Through… Wait… Flip!
Mechanics
- Dog is sent through and handler calls wait.
- Handler turns towards the dog using positional pressure to halt the dog’s momentum.
- Handler marks wait and reinforces with a flip toss.
The key here is to use the handler’s shoulder direction and positional pressure to make the wait much more likely to happen. This spinning motion also helps to make this skill look interesting from a 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 standpoint.
Application
This video shows early work with a dog that doesn’t have a solid wait. Notice that the bad behavior, the leaping at the disc is not acknowledged whatsoever. The mark is happening on the performance of the ThroughA Through is a set up move where the dog runs between the handler’s legs. The dog can move from front to back or side to side and can even weave. A Through... More or on 4 feet on the floor. The resultant 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 is being marked and reinforced by the toss.
Once the dog is waiting, repeat the skill 3-5 times before moving on to live speed. This repetition of the skill with the Wait will increase the dog’s conceptual understanding of the sequence taking it from all linked together like “Through-n-Flip” to “Through then Flip” — two discreet behaviors in succession. Once the dog understands that the handler provides more opportunity after the wait he will start to focus on the handler’s cues will try to performing them correctly to make next happen more efficiently. Building sequences becomes much easier for both dog and handler.
Attention is Key
Attention as a default behavior in the presence of the disc greatly enhances a dog’s ability to be patient and wait for the bite cue, the toss or the cue to move or flip. If the dog can’t stop himself from leaping like Hops in the video here, more Attention and eye contactUnsolicited 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... More with cookies and toys is a good solution.