Golden Retriever (the dog)

[bfowler]

I'm getting a disc golf dog.

My wife and I had been looking to get a 2nd dog for a while and it came down to a Pitbull or a golden. I talked her into the Golden. I wanted something highly trainable. Something that would like the outdoors, hiking, and going with me to play disc golf.

We went this past weekend and picked a boy out of the liter. He's an English Creme Golden. 6 weeks old. We can't bring him home for a few more weeks.

I can't be the only one to have/want a furry disc golf buddy. What other doggy companions does everyone have and how are they on the course? Anyone taught theirs to mark discs?

My wife even suggested we name him Hyzer. It's on the short list along with Bailey and River.

 

[bobmcnelly]

A guy I play with has a Golden. It has done some amazing things. I've seen it pull discs out of crazy thicknesses without even seeing the disc fly. And I have also been looking for a disc for a while and I saw the dog wander hundreds of feet away and pull the disc we were looking for out of a bush. Simply amazing, wish I had him with us all the time!

 

[Cadmanic]

I have a female Jack Russell (Kenna Lou) and her son, a half jack, half beagle (Big Guy). Both are frisbee dogs, they love to play catch. Kenna is older now, and doesn't like hard discs (bad teeth), so we use Flippy Floppers soft discs (now sold at Menard's as the Hyper Dog brand) for catch. Had no problem keeping her from grabbing my golf discs, but the pup was a different story... he chewed up a few before I could get him under control...He does still chase them (which does help mark them), but he won't pick them up anymore.

I take both out to courses that allow pets, but only one at a time. I know the one left behind gets jealous as all get-out, but I just can't handle both of them on the course at once. Kenna walks the entire course with one of her soft discs in mouth; I keep another in my bag for between-stroke walks and make her drop hers before each toss. As long as she knows I have another disc of hers in my bag, she would'nt run off if a roving band of Jimmie Dean sausage links sauntered by... Biggie is another story... the Beagle half of him has a very active nose and he's very easily distracted by new things or other furry animals. There will be whole rounds he'll stick by my side, or days when I have to keep an eye on him constantly or even break out the leash to keep him in check. I do see real potential in him though, and my hope is by this time next year he'll be my well-trained caddy.

 

[bfowler]

I have a female Jack Russell (Kenna Lou) and her son, a half jack, half beagle (Big Guy).

What are the odds. The dog we presently have is a mix of Jack Russell and Beagle. He loves fetch to and I've gotten him trained to the point here at home where I think I can control him on the course. I'm actually planning to take him out on his first disc trip tomorrow.

He listens pretty good unless he tracking something and then he goes deaf.

 

[goody]

My retrievers

These are my disc retrievers, Dutch and Daisy. They've recovered quite a few discs in the last four years.

 

[ACE Ventura]

I need to get myself a dog... oooo I will train it sooo good to be my disc golfing buddy! Since I've heard on this site about the guy who has a dog who will retrieve out of the basket as well as make and retrieve gimme-putts... It's got me all antsy in the pantsy over having a dog like that.

 

[ACE Ventura]

These are my disc retrievers, Dutch and Daisy. They've recovered quite a few discs in the last four years.

Cute pups!

 

[discmeister]

Disc Dog

I have a chocolate Lab that loves to retrieve discs. He is awesome for driving practice. He flies after that drive and brings it right back. They are high energy dogs and need someone who is willing to run them on a daily basis.

 

[brian j]

i have a cattle dog/border collie mix named bogey that plays a lot of disc golf with me. he's a year old and needs some work but he's starting to be good after he wears himself out.

 

[Matthew boals]

Whatever you do please get the dog from any place but breeder. Plenty of dogs in humane societies, sadly. Much cheaper too!

 

[Shuie]

I've got me a super awesome Chocolate Lab(Cooper). He plays every course with me and he is the best, he's grabbed many discs outta water, tall grass and shrubs.(Some of which were left by other players) Took some time to get him trained but rewards seemed to work the the best.(positive reinforcement)

 

[mjoyce]

Whatever you do please get the dog from any place but breeder. Plenty of dogs in humane societies, sadly. Much cheaper too!

:clap::thmbup:

And the rescue orgs have puppies available for adpotion pretty frequently if you feel that you must get a puppy and train it. But old dogs can learn new tricks!

 

[Cadmanic]

Whatever you do please get the dog from any place but breeder. Plenty of dogs in humane societies, sadly. Much cheaper too!

100% agreed there. The best dog is a shelter/rescued dog. They seem to know that they've been helped, and return the favor exponentially. If you've ever seen a true puppy mill, you'd have to be soulless to buy from one.

 

[gradus]

My 9yr old choc lab, Reese, gets most of her exercise on the disc golf course. ....all lab, no retriever, but she's good company.

 

[Darkgreen]

Whatever you do please get the dog from any place but breeder. Plenty of dogs in humane societies, sadly. Much cheaper too!

Yes, this. There are plenty of good dogs at shelters. You can even often find puppies there.

To the OP, just know that if you get a golden retriever or a lab (of which there are plenty of lab and lab mixes at shelters) or some other retriever, that they have a retrieving instinct. Poochie might not understand that you want that 350 ft park job to stay right where you threw it until you get to it.

If you can train them to do so, they are great for helping find lost discs. My golden is also great at getting floating discs off of ponds.

Someone else said it here, but I will say it as well: make sure your dog gets enough exercise. They need it regularly. There are too many fat and sad dogs out there.

 

[stealthfalcon84]

I have a 2 year old chocolate lab that will find pretty much any disc lost in the bushes you can imagine. My cousin once lost his disc in some really long grass/brush and we looked for an hour but couldn't find it. Went home and grabbed Freya and within a few minutes of me saying, "Find the bird!" (she's also my hunting companion) she emerged from the undergrowth with my cousin's disc.

She's awesome for driving practice and loves to bring my discs back to me. She has no quit, so on hot days I really have to limit her to avoid heat exhaustion. Another added bonus is that she has a very soft mouth and does not dent up or rip apart DX discs, though I generally throw Z/Champ/Star types of plastic.

As the poster above me stated, if your dog has a strong retrieval instinct, you should definitely practice making them sit and stay when you throw an object and only break when you give the command. With a lot of positive reinforcement (especially with treats) most dogs will pick up the concept right away. The dogs that I've had really enjoy training sessions--not only do they get to spend time with you, they get rewards for making you happy. And let's face it, most dogs only want to make you happy.

 

[Nasty Nate]

i have a cattle dog/border collie mix named bogey that plays a lot of disc golf with me. he's a year old and needs some work but he's starting to be good after he wears himself out.

Nice! I would love to see a picture of your doggy. Our discing dog is my brother's cattle dog named Vida. She is awesome and will chase discs all day. She has found many discs for us that would have otherwise been lost. Pup has an amazing ability to find our discs. She is also great for field practice because she will always retrieve our discs. The only thing is that she often picks up my discs during rounds! She never seems to bother my brother's throws too much but she always wants to pick up my disc after a good throw!



Here is Vida catching my Star San Marino Roc. I got her a Gumbputt for Christmas so she would have a soft golf disc to catch. She isn't interested dog frisbees very much

 

[bfowler]

Awesome responses. I generally agree with everyone but I did get the Golden from a breeder but this isn't a puppy mill or something from a store window. I checked out breeder. Got references, looked at the kennels, was able to see both the mom and dad and even got a vet reference and chatted with the vet about the breeders.

Everything checked out and I was very impressed with them. We spent over an hour with 5 six week old pups and picked out the one we liked the best. We go back in 2 to 4 weeks after the puppies are weened and ready to go home.

I did try going through a local golden rescue but they actually had a waiting list. Our present dog, Sherman, we did get from the local rescue and we've fostered tons of dogs. My wife is a big animal loving. She was going to bring home an abandoned dog that was getting ready to give birth any day. Not something I was crazy about but couldn't say no. Luckily there are a lot of animals lovers and someone better equipped was able to take them.

We've had so many dogs over the years I don't know what it would be like to not have to step over a baby gate to get into my kitchen.