Kennel Club Flyball: A Change for the Better

The Kennel Club has just announced that they’re making a change from the “traditional” foot-pedal “Crufts Box” to the flat-fronted style used by the BFA.

A bit of history first, I think. The British Flyball Association was formed in 1994 after a group proposed a change to the Kennel Club rules, for the introduction of a new regulated style of box that was considered safer for dogs (and faster, incidentally). The Kennel Club rejected their proposal and although they brought in a regulated style of box, it was not the suggested flat-front style as they thought it would detract from the entertainment of the sport. Those flyballers who had made the proposal were dissatisfied and went away to create the BFA where the safety of the dog was put first. The BFA went on to develop the use of electronic timing and Formula 1 style starting lights, and introduced height cards for height dogs and teams rather than the fixed 12″ height the Kennel Club offered, which also meant smaller dogs could now be included without asking them to jump over-large hurdles. Rules also stipulate the size of the runback area to ensure dogs and handlers have enough room to race safely.

This announcement has a lot of flyballers happy. A few have commented about the risky design to dogs of the old box, and a few have equally expressed some concern that the BFA will lose its independence by becoming affiliated or answerable to the Kennel Club as the Kennel Club have approached the BFA for their input (there’s always a first time!). Rumours on that front have been quashed already, thankfully, but I thought I’d add in a bit on my personal experience of the Crufts flyball box.

Video: Kim doing Crufts Flyball

Kim and Mollie have both trained to do Crufts flyball on the foot-pedal box. Both dogs were trained not to jump forward into the air for the ball, which would mean they landed on the box itself. Sometimes Mollie got a bit overexcited and went over the top but she was always corrected. Kim was brilliant at it, even if I do say so myself. She was fast, accurate and I had no qualms about running her. When she competed at Crufts she made no mistakes all day and was never at any more risk of injury than when she competes at BFA competitions — other than the ridiculously short runback. When you’re trying to fit 6 dogs and handlers into a 12ft x 12ft space, you can’t hear anything due to the noise, and the dogs are all wildly excited and running at relatively high speeds, it is not safe.

Anyway, the Crufts box is definitely not for all dogs. Some dogs don’t have the catch reflexes, some dogs don’t have the self-control not to leap for the ball. Some dogs can do it perfectly at home but when it gets to the excitement of a competition, the self-control goes. So yes, it can and probably does cause more injuries that the flat-front box (I’ve already discussed Slammer’s vs Swimmer’s Turns and the safety of the flat-fronted box for dogs). So way to go KC! Making the right choice for once.

What I’d really like to see them do now is throw out the fixed 12″ jumps so that it’s open to smaller dogs, get a bigger runback and introduce electronic timing. Please!

Agility Forum Discussion: http://agilityforum.agilityaddicts.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5203
BFA Forum Discussion: http://www.flyball.org.uk/webboard/messages/119/12172.html?1226072679