High Flyin' K9's > Issue Nine, September 2008
can be found at http://sodhnewssept08.blogspot.com/
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Eight, June 2008
can be found at http://sodhnewsJune08.blogspot.com/
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Seven, March 2008
can be found at http://sodhnewsmarch08.blogspot.com/
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Six, December 2007
can be found at http://sodhnewsdecember07.blogspot.com/
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Five Sept. '07
can be found at http://sodhnewsseptember07.blogspot.com/
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Four June '07
can be found at http://sodhnewsjune07.blogspot.com/
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Three
March 2007
From The Editor:
Spring is almost here and soon it will be time to come out of hibernation, get off the couch, and get outside with those disc dogs. For some, the 2007 disc competition season has already started with the Deep Freeze series of trials in Mount Forest. For others the season starts when the ice melts, the days get longer, and the warm weather arrives. That would be folks like me Fair weather players But for those of us still in hibernation, all is not lost; we can always train from the sofa to bide our time and keep Fido occupied.
It will soon be St. Patricks Day so I’ll leave you with this Irish blessing:
May the Luck of the Irish shine on all your disc routines this competition season; May you and your dog spin, flip, vault, and leap to higher heights and higher scores; And may your aching knees, sore backs ,and frisbee elbows be relieved by the breakfast of champions ……. Tylenol! And most important … may you never run out of Tylenol!
Good Luck to everyone this 2007 disc season
Happy Disc’n
Jackie
Harley-Dawg
Training From The Sofa
When inclement weather restricts outdoor disc play, the avid discer gets creative. There are many things that we can train from the sofa. Or at least from in front of the sofa in your family room! This is some of the sofa training I did this winter:
1) Juggling >> I used the sofa as a platform to teach Rowdy not to move away from me when I went to take hold of the disc in his mouth. In the beginning he didn’t understand what I was trying to do. It looked like multiples but, “what the heck is Mom trying to do?” Giving him a defined area (sofa cushion) to ‘stay’ on helped us to master this trick.
2) Multiples >> for dogs that move in towards you with each catch, using the sofa as a general stay area can really help. Have the dog stand on the sofa (or put a sofa cushion on the floor) and toss your multiples to him. He must stay on the platform & if he comes off it’s “wrong”
3) Roll Overs >> I wanted to incorporate a roll over into Rowdy’s routine and while the roll over was easy enough to teach, getting him not to dive forward and roll over my feet when I had a Frisbee in my hand was not so easy. Again, I used the sofa cushion platform idea to teach him to roll over at a distance. I had to start up close and reinforce roll overs on the cushion. Then step back a little bit and reinforce roll overs on the cushion. Then step back a little bit more and a little bit more. And if he came forward off the cushion it was “wrong”
4) Back Stalls >> I used the sofa to help Josie to learn to walk onto my back. I needed her to understand the cue well because I have bad knees and she is very small and I can’t kneel down for her. She is very athletic and could easily jump up onto my back if I lunge for her but she needed to gain confidence and an understanding of what I wanted. I started by sitting on the couch, leaning forward, and luring her onto my back with treats. When she understood that I sat on a foot stool just in front of the couch and had her hop across from the couch to my back. And then I slowly started standing up to my lunge position while Josie started from the couch. Then I put her on the floor and she ran under my legs. Hmmm ……. I guess she didn’t 100% understand the cue and was just reading the body language which was connected to being ON the couch. Sooooo, I put her on an ottoman that was a little lower than the sofa and she hopped up onto my back from there. And then I made a slightly lower platform for her to start from and then I put a cushion on the floor and then faded it out.
Brave Maeve
One Dogs’ Journey from Fear to Frisbee World Finalist
Many of you might know my border collie, Maeve. But most, probably don’t know the difficult road she traveled to become the confident sports dog that she is today.
When people think of dogs overcoming the odds they often think of dogs that have overcome illness or abuse. But Maeve was afflicted with a much more insidious affliction. An affliction that tore at the very core of her being: Paralyzing Global Fear.
Maeve was a very normal border collie puppy. Her parents are both very outgoing, in your face friendly dogs, and she and her littermates started life as a happy-go-lucky bunch with an eagerness to explore and experience new things. Maeve attended puppy school and regularly accompanied me on trips to the city when I was working on film or photo sets. She was socialized to downtown traffic and to new people. And then it happened …………………
We were on our way to Toronto when the van skidded on black ice and ended up rolled over in a deep country road ditch. While we were able to get the dogs in the back of the van out, Maeve was not so lucky. Her crate was trapped in the side of the van, buried under the other dog crates. She was trapped for 45 minutes. Forty-five minutes of trauma for Maeve. First the sirens and then the banging, rocking, yelling, etc., as they struggled to free her. She was 4 months old at the time.
Once freed, we put her in a crate on the shoulder of the road, alongside the other dogs, and then my epileptic dog, who was crated beside Maeve, had a grand mal seizure, further adding to the confusion and chaos of the moment, and further traumatizing little Miss Maeve.
I’d read in various behaviour manuals that a severe enough trauma can drastically affect the temperament of a dog, but I’d never encountered it first hand before. Maeve went from being a happy confident puppy, to a fearful and terrified puppy. This little dog that once walked happily in downtown streets, and visited regularly with actors/models, now cowered, trembled, and hid in the back of her crate. Following the accident I wasn’t too keen on driving in inclement weather and so it was that Maeve had a big break in her socialization. BIG MISTAKE!! We lived in an isolated area at the time and I basically became the only person that Maeve saw or interacted with for the remainder of the winter months and into the spring.
When summer rolled around we went to our first dog sport demo of the season. I brought Maeve with me, and just as we were getting out of the van, a marching band went by. Her first experience in a strange place since the trauma of the accident and she’s met with a marching band!! It was like her brain just short circuited and she became instantly petrified of everything and everyone. And this lasted for four and a half years!!!
I kept taking her places with me and although she overcame her fear of traveling, her fear of the world around her became overwhelming. But I couldn’t leave her at home because no one could get her out of her crate and she couldn’t be left for 15 to 16 hours at a time crated. On the road, if I took her out of her crate to go for a walk, she would drop to the ground and cower and tremble in fear and oftentimes piddle herself. As soon as her feet hit the ground she would scramble and frantically struggle to get back into the van and into her crate, where she would cower and tremble. She was a total basket case. On one occasion when I had to board her because I was doing a show at the CNE, an environment that Maeve definitely could not handle, she spooked, got loose, and ran away from her caretakers. When we found her several hours later, she was so traumatized that she didn’t even recognize ME!! That incident scared me so much that I decided to seek out professional help for Maeve. We tried drug therapy. First Elavil (aka amytriptolene) > no effect whatsoever. So we took her off the Elavil. Then we tried a combination of Xanax and Atravet to be given one hour before a scary event. Problem with that was, if something happened to scare her prior to getting the drugs, they had no effect. So once again drug therapy was not the answer for Maeve. We tried homeopathic treatments. We tried T-touch. We tried desensitization. We tried perception modification. This dog just remained terrified of everything and everyone except for me. At one point I even considered having her euthanized because I felt that her quality of life was so poor. To be terrified all the time seemed almost inhumane. But I couldn’t go through with it.
I decided that this was just who Maeve was and to forget trying to change her. She would just be a ‘home’ dog and a one person dog. But she really needed something to do, so I thought I would try to teach her to play flyball. Maybe if she could get high on a game of some sort, she would forget herself and [accidentally] learn that the world is not such a scary place. So I started bringing her to flyball practice each week. At first it was a real challenge because I had to get her into the building. But we overcame that obstacle. The next obstacle was to ‘function’ inside the building. At first she just cowered and struggled to get back outside to the van. But then she started to relax a little bit. Watching the other dogs have fun and play started to catch her interest. Plus, her house-mates were some of those dogs and she was familiar with them and intrigued by their action. Eventually she let her guard down just enough so that I could get her retrieving and tugging with me in the flyball environment. I taught her to jump the hurdles by leaving her on a sit/wait and just teaching her what ‘over’ meant. We worked by ourselves mostly because she was afraid of all my teammates. Then came the time to up the ante. We needed her to learn how to be held for restrained recalls. THAT was a real challenge. She would freak out if anyone tried to take hold of her collar or if I walked away from her. She was terrified. Finally we managed to get her used to one person on the team and that one person was the only person that could hold her for restraints. She was still frightened but she was coping. She got more and more “into” the game. Tugging was the ultimate reward and relief/release for her. “Relief” is a very powerful reinforcer & the relief of being let go to run as fast as her legs could carry her, back to the safety of mom, and a game of tug, really started to take effect and she started to like the restrained recall game.
Then a string of incidents took place (over a stretch of 4mths) that necessitated another big change in Maeve’s life & brought a lot of stress to our lives: (1) my mother passed away; (2) the township changed the bylaws where we lived & reneged on our kennel arrangement; (3) an unscrupulous animal control officer threatened the safety/lives of the dogs, and (4) I broke my knee (at flyball!). All that translated into 3 very rough years for us (Dad and me), and the dogs having to be fostered out while we looked for a new place to live and while I recovered from 2 surgeries on my knee. Maeve went to stay with a friend on my flyball team. She lived in Burlington which is a suburb of Toronto. Life dictated that she had to walk on residential streets and go to the dog park. Scary stuff for a dog still fearful of the world around her. But she knew Sandy (my friend) and she knew Sandy’s dogs. And she loved tennis balls and tugs. So she walked with confident dogs and she played ball and tug in the off leash dog park and she got braver and braver. Then Sandy introduced her to Frisbee and she took to that like a fish to water. Now Maeve had two sports that she embraced with vigor. And her love of the sports started to override her fear of the world.
They say that time heals all wounds, but it seems it can also heal all fears. “Time” brought Maeve around. I discovered through trial and error that the more I tried to “help” Maeve to be brave, the more I pushed her back into her fears. She wasn’t ready to deal with them yet. But as soon as I backed off and decided that this was who she was and in a sense “gave up” trying to change her, she slowly came around on her own. Teaching her a sport just for her own enjoyment without ever dreaming that she would one day compete > she would either play or not play > her choice > was a key part of her gaining confidence. It took her mind off her fears and put the focus on something else. Something fun. Something so enticing to her that she was compelled to participate. It took four and a half years but Maeve went from being a dog that was paralyzed by fear, to a dog that was now enjoying life and dog sports. In September of 2004 she qualified for, and competed in, the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Disc Dog Championships. She finished 2nd to last but that didn’t matter. All that mattered to me was that she was “there”. She was brave enough to make the trip and participate. I was so proud of my little girl. In February 2005 she competed in her first flyball tournament, lending her extreme speed to our A team. Also, in 2005 she qualified to attend the World Disc Dog Championships again and that year she finished 14th > middle of the pack!
At seven years of age Maeve continues to compete in both Frisbee and flyball >> she overcame the odds to become a superior athlete. People who knew her “back when” cannot believe she is the same dog. But in a sense ….. she’s not the same dog.
Now she’s “Brave Maeve”
Maeve
Freestyle Disc > Routine Building
Developing Patterns
By Ron Watson
There are 2 kinds of patterns in Freestyle: Linear and Circular; X’s and O’s.
X’s are the linear patterns: out and back, passes, zig zags, overs, etc. O’s are the round patterns: around the world, outruns, flanking maneuvers, field circumnavigation.
Each team has a preference, X or O, and this preference should be dictated by the dog. In which pattern does the dog function best? A Malinois? Most likely an X dog. A Border Collie? Most likely an O dog. Of course these are not hard and fast rules by breed, but each breed tends to have a particular body type that dictates the kinds of patterns that the dog is most comfortable with. Of course, there are exceptions; Splitty, my young BC, is most definitely an X dog, although she tosses in some O stuff occasionally.
What is important, is that we, as handlers, pay attention to the patterns that our dogs are comfortable with, and play to that strength. This will help our dogs not only to look smooth and comfortable, but fee comfortable and have fun playing this game. Training against instinct is difficult. Trying to cram an X dog into an O game is really silly, but we see people doing it all the time. Sometimes it is a veteran player trying to push his new dog into his old dog’s game. Sometimes it is a noob trying to emulate a team that they have been impressed by. Regardless of the situation, trying to make a dog play freestyle in patterns that do not fit his or her style will just cause problems with our games.
That being said, simply playing to your dog’s strength in terms of patterns and ignoring the opposite pattern makes the routine too one dimensional: we wind up with a tennis match > tick tock, or a roller derby > Stop! it makes me dizzy.
The key to having an interesting and diverse routine is to mix it up a bit. If we are running a really round border collie, like Leilani, toss in a few linear moves; a zig zag, some passes, or some big overs. If you are running a Malinois, throw in a flanking maneuver here or there, or a rounded 3 disc sequence, what about ½ a round the world? There are so many things we can do to add a little flavor to our routines, let’s talk about a few of these things, shall we?
X’s from O’s
Let’s say we and an O type dog, a border collie with a real pretty outrun, or a frantic jack that cruises around you like a land shark. (Editors Note: hmmm …. this sounds just like Rowdy!!! )
Trying to get them to straighten out can seem like an impossible task, but it is not really that difficult.
Reverse Through
If we can send our dog through our legs from back to front, we have a ready made linear move. All we have to do is throw the disc while the dog is still underneath us. So we send him around, as if we are just throwing toss and fetch, call him through, from back to front, and make our toss. Bingo, there is a straight line. Simple eh?
But that’s only one move. How do we counter the victory lap, or the outrun after the catch? There a few things we can do to straighten out the outrun after the catch.
Flyball Recall
We scream our dogs name and run directly away from him. This should really freak him out. “What? … Whoa! I better get over there!” Once he breaks for us and is hauling tail directly at us, we stop, reward him with a roller, a tug, or his favorite move, and bingo! We got a reversal of field.
Run Him Into A Wall
No, we are not going to run him into a wall literally. What we are going to do is to throw towards a ‘wall’ or a corner, so he must stop and turn immediately and return to us. We need to use some common sense here, and be very careful.
If you are not confident that you can place the disc in the right place,
or your dog is the kind of dog that will go through an object in pursuit
of plastic, you do not want to try this
Of course we don’t need a wall to accomplish this. We can use any obstacle: a hedge, a fence, a backstop, a soccer goal, field flags, any obstacle that will force your dog to reverse field will work
Feed Him Directionally
One other thing that we can do to straighten out a round dog is to simply feed him in the direction he is already moving
All we have to do is call a drop, and as soon as that happens, we place a disc in the path that our dog is already traveling in. This is a really cool exercise, and can yield some really sweet linear patterns
We are simply doing to follow our dogs lead. He makes the catch, we call the drop, and make the throw to where he is already heading. We don’t try to control anything, we are simply reading our dogs and reacting.
O’s from X’s
There are a few ways we can get some circular patterns from our linear dogs as well. Let’s talk about them.
Get Out on the Flank
The easiest way to get some circular patterns from a linear dog is to send him around and make a toss out to our left or right. Starting from the set up move allows us to start this movement out with a circular pattern. All we have to do then is to call the out and throw up-field. There we go; a nice little ‘J’ or ‘U’ pattern.
Short, Medium, Long
Another thing we can do is to make a short toss, followed by a medium toss, followed by a long toss. The closer they are together, the more round the pattern will look. We can get special props from the judges if we can get 2 or 3 discs in the air at once.
If we set up to the short side of the field, meaning facing the judges or the sidelines, we can make this pattern develop quite easily. So many of us never even think of playing to the short side of the field, and it is a shame, as we can get quite a bit of help developing patterns from the boundaries that make up the field
Make A Box
A poor mans’ around the world can be made by simply making a box around us on the field and hitting the corners of the that box. 1 – 2 – 3 – 3; bang, bang, bang, bang. Here we are going to lead our dog, throw before he has time to hit the brakes and reverse field. Lead him.
This might be difficult for some of us, as our dogs will not be expecting the disc at the next corner. That’s okay, we need to give him a couple of try’s (keep the same distance, and orientation on the field; things need to be exactly the same or our dog might be too confused to learn the pattern) before we write it off as something he cannot learn.
Again, feel free to use a corner of the field or the sidelines to set up the confines of this box. The boundaries of the field are our friends, we shouldn’t be afraid of them.
(Ron Watson is a seasoned disc competitor and instructor. He, along with his partner, Apryl Lea, operate Pawsitive Vybe training in Michigan. Ron is also the founder of the canine disc discussion group at www.k9disc.com. Information on Pawsitive Vybe can be found at http://www.pawsitivevybe.com )
How Do You Teach That?
Back Weaving
Back weaving is a move we use a lot in canine musical freestyle but it can be incorporated into freestyle disc as a cool lead in move to a throw. The back weave is a combination of three basic skills:
1. the Scoot back under
2. an obedience left finish
3. a freestyle right finish (which is the same as an obedience left finish only done on the right hand side of the handler)
The dog needs to know the ‘finish’ exercises in order to understand how to move his rear in the correct direction to set himself up for the back weave. I use the cues “Get In” for the left finish, and “Tuck” for the right finish. The dog needs to know the Scoot trick in order to easily learn the back weave, as back weaving involves the dog backing up under you.
> Start with the dog standing on your left side
> Either extend your right leg back or step back onto your right leg
> Cue your dog to “Get In” (which will tell him to turn/angle his rear to his right) and then “Scoot” (which will tell him to go underneath you)
> From the right side of the handler > extend your left foot back or step back onto your left
> Cue the dog to “Tuck” (which will tell him to turn/angle his rear to his left) and then “Scoot” (which will tell him to go underneath you)
> In order to do a continuous walking back weave, make sure that as the dog completes the scoot under you, he backs into either a right heel or a left heel position, so that he is set up for the next step in the sequence. The cues would be “Get In/Scoot” and “Tuck/Scoot”
How would you use this in a disc routine? Well … the dog could weave back say 3 times > weave back from left/right/left which would finish him on your right side and then you could
1. bend over and have the dog do a vault
2. bend over and have the dog to a back stall
3. turn to face the dog and throw a back flip
4. turn to face the dog and do a reverse chest vault
There’s four ideas to get you started, but the possibilities are endless
Remembering Tippy
Living With An Epileptic Dog
One morning I awoke to what I initially thought was my dog twitching in REM sleep. However, as I came out of my sleepy haze I realized that ‘Tippy’ was not dreaming peacefully > he was having a seizure. Tippy had epilepsy.
I acquired Tippy when he was just 10mths of age. He was said to be ‘fear aggressive’ and I took on the challenge of rehabilitating him. I soon realized that Tippy’s behaviour did not fit the normal parameters of a fear aggressive dog. He would snap at people he knew, as well as at strangers. It seemed that any heightened state of emotion would bring on these episodes. I embarked on a program of classically conditioning Tippy to be calm in the presence of novel stimuli, in the hope that keeping him calm would control his tendency to bite. It didn’t. I took him to a two day T-Touch seminar in an attempt to help him. He tried to bite the speaker. The vet tried giving him Elavil. No effects. Tippy was definitely a dog with problems. But just what was the problem? No one seemed to know. At this point in time, Tippy had not yet begun to seizure, and I had no inkling that his problem was neurological.
After a year of struggling to rehabilitate Tippy, he had his first seizure. In the beginning it was one grand mal seizure every five weeks or so. Then one morning he had a cluster of seven seizures, one right after the other. We rushed him to the vet where it was necessary to give him a general anaesthetic in order to stop the seizure activity. Tippy was put on medication and all was well for the next five months. Then the seizures returned. More violent. More often. And always in clusters. Tippy’s medication was increased and we sailed along for another few months. Then he crashed again. Cluster seizures occurring every ten days. The medication was adjusted again and a second drug was added to his daily regime. And life went on.
Tippy’s aggressive behaviour was not aggression at all, but a form of seizure activity triggered by any heightened state of emotion > fear, excitement, hyperactivity. He had small focal seizures occurring in the area of the brain that controls emotions. The result was behaviour similar to Springer Rage, the result of which was the freeze/bite behaviour which was originally thought to be fear aggression. (Springer Rage is now considered a form of epilepsy) He also had absent seizures. We were safe with Tippy but he was a dog that could never go out in public because he was a bite risk. Living with Tippy meant always being aware of his surroundings and always being sure that he didn’t encounter strangers.
What I learned from Tippy was not so much about my own resolve to deal with his problems and provide him with a safe living environment where he was protected from people, and they from him; but more about the astonishing lack of compassion expressed by many so called dog lovers. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who told me that I was crazy for keeping the dog. And horrified by those that told me I should put him down rather than waste time, money, and emotion on him. I was told, “There are a lot of good dogs out there. Why waste your time on this dog?” And I was so taken aback that I often found myself lost for an answer.
Most often the viewpoint was from the perspective of what a bother it was to care for such a dog. How the human doesn’t want to go through the experience of witnessing seizures. How traumatic it is for the human. I’ve spoken to a few people who have owned epileptic dogs in the past, who have commented that “they” never want to go through that again, and would euthanize another epileptic dog rather than repeat the experience. I found myself astonished at the lack of compassion shown for the dog. It was rare that I heard anyone express concern for the dog > > only for themselves. And I feel sorry for these people because they are missing the lessons their dogs have come to teach them. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Every dog we own is brought into our lives for a reason. In every hardship, behaviour problem, sickness > there is a lesson.
Tippy was brought into my life to teach me about compassion, patience, and loyalty. I learned compassion through being understanding of his special needs. I learned patience through the need to be tolerant of his quirks. And I learned loyalty through his unwavering devotion to me. Tippy taught me not to judge the book by the cover. Underneath his unpredictable and untrustworthy behaviour, and his violent seizures, there lay a soul so loving, so giving, loyal, and devoted that I feel honoured to have shared my life with him. Tippy showed me the way to see past a persons faults and discover the true person underneath. He taught me to look for the goodness in those around me and for that I will be forever grateful.
Epilepsy is not something I would wish upon another dog. Tippy was often frightened and confused when he suffered seizures. But the rest of his life was filled with love and happiness. Tippy loved to play ball and Frisbee. He slept on my bed every night. He was the first to greet me when I came home. He loved to sit and share a breakfast of tea & toast with my father. And he loved to curl up on the sofa beside me and watch tv.
The last night of Tippy’s life was one of the longest and worst nights of my life:
> 10 grand mal seizures between 6 – 7pm > Nothing too unusual. We were accustomed to cluster seizures.
> between 10pm and 2am he had 19 grand mal seizures
> We called the vet > give him Phenobarb now and double the dose. Bring him for bloodwork in the morning
> 3am > Tippy has another cluster of seizures. Call the vet > administer the emergency supply of liquid valium.
> Tippy seems to recover but then crashes and goes into status epileptis
> 8am > we can’t save him. Tippy is euthanized
Tippy was four and half years of age.
It’s been five years since Tippy died, but I think of him often and he still holds a very special place in my heart.
Tippy
Quotable Quotes:
“Euthanasia is: The last great kindness. That time when you take their pain and trade it for your own”
Author Unknown
Round, Round, Get Around …….
As many of you know I have Rowdy the circling dog. It’s so bad that he’s even been nicknamed “Roundy” by other disc competitors! While running laps is something hard wired in Rowdy, I’ve come to the conclusion that there have been some training patterns over the years that have solidly reinforced that behaviour.
I’ve been starting new dogs in freestyle and to my absolute horror, I noticed a circling pattern developing in a couple of them. So I started to think and watch to see what might be triggering this circling pattern. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s been too much toss/fetch prior to embarking on freestyle.
I was at a seminar once and the instructor said that we should play toss/fetch for at least a year before moving into freestyle disc. Her reason for this was that new handlers needed to spend a year learning how to throw well. But I think this year of playing toss/fetch is not a good idea for some dogs …….. namely herding breeds or mixes thereof, who have “outrunning” hard wired into their genetic make up.
Let’s take a look at what happens in toss/fetch so that you can see what I’m talking about. We send the dog around behind us and then out for the disc. The dog comes back, we take the disc, and we send him around behind us for the next throw, and the next, and the next, and the next. We are essentially training the dog to circle around us on every catch/return.
Rowdy is a lap runner to begin with, so with him I thought it was just him and didn’t realize that my training was contributing to, and cementing that behaviour. But here I am 2yrs later and I’m seeing a circling pattern developing in two more of my young dogs. Dogs who are not obsessive lap runners. It made me think > okay something I’m doing is causing this behaviour. And I realized it was the toss/fetch go around sequence. So does this mean that I don’t teach them to go around to set up for long throws in toss/fetch? No. But it does mean that I don’t do a year of nothing but toss/fetch before introducing freestyle. Now I introduce freestyle right away. I work on zig/zag patterns right from day one. I teach them not to assume that the next throw necessitates a go around. Because that was the problem >> setting a pattern in which the dog learns to go around automatically for every throw. Before you know it you have a dog on automatic pilot with the navigational system set on a circling pattern. And in working herding breeds who are bred for certain working traits such as nice outruns, this can quickly become a problem habit in disc play. (Rowdy’s mother is a [retired] working/herding border collie, who has a natural wide outrun and consistently passes that trait to her offspring > which IS desirable in a working dog)
So what I’ve learned through working with “Roundy” is that I need to mix up the training game and not get stuck in patterns. And with any herding breed that is prone to outrunning, get those zig/zag exercises into the training game early in the dogs education.
Rowdy
De-motivation > Common Things We Do To De-Motivate Our Dogs: In dog training we often talk about motivation and what exercises to do to motivate or dogs. But what about the things we do that de-motivate our dogs? Far too many times we sabotage our “motivation training” by de-motivating our dogs without even realizing it. Sensitive dogs are especially easy to de-motivate as they are extremely aware of the handlers moods and subtle behaviours. So what are some of the things WE do to de-motivate our dogs?
1. Sighing &/or Groaning >>> we all know how a well timed “wooohoo!!” can motivate our dogs, but the equally well timed (& often involuntary) sigh/groan for a missed catch can serve to de-motivate
2. Body Tension >> as we get uptight and tense up our bodies, our dogs read this as pressure and that [negative energy] pressure can serve to de-motivate the dog
3. Feigning Enthusiasm >>> don’t even bother to try this!! Dogs know when you are faking it J And that forced smile and “good dog” brings with it a body tension & stress in the handler that the handler is not often even aware of, and this stresses the dog and acts to de-motivate
4. Tone Of Voice >> you need to be honest in your tone of voice. Don’t say the right words with the wrong tone. For example: you’re getting frustrated but you’re trying to stay positive so you say “good dog” but the tone reflects a different message to the dog (“you’re starting to tick me off dog!”) Dogs often respond more to tone than to words. The right words spoken in the wrong tone can shut a dog down.
5. Frustration >> frustration is a huge de-motivator for humans and dogs. Be careful in your training that you are not confusing and frustrating your dog.
6. Confusion >> clarity is important for learning for both humans and dogs. Confusion leads to frustration which leads to stress …….. which de-motivates.
7. Boredom >> as handlers we sometimes overdo things in the repetition department. Especially in disc play where WE play an equal role in the execution of a move. Dog gets it right but you’re not happy with the way the flow felt for you, so you do it one more time, and one more time, and one more time ……… and too much repetition causes boredom for the dog and he loses motivation. Guard against over-repetition in training sessions.
Now many of these things overlap. For example: boredom > confusion > sighing/groaning. Triple whammy de-motivator for the dog!!! (1) You’re not happy with the way the flow feels for YOU so you keep repeating the segment over and over again, and this creates the boredom for the dog; (2) each time you get it wrong you sigh/groan at your own failure; (3) you don’t want the dog to think it’s his failure so after you sigh/groan at yourself, you say something like, “good dog it’s not you it’s me”, and now the dog is getting 2 different messages all at once (ugh & yay!) and becomes confused. So the next time you’re out on the field and your dog loses its motivation and drive, take a moment to analyze your behaviour to see if perhaps YOU are the one de-motivating your dog.
Hmmm …… this really lends itself to the saying: “Dogs learn in spite of us >> not because of us.” J
In Conversation With: Corinne Brewer
This issue we are speaking with Corinne Brewer, president of the Yankee Flyers Disc Dog Club.
Q: Hello Corinne and thank you for speaking with us. Just so as acquaint our readers with your, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your disc dogs.
A: Hi Jackie, thanks for asking me.
I’m a middle and high school music teacher in Southbury, CT. Our family includes two growing sons ages 12 & 14, three dogs, two cats, 2 crested gecko’s, one bearded dragon, and a ball python snake name Legolas.
My canine companions are Boomerang, a female black tri Aussie age 6; Merry, a female blue merle Aussie age 4 ½; and Kangaroo Jack, a male black tri Aussie age 2. They all play and compete in disc, and two play flyball. Boomer just earned her FMX and Jack is in training
Q: How long have you been involved with the sport of canine disc?
A: about 4yrs
Q: How did you first get involved in the sport?
A: Boomerang was a very high drive Aussie pup that needed a job, we tried agility but that didn’t work out for my little furry girl who couldn’t understand why she had to wait her turn to play. It made no sense to her to wait, why couldn’t she play all the time? Then we went to a flyball class, she really enjoyed it. The two flyball teachers thought Boomerang was a good candidate for flyball and they casually mentioned that Boomer also looked like she might be a good Frisbee dog. There was Frisbee the next weekend. I innocently asked, “Are there competitions for that?”
Ø Fast forward to the next weekend ….. Boomerang’s first competition was in August of 2002, the event was a UFO Major, she placed 4th in the novice division out of 26 dogs. Then, I watched the freestyle competitors; there were greats like Craig Rogers, Joelle Budd, Todd Duncan, and Bob Evans to name a few competing that day. It was awesome. I found myself wanted to learn more about this sport, competitions, clinics, and especially freestyle.
Ø In January of 2004, I attended a meeting of the Yankee Flyers. They needed a demo coordinator, someone to find players willing to go to events and demonstrate the sport (or do it myself), it was an outreach opportunity and a way to help out good causes such as the Humane Society, Autism, Shelters, and more, so I volunteered
Q: Who and/or what has most influenced your game over the years?
A: For one > Boomerang, the way she moves and flips. I’m pretty much a self taught player, so I like to watch the dog and think about what would look good for the dog to do. Also, other players > One of the things I love most about this sport is that folks are willing to share what they know with each other. The people I’ve met all along the way have been so helpful and encouraging, that in and of itself means so much. Then finally > it’s the music. I love the fact that freestyle uses music and find, that for me, the music is always an integral part of my routines.
Q: Do you have any mentors or favourite players?
A: I’d have to say Craig Rogers is one of my favourite players to watch, he has such style and field presence, also Pam Martin, Todd Duncan, Melissa Heeter, Ron Watson, Bonnie Deschenes and Gail Mirabella.
Q: Do you have a favourite move?
A: I love any move that showcases the dogs’s special talent and movement
Q: Do you have a “fondest” memory from competition or demo’s?
A: This spring we had a very unique day, in the morning Boomerang and I appeared on TV for an interactive interview, that afternoon Jack competed for the second time in his life, he was just 15 months old and finished 1st out of 28 dogs in the intermediate division. That was such a fun day, though lost of driving as the interview and the competition were located in 2 different states!
>> My favourite demo memory was at a camp. After the demo the kids were allowed to play with the Frisbees and pet the dogs. It was really very chaotic! However, in the middle of everything Boomerang went over to a young man sitting quietly in the middle of the field, she sat down next to him and he began to pet her and tell me about his dog back home and he started to smile. I found out later that he was autistic and hadn’t spoken or smiled the entire time he was at camp. It was a real breakthrough for him. How did she know to go to that boy? I’ll cherish that memory for the rest of my life.
Q: What do you think the perfect freestyle routine should be like?
A: I really enjoy a freestyle routine that showcases the dogs talent, is in sync with the music, has good flow and a high catch ratio. Then add a clean ending and you’ve got a great routine. Recently there was a video on the net that had some wonderful freestyle throwers and their talented canines. The video was very inspirational except for one thing > I found myself watching the throwers, not the dog. My feeling is that freestyle should be a team sport, with emphasis on the dog.
Q: What advise do you have for newcomers to the sport?
A: Three things:
1. Practice throwing both with and without the dog
2. Do your best to relax in competition
3. Have fun and find something to celebrate each and every practice session, no matter how you do overall. After all, having fun with your furry blur of motion is what brought you here in the first place!
Thanks for inviting me to interview for your newsletter.
See you on the fields
Corinne, Boomeran, Merry, and Kangaroo Jack
Driving For The Disc!
Submitted by Wendy Grandman
Driver’s Arrival
As many of our “best friends” come to us …… Driver came to us as a fluke of fate. I had no intention of acquiring another dog in August of 2006. Driver is a sable German Shepherd, who was in his 3rd foster home, when he came to us. Extremely thin, with some skin problems and intestinal problems ….. I was sill immediately entranced by him! At approximately 8 months of age, his focus was amazing ….. immediate interest in the disc that I had with me. BONUS! I already had 3 dogs active in the sport of Disc Dog and I was heading to Atlanta, for my 2nd World Championship competition, just 2 weeks after discovering Driver! Could I possibly take this dog home, beg my husband to accept him AND squeeze him into a packed van so that he could make the trip to Atlanta with me? OF COURSE!
From the moment I brought him home, I knew that DRIVER was MORE dog than I had ever had before! His energy level was inexhaustible and he was BIG! (almost 70 lbs at just 8 months old) After taking him to my vet for an overall check up, the good news was that he was ‘sound’ and just needed some meds to get him through the skin irritations and loose stool, that he had suffered from being abandoned by some irresponsible owners in the Brampton area.
Having had significant success with my other dogs in both the sport of flyball and disc, I was determined to at least try and see if Driver might be able to play in these sports as well. (though it really didn’t matter, as my husband fell in love with Driver the minute he laid eyes on him ….. Driver was truly a “man’s dog”, tall, majestic, beautifully marked with the most captivating eyes ….. he would be a member of our family whether he played sports or not …)
In the Beginning …..
The process of teaching Driver to play Frisbee, involved all of the basic principles of teaching any dog to do anything ….. lots of positive reinforcement (sometimes augmented by clicker) and always verbally praised with a YES!!!!!!
The biggest difference with a 100 pound German Shepherd was the importance of having a rock solid OUT! You don’t want to get into a tugging match with a powerful dog like this! Teaching my husband to insist on a perfect “OUT” command was probably the most difficult thing to do. Consistency is critical. It was and is, important that when we both said the word OUT, that we expected and delivered the identical response in return for either a successful OUT or an unsuccessful OUT.
That being said, we played with Driver, using various toys (but not a tennis ball ….. that would come later, when he learned to play flyball!) In the house ….. it was easy …. Limited space meant that Driver would chase the toy and bring it back to us to throw again for him. Once we saw that he had a natural desire to retrieve (on the ground and in the air) we knew it was time to try a disc! Considering his strong mouth, I decided it was best to work with one of the virtually indestructible models like a Hyperflite JAWZ model. We could play for years without any damage to those discs! (and they are soft on the dogs mouth as well)
Playing Outside
We soon discovered, that playing outside was a completely different game for Driver. Once the disc was caught ….. off Driver went for a romp in the woods! Immediately the long line came into effect and I worked with Driver on the long line, until he understood that he was not allowed to ‘gallivant’ once he had the disc. Like most games of retrieval, I had multiple discs with me. I threw out (or rolled) one disc ….. the minute Driver caught it, I called his name, gave a quick tug on the long line and ran like crazy away from him. As soon as he ‘caught me’, I would issue the OUT command and quickly throw (or roll) another disc. Once Driver learned that bringing the disc back and dropping it for me, meant that he would get to play the game again, the challenges became getting Driver to drop the disc EXACTLY where I wanted him to. Often Driver would bring the disc back, but first circle me a few times. In the sport of Disc Dog, one of the Associations demands that dog and handler pass a Retrieval Proficiency Test. This means that the dog must retrieve an item and drop it within a 6ft square. With that goal in mind, I worked on Driver bringing the disc directly to me, without circling. I discovered 2 ways of accomplishing this. First, after throwing out the disc, turn your back to the dog, and make him come and face you. Huge praise and rewards. Gradually rotate your body badk to a forward position, until the dog is bringing it directly back to you every time. For non compliance ….. the game ends …… dog goes back on a short line and we worked on obedience for a while, before returning to the fun games.
The 2nd approach to getting Driver to bring the disc directly back to me, was to stand in a doorway (somewhere he could not ‘deak out’ and sneak behind me) The key is always to keep the game going with consistent ‘cues’. The difference between Driver playing disc, and my Border Collies playing disc is speed. For very fast dogs, it is recommended that you send the dog around you before releasing the disc, or order that you can release the disc well in advance and the fast dogs have to move forward to catch the disc. A slow release with a fast dog, means that the dog will be too fast and get beyond the disc, having to turn back to catch it. This is extremely dangerous, and results in unsafe catches which could injure your dog. With a slower dog like Driver, I learned I did not have to send him around me. As long as he was in front of me, I used the ‘ready’ , ‘go’, ‘get it’ commands to mean the following ….. “Ready” meant to be in front of me and ready to move forward; “Go” meant to drive forward and catch the disc and “Get It” meant bring it back to me. (commands that would also come in handy later on for flyball) Driver knew that he would always get the disc again, as long as he dropped it or gave it to me when I wanted it.
Freestyle
Once the game of toss/fetch had been established, it was time to see if Driver could deal with some more intricate throws! I soon learned that with his rather large mouth (!) he would catch just about anything that came near him! Butterfly catches came easily to him. Under the body moves were no problem, as long as I was VERY careful to ensure that he went directly through the middle ….. one false move and he could clip my knee and render me immobile! There are certain freestyle moves a German Shepherd will never do (at least not with a woman handler!) Vaults are one of them! (Or as my husband said … ‘you may get him to do a vault …. but it will be one time only and it will be YOUR very last time!) He was right! The closest I have come to any type of a vault is kneeling on the ground and having him touch off my thigh from a kneeling position ….but (trust me) even this is painful ……and not something I will pursue for sure. The next basic in disc dog freestyle is a flip …. another move that I doubt a German Shepherd will ever do ….. the closest we have come is a modified ‘twirl’ in the air … both right and left …. Looks good and is not too difficult for either dog or handler.
I think what I have learned about freestyle with large dogs, is that there are certain moves they will never do, therefore you must get very creative about other moves that will make up in technical difficulty for the basic moves that they are incapable of doing because of their large size ….. With that in mind I have been forced to come up with a lot of close to the body moves and throws that will score well in competition, yet are not physically too demanding on either Driver or me.
Where we are now …..
With a heart brimming with pride, Driver finished 3rd in his first ever Disc Dog Trial in January 2007 ….. just 2 weeks after his first birthday, followed by a FIRST place finish 3 weeks later! He is an amazing dog and has accomplished so much in such a short time. He is a LOT OF DOG and must have demanding and constant stimulation in order to focus his limitless energy. I understand why he was hard to place ….and I am glad we have been able to provide the kind of environment that he needs. At one time, I was labeled as a ‘border collie’ person and (although I am honoured to be known for my successes with my BC’s!) I am now thrilled to hear people say …”there’s that lady with the amazing Shepherd that plays disc”!!!!
Wendy Grandman is a retired member of the National Superdog team and has been a 2 time qualifier/finalist in the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championships with her border collies Hogan and Bogey. Her dogs are also accomplished in the sport of flyball and are well known performance dogs throughout southwestern Ontario
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue Two
December 2006
From the Editor......
Well the Holiday Season is almost here and for many of us the disc season will be winding down due to the cold winter weather, as ice and snow can jeopardize the safety of the dogs. Of course, some of us live in milder areas than others and we’ll be out on those not so cold and icy days, practicing with our dogs in an effort to stay in top ‘disc shape’ J But for those in the frigid areas, there are lots of tricks and throws that you can practice indoors. Being housebound doesn’t have to bring a complete stop to your disc training. You can train multiples and juggling indoors; jumping into the arms can be done indoors; spins, high 5’s, weaving, roll overs, and many other parlour tricks that can be incorporated into your freestyle disc routines, can all be taught indoors during the “off season”. So get out your clickers and your treats and prepare to WOW the crowds next season with all your new and innovative tricks
Happy Holidays to Everyone
Keep On Disc’n
Jackie
The Worlds In Review
Eleven Canadian dogs attended the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championship Disc Dog competition in Atlanta, Georgia back in September. It was a wonderful experience for everyone. Top placements in our group went to myself with Rowdy, finishing in 6th place in the MicroDog division; Wendy Grandman and Bogey finishing 10th in the Sport Division D/A; and Timmie Dohn with Dakota in the Open Freestyle division. In their own words here are some reviews from the competitors about their experience at the Worlds ……………
From Me: In case you don't know who "me" is ..... I'm Jackie Parkin and I attended the Worlds this year with my MicroDogs, Rowdy & Josie. Rowdy is a broder collie/jack russell terrier mix, and Josie is a chihuahua/jack russell terrier mix. This was my third trip to Atlanta. I first attended the Worlds compeititon in 2004 with my border collie, Maeve, in the Sport Division, Distance/Accuracy. The thing that sruck me most at that first experience at Worlds was the incredible camaraderie between the players. I went alone and knew not a loving soul. But by the end of the day I'd met many new friends. 2005 saw me attending again with Maeve, again in the Sport Division, and Rowdy in the Microdog division. That year four Canadians attended and we crated together & were fortunate to end up crated beside the MADDogs disc club. Once again I was blown away by the friendship and camaraderie displayed by other players. The MADDogs took us under their wing as if we were members of their club and cheered us on and hugged us in congratulations when we came off the field. And Bob Evans who is a multiple World Champion winner gave us discs and training tips and congratulated us >virtual strangers and newcomers to the sport > as if we were lifelong friends. So of course, we were motivated to qualify again for 2006. This year Maeve didn’t make the cut, but Rowdy and my new MicroDog Josie were lucky enough to be invited to attend the Worlds competition. This year was even better because this year I had friends & fellow Canadian competitors traveling to the competition, and I also had American friends to meet up with and spend time with. This year we crated beside the MADDogs not by accident, but by design J And we had a great time. As always the level of competition was challenging and there were many amazing dogs and handlers strutting their stuff out on the field. There’s always so much to learn from watching others. And so many people willing to help, share ideas, and give training tips. Needless to say we are gearing up for another great year at the 2007 World Championships, working and training hard to hopefully earn one of the few spots available at the Regional Championship (the Worlds Qualifier) Quite a few people commented on little Josie and how much potential she has >> I was told she is a “contender” for next year. YIKES!! Now I have to live up to that!! A special moment for me this year was being presented with the Peter Rice Bloeme Rising Star award for my contribution to the sport of canine disc in Canada. It was an unexpected surprise. I was both honoured and humbled, to be recognized.
From Timmie Dohn:
Dakota, Shenzi and I had the amazing opportunity of competing in the 2006 Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia on September 23rd. Nothing can describe the competition, the spirit, the camaraderie and the canine athleticism and human creativity that we had the pleasure of being a part of.
We qualified first (Dakota) and second (Shenzi) in Canada in the Open division at the national qualifier held in Brampton on August 7th
I went to Atlanta aiming to impress the other competitors, to show them that this sport is not just for the American men. I was the youngest competitor and one of only a handful of women but after my first freestyle round I had several people complimenting my routine.
Dakota was fast, eager and precise. I had spent the summer attending several disc seminars and I like to think we looked good out there. Shenzi was vaulting, catapulting and flipping, spending as much time in the air as on the ground and both dogs had fantastic throw/catch ratios. To be included in that rank of competition felt fantastic. The vaults, hang time, unique tricks and constant in air action of the other dogs was phenomenal. I pride myself in knowing I held my own in that level of competition. In fact, I finished 3rd out of the women and 1st out of the Canadians in my division
Competitors had come from all over the United States, Canada, and even Belgium to participate in this huge event. It was great to meet up with our friends from the MADDogs once in Atlanta and it was nice for me to hang out with all the fantastic disc doggers from the Toronto area.
This is a weekend I won’t soon forget. I am now working on incorporating some new tricks into my expanding routines and, of course, aiming for the Gold for 2007
Favourite Canadian Competitor Highlights:
Ø Rowdy getting around
Ø Josie being the smallest dog competing
Ø Blitz’s flips (& ignoring Jackie in Pairs )
Ø Dennis’s amazing throws
Ø Bandit beating out the big dogs
Ø Meg being perfect
Ø Bogey being perfect
Ø Hogan bucking for bonus points (he gets them every time!)
Ø Frodo winding up for his over the body catches (too cute)
From Andy Rawski:
Back in August Bandit and I managed to qualify to compete in the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championship disc dog competition. We didn’t know what to expect but we knew it would be fun. It took us two days to get there, and after 3 hours in the car, Bandit finally settled down. We arrived Friday night and were at the event field Saturday morning for a fun filled day of freestyle. The competition and routines were great; to see teams perform at that level was an awesome opportunity. We were treated to a down south banquet dinner on Saturday night which was a great way to relax with your fellow competitors – lots of good food and great company. Sunday was our chance to compete; we were up 3rd in the first round and did okay. (editors note: Andy is much too humble! He and Bandit were AWESOME!) I think after seeing the competition I knew you couldn’t miss a throw, so now the pressure was on. Bandit had a great day, too bad the other member of his team (me) sucked, but what a fantastic learning experience. The trip was an adventure from the time we left to the time we got home. Skyhoundz and Hyperflite did a great job putting on this event and their hospitality was second to none. The park and facilities were excellent, and I think the warm location was great. I really hope to qualify again next year so that we can do it all again!
From Don Blewett:
My first three distance/accuracy disc competitions with Meg (B&W Border Collie) were in July and August of 2006. We placed quite well > two seconds and a fourth. The Skyhoundz World Qualifier competition was held in Brampton on the August Holiday weekend. I was not planning on attending the qualifier but was talked into going by a friend. Am I ever glad I was! We finished second and qualified for the competition in Atlanta at the end of September. I was both excited and nervous about the opportunity. Meg may not be the fastest dog but she is certainly very reliable and consistent at catching discs that are thrown properly. I felt it was incumbent on me to be able to deliver the disc in a manner that would allow Meg the greatest chance of success > to be able to catch the disc. I did not want to embarrass myself or Meg so we practiced diligently in the month leading up to the “Worlds”, working mostly on my throwing technique. I jokingly stated that my goal was not to finish last. However, I was secretly hoping for a mid field finish. There were several other successful handler and dogs in different divisions that qualified for Atlanta, from Canada. We set out in a three vehicle caravan on September 21st and arrived Friday evening at dinner time with just enough time to exercise the dogs before nightfall. The dogs were great and well behaved after having traveled by car for much of the previous 36 hours. We were awakened early Saturday morning to screams and shouts outside of our hotel rooms. I thought it was a couple of drunken party goers returning from a night of activity. It turns out one of the individuals was stabbed and was trying to escape his attacker. Welcome to Atlanta!! Quite a start to the first day of competition. Day One was for the freestyle competitors. The Canadian contingent of freestylers performed well. As I watched the freestylers compete through the day I got an idea about what I was going to experience on Sunday in the distance/accuracy competition. All the competitors seemed to throw a little differently than me > they threw further, more accurately, and more consistently. I saw more of the same on Sunday. The distance across the middle of the field was 20 yards and it started to look very narrow as I watched the other competitors practice. Game On!! I watched with amazement as the competitors before me threw discs like I had never seen before. As I waited for my turn I practiced on the side in an attempt to learn how to throw like these handlers. I learned very shortly that it was not possible to learn a new throwing style the same day as you are competing at the World Championships. I finished the first round second last. Oops > my worst nightmare! By the way, Meg did great. She caught everything that was catchable. Meg was not the problem > I was! The second and third rounds were marginally better for me > Meg still did great. We moved up to 18th out of 24 competitors. The good news is that after the competition I received a throwing lesson from a very helpful competitor > Frank Montgomery, from the MADDogs disc club. The lesson has already paid dividends as my technique has improved and Meg has already experienced more success in subsequent disc competitions. All in all, the experience in Atlanta was wonderful. I traveled with a great group of Canadians and I was introduced to many supportive Americans. I look forward to next years trip if I am fortunate enough to qualify.
It was particularly rewarding to be Canadian at the dinner hosted by Skyhoundz on Saturday night. Jackie Parkin was presented with a special award acknowledging her efforts to develop disc dog in Canada. Congratulations Jackie! In addition, to thank the contingent of Canadian competitors for traveling to the event, a fellow [American] competitor sang the Canadian National Anthem in French. Peter Williams sang beautifully. It was a very warm gesture from our American friends and made all Canadians present feel welcome. I imagine next years competition will be even better.
From Wendy Grandman:
Going to the Worlds for the 2nd year in a row was great fun! Although the nerves were as bad as ever, at least there was the comfort level of knowing what to expect. The big bonus this year, was having so many more Canadian competitors. We really formed a tight bond over the course of the 4 days, and forged friendships that will last forever. We shared laughter and hugs in our successes and commiserated with each other when we knew our throwing skills were less than stellar in any given round.
My personal “highlight”
Being the only woman in the Expert Distance/Accuracy class and squeezing out a top ten finish with Bogey, who is just shy of 3yrs old and at his first BIG competition. Wow! What a high! The best is yet to come!
“Proudest Moment”
Watching Jackie pull of a spectacular performance with Rowdy, knowing the sleepless nights, blood, sweat and tears that she endured overcoming Rowdy’s obsessive circling and finally working it to advantage into a routine that earned her a great finish in the MicroDog category. My hat goes off to Jackie for the “most perseverance” award! I am so proud of her.
“What not to do again”
Bring non-competing dogs with me! I love them all and did not want to subject my babies to boarding or the expense of hiring a dog sitter. Big Mistake!! When the thunder and lightening hit in a big way on Sunday afternoon, it was NOT FUN hauling all the crates, dogs, xpens, shade tents, etc. in the wake of a tornado! It would have been just enough to look after my 2 competition dogs without having to worry about the rest! Thanks to ANDY for braving the thunder and lightening and running to get Bogey for me! Thank goodness for the spirit of the team and everyone helping out! But then again, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
From Sheilagh Sargent:
Road Trip: my favourite thing to do is be in a vehicle for hours on end traveling through new areas, reading billboards, and stopping for food at Cracker Barrel, where you can shop and eat ……… my two favourite things to do. Being able to talk to someone who has the same interests and not be interrupted by phones, work, or any other distractions, except for maybe traffic, is also great. Not to mention having a supply of junk food to nibble on, and tons of Diet Coke!
Ring Side: setting up with people who were so friendly and helpful it felt like they were old friends > helping and encouraging more than you can imagine. Having them cheer you on and tell you ‘well done’ after your performance, was so amazing. Made you feel there are no strangers in the field of Disc Dogs
The Event: words cannot explain how well it was run. Going to the sign in table and picking up all the competitor gifts was like Christmas came early. My dog will never lack for Frisbees for a very long time. All the nervousness quickly disappeared when I heard
cheering from the sidelines from people I didn’t even know. The fun my dog had made me realize that is what it is all about. FUN is the word that sums it all up. FUN is what it is all about. FUN is what I had.
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(from left to right) Dennis Alexander & Tango; Don Blewett & Meg; Morgan Jarvis & Blitz; Jackie Parkin with Rowdy & Josie; Sheilagh Sargent & Frodo; Andy Rawski & Bandit; Timmie Dohn with Shenzi & Dakota; Wendy Grandman & Bogey (missing from photo is Hogan)
The Canadian Team would like to tank the following sponsors for donating to the travel fund for the competitors trip to Atlanta:
Remax > Deloitte > arxx Walls & Foundations
Eagle Pack Dog Food > Crystallize It > Katoby Co.
Pawzitive Art > Ron Vervaeke Realtor
Douglas Hazlett Realty > Sasha's Blend
Superdog Central
Disc Dropping > A Conundrum
The issue of disc dropping is a double edged sword for freestyle competitors. On the one hand you want the dog to be able to drop the disc in order to go after a second disc, but on the other hand you don't want the dog dropping the disc 20ft away from you in order to go after the second disc. When the discs are dropped too soon and too far out from teh handler, ou end up with discs all over the field and your disc management scores will suffer. So what do you do when the dog starts to anticipate the next throw and starts dropping the first disc almost immediately upon catching it?
Many disc dogs will start to drop the first disc too soon as they begin to anticipate the next throw. My little Josie started doing this just 2wks before Worlds and I had to address the issue quickly in order to have any semblance of a routine happening for the upcoming competition.
I think what happens with freestyle dogs is that they learn quickly that there is always another disc on the way and from the dogs perspective it probably makes sense to discard of the first disc and concentrate on the next disc as soon as possible. In their minds they are probably being incredibly efficient :-)
The first thing to do is stop the behaviour before the dog gets a chance to rehearse it for too long. In other words, as soon as it starts to happen, deal with it immediately. As with all behaviours, once it's been going on for awhile, it will be difficult, if not impossible in some cases, to change the behaviour. The next thing to do is to change up the training regime. Let the dog discover that just because you are out there with multiple discs, it does not mean that all the discs are "in play". Do some toss/fetch practice holding multiple discs in your spare hand just as you would if doing freestyle, but only work with the one disc. The other discs are not "in play". During freestyle practice don't always use a second disc for the next throw. Every now and then have the dog return the original disc and use that disc for the next throw. Keep the dog on his toes. Avoid anticipation and early dropped discs by keeping the dog guessing as to which disc you are going to throw next >> a new disc or the one he already has.
When you are going to throw a second disc, watch your body language. How soon are you indicating to the dog that a second disc is about to be thrown? What I do is hold the disc close to me (or behind my back) and avoid giving the dog any body language until he is close enough that the first disc will be dropped within 6ft of me. And if the disc is dropped too far out > the game is over. I'm not going to retrieve discs from all over the field. The other thing that you can do is fake the dog out so that he learns that until the disc leaves your hand, it is not "in play". Toss a first disc and then when he is on the return fake him out. Set up as if you are going to toss a second disc, but don't release the disc. Let the dog learn that it is the release of the disc that puts the disc "in play". In this way, you can control (to a certain degree) where the dog will drop discs on the field, by the timing of your disc release. This will help you to manage your discs in freestyle and also help to keep the dog out of the anticipation disc dropping loop.
For those dogs for whom disc dropping is already a habit, a friend of mine suggested the following "management" techniques to keep your disc management under control. (1) Keep the close up moves such as multiples near the beginning of your routine so that your discs are clost to you; (2) throw your long throws into the same general area so that the dropped discs are grouped relatively close to each other > this way when you have to hike across the field to get discs, at least you'll be getting more than one :-)
Going The Distance
How To Get Small Dogs Into A Scoring Zone
Distance/Accuracy (aka toss/fetch) can present quite a challenge for small dogs and their handlers. The smaller the dog, the more difficult it is to get them out far enough to catch a disc in a scoring zone. The dog has to go out at least 20 yards in order to score any points. What generally happens is that the dog just can't chase after the disc fast enough to catch it before it lands. And therein lies the problem.
The trick to getting a small dog to go the distance to catch a disc in the 20 yard zone is to teach the dog to run out ahead of the thrown disc. Let the dog get at least half way out to the catch zone before you throw the disc. The disc will pass him, but the dog will be in a good position to follow and catch the disc
In order to do this you need to teach your dog to go out ahead of you without relying on a disc being thrown. You can teach this easily by adding a "go" cue to your toss/fetch game. Every time you throw the disc tell the dog to "go". With repetition the dog will develop the habit of running out ahead (in anticipation of the disc being thrown) whenever you say "go". Once the dog understands to run out ahead when you say "go", slowly back off on the timing of your throw. Let the dog get out a few yards before you throw the disc. Play with the timing until you find the right place to throw the disc in order to put your dog comfortably in the first scoring zone. With my little dog Josie, I need to hold off on the throw until she is approximately three quarters of the way out. This way when I throw the disc into the first scoring zone, Josie is close enough to it to be able to catch it before it lands.
Another technique for teaching the dog to go out ahead of the disc, is to teach the dog to target the first zone line. You can do this using a piece of PVC piping. Place the PVC stick on the ground and teach the dog to 'touch' it. When the dog understands to "go touch" the PVC stick, place the stick further and further away (increasing the distance in small increments) until the dog can run out 20 yards to touch the stick. Now add the disc to the game. Send the dog out to touch the target and when he is almost there throw the disc so that he see's it, and cue him to "get it". The dog should fogo the 'touch' to obey the second cue > "get it". As the dog becomes proficient fade your PVC stick into a paint or flour line on the ground. In a fairly short space of time you should be able to drop the touch portion of the cue and simply tell the dog to "go" > and he will run out, see the disc, and go the distance to 'get it'.
My Journey To Disc Dog
Submitted by Natalie Moroz-Cornell
I have a whippet named Domino who has always been extremely shy. Despite this, I did manage to train him for flyball and he has had a successful flyball career for the past 3 years. However, once he started flyball, he was still very shy and I needed some other activity to relieve him from just one type of training and provide another outlet for fun.
I had a German Shepherd previously, Rachelle, who loved her fabric disc. She probably could have been a decent disc dog, had I known about such things back then. I remembered the hours of fun we had just goofing around in my small backyard at the time. I got a fabric disc for Domino and boy did he love playhing with that. After ripping and replacing about three of them I thought I should try "the real thing". He had absolutely no interest in a regular plastic disc, so during a trip to the "All About Pets" show in Toronto in April 2005, I found a softer type of plastic disc called "Jawz", made by a company called Hyperflite.
Now I had to learn to throw a disc and poor Domino was my guinea pig. Using a clicker and treats to keep his confidence up, I would try about three throws. Land two on the ground or in a tree, and Domino would catch the third one. Wow!!! This is fun!! I had to keep sessions extremely short because if it looked like "training" Domino would shut down. He still wasn't sure if the Jawz disc was a game or "training". (Little did I realize at the time, but one should always learn to throw first without a poor dog chasing your bad throws!)
About August of that same year we were racing at a flyball tournament in Cookstown and in the Welcome Letter there was a notice about a Skyhoundz Distance/Accuracy competition on the Friday evening prior to the flyball tournament. Dare I enter an actual competition? I had watched another organization host a disc event in Navan in May and found that it seemed too structured for me. Domino still didn't work with full confidence with the harder disc and I was reverting back regularly to his fabric disc. Another issue was the cost involved to enter the competition. I opted to pass. So when the Skyhoundz event came to Cookstown, I approached the organizer and asked a few questions. Can you imagine my relief when she said I could use whatever kind of disc I wanted and that they sell a real soft rubbery one? It was called a Softflite, again, manufactured by Hyperflite Flying Discs. This company was very aware of different dogs needs. I immediately purchased a Softflite disc and practiced a few throws with Domino. He loved it! SIGN ME UP!!
Our first stab at competition was exhilarating. With clicker and treat in one hand and my new Softflite disc in the other, I actually tossed one catchable throw and Domino caught it to finish 19th out of 21 dogs that evening. I was ecstatic and HOOKED! (Editors Note: at local trials SODH will allow beginners to use training tools in order to get in the game and gain experience and confidence)
Back home I went with my new rubbery Softflite disc to practice. Needless to say, it didn't last long as Domino's teeth punctured it. OK I have this Jawz disc still and we will now have to use it ... he loved it! Hmmm, I also have the free regular plastic disc that the Skyhoundz folks gave me in Cookstown. What a great organization! Domino's confidence at playing disc was getting stronger so I switched to the regular disc with relative ease.
Now we are going into 2006 and I'm getting serious about learning to throw better. With as many discs as I can find, I practice but I still suck. (My attempt at my second Skyhoundz event in Trenton in May 2006 proved that!) Off to Caledonia for a flyball tournament we go in June. Angela Decker is hosting a fun afternoon of disc games. Sign me up!! Many of the games focus on throwing skills. Can she help me ... absolutely, and she did. Home I came from the tournament with a couple more discs in hand and a committment to Domino to improve. We entered our third Skyhoundz competition the next weekend at a flyball tournament in Grand Valley. My tossing was better but now I realize that Domino needs to learn to set up better. Watching the other, more experienced, people's dogs doing that cool 'run behind their back and take off' move has me convinced to train Domino to do that but not until I can throw really well.
For the next few weeks you can find me outside with my discs ... tossing, tossing, tossing (without the dog). We were in the process of putting up a training building. There were 22 big wooden posts sticking our of the ground 14 feet apart, making a perfect target. I practiced landing the discs between the posts. Then I graduated to trying to hit the trunk of a large tree. Domino is also learning separately, what 'get around' means, using just the leash at first and then his toys as a lure.
Now I am ready to put together my improved tossing with Domino circling behind my back. Jackie Parkin from Southern Ontario Disc Houndz is offering a one day workshop in July and I jump at the opportunity to take part. I live near Trenton, Ontario and the workshop is in the Durham region. Not too far away for a change! I learned a lot and had the chance to work Domino in an unfamiliar area. I felt we did very well.
Now it is August and we enter what will be our last Skyhoundz event for the season. This is at our flyball tournament in Norwood. Other than the fact that Domino ran to the sidelines to see his "Daddy", we manage a few good tosses, a few good catches, and a follow up email from Jackie saying, "Wow! You and Domino have really improved. Way to go!" I'm proud as punch of my once shy Whippet, my new found ability to actually toss a disc in a straight line, and my new fun sport ..... disc dog. What a great journey this has been. Next year will be even better!
How Do You Teach That?
*Left Finish Into A Reverse Scoot
this is a simple way to jazz up the Scoot back uner that we taught in the last issue. Remember Scoot simply means to back up under the handler & you can do that with the dog traveling front to back, or back to front (aka reverse scoot). This move will add an obedience left finish type of move to lead you into a scoot back with the dog scooting under you from back to front. Clear as mud? Let's break it down .....
We start with the "get in" finish (the left finish). Begin with the dog standing in front of you and with a food lure in your left hand
Step back on your left foot and lure the dog to walk forward and then turn in towards you to finish in a left heel position. Bring your feet together as the dog moves into heel. Be sure to 'go deep' before the turn in towards you. As you step back and lure the dog to move from in front of you towards your hand with the food lure, reach back with your hand so that the dog 'goes deep' before making the 180 turn to end up in heel.
Your hand movement 'stirs the dog counter-clockwise'
You can teach this to the right side as well by simply reversing the process >> stir the dog clockwise. I call it "tuck" on the right side. I teach the dogs the finish to both sides so as to give them hind end awareness to both sides. The cues "get in" and "tuck" mean get your butt in and tuck your butt in > IOW they cue the dog to be aware of, and adjust his rear end movement
Once the dog understands the "finish" move, you can now add the Scoot:
Start with the dog in front, step back with your left foot, and cue him to "get in"
As he comes back up into heel position continue to "stir him out" as if you are going to lure a counter-clockwise spin in heel
When the dog is facing the back, cue him to scoot and step into the scoot position to accommodate him
What happens is that the dog does a "get in" finish that continues into a 1/2 turn and a scoot back under you, and he ends up back where he started > standing facing you
From here you can go into a back flip, a reverse chest vault, an over the body move, an over the thigh vault or catapult, a dog catch > the possibilities are endless
Articles at CanineSports.com
Although Chris Zink is opposed to disc play and has stated this fact many times both in articles and seminars (and in the 3rd article here actually says that playing retrieve with your dog with a frisbee should never be done), the rest of the article information is very interesting
http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html
http://www.caninesports.com/fatdogs.html
http://www.caninesports.com/fitness.html
In Converstation With: Dennis Alexander
In this issue we are talking with Dennis Alexander. Dennis is the only Canadian to compete at the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championships for four consecutive years, with his dog Tango. He has competed in many U.S. competitions as well as Canadian competitions and is one of the most active Canadian disc doggers around.
- Q: Hello Dennis and thank you for talking with us. I guess the first thing folks will be curious about, is how long you have been involved with the sport of canine disc.
- A: Our first competition was in 1999. So we have now been competing for 8 years
- Q: How did you first hear about and get involved with the sport?
- A: Tango and I started playing in the park. It was a great way to burn off Tango's excess energy and for me to wind down at the end of the day. I remember watching the world disc dog championships on TSN one Sunday afternoon and thinking wouldn't it be neat to compete like that. We went to a dog camp shortly after that. It was a very humbling experience. The other dogs were amazing at the various dog sports and Tango was more or less a wild ball of energy at the time, and the camp clown. The one sport Tango outshined all the other dogs at was the disc sport. At that time Howard Kadish was just starting to promote the sport in Canada and encouraged us to enter our first competition. We did and from that time on we were hooked
- Q: What are some of the competitions/organizations under which you have competed?
- A: We have competed under the CDDA in both Ontario & Quebec. We have also competed in Skyhoundz regional, local, and World Championships in Canada and throughout the U.S. including New York, California, Georgia, and Maryland.
- Q: As a newcomer to the sport I'm sure you came up against many of the same obstacles that many newcomers experience today > namely .... finding training. Did you have any mentors or favourite players that you learned from?
- A: We got into the sport when it was brand new in Canada. There were very few freestyle competitors at that time and since it was new to everyone, the routines were very basic. So I sent away for Peter Bloeme's Disc Dog training book and video. I studied it closely. Not so much the basic training tips, but I watched the unique tricks in the introduction & credits; the tricks the video didn't teach. I then tried copying some of them to up the level of difficulty in our routine. We then entered the Skyhoundz North East Regional in our second year competing. The U.S. teams were far more advanced than the Canadian teams. I video taped the competition and again analyzed the tape when I got home, looking for tricks we could use. The environment in Canada has drastically changed from when we began. There are a lot of new competitors to the sport. There are clinics and play dates. The level of competition in Canada is increasing very quickly. The best way to learn is to watch other teams, change the trick to make it unique and then practice, practice, practice.
- Q: I think one of the things that you are known for in our area, is the diversity of throws that you exhibit. How/where, did you learn all the cool throws that you do?
- A: Because Tango has gotten older, I have needed to increase the level or difficulty through trieck throws. While you may be able to teach an old dog new tricks, Tango is not going to start new vaults or back flips. So I needed to learn new throws if I was going to increase the difficulty of our routine. I watched the U.S. competitors very closely to see what throws they were doing. I then practiced, practiced, practiced. I think a lot of competitors try a throw once or twice and give up if they aren't able to get it right away. Som of my throws took over a year to get them somewhat consistent. Having said all of that, the Skyhoundz clinics with Peter Bloeme & Jeff Perry helped a lot, as well as the Pawsitive Vybe clinic by Ron Watson and Apryl Lea. If you are having difficulty with trick throws, attending one of these clinics can help build your confidence. They will get you started but ..... broken record time here ..... you need to practice hard. Once you pick up one or two throws you never thought you could, you get the confidence to start trying other new throws
- Q: Who and/or what has most influence your game over the years?
- A: Given Tango was a bit of a wild child in the early years and was easily distracted, gaining trust in her and confidence in us as a team was the most important thing. Howard and Dawn Kadish had the confidence in us and put us in their dog sport/games demo team at the Royal Winter Fair. I think the years of doing demo's at the Royal helped Tango & I as a team in so many ways. I would also say Peter Bloeme has always supported us since the early days and was an inspiration with the trick throws.
- Q: What do you think the perfect freestyle routine should be like?
- A: I would say smoothness, uniqueness and variety of disc tricks. There should be a seamless smooth transition between each series of throws. While it is freestyle, it is still a disc sport. So I like watching disc tricks that take talent by both the thrower and the dog. I don't like to see repetition. Even better if it is a trick that hasn't been done before or taking an old trick and putting a new spin on it. I would say in a one and a half minute routine there should be 15 to 20 throws, no repeats (other than multiples), and no obvious down time to pick up discs.
- Q: Do you have a favourite move? Why?
- A: I would say it is the one where I stand up, put the disc between my feet, and throw the disc with my feet up over my head. It was our first really difficult trick and to date we are the only team I know of who have successfully completed it in a competition
- Q: What is your fondest memory?
- A: I would have to say the first time we did the Blues Brothers routine at the Royal Winter Fair. It was the first time we did something in costume and I wasn't sure how it was going to go over. I also wasn't sure how Tango was going to react to the costume. But she was great and the crowd loved it. The next day I was riding the subway to work & taking a glimpse at the newspaper the person next to me was reading. I saw our picture with the caption, "Stupendous Pet Tricks". When I got to work, others let me know they had seen the picture in the paper as well. This was pretty exciting.
- Q: Where do you see the sport in 5 years?
- A: I think it is a really exciting time for the sport in Canada. There is real enthusiasm for freestyle. The competitions in Canada tend to be dog people rather than disc people. So in 5yrs time when the throws start being perfected, I think you will see some really spectacular routines. At the Harvest Disc Dog trial this past October, there were a lot of new teams and you could see all the teams trying new throws. This was great to see. I think this was motivated by Angela Ewtushik's new freestyle rules putting an emphasis on throws. (Editors Note: this is the unofficial open freestyle class that Angela created to encourage freestylers to think outside the box and be more creative. The rules are influenced by the USDDN rules and were created by both competitor input and review of various organizations) I'm hoping that a spirit of teamwork and camaraderie will continue among the competitors. By everyone helping each other, we will all get better. This will make the sport exciting, but fun.
- Q: What is your advice to newcomers to the sport?
- A: The more you compete the better you will be. So get out there and compete. Be creative, be unique, and most importantly, have fun.
Freestyle Disc > Routine Building
Flexible Routines with Sequences
By Ron Watson
All routines are made of sequences. Sequences are the building blocks of routines. Unfortunately not many people realize that focusing on these building blocks will help in developing a flexible and dynamic routine.
I could be wrong, but I believe that most people tend to create an entire routine and spend a great deal of time, sometimes years, perfecting that routine. These routines are made of sequences, but these individual sequences tend to get lost while the focus of the handler is on the whole routine. I believe that this is a mistake. I think that the sequences themselves should be the focus of the handler. This provides teh most flexibility for building routines and for modifying them either on the fly or in close proximity to the next contest.
I hardly ever work on a routine. I work sequences. A week or two before we are going to compete, I start to develop my routine by linking sequences together. This gives me several advantages over someone who is working on perfecting their routine, and of course causes some problems.
There is no stress over a sequence or trick that is not hitting at the time of the competition. I simply slip in another sequence that requires the same amount of discs. The wind factor is reduced as well. If it is super windy, I can put some wind-safe sequences in my routine. I actually hope for rain so I can do some of my wet weather sequences. If certain judges like or dislike certain skills, I can remove them easily, and substitute something that would score better. If a huge mistake is made in a competition it is much easier to recover.
The dynamic aspect of routines is also helped out by this method. Every day that we work out, we are able to play with these sequences; change is not feared, it is a constant. Different opportunities show themselves in every workout. Patterns develop and if they are noticed they are capitalized on. Because of the random nature of each workout, new skills are developed all the time.
I know that htis method might not be for all people, but I thought I woudl throw it out there as food for thought.
(Ron Watson is a seasoned disc competitor and instructor. He is the founder and moderator of the internet disc dog discussion group at http://www.k9disc.com/ He, along with his partner, Apryl Lea, give disc training seminars in Canada, the U.S, and Europe; and are the owners of Pawsitive Vybe dog training . http://www.pawsitivevybe.com/ This article was originally posted on teh k9disc.com site is is reprinted here with permission)
My Disc Dog Story > From Beginning To Worlds!
Submitted by Andy Rawski
My trip to Atlanta started when I was much younger. I had a friend who had a black lab that could catch a frisbee and do amazing tricks. That was 30 years ago! We would play for hours; it was great; just sit in our lawn chairs, have a cold one and this amazing dog would just bring the frisbee back every time. I never thought about it much again until we got Bandit. Having past experience with a Jack Russell Terrier, Andrea and I knew we would have to find something to amuse him. It started with a golf ball and we worked our way up from there. JRT's have energy to spary so something we had done over the years with our other JRT, Ginger, is drag her out to the terrier races. We had a lot of fun, but Ginger might tell you different! It was August of 2005 when we first met Jackie Parkin at a JRT Funday in Ailsa Craig. She had been invited to host a disc competition for the terriers and thought that Bandit had great potential. He placed first that day! Jackie gave us her contact information and introduced us to the world of canine disc! Ginger is much happier now that she doesn't have to compete, so she just tags along to cheer Bandit on. Our first CDDA competition was the Harvest Disc Dog Trial back in October 2005 and WOW! Even though we (well, me really) didn't do too well, the experience got me hooked, (Bandit heartily agrees). We were nervous, well .... me anyway, but everyone made us feel right at home. That's also when we first heard abot the Skyhoundz World Championship competition in Atlanta. After talking with different people we thought it would be great to qualify and make the trip, but after seeing all the competition out there I knew we had to work on a few things. The advice we got through other competitors, and lots of practice, made the difference, although I feel luck played a role too. We barely qualified but were thrilled to be invited and the trip was on. It took a few days to sink in that we were actually going to Atlanta for the Worlds! We had a great time and Bandit finished 14th in the Sport Division Distance/Accuracy.
Andy & Bandit
What Is Back-Chaining?
Back-chaining is a method of training a behaviour sequence in reverse order. In other words, you teach the last piece of the sequence first and keep adding to the front end of the routine or behaviour being taught.
Some of you might remember learning to recite poetry this way, as a kid in school. We were taught the last verse of the poem first, then the second to last, third to last, and so on. This makes it easier to get through the poem because instead of stuggling to remember the end, the end was the first thing you learned and therefore the easiest verse to remember. So as you recite the poem it get easier and easier, the closer you get to the end.
The same applies to our dogs whenever we are teaching them any kind of behaviour chain. A behaviour chain can be described as any complete behaviour that can be broken down into several small steps or building blocks; or any combination of behaviours that link together to comprise a complete task.
When you teach a behaviour in start to finish order, you are always asking the dog to go from strength (the piece he already has command over), to weakness (the piece he is trying to gain command over). This makes learning the behaviour chain a struggle because the dog is always going from easy to hard ....... from strength to weakness.
When you teach a behaviour in reverse order > or back-chain > the dog is working from weakness to strength. Learning becomes easier because, as each already learned behaviour in the chain presents itself, it acts as a reinforcer for the link just performed. The behaviour chain in and of itself, becomes reinforcing to the dog, because each step in the chain reinforces the prededing step.
2006 USDDN National & International Championships
Submitted by Pat Nadarajah
I had the pleasure and the honour recently to attend the USDDN National and International Disc Dog championships in Louisville, Kentucky as an invited Canadian judge. Teams in attendance arrived from Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and all over the United States. Twenty-eight teams in total were in attendance.
In order to be invited to compete, the teams were required to qualify at at regional level at previous trials held in their respective areas throughout the year. The Japanese teams for instance, hosted and competed in 2 qualifiers for their country. From those trials 7 teams qualified to compete in Louisville. Can you imagine flying all the way from Japan with your dog to compete at a championship? Quite the trip!
The championship was divided into 2 separate trials. Saturday started out with 28 teams competing in the National qualifier, which would then determine the winning fifteen teams that move onto the International championship the following day. Saturday's National qualifier was a true test of talent and patience for both the handler adn the dog. The weather was very cold, very windy ..... sometimes gusting with a light misty rain; not ideal for participants, spectators, or judges! However, that didn't stop anyone from giving his or her best performance!
The teams participated in one round of toss/fetch and two rounds of freestyle. Three judges judged toss/fetch, including myself, and four judges participated in the freestyle judging, which included a judge from Holland. The championships take a year to plan and it shows. From the registration of the teams on the morning of the trials, to the sophisticated sound/microphone system, the computerized tabulation of scores, the countless volunteers, to the banquet held on Saturday evening, every aspect of this event is well planned out and executed. It ran like a well-oiled machine even with the challenging weather.
The fifteen successful teams from Saturday moved on to Sunday's International championship. The previous days scores were wiped out, and the teams started back at zero to compete for placement in the International circle of competitors.
To say that the routines were well thought out, choreographed and masterfully executed is an understatement at best. Timing and imagination were key success factors in the routines and I personally was not disappointed as I watched in amazement at what some of these teams could perform in a short 2 minute time span. I mentally made notes of tricks and tips I could try when I got home.
For me personally, the highlight of my weekend was watching Todd Duncan and his dog Levi perform their winning routine. It was so smooth and well thought out that it was difficult to tell who was leading whom out there in the field. Was Levi taking his cues from Todd or the other way around? Todd and Levi won the International Championship on Sunday, placing first, followed by Sabina Bruns of Germany in second, and Yachi Hirai from Japan placing third. It was truly an international finish and the first of its kind in disc dog. So when will the Canadians participate in this wonderful international competition? Well it certainly isn't for lack of talent! All we need is a couple of regional Canadian qualifiers to be hosted, and interested teams to participate, and the rest will write its' own history.
Fun With Fido > Tales From The Bark Side .....
Okay so we're in the park one day and the dogs are playing ball with a Chuck-It when Rowdy spots a man who had come to the park with his own dog. For whatever reason, Rowdy decided to retrieve the ball and take it to this man, who by the way was using a cane to walk. The man picks up the ball and holds it up at chest level and says repeatedly to Rowdy, "Are you ready? You gonna go?" Well after a few 'are you ready's', and no ball being thrown, Rowdy is starting to get frustrated because he doesn't know what this man wants. So what does he do? He starts offering behaviours. First he runs a little lap around the man. Then he spins. And then ........ horror of horrors!!!!! ............. he does his flyball style reverse VAULT off this poor man who is still standing there with the ball at ches height, and has no idea what just hit him!! Fortunately the man didn't fall down and he was good humoured about it. Of course, I had to explain that Rowdy is a disc dog and that vaulting is one of his moves and oh ya ... he probably thought he was being cued to vault because that's where I hold the disc, yadda, yadda ........ Talk about trying to explain your way out of a situation!
and there's the vault!
Got a funny story to share?
Submit it to "Fun With Fido > Tales From The Bark Side"
Quotable Quotes:
"What's the good in being the best, if being the best, brings out the worst in you?"
Author Unknown
2007 Christmas Disc Dog Poem
Every year I endeavour to write Xmas poems to the tune of various xmas songs, and using as topics .... the various dog sports that I'm involved in. This years Christmas Disc Dog poem is to the tune of "Frosty The Snowman"
Rowdy the disc dog
Is a very happy guy
Tracking frisbees in the air
And vaulting to the sky
Rowdy the disc dog
Loves to chase discs to and fro
Running circles 'round the field
And catching every throw
Spinning, flipping, leaping, catching
Rowdy loves it all
Freestyle disc is so much fun
He loves it better than flyball!
Oh ..
Rowdy the disc dog
Is a very happy guy
Chasing frisbees in the air
And leaping to the sky
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Happy Holidays Everyone
And
Happy New Year Too!
Thank you to everyone who joined and supported Southern Ontario Disc Houndz in 2006. May you all have a wonderful Holiday Season, and wishing you all the best for 2007.
Jackie
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High Flyin' K9's > Issue One
Fall 2006
Letter From The Editor > My Story
Although many of us have been playing frisbee recreationally with our dogs for many years, the sport of canine disc is still growing in Southern Ontario. As I become more involved with canine disc I realize more and more just how special a disc dog my first disc dog was. The late Mickey-Finn ..... a collie/labrador mix that could catch anything I threw and lept into the air with grace and style. Now that I realize how poorly and inconsistently I throw, I think Mickey-Finn must have been a frisbee savant! Of course, Mickey didn't compete in disc trials > there were no disc trials in Canada in those days. He just did disc for fun for him and entertainment in our dog sport shows. After Mickey, came two more talented disc dogs. Although at the time, I didn't know that. Ruffian, a jack russell terrier, wowed the crowds our shows for years with his catching ability, back vaults, and the spin on the disc terrier style. And Kep, a border collie, got ooh's and aah's from spectators for his spectacular back flips. I didn't know they were spectacular, they were just doing their schtick in the show. And then they got older and frisbee became a lesser part of our show and I never really thought about it much. A few years later a couple of friends attempted to get a Toronto Disc Dog Club started and had Lawrence Fredrick come up to teach them on a monthly basis. I was eager to join the club, but the club never took off and once again disc, for me, got put on the back shelf. Then I broke my knee and was out of commission for a long while. During that time a friend took one of my border collies to a local Skyhoundz disc dog trial and she came 2nd. That peaked my interest. Not to mention that toss/fetch was something I could actually do in my compromised state. So cane in hand I signed up to attend a disc dog clinic with Peter Bloeme, in Georgetown, Ontario. I recognized the name because I already had Peters' video and disc training book. So off I went to learn more about this sport, still unable to walk without a cane, but confident I could stand to toss a disc. And so the insanity began Now my back field is littered with discs and I'm doing ....... well ....... this!
Disc play is a great way to bond with and enjoy time with your dog, whether you choose to compete or not. My hope for this newsletter is that it will help you to learn more about this great sport adn come to love it as I (and my dogs) do.
Jackie
Getting Started In Canine Disc Play
The sport of canine disc (aka frisbee) is a lot of fun for both dog and handler, but there's more to it than just going out, buying a cheap disc, and lobbing it at your dog in the backyard. Safe disc play requires proper training techniques on the part of the handler, and proper tracking/catching skills on the part of the dog.
The first thing to do is to purchase the right kind of disc. Cheap dollar store discs are not suitable for canine disc play because they are made of hard plastic that cracks easily and breaks, thereby damaging the dogs mouth. Additionally, they just don't fly very well. The three most popular brands of disc used in canine disc play are the Hyperflite models, the Wham-O Fastback models, and the Hero Disc models. Depending on where you live, these discs may or may not be readily available in your local pet supply store. You may have to order online or look for a distributor in your geographic area.
Once you have your disc, what's next? Well first things first ..... you have to learn how to throw it! Simple you say? I beg to differ Throwing a frisbee disc properly takes technique and this skill is necessary if you are going to keep you dog safe in disc play. The disc needs to go where you intend for it to go, and not be flying off in all directions with dog in hot pursuit, making dangerous leaps and catches.
The first thing you need to learn is the proper grip. The basic backhand throw is used for toss & fetch. Hold the disc so that the rim is balancing on your pinky and ring finger. Now close your hand around the disc, withyour middle finger lying beside the ring finger and curled in slightly, your index finger resting under the rim of the disc, and your thumb on top of the disc. You want a firm but not tight grip.
(photo's courtesy of Skyhoundz)
To throw the disc, take a golfers stance, then curl your wrist in towards your elbow, bring your arm across your body so that the disc is now touching your opposite shoulder, and then uncoil (bring the arem back across the body) and release the disc with a nice snap of the wrist.
(photo's courtesy of Skyhoundz)
If the disc goes off to the right, it means that you have released too late & if it goes off to the left it means that you have released too early (for a right handed thrower > opposite for a left handed thrower). If the disc wobbles as it flies, it doesn't have enough spin. Lack of spin can be caused by either too tight a grip, or not enough snap. When practicing throwing your disc, pick a target and release the disc when your arm is pointing at that target. A great exercise to help your aim is to try to throw the disc through a suspended hula hoop.
Once you can throw reasonably well, you can get the dog into the picture. Show the dog the disc and tease him up with it and get him excited about it. Then slide it across the floor upside down & let the dog chase and retrieve it. Play tug of war with the disc. This builds the dogs drive for the disc and encourages a good bit on the disc. When the dog is happily retrieving sliders, you will advance to roller throws. To execute a roller throw, you use a backhand grip, curl your arm up towards your shoulder as if you are weight lifting, and then release the disc downwards so that it rolls along the floor on its rim. Tell the dog to "take it" as he grabs for the disc, and when he does take it, be sure to praise him lavishly. Ideally you want the dog to grab the disc while it is still rolling. Dogs like to grab moving objects so this comes fairly naturally to most pooches. As your dog is having fun chasing and grabbing rollers, he is also (without even noticing it) learning what "take it" means. So now you can move onto the next step. Takes.
With the dog on your left (if you are a right handed thrower > opposite for a left handed thrower), hold the disc out in front of you and cue the dog to "take it". Because the dog has a concept of what 'take it' means, he should go for the disc. Be sure to praise him when he does. Don't hold the disc too high though, because you don't want the dog jumping up vertically to get the disc. That is the style of leap that makes humans cringe, and injures dogs. The disc should be on a nice diagonal incline away from the dog so that he has to move forward and slightly up to get it. Once the dog has the gist of this exercise you can move onto a "moving take" which will teach your dog how to track and grab a moving disc. Have someone restrain your dog, show him the disc (holding it at the correct height/angle), and then run away and cue the dog to "take it". Your helper should release the dog to chase after you and the disc. The idea is that the dog will run in and "take" the moving disc from your hand (the disc is moving because you are running with it). The next step is to add a short toss to the moving take exercise. As the dog comes in for the take, toss the disc a couple of feet so that now he has to grab it from the air. The progression of teaching teh dog to chase, track, and catch discs is: sliders, rollers, takes, moving takes, short toss. Gradually lengthen the distance of your throws.
It is very important that your dog be moving towards the disc when he catches. He should always be chasing/tracking the disc from behind .... not underneath.
As your dog gains proficiency with his disc catching in the running take/toss exercise, you will want to gradually eliminate your running and simply stand still and throw your disc. In order to keep the dog behind the disc, it will be necessary to send the dog 'around' you as you throw the disc. For the right handed thrower the dog should circle around you in a clockwise direction. The dog should go around the left handed thrower in a counter-clockwise direction. Teaching the around is easy. Set your dog up for a moving take/toss, and just before you toss, turn 360 to your right with the dog following (or left if left handed), and give the cue "around", and toss the disc at the end of your turn. After a few repetitions in this manner, gradually eliminate your turn and just have the dog go around you before running out after the disc.
Well that's the basics of getting started for a safe game of toss/fetch.
Happy Disc'n
Canadian Dogs Qualify for the 2006 Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Disc Dog Championships
Once again Canadian dogs have qualified to compete in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championship Disc Dog Competition. This year nine Ontario dogs and two Quebec dogs qualified at the Canadian Qualifier which was held in Brampton, Ontario on August 7/06
The lucky dogs/handlers are:
Wendy Grandman with Bogey and Hogan
Dennis Alexander with Tango
Andy Rawski with Bandit
Don Blewett with Meg
Sheilagh Sargent with Frodo
Morgan Jarvis with Blitz
Timmie Dohn with Shenzi & Dakota
Jackie Parkin with Josie and Rowdy
Good Luck To All !!
Canadians at the 2005 Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.
From left to right: Jackie Parkin with Rowdy & Maeve; Peter Guidolin with Rocky; Wendy Grandman with Hogan; Dennis Alexander with Tango
What To Do When Dog Fears Disc
So you have a cool dog and you think he/she could be a great disc dog. But wait ..... the dog is afraid of the disc in flight. What do you do? Well here's how I approached it with my little dog Josie.
Josie is a Chihuahua/Jack Russell Terrier mix and the first time I met her I thought she would be a cool MicroDog. Problem though > when I first met her we were at a fair and an errant flying disc hit her in teh head and she said, "no thanks", to disc play after that. I almost didn't adopt her when I saw her drive disappear so quickly. But friends were fostering her and I trusted their judgement that she was a very special little dog, and so home she came last Thanksgiving weekend.
I took things slowly. If she didn't play disc it wasn't going to be the end of the world. So I started by teaching her to target the disc for clicks/treats. Touch disc = click/treat. She loved that game. So then I upped the ante to have her run out and touch a slider. She thought that was great too. Chase it, touch it, and get a treat ..... Whoohooo!! We did this for awhile. Then I tried to get her to chase after rollers but alas, the fear of disc raised its ugly head again. So back to sliders to re-build her confidence. Remember she wasn't picking these discs up > she was just targeting them with a touch.
I wanted to get ehr to be more aggressive towards the disc but she was reluctant to grab the plastic discs, so I got her a fabric disc. With the fabric disc I was able to get her to play tug with me and build her drive for the disc. When I felt she was suitably driven I tried to substitute a plastic disc for the fabric one. She tugged only long enough to discover it was not her fabric disc and then she would not tug with the plastic disc again. She would shy away from it. So back to the fabric disc to re-build her tugging confidence & back to sliders/touches of the plastic disc on the ground to re-teach her that the plastic disc was safe. Then I remembered that Hyperflite makes a Soft-flite disc that is soft and pliable compared to a regular competition disc. So I got Josie a Soft-flite disc and that was just what she needed to upgrade from the fabric disc. I played tug with her alternating between the fabric disc and the Soft-flite and gradually eliminated the fabric disc. Each training session only lasted about 3-5 minutes. Had to keep her wanting more!
Tugging led to takes as I would tease her up to tug, and then just as she would come in for the tug, I would move the disc so she had to move forward towards it, and I would let go as she took it rather than hold on and tug. As her drive increased and her confidence grew I was able to re-introduce rollers & she was not afraid to chase and grab them.
The next challenge though was getting her to snatch the disc from the air. Going from take to toss was not a smooth transition for Josie. She remembered that flying thing hitting her in the head all those months ago and she was not about to risk having that happen again. She would go hell bent for leather after the disc and then just let it fall about a foot away from her and then pick it up and bring it back. I was at a loss as to how to transition her from takes to catches. Then Ron Watson had the best suggestion ..... toss a floater right in front of me and catch it myself, and then immediately instigate a tug of war with Josie. The idea being that Josie would start to anticipate the game of tug as the disc came down and would try to grab it sooner and sooner in order to initiate the tug game. It worked!! She was grabbing that disc as the same time that I was catching it and then I gradually backed off the catch so that SHE was the one catching it. We were still using the Soft-flite at this time.
The next step was actually easy. Transferring her from the Soft-flite to a regular plastic disc. I switched her onto a Hyperflite K-10 Pup disc because she is so small. But by this point her drive and confidence were so strong that switching from the soft disc to the regular disc was a breeze. She was sold on disc play and she didn't care what disc she was playing with.
Now Josie is a 100% disc maniac!! She is totally crazy for disc play and has just qualified to participate in the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz 2006 World Championship Disc Dog competition.
Way to go Josie!!!
How Do You Teach That?
The Scoot Back Under
The Scoot Back Under is a cool trick that can be incorporated into your freestyle disc routines with ease. It can lead into all sorts of disc moves >> scoot back and toss disc over your shoulder to the dog >> scoot back and turn to face dog for a back flip >> scoot back and go into a back stall or a vault ..... you are limited only by your imagination.
Basically "Scoot" means the dog backs up under the handler
1) Begin by standing over your dog (dog is standing facing same way as you are) and gently squeeze the dogs shoulders with your knees so that he will want to back up out from the pressure. (remember gently squeeze > you do not want to hurt the dog!) As the dog backs out indicate & reward. Byindicate I am referring to either using a clicker or the word "Yes!" to mark the exact moment in time when the desired behaviour is taking place. After a few repetitions the dog will start to understand the exercise and will scoot immediately upon feeling the slightest pressure. At this point add your verbal cue, "Scoot". Now gradually eliminate the body cue (the squeeze) and simply give the dog the verbal cue to Scoot.
2) Once the dog understands what Scoot means, gradually move further back along his body. Up until now you have been standing with the dogs shoulders by your knees. Now move back so that the dogs waist is by your knees and cue him to Scoot. When he is proficient with the scoot from that positioning, move back so that you are standing over his hips when you give the Scoot cue. Then stand just behind him and then stand about a foot behind him. If the dog turns to face you rather than scoots back, you have likely moved back too far too soon. The dog needs to understand that Scoot means that he should back up under you.
3) The next step is to teach the dog how to set himself up for a Scoot Back and this requires him to turn away from you. Start with the dog standing facing you and simply use a piece of food to lure the dog to turn 180 degrees to face away from you. "Mark" this behaviour with a click or a "Yes!", and immediately cue the dog to "Scoot". Reward at the end of the scoot back
The First Annual Can-Am Disc Dog Games
The first annual Can-Am Disc Dog Games took place in the Catskills in New York State, on August 26/27. The location was the festival grounds of the Bavarian Manor in Purling, New York. The event was spearheaded by Corinne Brewer of the Yankee Flyers Disc Dog Club, and Ray Lohman & Frank Montgomery of the MADDogs Disc Dog Club, and included FDDO games, training clinics, and a Skyhoundz Disc Dog-a-thon. Southern Ontario Disc Houndz rounded out the club invitational.
The Canadian competitors fared well with SODH placing 1st overall in the club standings.
Despite rainy weather which made disc play a challenge and forced the cancellation of the freestyle event (due to field conditions being too dangerous for the dogs), we learned a lot and met many new friends.
Many thanks go to Corinne, Ray, and Frank for their hard work in getting this event off the ground. We look forward to another great event in 2007.
"Quality Time" > A Matter Of Perspective
The question of quality time comes up often in the dog fancy. Dog sports enthusiasts often define quality time based on the dogs involvement in sports and training. But what constitutes quality time? "Quality" time can be different things to different dogs depending on their individual needs, drives, and desires.
I have a friend who over the past year has backed out of many dog sports that she was once heavily involved in. She has several elderly dogs from whom she does not wish to be separated, in order to travel to dog sport events. For these dogs, quality time is just being with their human ... lounging with their humans watching tv ..... hanging out in the yard during BBQ's ..... sleeping on the bed at night (& probably during the day too!) ..... and quiet walks in the park. These retired sports dogs are not missing out on anything. They don't require individual play or walks in order to have quality time with their humans. The companionship and time spent with their humans defines quality time. That there are 5 or 6 of them sharing this time with their humans, in no way diminishes the quality of the time spent. These dogs are getting quality time 24/7.
This individual also has younger dogs that are in their prime as far as dog sport competitin is concerned, but these dogs are also taking some time off so that their humans can spend more time at home with the elderly dogs. So the questin becomes, are the younger dogs losing their quality time? Depending on who you talk to, the answers differ greatly. Some say the young dogs are being wasted and their quality of life is diminished because they are not doing sports. From my point of view the younger dogs are not missing out on anything. They too are enjoying time with their humans > walks in the park > lounging in the living room etc. They have their whole lives to resume dog sports.
Conversely, I have other friends for whom quality time is defined by how much "training" time each dog receives. These individuals are exhausted trying to spread themselves equally between all the dogs making sure that each has adequate quality time with them. For these individuals quality time is determined by training time. Time spent with the "group" is not sufficient. Time simply being the dogs doing .... nothing ... is not sufficient. Each dog has to get training time and individual playing retrieve time every single day in order for these people to feel that the dogs are getting quality time.
So who is right??
I personally have a large number of dogs such that it is not possible for them all to live in the house. They are kennel/house dogs > in other words, they are on a house rotation. People keep saying, "I don't know how you do it > how do you give quality time to each individual dog?" Well the answer is that they don't need individual time with me in order for it to be quality time. We can go out for a group game of frisbee and a rip and tear around the back few acres and that IS quality time for us. It's quality time for me because I'm outside with my dogs and enjoying watching them run and chase eachother and the frisbees. It's quality time for them because we are together and they are enjoying eachother while checking in with me and getting treats. It may not be one on one, but it IS time spent together and my dogs cherish these runs (as demonstrated by their enthusiasm and happiness). For the older dogs, quality time is spent sleeping on the couch or begging at the kitchen table or sleeping on the beds. They go out for hikes as well but as a senior group so as not to get knocked over by overly enthusiastic youngsters. The dogs that are currently competition dogs do get individual training time, but I personally don't consider training time alone to be sufficient to qualify as quality time. Afterall, if you home school your children do you consider the time spent schooling to be more important than the time spent doing recreational things with them?
From my perspective it's the time spent with your dogs when you put no demands on them that defines the best kind of quality time. The times when you let them be dogs and enjoy their "doggy-ness".
Over the years I've come to the conclusion that for dogs, Quality Time is just being with their humans. It doesn't matter what you are doing together or if you are doing anything at all
Harley-Dawg, an American Bulldog, lounges with his 2nd place Skyhoundz D/A plaque, before Ontario's Pit Bull Ban, which affects all dogs that "look like", prevented him from continuing to compete in disc sports.
The Ontario Regionals In Review
The Ontario Regional Hyperflite/Skyhoundz Worlds Qualifier was held in Brampton, Ontario, on August 7th, 2006. The event was held in conjunction with the Wing Ding In Ching, Nitty Gritty Festival at Chinguacousy Park, where we had a beautifully groomed soccer field to play on. This was the first time that the disc dog competition was held at a public venue, and spectators were in abundance throughout the day. Peter Bloeme was our head judge and oversaw the competition, assisted by volunteers from Team K9, which was also performing at the festival. 2006 saw the largest number of entries to the Regional competition and was a great success. It was quite windy on competition day and that did provide a challenge for many competitors. The overall scores were lower than usual due to the challenges the wind presented and the freestyle competitors really felt the pangs of frustration as the wind carried their discs in unintended directions and routines that usually ran flawlessly, suddenly were not running according to plan. But everyone plugged along and did their best. Eleven dogs qualified to attend the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championship competition to be held later this month in Atlanta, Georgia, and for the first time ever ..... ALL Canadian qualifiers are attending.
The organizers of the Nitty Gritty Festival were thrilled to have the disc dog competition as part of their event and 2007 promises to be an even bigger disc extravaganza, as we have been invited to once again be part of the Nitty Gritty Festival as they expand their event to a three day festival.
