Minnesota Disc Dog Club Forums

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to post a current video from this morning. We are making steady progress. So, here is a short video. Not the best example of what she's done lately, but were coming along.

Thanks for all the help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nQOTkooGXE

Mark

Looking good Mark.

Shorter session. More tugging. That 4 mins could have been about 5 sessions. Drive is the main issue right now. Shorter sessions, more tugging will improve the drive. Everything else will be easy once the drive is there.

keep up the good work.

jg

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Hey jg,

Working on the drive like you said and keeping it to only 30 seconds or so, I can already see the difference.

I have a two part question

1. how many sessions per day or week being really short would not be over doing it?

2. what kind of time increases in sessions and how often.

I understand each dog is different, but just anyones thoughts would help.

Thanks,

Mark

I would ideally like to play with my dogs three days a week, but usually it's once or twice, just cause I don't have time for more. My sessions are right now probably less than three minutes, just because it's so hot and the dogs start to lose steam if I do more than that. In colder weather, not usually more than 5 minutes, I think.

You're right, how often you play and how long depends on the individual dog. You just have to play around with it and feel out your own dog. And once you do increase length of play, it doesn't mean you will play for that increased time every time you go out. Some days I might only go out and do 30 seconds, because I think that's all my dog or I can handle that day. Some days I might feel like we can do more than a few mintues and my dog ends up starting to drag a little or reverting back to old behavior patterns I've been working on changing. Then I know I played to long that day and we cut back for awhile.

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Tania, Lok, Jun & Elo

Part of building drive is making the disc the funnest thing on the planet and then limiting access to it. That being said, until drive is no longer an issue I think 1 session a day is plenty, if drive wanes take a couple days off. It also doesnt hurt to skip a day here and there because of rain etc. Anticipation of an event is often times more powerful than the event itself. If the dog still has energy to burn which most of ours do, toss a ball around a bit etc but dont try and make it as fun as the disc.

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Larry
Oras blog - Trials and tribulations of a rescue dog.

Moved.

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Tania, Lok, Jun & Elo

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to see what you all thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVcpfLdySwM

Mark & Sam

Looking good Mark. If I were you, after the second throw or so, do exactly what you are doing, but right after she releases the one in her mouth for the third throw, get her to chase it and bite it while in your hands and play a short game of tug. If she likes to tug and you can continue to play while you pick up the other disc, do that. If not, make sure she wins the tug game by pulling the disc out of your hands and then get to the other one as quickly as possible to try and keep her attention and control of the game. Make sense? It looks like she's doing better though, so good job!

Roo

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FREEDOM!!! - Sir Pibble Wallace
http://www.wallacethepitbull.com
Changing minds one disc at a time!
M/32/5'8"/148

Thanks Roo,

So, keep the tugging in every session? In the open areas she seems to get distracted easier when we stop to tug and tends to drift away from me while running with the disc.

I was saving the tugging in a more confined area, is that wrong?

Is there ever a time you get to a point to discontinue tugging?

Thanks for all the help she is starting to get it now.

We tug always! The dogs love it. Keeps the drive up. It's weird that you say when you tug she loses interest. It should be the opposite. At the end of your video, you threw a long throw and it looks like she got distracted and didn't come back to you. If she knows she gets to come back to a game of tug that should provide more incentive to ignore distractions and come back to where the good stuff is. (That is, if she likes to tug.) Do you ever do shorter throws with her? If you keep her closer to you, it may be easier to hold her attention, plus it will help build your short game for freestyle.

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Tania, Lok, Jun & Elo

When a dog loses interest tugging, it's usually because either the dog doesn't get rewarded soon/often enough with a "win" to think that's what they are supposed to do, or because the person is shoving the disc in the dog's face trying to get the dog to tug....or both. If you initiate a chase by circling the disc away from her, allow her to catch it and bite it, and then let her win a short tug game, it should increase her drive. Initially maybe just have her take it without a tug, but make her chase it down in your hand. Then start with short tugs with the takes...like a half a second where the first or second pull she does gets her the disc from your hand. Build up from there.

Roo

_________________
FREEDOM!!! - Sir Pibble Wallace
http://www.wallacethepitbull.com
Changing minds one disc at a time!
M/32/5'8"/148

Sorry, I don't think I explained that correctly. When she comes back we stop to tug and I let her win....she then seems to get lost in the moment and then runs away contently with the disc is what I meant (if that makes sence). I have just this week cut out the tug on the retrieve in the park because of that.

It just seemed that on the long distance stuff the stop to tug slowed her momentum.

Tonia, great point on the end of the video. I made the mistake of heading for the truck before she brought the disc back. In her mind we were going to leave, so why not check out the dog that was behind the fence. Until that point her focus seemed to be dead on. The video did not show all of her in it, but that was the only point she lost it.

In smaller areas we work tugging a lot. Thanks to that she grasps the idea. I was curious since she was doing so well without it on the long distance stuff if was common to tone down or eliminate the tug?

Today I tried what you were talking about Roo, but waited until the end of the session and ended it with a bit of tugging. That seemed to keep her rolling.

Thanks again for all the help. Cant wait to see everyone in Naperville.