Meet Epic – 15 Week Old Disc Dog Baussie

This is Epic, a 15 week old disc dog Baussie (Border Collie x Aussie) rescue out of Minnesota. He is freeshaping a down stay with his handler, Ron Watson. This is Epic’s first freeshaping lesson.

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Patron’s Choice: Shaping a Leaping Catch | Creating a Late Read

Reading the disc is a skill that astute dogs and humans pick up rather quickly. The float, the spin, and the speed can reliably be gauged and predicted after several reps. Of course this changes with wind, disc choice, and throwing ability but, generally speaking, the flight path of a disc is easily predicted.

Wait vs Stay Using a Back Stall with An Over-Aroused Dog | Pt 3

Session 3 with Motown shows a significant reduction of arousal and a marked increase in Drive. Drive is energy and action applied towards work. Building off of Session 1 and Session 2, we’re moving forward with an increased level of criteria for the target behaviors and are adding Attention, or unsolicited eye contact to the mix to add some additional structure for further reduction of arousal and increased Drive.

On Shapes in Disc Dog Freestyle

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.

Epic Team Movement | How to Shape and Control Your Dog’s Movement After Catch

This piece is building off of the Stop Putting the Cart Before the Horse piece from a few days ago.
We call the dog’s movement after a catch the Release. As in, “the dog releases clockwise”, or “the dog releases to the handler”. Your dog has natural releases, conditioned releases, patterned releases, and situational releases. And it is not at all clear which one is which. It’s a good idea to be present and aware before and after the catch and to understand your dog’s movements after the catch.

The Purpose and Value of Recognizing Shapes in Disc Dog Freestyle

Shapes are created by the position and movement of dog, handler, and disc. And shapes can be created by the dog, the handler, and the placement of the disc. Shapes are a fact of disc dog freestyle.

When the dog leaves the handler for a catch, that tends to create a line. When the dog is away from the handler and moves across the field to make a catch, as in a Zig Zag or Around the World, that tends to create a Shape.