frisbee

[a.baker]

How do you train a dog to catch a frisbee in the air?

[Suzzie]

well, it looks like i'm the only one with frisbee dogs...

first, generate interest in the frisbee. A lot of pros actually feed their dog out of the frisbee. It's also something that the dog doesn't have access to unless you're playing with the dog or feeding it. Always keep a positive, upbeat attitude when playing, too.

start by rolling the frisbee along the ground, so the dog can nab it and retrieve it.

once he's good at that, you can try throwing to him. That sounds more exciting than it is. You sit the dog about two feet in front of you and gently lob the frisbee right to its mouth.

once he's good at that, sit him farther away, do it again.

once he's good at that, stay that distance, and throw it slightly to one side so he has to catch it.

see where i'm going here?

you keep increasing the distance away from the dog that you're throwing it, then gradually you can have the dog closer to you and running away from you.

That's how i've trained my dogs, anyway. Little baby steps are best, with lots of rewards. Keep training sessions short, always leave 'em wanting more.

[a.baker]

Thats kinda where we started but we used one of those soft fabric frisbees. First she was catching it or trying to in her mouth at short distances and than stopped. She than later started to wait for it to drop and than retrieve it. Do have any suggestions why the change? lol we were throwing it right at her face; lightly though.

[CharlieDog]

lol, I have a frisbee dog, but I couldn't tell you how I got him started. He has a high toy drive anyway, so all I had to do to generate interest in the frisbee was play with it some. Then I threw it and he caught it.

[DanL]

Originally Posted by CharlieDog

lol, I have a frisbee dog, but I couldn't tell you how I got him started. He has a high toy drive anyway, so all I had to do to generate interest in the frisbee was play with it some. Then I threw it and he caught it.

That's pretty much how Gunnar took to it. High ball/toy drive, just extended to the frisbee. He will do his best to catch the ball in the air as well, the frisbee is nice because it stays in the air longer. I challenge him by putting him in a sit about 50' to my left, then throw the frisbee over our pool so he has to run past me, down the side of the pool, and circle around to catch it. Sometimes I make him do a jump over a wood pallet I have, and when he's in mid jump throw the frisbee for him to catch up to following the same path around the pool. Catching the Kong in mid bounce is much more of a challege for him and one he likes better because the Kong goes every which way once it hits the ground.