Sport

Top dogs preparing to take on best from across country

KNOWN as ‘drag-racing for dogs’, flyball is enjoying a boom in popularity in Auburn after the fantastic success in last year’s nationals in Canberra where local Sydney Scallywags’ team ‘Zoomies’ beat the rest of Australia to win the grand championship.

They are now preparing to take on Australia’s best again at the upcoming 2022 National Championships on the long weekend (October 1-3) at Hawkesbury Showgrounds in a new indoor arena.
The fastest sport on four paws, flyball is a relay race between two teams of four dogs.
Each dog has to jump over four hurdles, trigger and retrieve a ball from a specially designed flyball box at the other end and then return before the next dog on the team has their turn.
The catch? If one of the dogs doesn’t complete their run cleanly, that dog has to run again.
The first team to have all four dogs complete their turn successfully, wins.
It’s an exciting sport for both competitors and spectators because dogs of all sizes and shapes over the age of 12 months can (and do) compete, according to Scallywags spokesperson Jenni Redmond.
“It’s adrenaline to the max with the hype, the noise and the fun; you cannot imagine it until you see it,” she said.
“We train at Princes Park on Sunday afternoons and encourage anyone to try flyball, it’s a sport for all dogs, promoting team work, obedience, fun and play.”
Details: info@sydneyscallywags.com.au or 0417 251 892.