Disc Dog Foundation
Foundational Training Instruction.
Basic Jamming
Here's some basic instruction on learning how to jam.
This Section is Under Construction
Foundational Principles
Positive Dog Training provides a great framework on which to build a Frisbee game. Here is a brief foundational overview of Positive Training that should give us a common vocabulary and frame of reference to help us learn to jam with our dogs.
Two Targets
When we teach the game of disc to our dogs, we always use at least two targets.
Having multiple targets ensures that we always have something the dog wants. If we’re playing with one, the dog quickly learns that he has something that we want. This is like giving our dogs our bait bag.
With multiple discs, when the dog makes the catch we still have motivation in our hands. He winds up with a dead toy and we have a live one. This throws the odds in our favor and allows us far more ability to manipulate the situation. It allows us to train.
We can now wait on behaviors. We can deliver reinforcement more efficiently. We can maintain a higher rate of reinforcement.
Two Targets is a must.
Here's some video of two target tug work.
Marking for Release
Ron & Gypsy work on Marking for the Release.
Tugging for Retrieve
Apryl Lea & Gypsy work on a retrieve by utilizing a 2 disc tug.
Teaching Mattie to Drop
Marking Behaviors
Yes! Tell them they’re right.
Using a positive marker, and using it well, is the single most important factor in creating a reliable communication system with your dog that will greatly improve the speed and quality of learning.
Criteria
Setting clear and consistent and easy to achieve criteria is extremely important in teaching complex behavior chains. Playing disc with your dog can be looked at as one long behavior chain: go round, run, jump, catch, return, drop, that's 5 distinct behaviors that each have their own sets of criteria. When we're teaching our dog to do something, keeping these criteria consistent and clear are a must.
Rate of Reinforcement
Our rate of reinforcement can dramatically affect our team's performance.
Rate of reinforcement is often expressed in terms of rewards per minute by positive dog trainers, and a decent rate of reinforcement during initial learning is somewhere between 15-30+ rewards per minute. That's a reward every 2-4 seconds.
This should set off alarm bells with many discdog handlers, and will probably mean an important change in the way we play with our dogs.
Patience
Playing disc with our dogs is a team sport.
This is at odds with many people's understanding of a dog and handler relationship. Many people believe that they must control their dogs. This sets up a whole system of compulsion and pressure that does not fit well with the game of disc.
We believe that it's better to ask, wait then reward than it is to command then make it happen.
Our dogs are in control of the game. Their actions make it fun or boring. When our dog believes that their behavior affects their consequences they become operant. Operant dogs drive the game. They are creative, willing participants who will work through confusion and stress.
An operant dog is a confident dog.
Dismissal
- Go do dog stuff
First Steps
Establishing interest in the disc & Building A Bite Foundation.
Ground Scraping
- Sit down & Scrape
Tugging
Tugging has become a foundational tool for teaching dogs to play disc.
It builds drive, it teaches foundational aspects of the game and also teaches patience in drive.
Check out all of this tugging stuff.
Video Instruction
Marking for Release
Here's some video of two target tug work. Ron & Gypsy work on Marking for the Release.
Tugging for Retrieve
Apryl Lea & Gypsy work on a retrieve by utilizing a 2 disc tug.
Teaching Mattie to Drop
Tugging 101
I am convinced that tugging is a fantastic excercise for discdogs. Tugging is a personal interaction between human and dog that increases drive, attaches prey drive to biting the disc, makes the inside game fun, and has a host of other benefits that would seem to be unrelated.
Flyball handlers have, for some time used tugging as a motivational force for their dogs. All the dog wants is that tug. "I gotta hurry to get that tug!" Tugging is the reward for these dogs.
While flyball people pioneered the tugging for motivation arena, they passed entirely on the tugging for behavior path. I have found that tugging is not only a great reward for good performance, but good tugging training can create behaviors that we all want.
A dog that is properly tug trained will:
- retrieve
- approach rapidly with a disc in mouth
- push disc into handlers hand
- release object on command
- eagerly and easily target disc for luring
- take a disc from the hand
- get many reptitions on 'catching' rapidly moving discs
- have more drive
Rules
Tugging for behavior requires quite a bit more than simply fighting your dog for control of an object. That kind of tugging will give you nothing but problems. What we want to do is set up clear and consistent rules for this game, and there are only 3 rules, and as long as the rules are followed the game continues. Breaking the rules is cheating, and that moment must be marked with an NRM, and cessation of the game for as long as the situation requires.
3 Rules of Tugging
1. Don't Touch Me!
2. I tell you when to bite.
3. You release when I tell you.
Don't Touch Me
This is the most important rule of all. Our dogs are simply not allowed to make mistakes when it comes to accidently biting flesh. They do too much biting around our hands to be sloppy. There is no reason for your dog to miss a tug and bite you other than carelessness.
Any time you are bitten while tugging, no matter how insignificant, you need to quit the game entirely and take a break.
I Tell You When to Bite
It is very dangerous to have a dog that strikes at discs whenever they are available. I have been bitten, and have seen many other people bitten by their dogs when an unsolicited strike on the disc occurred.
You Release When I Tell You
In tugging, we are really turning on our dog's drive. I have read that tugging is like sharing a kill. It seems like that could be the case, but regardless, we are activating something pretty primal in our dogs. We are turning them on; allowing them to bite hard and rip and tear. When we engage the dog in tugging, it is very important that our command to release is always obeyed so that we use their desire for the game as the motivator for behaving well.
The Game of Tug
Playing the game of tug starts with rule #2, ask your dog to bite the target. The target should be something that your dog already likes to play with (hopefully there is enough play drive for this). This can be difficult for some dogs, as they are not naturally inclined to tug. if you have a dog that does not want to tug, check out: Teaching the Tug?.
So we ask our dog to bite the target, and then we wrestle a bit with them. Make sure that they win very frequently at the beginning, letting the disc slip out of your hands and praise.
Once the dog has won, go ahead and try walking backwards, encouraging the dog to bring the disc to you. If he does not, no big deal, give him an NRM, ignore him a bit and give him a minute or so to get bored and then call on another game of tug. He will come in and bite, tug, let him win, walk backwards.
It should not take too long before his winning and your walking backwards triggers his desire to bring the disc to you. When he puts it in your hand, tug and let him win. Your dog is learning that retrieving to you is fun.
Now we need to add rule #3 (For more aggressive dogs, you might want to add rule #3 right from the get go.). What we will do is call the out in mid tug, and try to be as boring as possible until the dog drops. At the moment the dog drops, give a positive marker immediately followed by a roller. You can alternate between tug as reward and roller as reward. I find that these rewards work well together. You can also add a slide?.
Rarely, it is not possible to wait a dog out on the drop. Often we don't have the time to wait the dog out. Frequently we want the behavior to happen quickly. Personally, I usually push the dog at this point to get the behavior quickly, but I think it might be a better idea to simply wait the dog out. Make your choice, but if you have good timing, and provide good rewards, it should come quickly.
Once that drop starts to free up, all you have to do is reward on compliance, or stop the game with an NRM for a minute or so and try again.
Disc Removal
Watching someone get a disc out of their dog's mouth can tell you a lot about them as a trainer, but be careful of what assumptions you make based upon what you see. I am reminded of a guy in Germany with a MONSTER Malinois. Apryl saw him really physically correct the dog for an unwanted bite on the disc. She was shocked by this overzealous correction.
We talked about it and came to the conclusion that a beast like that Malinois could destroy his hand with a simple mistake like that; nothing like steel pins in your hand because your Maligator couldn't control himself around moving discs. What if a 5 year old girl were carrying that disc?
So, while you might find pinching a lip under a canine tooth to be overzealous when a treat under the lip would do the trick, you do not know the history of the dog, and don't know the state of mind of the handler at the time.
When you see a flustered handler fight with their dog over a disc, then you can feel pretty free to make your training assumption.
There are 4 methods that I recommend for prompting an out:
- Wait
- Cover the dog's eyes
- Treat under the dog's nose
- Pinch the dog's lip under the canine
Each of these things can be considered corrections and will not teach your dog anything. They will stop the behavior for the moment. In order for you to teach your dog something with these tools you must reward and reward well, the behavior that these corrections allow to happen. All the waiting in the world won't teach your dog to drop a disc, but 3 or 4 strong rewards that engage his prey drive right after he releases will. A few quick rollers out of nowhere for compliance to an out command will teach him something.
These methods are listed from passive (#1) to aggressive (#4). Not all dogs will respond to each one, but please resist the urge to jump to #4, as it is largely a cop out. You should be able to get results with the other 3. 4 is a last resort, or for safety issues. If I had a nickel for every time I heard, "My dog doesn't respond unless...". They all work on all dogs, just not all the time. More than 1 will work for your dog as well.
Wait
The key to waiting is to be a boring tug partner and to NOT LOSE. I cannot stress that enough, don't let your dog tear that disc out of your hand after an out command. It should be considered a serious breach of etiquette and be dealt with accordingly, possibly Packing It In?.
So just let the dog tug and give in to him just enough to get him to lie down, they always do as you lower the disc and reduce pressure on them. Once they lie down they get bored hanging on to the disc with some boring person. When they drop it, positive marker then reward with tug or roller.
Cover the Eyes
This one only works a few times, the dogs figure out they don't need to see to tug, but it is an effective method. Besides if you are tugging well, you only need a few corrections.
Ask for the out, if the dog refuses, then cover the dog's eyes so they can't see you, he will drop - positive marker, reward.
Treat Under the Nose
This one is just beautiful. Just take a tiny morsel of yummy treat and push it up under the dogs lips, touching his gums, right below the nose. It almost always works. It is funny to see the dog spit out the disc once that food touches his tastebuds. Really get it up into their lips, way up at the top of the gums.
Pinching the Lips on the Canines
This is usually my last resort. It is effective, but I don't like to use it for fun stuff. I try to keep all physical and harsh corrections away from my disc game with my dog. What you do is reach over top of your dog's snout push one of his lips down to a point where you can slide them over the dog's teeth. Once you have the lips over the teeth, just squeeze and the dog should out.
Tugging Applications
If we are doing these things we have to control the game. We control when the game starts and when it stops. Much can be manipulated by controlling when a pleasant or fun behavior starts and stops.
Some things that we can accomplish with tugging are:
- Eager Mouth to Hand Transfer
- Reliable Out
- Retrieval of Discs on Ground
We can get a really impressive mouth to hand disc transfer through tugging. The desire to engage in another game, or for the more experienced dog, the possibility that a tug game might ensue, is enough to get them wanting to put that disc right in your hand.
Simply adhering to the rules of the game with one or two targets will prompt this behavior from your dog. All you have to do is wait until the dog starts offering the disc to your hand then place a command on it. Give the command and reward with another tug when the transfer is completed.
How in the heck does a reliable out develop from tugging?
Because the rules of tugging are very clear cut and the game is so much fun, the dog begins to realize that compliance with the out allows the game to continue. A good trainer will make the dog believe that their dropping the disc on command creates a more interesting game; dropping makes that roller pop out; dropping makes that other tug target appear.
Once the dog has bought into this game, it is very easy to transfer it to the rest of the field.
By simply asking our dogs to initiate a game of tug and point to a disc on the ground, we can start to give them the concept that picking up discs on command has positive results.
I hope to do a quick piece on the mechanics of tugging for discplay in the future.
Out
- out as reward bridge to bite
Round to Bite
- Moving Bite
Back Chain the Catch
- Toss to Bite
Stretch it out
- Remove hand - complete backchain
Roller
Stepping Up
Let’s get up and go, shall we?
Go Round
- Spinning Lure
Short Toss
- Moving bite
Roller
- More time, hitting the rim.
Longer Toss
-
Introduction to Freestyle
So you think you’re ready for freestyle? Well I have news for you, you’ve already been jamming.
Creating Sequences
Whether or not you build and work a complete routine, or if you prefer a modular routine building regminent, sequences are the building blocks of Discdog routines.Sequences are simply several tricks linked together, but it's important to note that a sequence should be greater than the sum of it's parts. A good sequence becomes something more than tricks linked together. Several good sequences can create a world class player.A couple of great sequences can create World Champions. Read on for a little more about creating sequences.
The Art of Linking Tricks
Starting to create sequences can be a very frustrating endeavor for both dog and handler. It's very common to see new players struggle through simple sequences doing damage to their established tricks and to their relationships with their dogs.
There are a few simple rules to follow to help make creating sequences a smooth and successful process.
Start With a Strong Foundation
Our foundation should be laid with treats. Each component skill must be taught and understood by both dog and handler before we go out and try to use them as part of a sequence.
The sequence should be performed with treats in a low distraction environment as close to live speed and action as possible.
Sequences are nothing more than behavior chains, and a sequence is only as strong as the weakest link in that chain. Each behavior in the chain must be strong. if a link in the chain, a component element of the sequence, is not solid, the sequence will break down right there.
If the sequence breaks down at the same place and the same time, we should be sure to put some additional emphasis on that weak link outside of working the sequence.
Repetitive failure is habit forming. It's much better to take a couple steps back and isolate and strengthen a weak link than it is to try to push our dogs through it.
Set clear and attainable criteria
We need to have a good plan that can succeed and stick to it. It's very important that our dogs know what behaviors are being asked for and that they have the ability to perform the behaviors that are being asked.
Shifting gears with our dog while creating complex behavior chains is a recipe for failure.
That being said, we as discdog handlers, must be on the lookout for mistakes that are cool. We must be observant enough to notice when a mistake is cool and be flexible enough to take advantage of situations that present themselves that could create a special trick or sequence.
We also have to have the ability to know when a mistake is not going to be able to be repeated right then and there, and file it away to work on later.
Ease into it
When teaching a new sequence to our dogs, one that will challenge them, we want to make sure that we ease into it. Walking out onto the field and working on a difficult sequence while our dogs are chomping at the bit to play is not going to be successful.
We need to warm them up. We need to give them a gimmee or two. Perhaps we work a sequence that is similar, or fall back on the progression that we used to teach the sequence with treats.
Success builds upon itself. The more successful we are the more apt our dogs will be to have the confidence to handle greater challenges.
Let's play a game:
what's 2x2?
what's 3x3?
4x4?
8x8?
365x458?
Do you want to play any more?
OK let's try again...
954x356?
We turn off to games that are too hard, and so do our dogs.
Ease into it. Success builds success.
Shift to simple stuff to keep things fun
When we work on difficult sequences most of our time should be spent keeping our dog's energy level and success rate high. It's simply rate of reinforcement, really. We do fun things that are easy. We get the dog engaged. We get them fired up. Then we ask them to try something a bit more challenging while they're flying high and having fun.
When we try something that we know will challenge our dogs we need to spend at least 3 or 4 times as much time building them up for the challenge.
Trick...Wait...Trick
This one probably should have been first, but if it were first nobody would read any more. We'd all be out working with our dogs.
Breaking the behavior chain down into it's component links and rewarding each one will improve the clarity of the task at hand. The criteria will be clear and our dogs will understand what's being asked. Our dogs will be successful.
Let's say we want to teach Through (handler wheels to face dog)...Flip...Spin...Leg Vault.
We ask the dog through and the handler wheels to face the dog. Give a wait command. Hold a second. Then we toss the flip and give the cue to wait. Give the spin cue then the wait cue. Hold a sec. Leg Vault. Long toss for a reward, a little praise party, then we do it again.
After several run throughs of this sequence broken up by waits, we should have a dog that totally understands what's coming. Now we can let it rip and our dog is going to know what's coming next.
This is an extremely important technical concept, not only for success but for safety. Not only for our dogs, but for us. If we do this right, our dogs totally understand what's coming and we, as handlers, have the ability to deliver well placed discs and to be well positioned.
Directional Feeding
We need to learn to hit our dog in stride with the disc, making the big leap (or the safe leap in my case with Leilani) all but inevitable.
Getting a dog to leap everytime means putting the disc in the right spot, at the right distance at the right time. That is not a terribly hard thing to do once you've figured out where and when that spot is. The problem is that most people never learn where that spot is, let alone when, and many people don't even know there's a spot.
Another thing that needs to happen with our game is that our dog must be able to drop a disc when asked. Whether it's at our feet, out there 20 yards away, or while standing on my back.
Getting a drop on the run is extremely important in building routines.
Directional Feeding is a drill that we use here at Pawsitive Vybe to teach our dogs how to drop discs on the run, away from us, and to give the handler an opportunity to learn how to compute and execute a proper lead time for the big leaping grab. Disc placement by the handler and disc management by the dog can be worked or learned at the same time.
Directional Feeding
Disc Dog Timing and Dropping Drill
The Set Up: We need 2 stacks of 5 discs, a dog and a good sized field.
The Game: The Game starts with a go round and about a 10 yard throw.
Odds are that this distance will be challenging for you and your dog. If you have a hard time making catches at this distance, then you really need to play this game.
Once your dog makes the catch and starts to turn to look at you, you're going to call the drop and wait for him to drop it.
As your dog drops, mark it yes! and reward with a throw to your dog in whatever direction he's going as he drops.
All you're going to do is to call the drop, and wait for it to happen. Then make the throw.
There are no positional requirements on the dog, zero. It is the handler's job to make a throw to his or her dog in the direction the dog is going, and to time and place that throw so that the dog catches it smoothly on the run without changing course.
When the dog makes that catch, then we repeat the process, wait as he turns and looks to you, call the drop, wait... mark it... yes! and reward with a throw in the direction the dog is moving at the time he drops.
Repeat until your 5 discs are done, praise your dog, and collect your discs.
Do it all again.
The handler focus is on perfect placement to the dog on the run.
Think about the game breaking 80 yard touchdown pass where the receiver never breaks stride. All of your throws need to be delivered with that kind of perfect placement.
Be Alert
Pay attention to the patterns your dog is giving you. How does he react when faced with the edge of the field? Turn left? Right? You can get a lot of routine building information simply by paying attention to the situations and your dogs decisions in those situations.
Dial It In
Also figure out what distance is best for your dog. Work from 7-15 yards and dial in a real nice middle distance that you can ensure that your dog leaps and leaps well on during your routine.
Troubleshooting
Leave a question in the comments and we'll add it to the troubleshooting section.
Directional Leading
- Learning to move our dog with body language
Consequent Game
- Managing problems with game intensity
Reward Placement
If the reward always happens in front of the handler, that's where the dog will be. If the reward always happens 40 yards away, that's where the dog will be. If the reward always happens on the left side, that's where the dog will be.
Dogs gravitate to where the reward happens.
Bob Bailey said something to the effect of Mark for Behavior and Reward for Position (hat tip to Julie Jenkins). It's a very effective training tool if the trainer takes advantage of it. It's also a tremendous liability if one doesn't understand it. Not many people playing disc with their dogs understand this concept.
What happens is that dog and handler begin by throwing a disc in the back yard with no rules or anything. The disc is thrown far and caught, then the dog has to come back and drop it. When we have a dog that won't bring the disc back all the way, a dog that can't catch inside of 30 yards, or a dog that doesn't like to work in close to the handler, odds are we have a reward placement problem.
If the handler uses unclear communication and/or pressure when the dog is in close, like while trying to manage a poor retrieve or handoff, and all the rewards happen 30 yards away, where is the dog going to want to be? He'll want to be 30 yards away or will be trying to move to that area. many handlers look at this as the dog taunting them. The dog wants to get back out there where it's free and safe.
The more pressure the handler puts on in this situation, the worse the problem gets - the more the dog wants to go and/or stay away.
What disc dog handlers need to do is to place high value on the area on and around the handler with yummy treats, tugging on fun toys, and biting and tugging on discs.
Most of us have a solid reward history on and around the handler with treats. It's kind of hard to deliver treats 30 yards, so that's not going to generalize very well to discs, but it's a good foundation for building value on and around the handler and should be mentioned.
Working with toys, also many of us have a pretty good reward history on and around the handler, even if only as a hold over from puppy days of tugging in the living room. But still, they're not discs and quite hard to throw 30 yards. This will generalize better, and will add value, but I doubt it will transfer that kind of behavior to discs on a large field.
There are several ways to place value on the area on and around the handler with discs.
Tight Spaces
One way to add value to the area on and around the handler is to play in tight spaces. Playing in a 10x10 yard area, or a 20x20 yard area can do wonders for changing the placement of rewards and building a reward history close to the handler. Even smaller areas can be used to confine the dog and prove to him that the area on and around the handler ROCKS!!!
I play in a 3x4 yard area quite frequently.
Tight Spaces can also improve the rate of reinforcement, further proving that being close to the handler ROCKS!
Tugging & Bitework
Tugging is a great activity to increase value right on top of the handler. This skill should be a staple of every player's training regiment. A simple dropping drill can give a hundred reps of high drive activity right on top of the handler and actually teach the dog something. Tugging is all about reward placement.
Variable Disc Placement
We have to be careful of the patterns we are running with our dogs. It's entirely possible, through reward placement only, to create a dog that will blow off a long toss or that will balk at approaching the handler.
If we keep the game interesting by hitting lots of different places and distances, then our dog will have a reason to pay attention to where we are throwing the disc, and a history of proving that going there to get it is worth it.
Toss and Fetch
Zig Zag
- Teaching our dog to plan
Round the World
- our first pattern
Basic Throwing Skills
OK, so by now you’ve probably realized that your throwing is important to success. Let’s do it.
Catch High
- OHWF & Push
Catch Low
- Side Arm & Backhand
Human Freestyle Basis for Learning
Human Freestyle, or playing creative catch with Flow, is an indespensible tool for improving throwing and presentation skills. The fast track to playing like a pro consists of a good deal of Human Freestyle.
What is Human Freestyle?
Human Freestyle is any game of catch with a human where , style and creativity are the key components of the game. When playing, the players work to smoothly and creatively make unique throw and catch combinations. Throwing on the run, varied releases, spins, accuracy, creativity; all of these abilities are enhanced through Human Freestyle.
Catch High and Catch Low
When we play catch, we can catch the disc in one of two places: high or low. These two possible hand positions on catch will dictate the release of the return throw:
- Catch Low - (below waist, thumb on top)
- Catch High - (above waist, thumb on bottom)
Keeping the grip from catch allows the player to smoothly and efficiently return the disc to his partner in a creative manner. Normal fluctuations in accuracy of even the best throwers create dynamic learning experiences for players. These dynamic learning experiences allow a player to start to create a style.
Physical Benefits
After playing human freestyle for a while, a player will notice that there are several moves that are comfortable for them. These comfortable moves will become nearly reflexive because the body has developed a smooth pattern and likes to follow that pattern if possible. The cool thing is that these smooth patterns that we all will develop as we play human freestyle are distinctly ours. A player will look cool and confident if they use these smooth patterns in their discdog game. The more the game is played the more patterns are developed, the more patterns that are developed, the more smooth, natural movements that can be simply be dropped into a routine.
Not only are these natural body movements created through this game, but they are developed and proofed on the fly. Learning is fast, effective and evolves because of all the variation that a game of catch offers.
Having a stationary target that is capable of giving feedback on throws helps with accuracy. With no superhuman canine exploits to make you look good, your accuracy and precision will improve as you gather your own feedback and receive the feedback of your partner.
Mental Benefits
There is no doubt that the physical benefits of Human Freestyle are numerous and great, but it is the mental benefit that may be of the most importance to players.
Playing catch like this, smooth and efficient, with creativity leaves not much room for the brain to think about all of the technical aspects of each release. This is a huge benefit for almost all players, as trying to perform a varied release is usually accompanied by a mental littany of technical points that only make a natural throw impossible. Placing the emphasis on smooth efficient transitions, then relying on the natural patterns that develop take the mind out of the equation. The benefits of removing the mind from learning to throw cannot be stressed enough.
Shoulders
- Dialing in Disc placement
Enhanced Throwing Skills
Taking Throwing to the next level.
Floater
- Think stopping arm, not flicking wrist
Placement Drills
- Pole, Hat on a fence, hoop, whatevers
Placement Theory
- hitting a spot in a moment in time
More Freestyle
Rounding out a beginners game.
Flipping
- Midline, strong side, access to rim, flips happen behind, variations
Flips Happen behind your dog
The green lines radiating from the disc represent 2 possible trajectories for the disc. These trajectories are good suggestions, but will require tailoring to your dog, as each dog is different, so note them, but be ready to move them around a bit to suit your dog.
If you look at this image, you can see that if the dog is to do a back flip, the head should move backwards and up into the thick part of the flipping zone. The dog's feet need to get over it's head, or close to it, and must travel towards the handler as they rise up, following the head. This will create a safe trajectory for your dog.
If your disc is placed forward of your dog's head, the dog will spring forward and the feet will never get the opportunity to get up and above the head. The head will stay up, the feet will stay down and you will get a vertical jump with a pogo stick landing which is quite dangerous.
It is possible to deliver a flip toss in the narrow part of the 'flip zone', but it will yield a 'gainer flip'. Taken from diving, the term gainer is used to describe a back flip that travels a bit forward. This skill is not meant for all dogs, and the handler must exercise care in attempting it.
Distance From the Midline
The distance from the midline will determine how aggressive a flip is. If we place the disc right over the dog's head (B), we will get a vertical flip (dog's rear end winds up over top of his head); a loop. If we place it at (C), we will get a spinning movement (rear end stays at about the same height throughout). Placing the disc at (A) will give us a nice mix between the two.
A - This is a good starting point from a disc placement perspective. The trajectory of the dog going after this target will be a mix of a vertical flip and a spinning flip. This is where most flips are placed with dogs that are new to flipping.
B - This placement will yield a very aggressive, vertical flip. It requires a very athletic dog. Because the dog is upside down, it should be very closely monitored and probably not be done by new players without supervision from a more experienced player.
C - This placement will yield a spinning flip that will spin horizontally. This is the place you will wind up if your dog is not very good at flipping, allowing your dog to be aggressive. You can start to slide this in towards A as your dog becomes better at it.
Remember
Flips happen behind our dogs. The closer to the midline the more vertical the flip.
Set Up Moves & Position
- round, through, weave - front, heel, side
Change Position
Change position is a position where the dog is in front of the handler and is looking away from us.
Teaching the change position is quite simple if we know how to set it up.
Setting Up: Round, Through and Scoot
Here is some information about getting your dog set up.
Foundational Positioning
Establishing Position is very important for several aspects of the game:
- Safety
- Practice Workflow
- Flow
Safety
Having mastery over position will enable a handler to replicate that position quickly and often, leading to the kind of consistency that is required for the dog to actually learn the skills we are teaching them. Without this kind of consistency, setting up and disc placement are hit or miss, which means that there's possible safety problems as the dog may get confused as to what is being asked of him.
Practice Workflow
Practice makes perfect, right?
Wrong.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
There are few things that are as big a turn off for a discdog team as confusion and difficulty in setting up. If the dog and handler can't hook up quickly and efficiently, practice suffers. This puts undue stress on the team as they struggle to get ready to work.
Having solid positioning will make practice far more successful and fun.
Flow
Being able to quickly and efficiently establish position is extremely important to creating a flowing routine.
It is frustrating as a handler to try to get a dog into a set position when the dog is not able to accomodate the handler on this request. The entire flow of the routine can be destroyed with faulty or inefficient positioning.
Instruction
Here are some videos of position training.
First with treats:
Apryl Lea & Ska - Heel, Front & Side
Through… Wait… Flip
- Our first Sequence
Teaching the Over
- Setting the over
The Consequent Game
The Consequent Game is a way of looking at the game of Disc as both game and learning experience. It is based on teamwork and helps to build a strong bond dog and handler and an enjoyable way to train.
Philosophy of the Consequent Game
Playing disc with a dog is a complex game: attention, outrun, tracking, chase, catch, retrieve, drop, positional awareness, all of these issues come into play on every throw, and that is just in a backyard game of catch. When we start to play freestyle with our dogs, there are literally hundreds of complex situations like these going on within our games.
This game differs from other dog sports, mainly in terms of complexity. Predictable body movements cue and trigger dogs to perform behaviors in agility, and while those predictable body movements are still important, they do not necessarily communicate the same information in a game of canine disc. The equipment is static in agility and flyball. Discs are moving and unstable. We constantly ask the dog to catch and release his target which is not only the target, it is also the reward. We ask them to switch from target to target all the time. There are many possible pitfalls. The Consequent Game isn’t the answer to all of them, but it sure is a good start and an enlightening concept.
So, how do we teach dogs to read and perform so many complex behaviors on command? How do we do accomplish this reliably when the dog is engaged in drive?
The Consequent Chain
We deal with the problems of the complex nature of K9Disc by having a standard communication system. The Consequent Chain, a 3 step process based upon Operant Conditioning is the foundation of the Consequent Game.
We will teach our dogs, through this communication method, that their behavior affects their consequence, their good behavior makes the game interesting.
The consequent Chain
Request
Because discdogging is such a team sport, it is not a good idea to think of behaviors in terms of command and obey. We request a behavior and the dog either performs it or not.
Behavior/Marker
If the dog performs the behavior that was desired, we use a positive marker and give an immediate reward, in the case of teaching behaviors, or a timely reward for learned behaviors.
If the dog does not perform the requested behavior, we mark with a No Reward Marker, and connect that to a removal of the target or some other game breaking neutral consequence.
Consequence
The consequence, as noted above, can be positive or neutral, but rarely should be negative. The only reason for a negative consequence should be dangerous behaviors, such as biting hands, invasion of personal space, or other blatant disregard for the handler’s well being.
It is important, while working in drive, to keep the consequence closely linked to the marker. The closer the two are linked the faster a request will be understood. Good consequences that are well timed often lead to 2 or 3 rep learning curves.
This consequent chain may be a different flavor, but is nothing new to experienced dog trainers, but not all discdoggers and potential discdoggers are experienced trainers, and many trainers don’t understand that the game of k9disc is no different than regular dog training. It just requires slightly modified timing, greater flexibility, and a little bit of specialized discdog knowledge. Those trainers that are not teaching through play, or using mainly positive methods need to be aware of the consequent chain to understand and apply the Consequent Game to their training.
A key component of the Consequent Chain in k9disc is the time between Behavior/Marker and Reward. When teaching, or when working a problem behavior, these two steps need to happen nearly simultaneously. By connecting these two steps, and linking them so closely, it is nearly unmistakable communication, and leads to rapid learning and consistent performance.
Applying the Consequent Game
Let’s say we want our experienced dog to drop a disc at a distance of say 15 yards so he can go after the next disc that we would like to throw at him. This is a fairly common problem for many discdog teams, you might have had it yourself. For some reason they just don’t want to drop.
So our focus is on the drop. We need to ignore everything else and focus on that one behavior: the drop.
If we are working on a drop with our dog 15 yards away from us, we request the drop, as the dog is retrieving a previously caught disc. As soon as the dog drops that disc, positively mark the behavior (yes!) and shoot out a roller, or some other throw that requires a quick reaction by the dog. This throw is your dog’s reward; the game is exciting. That’s it.
Notice that there is no pressure for compliance. Everything is up to the dog. In order for the game to continue, he simply has to honor our request. If it takes 20 seconds for the dog to drop that disc, wait 20 seconds. If he is way out of position, ignore it and reward the drop. Just make sure that you get a positive mark on that drop and that the reward comes flying at the same time.
The time between the request and behavior will decrease as you work in this manner. The more clearly you communicate, the faster it happens. It is possible to get startling results in a no more than a few tosses, even with experienced dogs with a history of this problem.
The idea here is to get the dog to believe that his honoring of our requests is what makes the game fun. The dropping of the disc on command causes the game to get exciting.
Using Predictable Behaviors
Let’s say that you have a dog that does not retrieve well, and is always dropping it a few feet in front of you. This is a frustrating problem for many trainers, as the more pressure you put on the dog to bring you the disc, the less apt he is to actually bring it. The dog learns that interaction with the handler creates stress, and learns to avoid that situation. The disc gets dropped farther and farther from the handler.
There are many things that you can do to get a retrieve, but few people use the dog’s drive and the rules of cause and effect, a consequent game, to get the disc brought to their hand.
Here is how the consequent game can help you get the disc dropped right next to the handler.
What we want to do in this situation is predict the bad behavior and get it on command. As the dog is returning, wait until you know he is going to drop the disc. Just before he is going to drop, request an out. When he honors that request, mark the behavior (yes!) give him a quick roller or his favorite trick for a reward. Do this three or four times.
What you are doing is setting up the game. Drop when I ask and the game is fun. This doesn’t take long at all, if your timing and reward are both good.
So on the fifth try, don’t give the drop command, instead, jog backwards and watch your dog bring it to you. Your dog should get much closer to you with the disc, he might even make it all the way in. If you notice that he is going to drop, predict it, request it, mark and reward the behavior, and use it to keep the game moving.
We want to succeed just about every time so we can keep the dog engaged, but if we do happen to fail, and the dog drops early, we can use this too. Just make sure the game slows down and is boring for a few seconds. Make your dog go get the disc if he can do that. Predict the drop and start again.
If he makes it all the way in, don’t take it from him, tug on it real quick and let him win. Ask for the drop and wait. Reward the drop with more tugging, and start again. This will make having the disc right next to the handler, even sharing it with him or her a good thing.
Working like this will bring the drop closer to your body, and your dog will want to bring the disc to your hand in no time.
Rewarding predictable behaviors does several things for us as a handlers and as discdog teams. Most importantly, it keeps the dog’s attention focused and keeps the game alive. The team are having fun, and are functioning as a team. You are not telling your dog what to do, you are playing together. You are getting many repetitions of a desirable behavior, and are rewarding it, making it stronger and more consistent. You are also setting your expectations at a level where you and your dog will be successful.
Rewarding with Plastic
There are several standard rewards with discs, but feel free to use what motivates your dog. I would resist mixing food treats and discs though, unless it is absolutely necessary. Save your treats for training tricks off the k9disc field.
Roller
A roller is a disc that is rolled along the ground like the wheel of a car. It bounces as it rolls, tends to trigger prey drive in most dogs. To throw a roller hold the disc in your hand like a normal backhand throw, but turn your palm up so the rim of the disc points to the ground and the sky. Flick the disc out about 5-10 feet in front of you, make sure to get it spinning well. The more spin the better and longer it will roll.
Slider
A Slider is a reward used mainly for high drive dogs. All have have to do is to slide the disc upside down on the ground at a distance of about 1-4 yards. We use it as a positioning tool to set our dogs a particular distance away from us for vaults, overs, or just whenever we need our dogs a few yards away. This helps greatly with the flow of a training session.
Tug
Tugging is a treat reward for discdogs. It does several things for us. It attaches prey drive to the biting of the disc; essentially a way of back chaining a catch. It also lends itself to back chaining a retrieve to the hand as the game often starts and stops with both dog and handler touching the disc.
Tugging allows us to get plenty of reps of biting the disc, dropping the disc, and retrieving to the hand. It is also very rewarding to most dogs. An added bonus of the tug is that it allows us to work on tricks in close proximity to our bodies. This is difficult with rollers and favorite throws.
Apply the rules of the Consequent Chain when you tug, and remember that a tug for reward should not only be a simple bite and release on the disc. Letting your dog win when tugging for reward can be a good thing, as we will discuss later.
Tugging is probably the only skill that allows our dogs to experience a reward right on top of the handler. Dogs gravitate to where the reward is, and without the tug as a reward in our toolbox, it's easy for our dogs to decide that they'd rather not hang out that close to us.
Three Rules of Tugging
The following 3 rules should be strictly followed when doing any tugging:
- Don’t touch me - Any teeth to human contact ends the game.
- I tell you when to bite - unrequested biting is dangerous.
- I tell you when to drop - refusal to drop (after behavior is learned) ends the game.
*Tugging incorrectly can damage your game. Please follow the rules.
Tugging can be used for:
- Building Drive
- Building Speed and Intensity on Retrieve
- Back Chaining a Catch
Tugging
Breaking the Game
Sometimes we will want to break a game, and bring the excitement to a halt. Maybe our dog is blowing off a command, blowing off a disc, or otherwise doing something that is unacceptable. What we want to do in this situation is to break the game. Make a clear connection to the behavior, and drastically draw down the excitement level of the game.
Passive Break
A passive break is when we wait for the dog to disengage from the game. There is no pressure. The dog decides when this boring part of the game is over and when we can start to play again. This is good for times when a normally solid behavior is not done well, and when pressure could be a problem, or when reducing excitement might help your dog succeed. Retrieving to the hand comes to mind.
Active Break
Actively breaking the game is an option as well. Asking the dog lie down or sit, and wait. This forced break of the game is good for flagrant disobedience, habitual problems, frustration, or for dogs that are extremely driven and will not disengage from a game. You can also use an active break to build drive and suspense in order to get high energy performance.
Packing It In
Completely ending the game and ‘packing it in’ can be a viable tool for completely unacceptable behavior. Unrequested biting, habitual blowing off of discs, refusal to drop; all of these come to mind.
Packing it in is, to the high drive dog, a death sentence. It is a harsh punishment, and lessons are often learned quickly. Nothing is worse to some dogs than having a game of disc cut short.
Putting it all together
Continuation of the Game
This is probably the most important reward in the Consequent Game. It is also the most complex. In essence, when your dog is honoring your request, the game is exciting, when your dog is not honoring your requests, create a lull or break in the game before you try again, or shift gears to something else entirely.
You control the excitement of the game. Create peaks and valleys within your game. Peak the excitement as a reward for good play, drop into an excitement valley for behavior that is not desireable. This simple act of manipulating the excitement level based upon performance can be very powerful.
Switch it up
Much of dog training is putting your dog into or keeping your dog out of behavioral ruts. k9disc is no different. Change things up frequently to keep the game exciting. Many dogs will grow bored with a set sequence, and you will have to work to get them to really shine within that sequence that is boring to them.
As handlers, we all need to be careful to not force repetitive failure on our dogs. Nothing will confuse a dog more than repetitive failure. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to switch things up when a behavior starts to fail. Move on to something else, and try again later. Of course you could opt to predict and reward the behavior, but the important thing is to stay away from repetitive failure.
Sometimes our dogs will lose focus on a trick, skill or behavior. Be flexible enough in your training and your game to react to this by giving the dog what it needs. If the excitement level has peaked, and the dog is too excited to perform, shift to something of a lower excitement level, and if the dog is bored, maybe a quick tug is in order for building excitement.
Vocal Communication
Many times, dogs don’t really understand that the object of the game is to catch the disc. New players with poor throwing skills teaching their dogs to catch can be a difficult and frustrating experience for both dog and handler. A simple fix for this that is nearly unmistakable communication for the dog is verbal praise and high animation for a catch, and silence for a miss. This works extremely well in teaching the dog the object of the game: catch discs!
Focus and Flexibility
Teaching through the consequent game requires that you focus on one skill at a time. If we are working on a retrieve to the hand, we are going to focus on retrieve to the hand. We will ignore pet peeve behaviors, or minor mistakes in other parts of the game in order to keep the game moving so we get the chance to make our dog believe that a retrieve to the hand is an exciting event.
Sticking to that plan is vital, but just as vital is knowing when to shift gears, and start working another plan. Poor performance and low excitement levels can be remedied by switching to something really fun for the dog, just as great performance and high energy can help lead dogs to success in things that may be more challenging for them.
The Consequent Game is the foundation of the Art of K9disc and will be referenced, discussed and built upon throughout this book.