Dog Training, Performance & Art
Separation in interior movement is one of the more interesting and overlooked aspects of the game. Separation can be defined as the distance between the hand and the disc at the time of catch. It is a key aspect of assessing difficulty and mature play.
A Complex Set Up Move combines two or more moves in such a way as they become something new, a single entity that is unique and useful for setting up tricks.
Set Up Moves are, in essence, Interior Flatwork, with an eye towards setting up a trick rather than moving the dog or setting up a simple throw and catch. This connection to Flatwork has escaped conventional disc dog wisdom and has left many handlers thinking they don’t do or don’t need flatwork.
Flatwork isn’t something you do, or something you need. Flatwork is. It is happening and you are either doing it, or it’s doing you.
Disc Dog freestyle sequences have a starting position, often it is Front Position – dog standing in front of the handler. Set Up Moves are ways of getting set up in time and space. They get the team into position and in time.
Most players have a go-to Set Up Move, or 3, but it is important to have a variety of entries into the positions that start sequences to keep things interesting and to display and enhance flow.
In this epic video there are 13 different set up moves, some are fairly standard, and some are pretty clever. Below we’ll name and define them and talk about usage and pros and cons.
Shapes are more than just the trail left by the dog on the field, and the patterns created by the dog after the catch. Shapes differ from Flatwork, and higher level Shapes should not rely solely on how the dog releases after a catch. Shapes are how the dog moves to navigate the catch.
Flatwork, Flow, Shapes, Throw Placement and Flight, and Release Diversity all require and can demonstrate athletic ability. How these skills are demonstrated or performed may or may not have an impact on Athleticism and Showmanship.
Expressing yourself ought to be the point of the whole game of disc with a dog. See or dream it, train it, do it. Make people get the feels while you do so.
Jack & Ferris work on some Flatwork, Shapes, and Flow for the Cheetah 9000 drone and for UpDog judging Concepts. Wound up being an Ingenuity session. #teamhero #UpDogChallenge Jack and I have been working on UpDog Judging stuff for a while. I’ve posted a couple of Judges Concepts videos here of late… One […]
Marty and Apryl have a sweet back stall. He’s got a great sit pretty, and he switches sides fairly reliably while in a stall in super cute fashion. It’s not quite finished, though.
If you have tried to teach Sit Pretty in a back stall, you might know what I’m talking about… Not at all an easy skill.
The handler’s way of things impacts the dog and the team. When something goes weird with position, set up, or even disc handling by the dog, look at yourself before looking to the dog, the disc, or the environment.