More Advanced Flyball Terms

Heat: a heat is when a succession of four dogs run to the box and back in relay fashion. The number of heats in a race vary at each tournament.

Race: a flyball race is made up of individual heats. Typically, there are three to five heats that make up a race.

Line Judge: person that sits near the start / finish line. This judge flags any fouls occurring at / near the start / finish line. Common fouls include: handler stepping over (or waving motivational toy) over the start / finish line, early passes, early start by the start dog, dropped ball, etc. You must also give your line-up to this judge at the start of every race.

Box Judge: person that sits near the box. This judge flags any fouls occurring at / near the box. Typical fouls include: dog not triggering box, dropped ball, box-loader error, etc.

Start Dog: dog that begins each heat of that individual race. The handler / dog team has the responsibility of watching and learning the timing on the light tree. The start dog should be in excellent shape (as should all flyball dogs). There are times that the start dog will be required (because of fouls by opposing or home team) to run multiple times.

Anchor Dog: the last dog to run in a heat.

Line-Up: four dogs taken from the flyball team to run in a race.

Fun Match: a flyball fun match is like a dry run for a tournament. It is not official, hence a great place to practice a green dog or a new line up of dogs. Baby gates, handler coaching, and other training options are permitted at a fun match.