Disc'n With Dogs

[Giv'r]

He could NOT care less about the discs.

Fixed. Sorry. That's a big pet peeve of mine. If he could care less maybe he would.

 

[mashnut]

When we walk for a couple miles he calms down considerably. By the time I try to bring him back out to the course maybe I'll walk with him for a mile or two before we take on the course. Let him burn some of that energy before hole one.

Is he a dog that likes to play fetch? Find a nice open field and get a chuckit, it throws a tennis ball a lot further than you can by hand, and wear him out good before you go to the course. I used to do that when my dog was a hyper puppy, and she would be much more content to just walk along with us if she got to really run and chase the ball for a while beforehand, and that gets out the dog's energy much quicker than a walk.

 

[Mack420]

i would try to take my dogs, but they would bolt as soon as i let them out of the car. i have 2 bassets and 1 gets car sick real easy.

 

[smyith]

Is he a dog that likes to play fetch? Find a nice open field and get a chuckit, it throws a tennis ball a lot further than you can by hand, and wear him out good before you go to the course. I used to do that when my dog was a hyper puppy, and she would be much more content to just walk along with us if she got to really run and chase the ball for a while beforehand, and that gets out the dog's energy much quicker than a walk.

thats what i do when i first was training my dogs. then they graduated to play at the course b4 a round and then they get to play a lil during the round sometimes and now they just trot along with sniffing the ground. their absolute angels on the course and do not mess with anyone, except a few people who they seem to enjoy f-ing with...lol.
anyway if you slowly graduate them to new levels of play area and responsibility, they tend to respond much better. all dogs are capable of behaving off the leash. its a matter of patience with and respect for the dog.

@Mac420
when on leash do they pull or walk in front of you? If so, stop that immediately. If they do behave on the leash while at the course then start them off on a leash, after a few holes drop the leash nonchalantly. be watchful and correct them but you should see a calmer more focused response. also, playing with them like ^^above will help a tremendous amount.

 

[smyith]

I'm currently staying with family and they have a 95 pound black lab. I usually get him out for 1 to 4 mile walks daily but I've tried bringing him to the course a few times but he's hard to control.

Most parks want dogs kept on leashes plus he's not snipped so I don't want him to get into it with another male or female dog near by. I don't think he would ever attack anyone or dog but I don't trust other dogs.

My question: Does anyone have any tips on how to manage such a large dog on the course? Holding his leash is not conducive to my technique. I tried staking him down every throw but it's a Pain in the Arse! If he is loose he will destroy any disc I throw because he loves retrieving and @ 95 lbs even a light bite will penitrate the plastic... Is it possible or do I just keep him off the course?

does he respect you? if he doesn't youre never going to get what you want. a good strategy is to take him along on a round with friends but you dont play, you just correct him and how to behave. do that several times and he'll get the idea and learn to respect you.

 

[Viper124]

When I go out for a round with my friend, he always brings his lab. He trained the dog to sit while he's taking his shots. When I bring my dachshund with me, he's more interested in smelling things. Really, if you're willing to work with the dog and train it, you might have yourself a nice little disc caddy.

 

[Lewis]

My last dog was like what gwb describes below: a natural who never needed any training at all. Dogs like this are a rare gem that most people never have the joy of owning or even meeting. If your dog isn't one of those rare gems who was born with naturally perfect manners, it just takes some effort. My current dog is a black lab mix, probably with greyhound according to everyone including her vet. She has never shown any interest in discs, but when she gets the scent of a rabbit in her nose (and they are abundant on my favorite course), it's all I can do to get her attention back. The rabbit and chipmunk chasing has yet to get her lost, but it's a major pain when I have to stop on every fairway and green to redirect her attention to me instead of the hunt. For this reason I have given up letting her off leash on the disc golf course. My solution to managing her on leash, at least so far, has been to use a prong collar to correct the pulling and a retractable leash to make it easier to throw when I don't have a friend to help hold the leash. I do still drop the leash from time to time to let her jump in the creek and sniff around a bit, and she's gradually getting better at responding to my "come" command, even when she's interested in something else. Still it helps to have the leash dangling there as an "anchor" and something that's easier to catch than her neck when she's into a briar patch. The long and the short of it is it takes time and effort to train the behaviors you want, and different dogs have different motivations to different degrees. If you don't have the time and patience to do what it takes, save the other players the frustration of having to cope with your dog's annoying behavior.

I have a 4 year old schipperkee, and every time I put on my disc shoes he gets excited and barks at me wanting to go. I am always amazed at how good he is when I take him to play. When I tee off he always stands behind me, and never chases after the disc. He could care less about the discs. He follows me to my lie and waits for me to throw, and then follows me again. Occasionally he will catch wind of some scent and go off to investigate, and I just keep going and do not even pay attention. When he hears the chains he comes running and waits once again at the back of the tee box. When playing with other people sometimes he can not make up his mind on who he is going to follow, but who ever it is he still stays behind them, and never gets in the way. When playing in a group I just tell people that if he follows them, as long as they stay still when others in the group are throwing, he will be still too. Everybody he has played with thinks that he is the best disc dog ever. Never has anyone ever complained or really had reason to. He is not on a leash, and never has been. I did not ever spend any time training him, he is just a natural. I have played with bad dogs before, and I think that the owners should not bring them, because they make other peoples games suffer. If mine did that he would never go back. he is very smart, so maybe he knows that!

 

[hedfan1]

As of late, he is listening to every command I send his way. If I say sit, he sits, if I say down he lays down, if I say come he comes back. The only cammand he still faults on is stay. It's hard to get him to stay put for more than 5 seconds but I see improvment over the past month. I still have not brought him to the course, we;re still a long ways from course behavior but I definately feel he respects me and my commands.

I might invest in a ball tosser because that sounds helpful in wearing him down.

I like the idea of bringing him with while my friends shoot, while I work with him on how to behave in that situation.

He is all about marking his territory so he is always sniffing everything. He likes to find small dead animals and/or ant hills and pee on them.

I am not going to invest in a shock collar, I'm not big on shocking animals. I tried one on once and it is FAR from a little reminder. It hurts like a SOB!

If I can work it well enough it would be sick to make a little dog back pack that would hold my discs and stuff. I think it would be awesome to have and actual dog caddy.

 

[lhwkerino]

I believe in shock collers. The one i have has 8 different settings and I have felt them all and its not too bad. Used correctly they are awsome. I dont even shock him I just hit the beeper and it beeps and my dog comes.

 

[jtencer]

What would be great would be if he would chase your disc but then just point rather than retrieving. I could go for that.