Here’s a game players can sink their canine teeth into

Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002 | 11:16 a.m.

It's difficult to tell who was having more fun at a recent practice of the Las Vegas Touch N Go Flyball team -- the dogs or the people.

The private parking garage where the team practices echoed with happy barks, yips and howls as dogs raced side by side over hurdles, snatched up tennis balls and zoomed back to the finish.

"I think the dogs are saying, 'Run, run, run! Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!' " said Amanda Sanchez, who along with her parents and brother participates on the Touch N Go team. "They're having a good time together."

Two teams of four dogs each race through a 51-foot-long course consisting of four hurdles. At the far end of the course the dog must touch a pedal on the front of a slanted box, releasing a tennis ball. The dog must retrieve the ball and race back down the hurdles. The next dog in the lineup cannot begin its run until the first dog has returned to the starting line. The team with the fastest overall time wins.

Flyball got its start in the early 1970s and participation in the sport has grown exponentially. The North American Flyball Association, founded in 1985, now boasts more than 600 teams.

Unlike dog shows or traditional obedience trials -- where each animal is judged individually -- flyball is a team event for both the dogs and the owners. It requires carefully structured training, frequent practices and plenty of praise for the canine competitors.

"It's something the whole family can do together," said Katy Kaylor, captain of the Touch N Go team which was founded in 1992. "Everyone has a job, everyone participates. There's no sitting on the sidelines watching."

The Touch N Go team prides itself on its competitive spirit. But the team is also proud so many of its dogs have been saved from shelters. About a third of the team's dogs were rescued from shelters in the Las Vegas Valley.

There's Pistol, a German shorthaired pointer who was scheduled for euthanasia at the Dewey Animal Shelter when Nadine Gremm spotted him curled up in the back of a cage.

"No one wanted him, but I knew he was special," Gremm said. "He's an amazing fellow."

He's also the No. 2 ranked German shorthaired pointer for flyball in North America, said Dr. Robert Schatz, a team leader and Las Vegas physician.

Bullet is another of the team's successful rescues. He was also at Dewey when owner Jen Demers decided to take him home. But the adoption stalled when shelter workers couldn't find the dog's paperwork. It turned out the animal was supposed to have been euthanized the day before. Bullet is now a member of Touch N Go's "A" team and competed at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., in 2001.

Overall, the team has rescued and placed more than 400 dogs. Some of the animals have stayed in Nevada while others have gone to join families and flyball teams in other states.

The Touch N Go team will host a tournament in Las Vegas next week and plans to have several dogs available for adoption, Schatz said.

"These are the most wonderful dogs, and they all deserve a chance," Schatz said. "Hopefully by seeing the dogs on our team, people will realize the stigma given to shelter animals is really undeserved."

Touch N Go, one of about a half-dozen flyball teams in Nevada, has 70 dogs and about a dozen members. The team is currently tied for the No. 3 spot in the United States and has ranked in the top-10 in the world.

That's a feat made more remarkable by the serious training deficits the team has had to overcome, Schatz said.

Of the other top 10 teams in North America, all have indoor training facilities where the dogs run on the same mats used in competition, Schatz said. Up until the past few months, Touch N Go has had to train outdoors on grass, Schatz said.

Since the team began meeting each Sunday in the parking garage, the dogs have shown marked improvement, Schatz said. The next goal is to find a sponsor and a permanent training space that could be used throughout the week, he said.

The Touch N Go Flyball tournament will be held Dec. 28 and 29 from 7:30 a.m. until about 7:30 p.m. at Celebrity Ranch in Las Vegas. Admission is free of charge.