Lesson 3, Topic 6
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Flipping Basics

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Disc Placement

Flips Happen Behind the Dog

Flipshappen1

Notice that the largest part of the flip zone lies behind the dog. That is very important. The disc must be tossed and caught behind your dog in order to get her to flip. There is a small sliver of ‘flip zone’ in front of the dog, but this asks a dog to move forward on their flips, and not many dogs do that naturally.

There is a flip where the dog travels forward during the flipping trajectory, this is called a Gainer Flip, and may or may not be your dog’s proper flipping technique. But even then you are throwing a disc to a spot behind your dog’s head.

Distance from Midline

The distance from the midline will determine how aggressive a flip is. If we place the disc right over the dog’s head (B), we will get a vertical flip (dog’s rear end winds up over top of his head); a loop. If we place it at (C), we will get a spinning movement (rear end stays at about the same height throughout). Placing the disc at (A) will give us a nice mix between the two.

Flips get more vertical the closer you get to the midline.

Flipping Principles

A

This is a good starting point from a disc placement perspective. The trajectory of the dog going after this target will be a mix of a vertical flip and a spinning flip. This is where most flips are placed with dogs that are new to flipping.

B

This placement will yield a very aggressive, vertical flip. It requires a very athletic dog. Because the dog is upside down, it should be very closely monitored and probably not be done by new players without supervision from a more experienced player.

C

This placement will yield a spinning flip that will spin horizontally. This is the place you will wind up if your dog is not very good at flipping, allowing your dog to be aggressive. You can start to slide this in towards A as your dog becomes better at it.

Remember:
Flips happen behind the dog.
The closer to the midline the more vertical the flip.

Dog Position

Consistent Picture

Flip to Dog Catch

Position is extremely important on flips. Try to present a consistent picture to the dog so that these flipping skills become habitual. It’s not just about flipping performance and understanding, muscle memory and a high success rate are important as well.

Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Front, Heel and Side

A solid front, heel and side position will allow the dog to flip from each of these static positions successfully. Knowing where the dog is at, and where she will be is necessary to provide the correct placement and angle of the disc required for successful flipping.

Each flip that can be done in front position, in theory, can be done in heel and also in side. This means triple the number of types of flip in a team’s arsenal of tricks.

Wait

A ‘Wait’ is a cue given to a dog means, “Wait there until it’s time.”

A good wait is a must have tool for both training and competition. There are times when the team needs some time to breathe and there are times that we need to bring the energy level down a notch and do some careful or thoughtful work. A wait is a very important piece of a disc dog foundation.

Nothing is more frustrating, for dog and handler, than having a great jam session destroyed because part of the team couldn’t make a wait happen. Having a solid wait will make training sessions more effiicient, and your jam sessions more flexible.

Putting it Together

If we are good at positioning our dogs and strategically putting our discs in those spots that create and nurture flips, we will have less confusion, more success to build on, and the ability to keep things safe for our dogs.