Frisbee Catching Dogs

This is the first time I trained a dog to catch a Frisbee. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but it does take some patience and a lot of dog treats. Here is Cooper after about a year of training.



Anyway, we have a little more work to do...

a reply to: ZetaRediculian

I had a beaglador (beagle/lab mix) who loved for me to throw things for her. She'd run after them and stand next to where they fell, waiting for me to run to her, pick up the item and throw it again. When people saw this and asked why she didn't bring the items back to me, I explained that she was only half retriever: the chasing half not the bringing back half. She had me well-trained.

a reply to: Tangerine

Getting him to return the Frisbee was probably the hardest part. First I had to get him to drop it and then drop it where I was. Catching was no problem. At first, I had 2 Frisbees. He would just stand there and I would throw and then he would drop when the next one was ready. Then I worked out that he would get a treat on top of the Frisbee. Then all we did was return. I would roll it or throw it. it didn't matter, if he wanted a treat, he had to return it. Getting him to do it once was a challenge. I had to literally put it in his mouth over and over and get him to go back to where we threw it so he could get his treat. once they do the target behavior, its easy. Now I can just say "go get it" and he will find the Frisbee and bring it to me. He will return about 4 or 5 times without a treat but once he sees there is no treats, he runs away with it.

originally posted by: ZetaRediculian
a reply to: Tangerine

Getting him to return the Frisbee was probably the hardest part. First I had to get him to drop it and then drop it where I was. Catching was no problem. At first, I had 2 Frisbees. He would just stand there and I would throw and then he would drop when the next one was ready. Then I worked out that he would get a treat on top of the Frisbee. Then all we did was return. I would roll it or throw it. it didn't matter, if he wanted a treat, he had to return it. Getting him to do it once was a challenge. I had to literally put it in his mouth over and over and get him to go back to where we threw it so he could get his treat. once they do the target behavior, its easy. Now I can just say "go get it" and he will find the Frisbee and bring it to me. He will return about 4 or 5 times without a treat but once he sees there is no treats, he runs away with it.

LOL. He's training you to reward him.

a reply to: Tangerine

LOL. He's training you to reward him.

it goes both ways. sure.

a reply to: ZetaRediculian

Great job! Cooper looks like he enjoys it. I'm lucky Jaia (avatar) did it automatically. Returned it, too! B'asia just carries hers around. LOL!

Video: s116.photobucket.com...

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Great job! Cooper looks like he enjoys it. I'm lucky Jaia (avatar) did it automatically.

Thanks. Yeah, he loves it. He definitely has some attention issues and sometimes he would rather do something else. In the beginning I probably burned him out and he would loose interest fast. Now I switch it up before he looses interest. Sometimes he will just grab the tennis ball. He's allowed to make choices!

Nice looking dogs. Sheppards?

a reply to: ZetaRediculian

Yes, they're "long haired" German Shepherds.