anrew18
Par Member
My advice to you would be to take him/her with you as often as you can in order to get them acclimated to the situation and teach them boundaries.
My dog showed up at my house when he was about 8 weeks old, about a month or two after I first started playing DG. I took him with me every time I played, which was almost always a solo, casual round. I kept him on a leash, tethered to my bag. In order to get him used to staying put and not wandering off (and dragging my bag behind him), I used a pinch collar. Eventually I progressed to using a retractable leash in order to give him a little extra room to roam. After a few months of watching me throw, he didn't have much interest in chasing after discs. All the while, I worked with him at home to teach him how to fetch, bring, and give using tennis balls and other toys. Later on, I got him his own frisbee to chase after. He was good at understanding the difference between mine and his, and very rarely showed any desire to go after mine. So I started carrying his dog disc in my bag when I played a round. At the END of the round, I would get it out and throw rollers (he had a hard time following air shots) for him to chase after and work off a lot of his excess energy. I feel like if I were to have him fetch before the round, he might have a hard time turning that off -- at least early on. At the time, I had the luxury of going out almost every day during the summer to play. He seemed to look forward to it as much as I did. But it just takes time and patience (and treats).
8 years later, he knows when he's allowed to chase after a disc. He's got his own (usually a Bite or a Superhero) that I still carry in my bag, and occasionally we'll team up for roller practice. (It's amazing how quickly he can cover 300-400 feet!) Being a terrier mix, he was probably was a little rougher on plastic as a pup than what your lab might be. Eventually he calmed down and now he rarely bites down hard enough to leave a mark on any of my golf discs. Somewhere along the way he learned how to track his disc through the air, chase it down, and catch it. But it's not something we spent a lot of time on.
Depending on the situation, I still take him with me nearly every time I play. Sometimes during a casual round, I'll give him some free range time if possible, assuming there aren't any opportunities for him to get in trouble. But that's just about developing trust, knowing that he'll behave and listen. During a competitive round or when the course/park is busy, he stays hooked to my bag and we make a point to stay behind or at the back of the rest of the group. So far, I've never had any complaints about him during or after a round. Almost everyone we've played with has been very complementary and made a point to say how well behaved he is and how still he sits while everyone throws.
This is super encouraging. Thanks for the full story. it's really great to see that perspective. I hope my pup will having time and really learn what to do. One thing I'm learning from my research in training dogs is I pretty much need to invest all my money in TREATS lol.
