An Epic Trigger Example

What exactly is the Trigger for your dog to get the disc? Serious question that demands a clear and concise answer. Do you have one? Not having a clear answer to this question leads to all kinds of problems from an unreliable WaitWaiting on cue and situationally is extremely important for disc dog freestyle training. The competition field might not see too much waiting going on as everything is supposed to be happening in flow,... More to missed catches at a distance to poor vault and over timing. Ron & Epic demonstrate our standard Triggers for a catch, a Bite, flips, overs – and all of those skills are Triggered with the same mechanic.

Horizontal Orientation of the Disc = Go!

The primary Trigger for disc dogs that we use at Pawsitive Vybe is the horizontal rim orientation. Our dogs are taught to not attempt to bite a disc or take off on the run unless the disc has hit that horizontal position.

This is a really reliable Trigger.

The Long Tail of a Strong Trigger

There are many desirable behaviors that are created and reinforced through the intentional use of a Trigger.

• Patience for the Bite
• Wait
• VaultThe dog uses the player´s body as a launching pad to jump for a disc. A Vault is a leaping catch from the handler’s body. The dog leaves the ground for the target... More Timing
• Successful catching
• Coordinated Team MovementTeam Movement is how dog and handler move, as a team, out there on the field. It is a judging category in some organizations and certainly is a focus of many judges, players,... More

to name a few…

Not having a clear Trigger defined or having muddy, unclear triggers on particular skills has been the number one issue for at least 80% of disc dog troubleshooting we have been asked to do over the last 5 years.

This literally is one of the most important concepts in dog frisbee.

Peace & Happy Jamming