Drop vs Catch | The Best of Both Worlds for Disc Management and Game Strategies

The only thing you will do more in a round of freestyle than drop discs is to catch them, and that is only if you go dropless. Dropping discs is, literally, half the game, and dropping them at the right place and the right time is more than half of playing the game well.

Dropping is a behavior and doing behaviors and doing them on cue is dog training. How you train it and what concepts your training is based on are important ideas. Let’s examine 2 types of drops in the game of disc.

Operant vs Classical

If a dog is operant it means the dog knows,”If I do this, then that happens.” There is an understanding that a behavior is being done and there is a consequence for that behavior. The consequence is based on behavior – behavior affects consequence. Markers are often used in operant conditioning.

In classical conditioning, behavior does not matter. The consequence changes or creates behavior. This is, most all the time, done through pairing. The consequence triggers the behavior or state of being.

Drop is an Operant Cue – Teeth Off and Next Happens

We teach a verbally cued Drop here at Pawsitive Vybe. We use a German word, “Aus.” The verbal Drop cue means to take your teeth off the disc and when you do, something nice will happen. The Drop is an operant cue which means it is conditioned and understood by the dog. The dog knows that the teeth off make Next"Next" encapsulates the dog's anticipation of a forthcoming reward, sparking motivation and excitement. This expectancy creates a driving force that propels the dog through training, forming a continuous loop of engagement. When "Next"... happen. No teeth off means nothing happens. The choice is yours.

The best thing about this is that the dog knows that the Cued DropA cued Drop, or Drop for short, means that you tell your dog when to drop, purposefully, and upon your discretion. A cued Drop is a must in the game of disc in... makes the throw happen. And what must you be doing to perform a Cued Drop? You must have that disc in your mouth.

Catch is a Classical Cue – Next Is Happening So Teeth Off

In addition to the Drop cue, “Aus”, we teach a Catch cue, which means a disc is coming. This is a classically conditioned cue, resulting from the pairing of a thrown disc or the opportunity to bite and the word “Catch”. If the dog wants to catch a disc, the dog must drop the one in his mouth. Instead of the cue asking the dog to drop and reinforcing the dog for dropping, the classically conditioned cue makes the drop happen by it’s pairing with a primary reinforcer, the thrown disc. Teeth off happens because the throw has happened.

The best thing about this is you can break the rules and constraints of a proper Cued Drop and not damage or risk losing the control of the Cued Drop.

Drop Cue = Team Responsibility | Dog Must Drop and Handler Must Wait to Throw

With the proper Cued Drop there is great responsibility on both team members. Eppie must Drop when I ask and I must not throw until Eppie Drops. And there is even more responsibility pushed onto the dog because Eppie must be carrying the disc in order to drop on cue.

Catch Cue = No Responsibility | Just Throw

With the Catch cue, the I throw wheneverI want and Eppie drops whenever he wants. There is no responsibility on dog or handler to make the throw and catch happen. It’s like a freebie.

This is great, but it is not without it’s drawbacks. If the dog only performs this type of drop it is easy to lose control over the Drop entirely, and the dog may drop whenever they want in general. This is a nightmare for disc management and game strategies.

I added this cue because I wanted the ability, the freedom to perform this kind of disc driven team movement, largely for games, but didn’t want to lose the handle on our proper Cued Drop.

Adding the cue gave Eppie and I the best of both worlds. Loot does not have this installed entirely, and it is a source of frustration – it actually was THE source of the frustration that helped me decide to put both cues on Eppie.

Drop Controls Drop Location

With the proper Cued Drop, the dog must carry until the Drop cue is given. You can’t drop on cue if you ain’t carrying it, right buddy?

This base level control means that the handler has much more discretion and control over where the Drop will be performed. It enables precise and strategic dropping for games and freestyle which is a huge benefit to disc management.

In this video, Eppie was off the field several times, if we did not have solid controls over the Cued Drop and an understanding that the Cued Drop makes next happen, Eppie would be likely to drop the disc far away from where it needs to be for the game.

In addition to controlling the location and precision of the Cued Drop, this method allows the handler to set up operant behavior chains that can be used to reinforce other behaviors in the game and to manage drive. If all throws, drops, and catches are free of control it is hard to leverage them towards reinforcement of behavior or drive management.

Catch Controls Catch Location

The Catch cue gives additional control over where the dog will be catching the disc. I choose where Eppie will go next. If I just say,”Catch,” and throw, Eppie will hear the cue and go to where the disc has been thrown for the catch.

This additional control over the timing of the throw allows the handler to more easily drive the dog to discrete locations on the field.

Having this cue in the back pocket with a proper cued Drop gives you the best of both worlds and great flexibility for game strategy and disc management.

It’s Not Too Late to Get the Best of Both Worlds

Like GI Joe says,”Knowing is half the battle.” Just knowing this and applying it in game strategies and general disc training can give you the best of both worlds today.