Hey everyone, first time post here and it seems like a pretty cool place. My dog Ringo is a boxer Australian cattle dog mix and he is a lot of fun. Ringo is about 15 months old and he is a very good dog and I have never really had any problems with him. Every morning for exercise we go to the park right next to my house and play disc golf. Ringo loves chasing the discs but I've never let him play with the discs, he chases them and usually puts a huge slobber line on the disc as he goes flying by it and then comes running back to me. He has never really shown any interest in fetch or returning anything to me so I never really bothered teaching him frisbee. Well for the past week he has shown a huge interest in my disc golf discs so yesterday I went out and bought him a chuck it floppy frisbee for him. He picked up frisbee immediately and I was shocked. He would catch the disc in the air and bring it back to me and waited for me to throw it again. I couldnt believe what I was seeing because he has never had any interest in bringing anything back to me. So I overnighted a hyperflight jawz disc and I just got it right after I got back from day two of training with the chuck it disc and I cant believe how good he is getting already. He is an absolute natural. I can throw the disc really far and he catches it, I can throw it high and I can do anything with the disc and he catches it. Sorry for the really long post but I am really excited that I found something that both Ringo and I can really enjoy with our play time. What I really want to know is if anyone has any advice for me on training and things to work on with him.
Disc dog advice
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There are a number of DVDs out there that address training disc dog stuff. There are a bunch of clubs out there too that you can join that will help you develope your skills as a team.
I bought some discs and some DVDs and hung out with a club only to find out that my dog isn't that good at it and I simply can't throw... Sounds like you're off to a much better start!
I bought some discs and some DVDs and hung out with a club only to find out that my dog isn't that good at it and I simply can't throw... Sounds like you're off to a much better start!
Just got done with the first time with a plastic disc with him and he did pretty well. I think it will take him some time to get used to the "hard" disc. He is still really good but it bounces out of his mouth more often now. He still loves it though, I also hope my disc golf background will transfer to disc dog training, we will see.
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I used to compete my border collie in frisbee. Look up skyhoundz, they have some great training videos and they were the ones the sponsered the comps up here in Alaska. Thier website also has a schedual for comps inyour area . If you play frisbee gold ( I also do ) you should be great at throwing , the trick is to throw low and even, the dog cant catch a frisbee if it is at an angle. They also have an online store to purchase frisbees . Be careful what kind you get , some are brittle and crack easy and can cut the dogs mouth.GOOD LUCK and keep us updated !!
Ok, thanks so much for the advice. I purchased a hyperflight jaws glow disc, supposedly its the toughest one out there because he has a tendency to get really rough with things but I have been really surprised that he is very gentile with his frisbee so far. Any recommendations for discs? They hyperflight jaws flies like a brick. haha
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Jawz are kinda like bricks. Check out Hero discs. I'm sure you've heard of this brand for disc golf, but they make great K9 discs, as well. The superhero is a nice alternative to Jawz. For a dog with a softer mouth, I love the Xtra235 - flies like a dream.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. In the mean time, here's a little inspiration...
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Let me know if you have any specific questions. In the mean time, here's a little inspiration...
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www.skkyhoundz.com has competitions frisbees and I used to buy some cheap ones at a local store here in town, not for dogs but they worked great and were only a couple bucks apiece , As I said before just make sure they are not the brittle plastic ones that crack easily and can cut the dogs mouth.. I went to my first comp with Bud just to watch and ended up competing, Bud was only 7 months old and still places in the top 10, We were addicted after that and he quickly became a champ. One of hsi last comps he was in the finals, in first place , he had time for one throw, I threw the frisbee, he ran, caught it in mid air , all4 paws off the ground, with a twist, headed back to me and STOPPED COLD giving me a look like SORRY MOM and took a POO in front of hundreds of people. Needless to say he did NOT win that comp but I sure will never forget it LOL
Okay, I just ordered a hero super aero, hopefully this one flies a little nicer. The jawz disc is just too heavy and ringo isnt going far enough yet for me to throw it hard. One quick question for you, how do you get your dog to sprint all out after the disc right away. When i throw the disc ringo kind of lumbers off at a jog and then when he realizes the disc is slowing down and about to fall he sprints all out to catch it. I want him to start taking off at full speed but he just doesnt want to do it. Is there a way to motivate him to run all out right away? I know we have only been training for a few days now but I dont know if this is something I have to worry about at later stages and should try to break right away or if it will go away as he gets better.
One more question, haha. All of the neighborhood kids are completely fascinated by ringo and everyone wants to take a turn throwing the disc for him and they are all little kids that dont know how to throw discs so ringo hasnt been getting a whole lot of good throws. How do you tell the little kids to go away and that we are training without looking like the bad guy?
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With Bud I taught him to "watch" the frisbee then when I threw it I would say GO . He will probably pick this up in time with some practice. Sounds like he is a natural for sure. Did you see the training videos and pics on skyhoundz ??? alot of stuff in that site and great links. I would look for a comp in your area and network at the comp to meet other frisbee dog lovers . We did that and ended up forming a group to play flyball
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Practice, practice, practice. Longer throws might encourage him to get there faster before it hits the ground.
Yep your right, after todays session I have decided that I am going to give this a shot. Ringo likes it so much it wouldnt be fair to him if I didn't. He is now sprinting all out to get to the discs and he is regularly catching 200 ft thows :whoo: (as long as I throw it right) I cant believe how fast he is picking this up. At this rate he will be a champion distance dog in no time, I just need to work on my throwing first haha. I think I can probably throw about 250 feet but it wouldnt be very accurate. I cant believe how much fun I am having with this as well and Ringo and I are really starting to form a closer bond in the 4 or 5 days we have been practicing with the frisbee. I have been working on the come around command quite a bit but that is taking a lot longer than the catching part is but thats ok, I am willing to give it time. Thanks for the help guys and maybe I will see you at a competition in the near future.
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