Last show of Season 2 featuring freestyle jams with Abby Cline, Apryl Lea, Jack Fahle, and Ron Watson. We’ve also got another throwing lesson, some cuing and communication, and some more Give work with Eppie.
A few weeks ago Apryl & Jolene were featured in DiscDogger Weekly in a piece on Shapes & Flatwork. Their performance was notable because of the distinction between Flatwork and Shapes. Their Flatwork was solid but the Shapes were a bit weak. Apryl has since done some work on the Shapes part of her game with Jo, so let’s take a look at some subtle differences and distinctions.
A disc can be thrown in many ways. Two of the many ways of throwing a disc are Runners and Floaters. Runners fly long, straight, and far and have very little hover to them. A toss and fetch throw is a runner. Runners are chased down. Floaters rise up to their apex, hover for a moment, and then drop to the ground. Throws that are made in order to make your dog leap are most likely Floaters.
This really is an old lesson. It’s part of our foundation. I use this to teach dogs and teach people a Give all the time. That said, this is a bit of a different approach than normal, not technically or mechanically, but mentally. This session is just another layer of the learning onion, one more time of learning the same lesson, over and over…
Proper cuing is critical for successful disc dog performance. Issues with cuing and the resultant communication problems are, perhaps, the most common mistakes handlers make and the most common impediments to successful performance in all aspects of disc dog freestyle and disc dog games.
Welcome to DiscDogger Weekly Episode 19. On this week’s agenda we’ve got disc dog puppy bitework with Grasshopper and a new disc dog star, Wham! We’ve got some discussion of disc dog shapes and Team Movement with UpDog Founder,Jack Fahle, and demonstration of the impact of handler movement on Shapes with Ron & Epic. Throwing is featured this week as well with a lesson on throwing behind the back, a wordy announcement from Pawsitive Vybe, and a freestyle Jam session with Jack & Spice.
Words Matter. Disc dog vocabulary and nomenclature can be a bit tough to follow. That’s why we created our disc dog glossary back in 2016. It’s got more than a few entries, you will see some of the terms linked in blog posts here on the site. If you need something defined or need some clarity just hook up with us via the “Suggest a Term” button at the top of the page and we’ll see about getting it added to the list.
Jack and Wham! work on some disc dog puppy bitework on the big field at the Fahle Ranch.The focus of this session is keeping this young frisbee phenom on task and engaged and to develop and reinforce basic disc dog mechanics: Bite, Drop, and Give. Rollers are thrown in for action and variety. Wham! is a 16 week old Aussie.
Disc Dog Bitework is a great way to teach the mechanics of disc play: Bite, Drop, and Give. Each of these skills is integral to the game of disc with a dog whether you’re playing freestyle or focused on disc dog games. Ron & Grasshopper work a little bitework in this short session with a focus on drawing attention to the Bite and Drop criteria and the trigger for a Bite.
There are three main components that create Shapes in disc dog freestyle. Where and how the dog moves, where and how the throws are made, and where and how the handler moves. These three elements work in concert to create Shapes and Team Movement. So it is not whether or not you are creating shapes in your disc dog play it is what shapes are you creating in your play.
Not only does how and where you throw matter when it comes to disc dog Shapes, but your movement also has great bearing on the types of lines your dog runs and how your team moves.
Knowing how your dog moves is the key to Team Movement and flow in disc dog freestyle. This knowledge requires more than just chucking discs and picking up more and requires more than just drawing up and practicing your routine. Check out this quick discussion with Jack Fahle, founder of the UpDog Challenge to hear a bit more about the topic of reading your disc dog.
Ron Watson lays out some key tips to throwing the behind the back and under the leg backhand throw with discs.
Using the body as flick and positioning and cuing the body make both of these throws much more successful and much more functional, even in windy conditions.
Welcome to Episode 18 of DiscDogger Weekly, aka: Season 2 Episode 8. This week we’re focused on Shapes – how the dog, handler, disc, and team move and move together in space and time – and throwing.
How and where we throw the disc has great bearing on how and where our dog moves. This sounds elementary, but the application of this knowledge is not nearly as simple as it sounds. Or maybe it is just as simple, it’s just not super easy to understand.
Disc Dog Flatwork and Shapes are related but not the same thing. Just because you have good flatwork doesn’t mean you will have good shapes and vice versa. It is possible to have great Shapes and poor Flatwork. As it is possible to have great Flatwork and poor Shapes.
A judged subcategory in UpDog, Shapes are not well understood in disc dog freestyle. That said, they do have bearing in your score in other organizations depending upon the judges sitting on the panel and they definitely impact your flow and Team Movement.
Flying discs are magical missile objects. They seem to move in an impossible manner. It is this impossible movement that attracts people to the flight of a flying disc and disc play in general. Cool throws need not be difficult things and the coolest throws are often quite simple.
For many throwers, old and new alike, Hyzer and Anhyzer are like some kind of paranormal activity, like ghosts they are completely visible but ephemeral and difficult to understand. For those that are initiated and understand the concepts practical applications of the skills are often hard to find. Enter Catch with Curves…
Throw as many 42 yard throws as you want and you can still be surprised and affected by your rampaging frizbeast bolting up field and pressuring your throw. If only there were some way to practice Toss N Fetch throws under that kind of pressure… Well, grab a few discs and a partner and head on out to the field.
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