Disc Dog Routine Building with Cookies

Manufacturing the Approach

The dog goes to where reinforcement happens, knowing this, to set a particular approach from a particular distance just toss a cookie out there. No sitting, no waiting, no frustration.

Waiting for Understanding

Make sure that to put a 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,... between each element of the sequence. Don’t be afraid to mark and reinforce the Wait randomly to add more value and make it more likely to happen in the future.

Rewarding with Action

Keep in mind the Rewarding with Action concept. Reinforce AttentionUnsolicited eye contact or Attention is a great way to hook up with a dog. If you have something the dog wants he should give eye contact in order to get access to... and toss a cookie to set an approach. The reorientation to the handler by the dog can be marked and reinforced with the cue for the first trick in the sequence.

Reward the first trick of the sequence with a cookie or a Wait cue. MarkShort for “Positive Marker”, a Mark is a word or signal given at the exact moment a desired behavior is performed. It’s like a clicker. Mark can also mean the act of marking... the Wait and reinforce with the next trick or a cookie… etc. This can turn the idea of ‘Next’ into a cookie. Reward with Action well, your dog won’t have the time or opportunity to make mistakes.