Frisbee anyone?

Plum's mum

Plum's mum

Location
East Sussex
I've just started playing frisbee with Plum.

When we went to Paws in the Park in May we had a little taster session. Plum loves everything where she can catch, jump, run, retrieve, so frisbee seemed a good bet.

Well, I did nothing after the taster session until this week and I forgot everything I was told so found a Zac George vid on YouTube for guidance.

This morning it feels like it's coming together after some bumbling attempts over the week. Initially Plum was trying to catch with mouth and paws combined (it looks very sweet with her bringing her front paws up to her mouth) but now she's mainly using her mouth.

And she's finally getting the idea of running onto the frisbee rather than standing and waiting. That feels amazing.

I am also learning to throw better (bungling throws by me don't help her).

I guess I have to be mindful of jolts and jumps on her joints so it can't be an every day occurrence. But it's great to have this connection with her, working together to learn something new.

I now feel I can start looking for a proper dog disc and stop using the cheap old thing I bought on a whim (any excuse for a dog shop eh?)

Does anyone else play?
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
I took our Kong frisbee to the beach the other day to play in the water, but it held less charms for Kipper than a tennis ball as it goes dead very quickly rather than rolling about. But never realised there was a proper way of playing it!
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

I don't know much about this, so this is just my gut feeling, but I'd be very cautious about frisbee training for dogs. I don't like the way they jump, twist, and land, time and again. Of course, I am now very, very careful about joints and the spine (due to Merlin's health issues), so I may just be being over-cautious. At the very least, I'd make sure you get proper training. Sorry to be a kill joy, and I'm happy to hear counter-arguments!!!
 
Charlie

Charlie

Location
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
I have to say I'm not keen on frisbees either, all the sudden braking, the pressure on joints. To me there doesn't seem to be any control as the dog becomes so excited by it, a bit like ball chuckers so all the hard running in worries me. Sorry another kill joy here :rolleyes: x
 
edzbird

edzbird

Location
Isle of Man
I don't do frisbees - I can't throw them! I DO do ball chuckers though, but limit a session to 10 chucks. Coco loves to chase a ball down, and if we're in a bouncy field he loves to jump up and catch the ball in the air.
 
SteffiS

SteffiS

Location
Norfolk
I very occasionally play frisbee with Ripple but I try to keep it low to discourage jumping; but mostly he loses interest pretty quickly and goes In search of something disgusting to eat.
 
Ashley

Ashley

We do play Frisbee once and awhile in the summer months. Similar to Plum, Quinn picked up how to catch at a dog festival along with border collies. She just started copying them (though she doesn't get all 4 legs off the ground). We mainly use it to retrieve in water, as it's slightly lower value than her ball so she's less nuts and she swallows less water. I also do a lot of sit and waiting, walk away from her and throw it to her so it's more like a game of catch, and not as much jumping. And she also gets in more catches that way, so she struts around proudly (she misses a lot of the air throws still).

We have a heavy duty dog Frisbee Zisc Flying Disc | West Paw, Inc. that has withstood tugging dogs and chewing. I can throw it quite well (most of the time). A light, glider type is easier for Quinn to catch mid air, but none have lasted more than a few weeks!
 
M

MaccieD

I have a kong frisbee, made from soft rubber, which we haven't used since early 2015. Even when we did play with it Juno was never allowed to catch it in mid air, and certainly not jump for it. We always threw it and as it landed allowed Juno to run out and retrieve it. It usually ended up in the vegetable patch or dangling from a branch of one the fruit trees.
I don't like the impact of the frisbee on a dog's mouth/teeth and have seen nasty crashes as dogs jump to catch the frisbee. Even without Juno's ED we wouldn't play frisbee as intended.
 
UncleBob

UncleBob

Administrator
Staff member
We don't play with a frisbee but we do sometimes play with a puller ring (or two). Harv likes chasing these but they are also great for some Tug / Leave it play while out on an off-lead walk.

If you aren't familiar with them, Nando Brown talks about them here :
 
Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
Thanks for sharing that @UncleBob. I've always struggled a bit with tug type games, although Cassie and I are getting better. But the concept of letting her win is what I've found difficult, but Nando explains that well. And of course it is always good to see Nando :)
 
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