Teaching young Fido to high jump
By Brian Pearson
Senior Staff Writer
Instead of having young
Fido, Spot, Lassie and Rover run
down and fetch the traditional
wooden sticks and rubber balls,
teach them to catch and re
trieve firing discs.
The stick-and-ball routine
can seem boring after watching
a dog race 50 yards, leap nine
feet off the ground, twist his
body in midair, chomp down
on a descending disc, return to
the ground and calmly trot
Kennv Sanders, an A&M graduate student in the Depart
ment of Recreation and Parks, tosses a disc to his dog
Tosh. Sanders says he named the two-year-old dog after
Peter Tosh, a reggae musician.
back to the thrower for another
turn.
So teach your dog to do it.
Simple? It can be, but only if
vou use good teaching methods
and the dog is interested in a
modern, plate-like, polyethyl
ene version of a stick.
Although all puppies will not
become the energetic, four
legged pogo stick described ear
lier, almost any breed of dog is
a potential disc catcher.
Scott Gunn, a Texas A&>M
graduate zoology student who
has taught dogs to catch discs,
says Labradors, Golden Retriev
ers and Whippets make the best
disc dogs.
“But any breed that has a his
tory of speed, high jumping and
an ability to retrieve will make
a good disc dog,” Gunn says.
He says that after a
dog is chosen, three important
things owners need for the tea
ching process are time, pa
tience and a light (141 gram
maximum), expendable disc.
It’s inevitable that a few discs
will be chewed to a slimy, plas
tic, hole-riddled pulp, but it’s a
small price for man’s best
friend.
Dogs of all ages can learn to
catch discs, but it’s best to
teach them while they’re pup
pies, Gunn says.
“Once a dog gets past two
vears old, it’s hard to make him
a good Frisbee dog,” Gunn says.
“He can be adequate, but he’s
not going to be one that’s going
to be competitive.”
TPhe primary learning
goal, Gunn says, is getting the
puppy or adult dog interested
in discs.
Gunn says puppies should be
introduced to their first disc
soon after they stop nursing. In
stead of using aluminum pie
pans or feed and water bowls
designed for dogs, use discs.
This way the dog has the
chance to associate discs with
one of his favorite activities —
eating.
When the puppies are into
their running, chewing and 25-
hours-a-day playing phase, a
disc should be their only toy,
Gunn says. Initial play should
involve slowly rolling the disc
along the ground and letting
the puppy chase after it.
this stage, the puppy
gets the sensations of chasing,
chewing and pawing a disc.
Don’t let the puppy chew a disc
for too long. If you let him do
more chewing than chasing, he
might consider discs as chew
toys for the rest of his life. Every
disc within the dog’s reach, in
cluding your favorite one, may
be shredded to unflyable splint
ers.
Gunn says praise is impor
tant. After every second or third
roll, give the dog positive re
inforcement such as saying,
“Oh, Fido’s such a good boy!,”
patting his head or giving him a
chocolate cookie. Don’t praise
him every time because he’ll ex
pect a reward every time he
chases the disc.
Also, Gunn says, it’s impor
tant to give the dog his own disc
so he doesn’t chew up others’.
The dog will know his own disc
and might refuse to play with
anv other. Dogs usually will
adopt another disc if their fa
vorite is lost, mutilated, thrown
awav or whatever.
.After a dog seems ac
quainted with chasing, chew
ing and pawing a disc, then
teach him to jump for it, Gunn
says. Hold the disc above his
head and let him hop for it. Let
him have the disc about every
second or third good hop.
Praise him for his efforts.
Gunn says it’s sometimes
good to play disc tug of war
with the dog. Don’t play too
much or the dog may think the
purpose of a playing disc is to
take it and keep it away from
you. This can lead to frustration
if he’s got your favorite disc and
has plenty of running room.
After the dog is jump
ing higher, then it’s time to
teach him to run and catch it,
Gunn says. The transition from
jumping in place to running,
leaping and catching is diffi
cult, but if the dog has come
this far, he usually is ready for
it.
Gunn says correct training
procedures should produce a
“pretty good Frisbee catcher”
within nine months after the
training begins.