A relay race is a test of teamwork. At least that’s how it is with Flyball, a sport where dogs have to race across a line of hurdles, push a spring-loaded pad to release a tennis ball, catch the ball, and return it to their handler. Whether you’re a competitor or spectator, you can feel your heart pumping as the next dog takes off running.
Beyond the thrill of competition, it’s the friendship and camaraderie that Curtis and Stacy Smith cherish most about the sport. The couple founded Alaska’s first Flyball club, Alaska Dogs Gone Wild, in 2004. Every year since 2009, they’ve attended the Flyball CanAm Classic, hosted by the North American Flyball Association (NAFA), traveling from their home in Anchorage to Indianapolis, Indiana.
Outside of Flyball, Stacy works as an editor and publication designer, while Curtis is the Director of Research and Evaluation for the Center for Human Development at the University of Alaska. During their downtime, they enjoy hiking with their dogs and doing fun activities like Disc Dog and Lure Coursing.
Founding the First Alaskan Flyball Club
Stacy got the idea to try Flyball while the couple were in North Carolina for Curtis’ graduate work and living in an RV with their dogs. “Since we had two dogs, he ran one, and I ran the other,” she says. “And we loved it so much that we wanted to get it going in Alaska.”
In October 2004, when they moved back to Alaska, Curtis contacted every dog enthusiast they knew and invited them to attend a meeting on the 23rd. “We consider that first meeting our founding day,” he says. It’s a special anniversary since their daughter, who turned 20 this year, is a lifetime member of Alaska Dogs Gone Wild, along with their 18-year-old son. Their daughter traveled with them to the 2024 Flyball CanAm Classic this year and their son has been in attendance in past years. Some of the founding members who were at that first meeting remain club members today.
Early on, Curtis began taking steps to become a NAFA-approved Flyball judge. “Having our own homegrown judge helps sustain the sport up here and meant we didn’t have to bring someone up for our tournaments,” she says. Since then, they’ve had two more judges go through the process and a third who is currently in training.
Two years after founding the Alaska Flyball team, the Flyball club they ran with from North Carolina made the trip to Alaska to compete with them at their first tournament. “At that time, we were only hosting the Alaska Summer Solstice Tournament out in a beautiful area at the state fairgrounds,” Curtis says. “It took a lot of work from a lot of people, and it’s been growing strong ever since.”
Belonging to a Team is the Best Part
“There’s no other dog sport like it,” Stacy says. “Once we found flyball, we loved it because you have to work together as a team.” She and Curtis have made lifelong friends in the sport, and it’s one of the reasons they go to CanAm every year and call other club members their “Flyball family.”
Currently, the Alaska Flyball team has 25 club members ranging in age from 11 to 80, and 30 dogs, half of which are rescue animals. They practice weekly at an indoor facility from September to April. Some members have since retired their dog, but still help out at practices and tournaments.
The club works with dogs of all ages from 8-week-old puppies to seniors. A variety of breeds are represented, including the Labrador Retriever, Bull Terrier, Border Collie, Whippet, Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, Siberian Husky, and a number of mixed breed dogs. In addition to a 16-month-old Whippet who’s in training, Stacy and Curtis have three mixed breed dogs, one of whom raced at CanAm this year.
When training a dog, “we look for a willingness to work and what we call drive,” she says. It helps when dogs are highly engaged with their handlers and motivated by a tug toy or food. “Whenever a dog debuts in the ring for the first time in a tournament, everyone celebrates because they know it truly took a village to get that dog trained,” he adds.
Logging Miles and Wins
Since attending a 2007 tournament in California, Stacy and Curtis have traveled out of state 21 times. Just this year, they surpassed the 1 million flight mile mark. “We’d like people to know it is safe to fly with your dog because we’d love nothing more than to have other clubs come up to compete with us in our Alaska Summer Solstice Tourneys we have every year,” Curtis says.
Some of the dogs on the Alaska Flyball team get nervous flying but recover quickly once they realize they’re getting to play Flyball. This year, they flew 16 dogs to Indianapolis, 12 of whom competed at CanAm. Since they couldn’t fit all 16 dogs on one plane, some club members flew to Indianapolis while others traveled to Chicago and drove the rest of the way.
Among their career highlights are five divisional championship wins at the Flyball CanAm Classic where they won a trophy. Twice during their club’s career, they’ve won their division and set a personal best for speed, according to Stacy. What makes CanAm so exciting is the anticipation. “Races are often won by just tens, hundreds, or even thousands of a second,” Curtis adds.
Advice for Flyball Enthusiasts
If you’re new to Flyball, Curtis recommends visiting the NAFA website to find active clubs in your area. “Clubs have different goals and are run differently,” he says. “So, it’s good to try them out and see what you like.”
Stacy’s advice is not to be in a rush to train your dog. “It can take a good year and a half to train a Flyball dog,” she says. “They need time to get good foundation skills and box turns. The dog is the one who dictates how long it takes to train.”
As dogs get older, it’s important to be mindful of when they’re nearing the end of their Flyball career. “It’s hard because you don’t want your dog to overdo it, but you’re also wanting to let them do something they love,” Stacy says. “It’s about safety, not speed. A dog may not be running as fast as they did in their prime and be doing quite well.”
Curtis agrees, explaining how they pay attention when a dog starts clipping jumps with their toenails. “That’s a telltale sign,” he says. “We don’t want a dog to get injured when they’re running.”
“A lot of the preparation for CanAm comes from running tournaments here in Alaska,” Curtis says. They have six tournament weekends in Alaska, four hosted by Alaska Dogs Gone Wild. “We try to get in a lot of practice and make sure the dogs are solid before they head out of state,” he says.
This year, their club fielded three different teams. “Some club members came with multiple dogs and handled them on different teams,” he says. “Others didn’t handle any dogs but came for the camaraderie and to help out at the race.”
They had two regular teams and an open team. Regular teams require every dog to be a member of the same club. “The jump height is determined by the size of the smallest dog, called the height dog,” he says. On an open team, dogs can be from different clubs, and you don’t need to have a height dog.
Looking ahead, their goal is to run a multi-breed team. “That’s where every dog comes from your club, and you have four dogs of different breeds,” he says. “Stacy and I have a Whippet who will help make that happen.”
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