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Routine Building | Stop Putting the Cart Before the Horse

In routine building handlers are often putting the cart before the horse. I’ve built more than a few routines in my time. I’ve drawn detailed diagrams, written lists with wind modifiers, grouped my sequences, made physical models of the routine – all of these things have been helpful to some degree. But they were, more often than not, putting the cart before the horse.

Patron’s Choice: Shaping a Leaping Catch | Creating a Late Read

Reading the disc is a skill that astute dogs and humans pick up rather quickly. The float, the spin, and the speed can reliably be gauged and predicted after several reps. Of course this changes with wind, disc choice, and throwing ability but, generally speaking, the flight path of a disc is easily predicted.

Patron’s Choice: Shaping the Leaping Catch | Freestyle and the Leaping Catch

Shaping a Leaping Catch can, and should be a full time job. Always throw with the intent to deliver the leaping catch unless working something specific that requires a specific approach, speed or distance that is incompatible with a leaping catch. Out throws are glory, not afterthoughts.

Within a game of disc dog freestyle there are many opportunities to reinforce and shape the leaping catch and to turn the speed regulation required for the leaping catch into a habit that is ever present in your freestyle game.

Responses

    1. The Pendulum has the dog going behind the handler each time. Coming in towards, going around, and leaving to go out to the side; back and forth, behind the handler.