Playing Frisbee with your dog is one of the best ways to bond with him and provide him with exercise. But I hear so often, “my dog won’t play Frisbee.” If your dog catches a ball, he will play with a Frisbee.
The first thing I would strongly suggest is to make sure your dog is in good physical shape. Puppies need to be at least 18 months old before forcing jumps so that their joints can go grow. A visit to the vet will let you know if your dog is ready for the physical demands of Frisbee. Getting a dog interested in Frisbee varies from dog to dog. If your dog already plays catch with a ball, toy, or stick, you can take that same behavior and transfer to a Frisbee.
Playing Frisbee should be fun. I personally keep the discs where Dakota knows, but she can’t play with them. The only time a disc is out is when we are playing Frisbee together. She doesn’t get to play with it like a toy that I leave out. That way, when a disc comes out, this is something that is just for us and for that special time. Some dogs will naturally catch a Frisbee and be a whiz at it, but most don’t know that they can catch a disc. This is something that usually takes baby steps.
When we first started learning, I would get a disc and be really excited around Dakota. She would take my cue and always think that Frisbee was something that was going to be a lot of fun. I usually tried to make this a special time with just Dakota and I, no other distractions, no other dogs, no children around. I’d sit on the ground and hold the disc, sliding it back and forth, stirring up interest. Any behavior of going for the disc would be praised. Eventually, I let her take it out of my hand and praise her when she did so. This accomplishes several things: dogs learns the feel of the disc in their mouths, they know it’s okay to hold the disc in their mouth and they begin to learn that this is a fun game.
Jan Masters’ Dakota (courtesy of Good Dog Sports)
The next step is teaching your dog to “take” the disc and then to “give” it back. At first, I wanted Dakota to learn she could take the disc without it being in my hand. This is all in the timing. You want to make your command “take” the disc, to get the dog in the right position, and then let go of it right when he is moving to make contact with the disc in the air. You can then begin increased distances and tosses of the disc. Remember not to throw the disc directly into your dog’s face. That hurts!
When I progressed to throwing longer distances, it got to the point where my throwing and Dakota running were not in sync anymore. I then taught her to go around me. I am right handed, so I would get her to go around me from the right (counterclockwise) and tell her to “go around.” When she got to my left, depending on how far I could throw and how fast she could run, I would release the disc. Initially, the disc was being released in front of the dog so he will see it in the air, and run to catch it. There may come a time when the disc is going to travel faster than your dog. If this happens, your dog has learned that the disc is going to be coming through the air. Send your dog down-field and then throw the disc over their heads. As it comes over the head, he will see it in his peripheral vision and will alter his direction and speed to be able to catch it.
There are some dogs that won’t bring the disc back to you. One of the best ways to work around this is to use two discs. Hold the second disc in your hand, wave it, get your dog’s attention, do anything you can do to get the dog to come back to you with the first disc. Don’t release the second disc until the first one is back within a reasonable distance to you. Eventually you will be able to stop using the second disc as an enticement.
When playing Frisbee, don’t worry if you can’t throw the disc well. If your dog can see the disc, he will probably be able to catch it. So what if it is wobbling through the air or it goes way to the right or to the left? Your dog is probably going to chase after the disc and make the best effort to catch it. And if he misses, he’s going to scoop it up anyway and bring it back to you, just so you can throw it again!!! There are numerous videos on YouTube that show how to throw discs to your dog. Frisbee club websites have discussions and also offer videos to watch. Take advantage of these tools and have fun with that Frisbee and your dog!