Dog Training, Performance & Art
content created for and by Pawsitive Vybe Patrons.
Nothing gets in the way of patience and methodical movement like pattern training in dog frisbee. When a rabid frizbeast knows what is coming and where it is going, odds are the dog is going to go for it, and hard. This is one of the problems that I have with freestyle routines and it gets worse later into the year. By World Finals time my frizbeasts are cutting corners and running on autopilot which can and does cause timing problems for the team.
The affects of a clean trigger in the Flatwork Compass show themselves in most all aspects of the game. Most dogs do not have a clean trigger. Cleaning up your trigger will have a positive impact on many aspects of your game.
12 throws in 4 minutes and we have a dramatically improved trigger, a better wait, and a plan to solve a couple of other nagging problems he has shown throughout his career. A few dedicated sessions and we should have marked improvement in all aspects of his game.
Communication on the fly is a key element of disc dog freestyle and disc dog game play. It is a good idea to have a clear and concise communication system to make on the fly decision making a successful endeavor. Nobody wants to be handcuffed by pattern training. The Flatwork Compass provides a simple and elegant communication system that is based upon natural movements and canine/human pressure and body language.
Historical footage recovered from our cloud archive, the Polkanado puppy learning the Hoop behavior. This was her first shot at the skill and you can see she got it right away. Now part of that is because she is not only super cute, but she’s super smart, but this simple 3-step Hoop technique we’re going to cover right here is extremely elegant and effective.
Last week I put out a piece with Loot on Punishing with a Pause and an Offered Down for better catching. I’ve been keeping on task with him with this method for almost two weeks. He’s coming along nicely and the drops are disappearing from our game.
A step by step method for taking on new disc dog trick or sequence challenges in images and video. Creating new sequences made easy.
We have covered this before on the Cued Drop topic. Sometimes your dog learns to drop on a cue that you never intended to teach. In Loot’s case, the unintentional Drop cue happens when I pass or load the disc from the stack in my off hand to my throwing hand.
Follow the Leader is a great game. It’s fun. But following a leader that is a prey driven animal might lead you to places you don’t want to be. Follow the Leader with a leader who is not aware of the follower’s ability to follow breaks down right away. Follow the leader is best played when we know who the leader is and when we get some good cues as to where the game is going to go.
Disc Dogs who know the difference between a Flank and a Pass are easier to handle. Handlers who know the difference between a Flank and a Pass are better at moving their dogs and making plays. A team that knows the difference between a Flank and a Pass exhibit diverse play and are more capable of purposing play towards training and performance.