Sport Breakdown - Conditioning the Flyball Dog

Epic of Some Ruff Competition (Fur-Fetched Photography)

I see a  wide variety of sporting dogs and their handlers come through my clinic doors each year looking to improve their dog's physical capabilities. Each dog is unique and whether it is helping a dog recover from an injury or developing a preventive game plan to maximize their sport potential, it is SO rewarding to help each of them work towards their individual goals. But if there is one sport that is under-represented in my as well as my fellow canine physio colleagues clinics is the flyball dog.  Flyball is an intense sport and this week we're going to take a deep dive into the physical demands that flyball asks of our dogs, the potential injuries we may see, and explore how conditioning can help improve performance and reduce the risk of injury in these amazing athletes. 

What is Flyball?

Flyball 101: How to Compete in Flyball for Dogs, AKC.

Flyball is a high speed, high impact sport. Teams of four dogs race a 51-foot lane jumping over a series of hurdles to a flyball box. The jump height for each team is determined by the shortest dog – called the “height dog” - on the team. The height is calculated by subtracting 5 inches from the wither height of the smallest dog on the team. The maximum hurdle height is 14 inches and the minimum is 7 inches. The first hurdle is spaced 6 feet away from the start/finish line, then 10 feet between each jump, and  15 feet from the box. 

Each team will line up their dogs for a quick release as the previous dog in the heat passes the start/finish line. To cut down on the run time of the entire team dogs are taught to pass each other. Once the dog has cleared the four hurdles, they come to the flyball box which releases a ball upon impact. Dogs are trained to hit the box with their front limbs, grab the ball and turn, to race back up the lane. Typically, the dogs are trained to always turn in the same direction. The current NAFA Regular record is 14.433 seconds and is held by team Border Patrol - a truly impressive feat! 

To do this sport well, flyball dogs will need several physical attributes such as...

• Speed
• Explosive power
• Turning power

• Jumping ability
• Flexibility 

• Body awareness
• Quick reaction time 
• Good muscle tone

During a competition a dog could run 20-25 runs a day - meaning that endurance is also an important trait to have! Having these traits will not only reduce the dog's risk of injury doing flyball but will also improve their performance! Training for this sport shouldn't just be focused on the mechanics of a box turn but should also focus on building strength, body awareness, flexibility, and coordination. 

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The Physical Challenges of Flyball  

Epic, a member of Some Ruff Competition, leaves the box. (Photo by Dana Nichols)

To do this sport effectively, flyball dogs are asked to accelerate quickly, stride through a series of jumps, decelerate and collect and impact to grab a ball, and then accelerate back to the handler, all while striding effortlessly over four hurdles!  This is usually all done on rubber mats over a concert floor! I know my flyball friends are tired and sore after a day of competition and I can only image how their dogs must feel!  

From a physiological standpoint lets break down a dog’s heat performance.  

• The Takeoff
  • Fast and powerful take off speed is directly related to the dog's hind end power and strength. To accelerate quickly the dog will need to engage their hind end muscles and core to propel themselves forward.​ The power house from the dog is their hind end. The stronger this is, the quicker they can accelerate and minimize excessive strides to cover ground more efficiently and quickly. 
• The Hurdles
  • Effective striding through the hurdles will require your dog to bounce each hurdle. Jump training is critical (e.g. jump grids) for the flyball dog to help them learn how to properly gage distance and learn the correct striding between the hurdles.  Additionally, to get the desired 'bounce' between the jumps and limit the strides taken by your dog they will need explosive power and good hind end strength. It's important to remember that good jumpers are  not born but made and will need dedicated training to develop this skill! Finding an experienced coach to help maximize efficiency and form will provide your dog with the skills they need. Your dog will also need good core strength to keep their limbs in the air while they sail over the hurdles. 
• The Box Approach
  • The dog will need to slow themselves down quickly and collect to prepare for the impact at the box. The front end of our dogs helps to decelerate  so strengthening the front end will be crucial to perfect the approach to the flyball box. 
  • A dog must also have good body awareness and core strength to collect. For efficient collection, the dog must use their core to assist the limbs in slowing down movement. When a dog starts to slow down and engage their core muscles, the core acts as a break and helps to efficiently slow the dog down without leaving all the breaking power to the shoulders.
  The Box Impact and the Turn
  • ​As dogs come racing towards the flyball box, they are required and trained to weight shift back to help minimize impact and concussive forces on the front assembly. Without the proper weight shift, dogs can experience increased jarring through their front end which places more strain on the toes, wrists, elbows and shoulders.  It is also important for the flyball dog to have flexibility (particularly in the spine) which will improve the quality of the box turn. The more efficient and tight this turn is, the quicker the time!! Arguably the box turn is the most physically demanding part of this sport and with repetitions as high as 25 box turns in a single day, ensuring your dog has proper technique is critical. Increased overall strengthening in both front/hind end will help to limit potential repetitive strain injuries. In addition,  pelvis/spine stabilizer strengthening is pivotal to withstand the force and strain the box turn can place on this region.
• The Return
  • ​After completing the box turn, the flyball dog is required to accelerate quickly (recruiting hind end and core muscles) to explode back down the 4 hurdles to complete the race.
  • As the dog passes the finish line they are caught by their handler. This can be done in a variety of ways and has more/less impact on the dog depending on which approach is used. Minimal impact would include catching your dog via a food/reward, trading the ball for another toy or ball, jumping into the handlers arms, or catching a tug toy (handler lets go of the toy). Higher impact catching  would include the dog grabbing the tug toy but not having the owner let go. In this case, the dog swings in the air while still tugging. This places additional stress on the neck and spine and gives a jarring impact to the legs as they come back to the ground. 

Potential injuries that can occur

With physical activity, there is always the risk of injury, but I argue that the benefits of sport far outweigh the risk of injury. As competitors and trainer partners, however, there is lots we can do to help prevent injury! A study conducted by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida which examined 375 flyball dogs found that 39% percent of the dogs in the study had at least one injury in their sporting career. Injuries to the limbs were the most common, with 30.8% affecting forelimbs, 25.6% affecting hind-limbs, with the paw or nail being the most reported area (19.2%). A key factor in preventing injury is knowing the potential injuries that can occur in our sport of choice. Here are a few examples of common injuries in the flyball dog: 

• Ripped pads, bitten tongues, split lips, broken teeth 
• Pulled muscles or strains
• Injury to the toes or wrists 
• Compression injuries in the neck and spine 
• Injuries to the lumber spine and pelvis from turning
• Repetitive injuries from > 20 races a day
• Collisions with hurdles or other dogs 

Injuries can be hard to spot! Due to the high drive nature of flyball some dogs will work through an injury. If your dog is showing poor form in the lane it may be due to injury. Handlers may be inclined to have their dogs perform drills and re-train their dogs because of a poor box turn performance but haven’t stopped to wonder if the poor performance is due to an hard-to-spot injury like a pulled muscle or a mis-alignment of the pelvis. Perhaps our flyball dog is avoiding the hurdles not from lack of training but because they’re shying away from an activity that is causing them pain. Without sufficient rest and rehab, these types of injuries can be exacerbated from continued training and repetitive drills. Injuries can seriously sideline your dog and put your training and competition goals on hold. As a handler, I know, that having a dog sidelined due to injury is heartbreaking! 

I would much rather invest my time into injury prevention then rehabbing an injury. Not only is it easier but it also means my dog can continue to do what they love, pain free, and I have the piece of mind knowing that if an injury should occur my dog is in a better place to come back to sport. A great way to prevent injury is to implement a proper warm-up and cool down routine.  For flyball dogs, a warm-up will help to minimize potential injury risk and ensure the dogs muscles can activate maximally and appropriately. Given the explosive nature and speed of this sport, warmed up muscles will help to contribute to a better overall performance.  ​I recommend that handlers develop a warm-up strategy that focuses on the major joints and muscles that flyball uses and in all three planes of motion. For more information on the importance of the warm-up and cool down make sure to check out my e-book - you can find it here! 

Conditioning the Flyball Dog

Conditioning work can greatly benefit the flyball dog so I often find it surprising that flyball competitors are the least likely client to walk through my clinic doors! Conditioning work is crucial for any dog that participates in sport but there are some specific reasons why flyball competitors should consider conditioning for their dog. Due to the high intensity nature of flyball and the numerous physical demands placed on the dogs who compete conditioning can help both with injury prevention, improve performance, and increase longevity in sport. I'm a huge advocate for the importance of conditioning the sporting dog but there are three points I'd like to highlight for the sport of flyball. 

1. Flyball dogs are often taught to turn a specific way at the box therefore predisposing the dog to unbalanced muscles. Increased tightness can be seen in the muscles on the preferred or trained side of the box turn. Conditioning work can help reduce these muscle imbalances and ensure proper flexibility and strength on both sides of the dog. 
2. The sport of flyball requires your dog to move in three planes of motion. Specific and targeted exercises in these three planes of motion can  help your dogs body perform the physical demands asked of them in this sport. An overall conditioning program focussed on front/hind/core strengthening is key! Specifically, strengthening the muscles along the spine, pelvis,  lower abdominal muscles and iliopsoas will help the flyball dog better manage the compression they experience when hitting the box. Plyometric training, exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short bursts, is also important to ensure they have good explosive speed and power to maximize their efficiency and time. 
3. Regular assessments by a canine health professional can help clue owners in to potential concerns or injuries which may be lurking. Given the high intensity of flyball some dogs may become quite skilled at hiding discomfort and pain. A regular assessment and gait analysis can help notice these potential issues before they snowball into an injury that will keep your dog sideline or potential end their career.  

Flyball is arguably one of the more physically challenging sports and yet a lot of competitors are missing a key part to reducing injury and improving performance in their dogs. So flyball competitors, what are you waiting for? Conditioning work does not need to be a huge time commitment on your part. Spending just 30-45 minutes a week (10-15 minutes per session) completing conditioning work out's and training can result in huge benefits to your flyball dogs longevity in the sport and reduce their risk of injury!

Sources

Carney, Miranda. "Flyball 101: How to Compete in Flyball for Dogs," American Kennel Club, 2019 

Lyons, Bobbi. "Flyball Fitness," Pawsitive Performance , 2014. 

Marcellin-Little, Denis. "Fitness and Conditioning in Sporting Dogs," The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice.

Marcellin-Little, Denis. "Rehabilitation and conditioning of sporting dogs"  The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice, 2005

​Montalbano, Christina, Lauri-Jo Gamble, Katherine Walden, Jennifer Rouse, Sabine Mann, Danny Sack, Lauren G Wakshlag, Justin W Shmalberg, and Joseph J Wakshlag. “Internet Survey of Participant Demographics and Risk Factors for Injury in Flyball Dogs.” Frontiers in veterinary science 6 (November 14, 2019).

"Undetected sporting injuries can reduce a dog's performance". Purina Pro Club Sporting Group Update 4(2)2-, 2006