
Fly Chi Flow Forms as Drop Framework
Ron Watson discusses using Fly Chi Flow Forms as a framework for reinforcing the cued Drop, a key disc dog mechanic.
Ron Watson discusses using Fly Chi Flow Forms as a framework for reinforcing the cued Drop, a key disc dog mechanic.
Ron & Otto use the Flatwork Compass as a framework for reinforcing the cued Drop and as a warmup for later sessions.
A cued Drop session with Otto, a disc dog that drops far away from the handler.
Ron & Obi work on catching and dropping on cue through controlling the pace and energy level of the game during a Clubhouse Sound of DiscDog session in the Pawsitive Vybe Club. These audio only live training and QnA sessions are a feature of our community work on Clubhouse. This video and audio below are only my perspective, but there are a bunch of people listening on the other end lending their imagination and good questions to the session.
Another installment of the Sound of DiscDog with King. This session was amazing for King and I. This mauling/chewing behavior has been a real nag. It’s quite oppressive in normal working environments, but it wound up being an easy job in this Sound of DiscDog session. It’s very illustrative and easy to hear some of the timing stuff, especially if you heard the first session last week. Check out the audio below before watching the vid if you want the full effect…
Bitework is a tremendous exercise for teaching dogs to play disc. Bite, Drop, Give, Drive Management, Patience, Position, and catching can all be taught and reinforced using a thoughtful game of Bitework. Ron & Wham! work some Bitework and demonstrate some of the basic functions of the game.
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.
Epic has a pretty crappy give. A few weeks ago that crappy Give cost us more than a few points in a big worldwide contest – “Not Cool, Eppie!” and not cool, Ron… It’s been a problem that I’ve dealt with since we started working and it really isn’t that big a deal to me as I don’t really care too much about Toss n Fetch, the extra 3-5 seconds it costs us hasn’t been worth the effort to focus on the skill – there’s so much more to learn and work on… Well, that’s about to change…
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.
The only thing you will do more in a round of freestyle than drop discs is to catch them, and that is only if you go dropless. Dropping discs is, literally, half the game, and dropping them at the right place and the right time is more than half of playing the game well.
This kind of proofing on the Cued Drop will enable greater disc management potential and enhance the Drop behavior in general. This work will enable Eppie & I to do things with the disc in his mouth that we would not be able to do without the experience and understanding that we can do work while he’s carrying and that the next trick is not the Drop cue.
It’s quite hard to flow with a dog who doesn’t drop on cue. This problem is greater if you treat action and interaction with the handler and disc as a cookie and expect the dog to Drop before offering the cookie. This is the way most of us like to install the Cued Drop as it affords the handler greater control over reinforcement of the Drop behavior.
Cue Before Do is standard operating procedure for teaching a cued Drop with discs. Cue Before Do means that you ask for and get the Drop behavior before giving the cookie which is “Do” – throw, next move, bite, etc. Because disc dog freestyle is really nothing more than a series of long behavior chains, many of which are dependent upon having the disc out of the dog’s mouth to complete, this makes complete sense and is logically sound.
Sneak Peek – Patrons Only… Public Release Dec 14th | A dog that knows how to flank and pass will be able to maintain a desired working distance of the handler’s choosing. Combined with a cued Drop, this knowledge makes the dog a superstar in disc management.
Laurent and Gypsie have been working Disc Quan Do in the Digital Dojo. For the last week, we’ve been hanging out in the Dojo in the mornings chatting about their work. It’s been a lot of fun. Below is their Yellow Belt Challenge Test, a video featuring all of the White Belt Forms. Team Gypsie passed the Belt Challenge Test and are now Yellow Belts in Disc Quan Do.
Putting the Drop behavior on cue gives the handler a great deal of power over an object in the dog’s mouth and can be used to teach a Hold, Carry and Retrieve.
Alternating between Drop and Give provide a strong contrast between the location of the Give and the lack of location on the Drop. I believe this distinction has helped Hops immensely in just the last 2 sessions. It’s also helped us a ton as a team.
We like to use Oppositional Feeding with many Drop issues with high drive dogs. In the case of a late Drop or a dog that habitually retrieves, the reward placement of Oppositional Feeding creates a competing interest and gives the dog a reason to be “out there” instead of racing back to the handler.
For Disc Dogs, performing a multiple (several discs thrown in rapid fire succession usually at a short distance and in front of the handler) can be a challenge. Multiples often lack a convincing catch, and this lack of commitment to possessing the disc can make the skill look like rapid fire misses instead of rapid fire catches.
Laura starts out by freeshaping the Drop and adjusting her position so Lakota doesn’t get to drop discs in front of her at her feet. Once the Drop is freed up a bit, Laura shifts gears and uses a Prompt Switch to get the drop happening right after the cue is given. This creates a pattern of the dog dropping away from the handler.
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