By Brian and Joanne Matsumoto

Touch N Go from Las Vegas, the world’s fastest flyball team, came to share their expertise with our team, Ballistic Racers. It was an all day affair at Skydance Ranch in Oceanside, California, on a Saturday which was warmer than usual. With their three trainers and one helper, Touch N Go dealt with many issues. Several landmark accomplishments were met as our dogs made vast improvements. Katy, Nadine, and Stephanie, used their expert techniques to individualize instruction, helping each dog to be the best it could be.

For instance, Dennis, Kelly’s rescued vizsla, was able to make a beautiful four footed turn high on the box. We had never seen Dennis get up so high on the box and make such a well rounded turn. We were all astonished as Dennis showed us what he is really capable of doing.

Indie, Linda’s Beagle-Dachshund mix, was able to get high on the box as well. He made a perfect four footed turn and ran back for a perfect run. Previously Indie would only hit the box with his two front paws, and his rear feet would never leave the ground. We had never seen or even envisioned Indie jumping over a prop until this seminar.

Vegas, Joanne’s split faced Border Collie, has been making an early leap to the box. Stephanie and Nadine were able to alleviate this problem by adjusting the prop. With just a slight change, Vegas was able to make a perfect run, eliminating her early leap to the box.

The list of accomplishments on a single Saturday Seminar was just amazing! New dogs such as Jett and Nico were able to make great improvements on their recalls. Jessie, Bailey, Remy, and Molly all made adjustments in order to shave off seconds of their times. The new Molly was able to improve her turn by changing the box slightly, and made many perfect runs. Some new problems which were never noticed before were addressed and fixed. Chloe and Ashley received information on how to fix crossing over problems, as Chloe showed off her fantastic turn.

Each one of us learned that practice is practice, and our dogs must be leashed, crated, or put in an x pen. Free play, off leash running, and ball throwing should be done at another location or at another time since dogs cannot distinguish the difference between work and play.

It was a great September Saturday for all of us as we learned, received hands-on instruction, and were given constructive tips from the world’s best flyball team, Touch N Go. We asked various questions which Katy and her team then addressed. We received information that we could have learned nowhere else in the world. Now, it’s up to us to put all this good information to use, and make our dogs the best flyball dogs they can be!

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