Flyball!

Two dogs race each other over four hurdles on parallel courses, step on a spring-loaded box that releases a tennis ball at the end of the course, retrieve the ball, and return over the four hurdles carrying the ball. Once a dog has crossed the start/finish line, the next dog on that team takes off. The first team to have all four dogs complete the course without errors wins the heat. (Errors include missing hurdles and dropping balls.) These errors require the dog to rerun the course after the rest of the team has finished.

The overall length from the starting line to the flyball box is 51 feet (15.54m). There are two sets of hurdles and two flyball boxes since the dogs race in side by side lanes. Jump heights for each hurdle are based on the shoulder height of the smallest dog on the team (with rules for minimum and maximum heights).

(Image License: GNU FDL)

Start with the Team Profiles page of the Flyball home page. They also have a Flyball locator board "for people trying to start and/or locate teams in areas where Flyball interest is sparse".

Outside of North America use the websites listed above to contact the governing body in your country.

Flyball clubs offer training for you and your dog. Your dog needs to be at least a year old. Usually, your dog must have some level of obedience training. Besides learning the technical aspects of the sport, socialization is important during training. And most importantly, your dog should have a love for retrieving balls!