administered by New Zealand Flygility Dog Association.

 

My dogs love it... it's very exhiliarating too - jumps are the same as in agility, but set a little lower and the course must be completed correctly - no bars knocked or obstacles missed.

 

The standards are Elementary, Beginners, Intermediate, Senior and Open courses. Single dogs compete in this in a standard knockout tournament. In Elementary, you can run with your dog and the course is always a straight one. In Beginners, you must remain behind the start line and your dog must run alone up the course to the box, trigger it, catch the ball and return along the course correctly. In Intermediate, the course can have a curve in it and at Senior and Open levels, there can be two curves, so that the course looks like an S...

 

What do you think?

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Agility items we use are the rigid tunnel, six weave poles (which are hard! - dogs don't like to weave alone!!), and occasionally you'll find an A-Frame, but set only a foot above the ground.

 

Because the dogs run so fast (a good dog will complete in around 10-12 seconds), you need to have equipment that won't move too much. The skill is in getting a dog to complete the course without you which may have curves in it and without mistakes like a knocked rail.

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Yes, it is difficult to get the dog weaving from a distance - I know from my agility misdemeanours. At least you don't have to worry about doing right hand weaves :biggrin:

 

 

We have something vaguely similar run by an organisation called EMDAC but it is an agility course in a figure of eight (which you can run with your dog) ending with a flyball sendaway so it is a bit different. I will get a video at the end of August when we go to compete.

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When Annie was one we were doing both agility and flyball training. When it got to the summer training for both was on the same night so we were trying to decided which to continue with. We went to a flyball show which had cleverdogs going on as well and let Annie have a go. She plodded around the agility bit then raced up the flyball so she decided then that she was a flyball dog and that is what we continued with. Shame two years on she is still in starters :rolleyes: :D

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