Patron’s Choice: Routine Building | Disc Management for the Dog
Sneak Peek – Patrons Only… Public Release
Release has many meanings in disc. Throws and throw variations can be referred to as releases. Sometimes you talk about the dog releasing something, the toy, or the environment, as in to stop... More Dec 14th
How to Drop?
The best tool at a handler’s disposal for Disc ManagementDisc Management is a disc dog term that describes management and organization of discs throughout the routine. Disc Management is a scored category in most disc dog freestyle organizations and has great impact... is the cued Drop. Being able to choose , exactly, where the disc is dropped is a Disc Management dream. Of course this means that the dog must know how to drop on cue.
Opportunity Knocks
Many dogs drop on opportunity, rather than on cue. And many dogs drop on a signal that is not the cue the handler intends. Throwing hand grabbing a disc from the stack in your left hand is a good unintentional signal. Reaching back to throw, or turning the body is another. Most dogs will drop on a cue or a Pose unless taught otherwise. Opportunity is a wonderful drop cue, but opportunity as Drop cue is terrible for Disc Management.
Opportunity can be anywhere or anything. If you do your job well as a trainer and handler, the whole darn game is opportunity. The better the cued Drop, the more control you have over where your dog places the disc after a catch. And your dog actually placing a disc becomes a reality with a terrific cued Drop.
This is easier said than done. Just because your dog does it doesn’t mean they know it. It isn’t until you start to rely on the drop that you realize just how far away from knowing a cued Drop your dog really is.
Drop vs Give
One key element to truly understanding the cued Drop is to clearly distinguish it from a Give
The Give is a retrieve to the hand. A cued Give is a foundational skill that is not super useful in the actual performance of disc dog freestyle, and has huge applications for.... All Gives are Drops, but not all Drops are Gives. That logical reality can be the key to unlocking the cued Drop for many dogs, and is required for masterful team movement and disc management.
Be sure to create a distinction between Drop and Give. It is highly recommended that two distinct cues are used because a Give has a distinct location – location specific teeth off; in my hand. Drop is teeth off anywhere on the field. All Gives are Drops, but not all Drops are Gives. They are completely different behaviors and operations.
Both of these skills, skillfully used and cued, will become secondary reinforcers because they lead to Next"Next" encapsulates the dog's anticipation of a forthcoming reward, sparking motivation and excitement. This expectancy creates a driving force that propels the dog through training, forming a continuous loop of engagement. When "Next"... – be it roller, toss, chase, or bite. Your dog will want to carry for the opportunity to drop on cue.
Prompt Switch
If an unintentional cue is identified simply put your intended cue right before it. Quite purposefully, give the weak cue followed by the strong cue – the cue that doesn’t work, right before the one that works.
So if the dog is dropping on retrieve when I grab a disc from the stack in my left hand all I do is give the weak cue, the one that doesn’t work, my intended verbal,”Aus!” immediately followed by reaching to grab from the stack. Repeat. Rinse & repeat. Repeat 1.
After many boom-pow situations where the weak verbal happens right before the physical cue that makes the teeth come off, the dog will start to drop the disc between the verbal and you immediately grabbing the disc.
The prompt switch is a tool of classical conditioning, and a powerful tool it is. The verbal is placed directly next to the thing that elicits the behavior – our actions will create the behavior. The dog is along for the ride. Only after the dog starts to drop between your verbal and physical, can you go consequent.
Drop on Each Flank
The unbalanced directional preference of dogs also has bearing on the cued Drop. Some dogs want to drop immediately upon hitting their stride on their strong flank. Other dogs are probably not going to drop on the strong flank. It’s a crap shoot and a rabbit hole. The important thing to remember is that a cued Drop may, and probably will be stronger or weaker dependent upon whether the dog is moving clock or counter.
Make sure you have experience dropping in both directions and that you understand your limitations with the cued Drop. It will help your disc management.
Catch vs Drop
If you want the dog to drop on cue, you have to withhold the reinforcement until the dog drops. It’s pretty simple training logic. There are many moves and sequences where the throw needs to happen before the drop. This makes consistency and maintenance of the cued Drop difficult. The cue can get lost in the shuffle while playing freestyle and next thing you know, the dog isn’t dropping on cue.
A simple solution is to add a Catch cue. Let the Catch cue mean drop the disc you’re carrying on your own. So a Catch cue is given and the disc is thrown, much like a Prompt SwitchA Prompt Switch is a technique for changing the cue or signal for a behavior. The new/weak cue is given, verbally or physically followed immediately by the old/strong cue. Then the behavior happens..... You can mark when the dog drops if you need to shape or reinforce the behavior of dropping while chasing a disc.
Distinguishing between Drop and Catch creates a lot of freedom for the handler and team while maintaining logical consistency and stimulus control over the act of dropping a disc.
Drop as Secondary Reinforcer
When the cued Drop becomes a secondary reinforcer, your dog will carry in order to create an opportunity to chase or bite a disc. A dog who wants to carry a disc and gives it up easily is an easy dog to play advanced freestyle with. It makes so many things so much easier.
Cultivate your cued Drop, whether you cue it verbally or physically. Turn it into a cookie opportunity and your dog will be a disc management machine.
Flank vs Pass
Passing and Flanking can and do create different angles. For the most part, and for the sake of brevity, passes create linear approaches at the handler and flanks create lateral or sideways approaches towards the front of the handler. This is a huge distinction in team movement and the actual ground able to be covered by the dog.
Out and back is kind of limiting in terms of moving to, picking up, and meeting the dog at piles of discs. The dog only moves on 1 line, they are coming in hot, directly at us, and getting them off that line requires a throw or obvious handler movement or flatwork technique.
A flank, on the other hand, can be dragged across the entire field. The dog can be slowed down by simply not throwing. The drop can be cued anywhere along that line, all the way across the field and the dog can be seamlessly moved around to other spots on the field where the cued Drop can be called for optimum disc management.
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