PartnersPal Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 I have a 4 month old BC that I am working with to play frisbee with. I am a member of club where I live and we do distance and accuracy and frisbee tricks with our dogs. Annie is really getting the hang of going after a frisbee. I am keeping her to rollers (on the ground) for now until her bones and joints fully develop and in the mean time will be teaching her obedience and frisbee basics like right, left, around and go away. My current problem is that while she retrieves fine, she will only bring the frisbee back to within 3 to 5 feet of me and there she drops it and usually sits or lays down. She is still ready to chase anything I throw and wants to play but I can't get her to consistently bring it close to me. She does this on the first throw so I know that she is not just tired. I have tried using a long line on her to force a close retrieve, but she just drops the frisbee and comes to me. I also am having trouble getting her to take the frisbee from me, she seems only to want me to throw it so she can chase it. Anyone have any suggestions on how to correct this? Any Frisbee player out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKM's Mom Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Teach her a clicker retrieve using the frisbee. It works, and she's at the perfect age to learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 During a break at a flyball tourney a few months ago, I was watching a frisbee competitor work with her new puppy. She would do a roller in one direction and while the dog was coming back with it, turn and do another roller in another direction. The pup would chase those rollers and bring them back to her until she ran out of discs. So try keeping the game going to see if it works for your pup too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartnersPal Posted June 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Thanks for the input. How does the clicker retrieve work exactly? I have never used a clicker for training, though I am slightly familiar with the idea. My problem is in getting her to bring it to me. If I can get her to do that then I believe that through praise I can positively reinforce the action to the extent she will repeat it. She really wants to play and please me but I don't think she understands that a retrieve means bringing it all the way back. She stops when she gets close but not quite there. I'll try the multiple rollers this evening and see how they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKM's Mom Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 www.shirleychong.com This is The Well Mannered Dog web site. Shirley has several training articles on the site and if you look at the hyperlinks on the left of the homepage you will see one for the clicker retrieve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanna in OR Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 When our bc, Tenaya, was about 7 months old, I had back surgery and couldn't bend down to pick up anything for a bit. She lives to play fetch, so I had to let her know that the ball or frisbee (a soft one, in the house) wouldn't get thrown again unless she sat in front of me so I could get to it. Her command for this is "up here!", while patting my leg. She got this really well because there wasn't any alternative for her to get what she wanted, which is another throw as soon as she presented me with the toy. My husband has been grateful for her learning this at a young age, since she is turning into a Frisbee dog (he is an Ultimate frisbee player and loves to throw for Tenaya). He won't throw again for her unless she sits nicely in front of him and presents the disc in her mouth for him to take. Our young Collie, Willow (almost a year), isn't quite such a fetch-hound, so it's been a little harder to teach her this. She still isn't reliable at handing it back, but when we are playiing fetch, I basically "throw a party", jumping up and down, yelling happy noises, waving my arms around, so that she WANTS to come running all the way back to me with her fetch toy, because I am the most fun thing around! If she comes close and lets me grab the ball or kong from her mouth, I immediately throw it again for her, then repeat the "party". Sometimes I throw in a happy butt-rub for good measure. If she drops it away from me or doesn't come close, I turn and ignore her, and usually she'll get the toy and bring it to me. If not, play time is over for now. It's partly "bring it to me" training and also part of the way we work on her recall. Deanna in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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