Disc Dog Training

[Sekah]

Phew. Much shorter than I thought. Again, I don't know if I'd do any competition, but I'd like to format my routine to meet the standards just in case I ever feel like branching out.

[Babyblue5290]

Just wanted to update. The last 2 days when we practiced Talon did amazing! I was able to use my sisters two frisbee's plus my two which made a really nice constant go at it. He caught really well, he's moving faster and much better at jumping since I'm getting better tosses

I'll get a video tomorrow!

[Kootenay]

Following this thread with interest! Disc is something I really want to get involved with. Think it's going to have to be with nextpuppy though...neither of my boys are drivey enough for it. Can't wait!

[Sekah]

Okay, disc training is a lot harder than I thought it was. I still can't throw, and Cohen still hasn't quite grasped the concept that it's the catch that I'm looking for, not the retrieve. Plus, she prefers to carry the frisbees upside down. Ugh.

I'll back track a bit to set up some proper catches, but any pointers on breaking the dog of the habit of flipping the disc over to carry? Tugging with it? Abstaining from rewarding upside down carries? Short ranged catching drills?

Thanks a million!

[k9krazee]

ETA - It's much harder than I thought too & I realized how bad I am at rolling and throwing! (And My SO is MUCH worse, I thought I could count on his help! Lol)


I ordered some Hero Air discs. There are so many disc options it's hard to choose and I hope these will work for lil man.

Anything has to be better than the hard plastic grocery store frisbees, right?!

We were trying to do rollers the other day (it's finally getting warmer!!) and he body slams into the disc & then picks it up...and I think that's mostly because they're too big & hard.

[SaraB]

Originally Posted by Sekah

Okay, disc training is a lot harder than I thought it was. I still can't throw, and Cohen still hasn't quite grasped the concept that it's the catch that I'm looking for, not the retrieve. Plus, she prefers to carry the frisbees upside down. Ugh.

I'll back track a bit to set up some proper catches, but any pointers on breaking the dog of the habit of flipping the disc over to carry? Tugging with it? Abstaining from rewarding upside down carries? Short ranged catching drills?

Thanks a million!

First, work on your throwing without your dog as much as possible. Grab somebody and go play catch. Find a chair or hoop or something to throw into if no one can play with you.

Catches will happen when you are more consistent with your throwing, you want a nice floating toss so the dog can accurately judge timing. Keep them closer to you right now as well, don't worry about distance. Mark the catches! Make a big deal when she actually catches. As far as flipping the discs over, that won't be such a big deal once she's catching more. Otherwise, I personally would just amp up the game a bit more and use multiple discs. Get the next throw out early so she realizes the quicker she is about grabbing the disc, the quicker the game continues. Keep play sessions super short, less than 5 minutes right now. And yes, tugging will help too!

[SaraB]

Originally Posted by k9krazee

I ordered some Hero Air discs. There are so many disc options it's hard to choose and I hope these will work for lil man.

Anything has to be better than the hard plastic grocery store frisbees, right?!
.

I have a bunch of Airs. I really like them, softer than fastbacks, but are a decent disc to play with!

[SaraB]

So I did rads on Zinga's legs a couple of weeks ago, her growth plates are all closed up! Which means exciting new tricks in disc.

We are currently working on vaults, overs, flips and leaping for the disc. As well as sequencing little things together. Even though her growth plates are closed, because she's so new to this stuff and doesn't quite have the landing knowledge of a more experienced dog, we are only practicing this on the super mats. So basically this is my "don't try this at home with your 1 year old dog unless you have awesome mats and know their growth plates are closed" warning.

This video shows a little sequence at the beginning. Flip, leg over to a go around out throw. The next trick is called a rut, it's a through to a flip. I was trying to sequence that with a leg vault but she's still iffy on those. Trick after that is just a back stall, trying to get her to collect and stay on my back rather than fly off. Then the camera goes blurry for no reason, but you can still see some stuff. We are practicing reverse chest vaults and finally chest rebounds.

[Sekah]

You guys look wonderful. She's so dang springy. It's clear that you guys have been working hard.

How do you teach a vault off your body? That's one that's been eluding me for a while. And do you try to differentiate the chest rebound from a jump-into-arms cue? So far I've been unable to.

[SaraB]

Originally Posted by Sekah

You guys look wonderful. She's so dang springy. It's clear that you guys have been working hard.

How do you teach a vault off your body? That's one that's been eluding me for a while. And do you try to differentiate the chest rebound from a jump-into-arms cue? So far I've been unable to.

My verbal cues are different for each and so is my body language.

As far as the reverse chest vault vs a rebound, I taught the rebound first (very similar to how you teach a dog to jump into your arms but your reward placement is where you want the dog to land), and then just added the disc. As long as they have decent drive for the disc they are going to go for it. I incorporated the verbal cues for both right away. "Hit it" is my rebound cue, "Fly" is my vault cue.