This past weekend, Crazy Train Flyball packed up the dogs, loaded the gear, grabbed the snacks, and made the road trip from Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for one of our favorite NAFA flyball tournaments of the year: Bad Company Flyball Team’s Fast and Furriest flyball tournament.
This tournament has become a special one for our team. Racing outside of Region 6 gives us a chance to try different lineups, focus on different goals, and give our green dogs valuable experience in a real tournament setting. Over the years, several of our current racing dogs took big steps forward at Bad Company’s tournament, and this year was no different.
In fact, this year may have been one of our best green dog weekends yet.
Road to Odz hits the lanes
Crazy Train brought two teams to the tournament. Our Multibreed team, Road to Odz, included Rudy, our red Border Collie; Kiwi, our Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever; Quill, our Standard Poodle; and Bugatti, our purpose-bred flyball mix, running as our height dog.
The team ran well on Saturday and, even though we did not win every race, they put together a solid performance and finished in second place.
But the really exciting part came from one of our up-and-coming dogs.
Atryx, our mini Australian Shepherd, had such strong singles runs that we were able to sub her into the team on Sunday. She handled the racing environment beautifully and earned flyball points with the team. Getting a green dog into the lanes and watching everything start to click is one of the best parts of this sport.
Bark at the Moon brings the fun
Our second team ran as an Open team named Bark at the Moon.
The main lineup included Skyler, Sneakers, Luna, and Pagie, with Dixie one of the newbies subbing in throughout the weekend. Dixie did a great job stepping into different spots and helping the team keep things moving and was more focused than ever before.
Remix, one of our up-and-coming purpose-bred flyball mixes, also showed a lot of promise in singles. Over the weekend, we were able to learn more about where he felt most comfortable in the lineup and which dogs he ran best behind. By Sunday, we were able to sub him in, and he earned points too.
That means Crazy Train had three newer dogs make major progress in the lanes at one tournament.
That is huge.
That is also the kind of weekend that makes all the practices, repetitions, troubleshooting, gate holding, dog wrangling, and “please just do the thing we taught you” moments feel worth it.
Our singles racing wins
One of the things we love most about Bad Company’s tournament is that they offer singles racing during the lunch break.
For experienced racing dogs, singles may seem simple. But for green dogs, singles are a big deal. They get to practice the full racing pattern, experience the tournament environment, run line to line, and build confidence without being thrown directly into team racing.
Bad Company allowed singles runs with props and people where needed, which makes such a difference for dogs who are still learning. Each dog received four heats, a ribbon, and a certificate with their times written down, which gave the humans a fun keepsake and gave the dogs a real chance to shine.
Crazy Train had several green dogs participate in singles, including:
- Remy
- Kolache
- Bagel
- Cosmo
Each dog showed improvement, and each run gave us helpful information about what they are understanding, what they are still working through, and how close they are getting to being ready for the next step.
And honestly, watching green dogs start to figure out flyball is one of the most exciting parts of a tournament. There is nothing quite like seeing the light bulb come on.
Mat time, warm-ups, and green dog progress
The learning did not stop with racing. Crazy Train also used Saturday night mat time to work several dogs in the tournament environment.
Lijah worked on his box work while changing directions. Dart focused on confidence-building and staying engaged in the lanes. Dez, our Australian Shepherd, worked through the distractions of a new environment and practiced staying focused on the job.
And then there was Yaupon.
Yaupon, our Jack Russell in training, showed marked improvement both days during warm-ups. She worked on recalls and box turns, and she looked more focused and more into the game than ever before.
Anyone who has ever trained a Jack Russell knows they can be a handful. Cute? Yes. Smart? Absolutely. Opinionated? Also yes. Possibly powered by chaos? Sometimes.
But Yaupon kept it together, stayed calmer before racing, and focused in the lanes. Our team stepped up with gates, wranglers, and support, and it paid off. She made real progress, and it was so fun to see.
Cannon makes new friends
Our all-star Border Whippet, Cannon, usually runs on our Multibreed team, but this weekend he got to run with 5280 Spaceballs because Bugatti was filling the height dog spot on our team.
Cannon had a great time running with new friends and getting to know the teams around him. We also want to give a special thank-you to Be Right Back Flyball Club, who stepped in to help check him when he started running a little funny.
Thankfully, it turned out to be a small splinter stuck in the front part of his foot. Once it was removed, he was good to go.
Flyball people really are the best. Everyone wants the dogs safe, sound, and ready to race.
Bad Company knows how to host a tournament
Bad Company Flyball Team hosted an amazing tournament, and we appreciate how much work went into making the weekend special.
Putting on a flyball tournament is exhausting. It takes planning, volunteers, equipment, timing, hospitality, problem-solving, and a whole lot of energy. Bad Company did all of that and still managed to add extra touches that made the weekend even better.
They offered mat time and singles runs. They had tournament shirts, which our team has basically turned into an annual collectible. They printed photos of people in attendance and handed them out at the end of the tournament, which was such a fun and thoughtful touch.
And then there was Saturday dinner.
Anyone who has ever waited around for Saturday night mat time knows that the time between racing and mat time can feel very long, especially when everyone is tired, hungry, and trying to figure out where a whole flyball team can go eat without causing chaos.
Bad Company solved that problem with a catered dinner for $20, and it was absolutely worth it. The food was delicious, everyone got to eat together, and nobody had to pile into cars and hunt for a restaurant after a full day of racing.
That alone deserves a ribbon.
Canine Sports Hub made stats fun
Our team also got to try the new Canine Sports Hub app, and it added a fun new layer to the weekend.
The app tracks dog titles, race schedules, heats, analytics, and stats, which made the tournament more interactive for everyone. Crazy Train has used stat sheets in the past, but having the information available to the whole team made a big difference.
Suddenly, more people were checking times, following progress, and getting excited about the numbers from race to race. It made the weekend feel even more engaging and gave everyone another way to celebrate improvements.
And let’s be honest, flyball people love stats. Even the people who say they do not care about stats absolutely start caring once the numbers are right there in front of them.
A weekend full of progress
Crazy Train came home tired, proud, and probably still covered in dog hair.
We had dogs earn points. We had green dogs gain confidence. We had singles runs, mat time breakthroughs, new lineups, new lessons, and a whole lot of laughs. We also had the chance to race with and around teams we do not always see, which is one of the best parts of traveling to out-of-region tournaments.
Thank you to Bad Company Flyball Team for hosting such a fun and well-run tournament. We know how much work goes into making a flyball tournament happen, and we appreciate the time, effort, and energy your team put into making Fast and Furriest such a great weekend.
We are already looking forward to the next one.
Crazy Train may have gone to Albuquerque with green dogs, goals, and a whole lot of gear — but we came home with progress, memories, and some very proud dogs.
And if we are honest, more tournament shirts.