That’s when we discovered Hero Discs.  I’ve noticed over the past year, lots of people have switched over to Hero from Fastback – and there are so many varieties.  I’m the one who handles all of the disc ordering in the house, so I know them all by name and weight and function.

We switched Lilli to Super Hero discs exclusively after trying all of the “Super” style discs (Super = hard bite/durable) – and pretty much everyone we talk to – all the old cats – think it’s ridiculous that we use such a heavy, soft disc for freestyle.   We did come from an Ultimate background after all, so although Super Heros are the heaviest disc, they are still quite a bit lighter and smaller than the 175′s we’re used to tossing.

When we got Moxie -Tracy had tested her on Fastbacks, so I tried those out first.  She had a really solid 85% catch percentage right out of the shelter.  I didn’t want to mess with it, so I stuck with light discs.  Fastbacks had the same effect though and Moxie’s typical ACD jaws of death literally tore through each disc in one session.  I heard about the new Hero 235′s, so I got a set of those reading that they fly like a Fastback, but they are more durable.  That is accurate – they don’t tear like Fastbacks do, but they still get really punctured and edgy after a few sessions – albeit lasting much longer than it’s predecessor.

Moxie and I have been practicing for our freestyle routine for the upcoming USDDN Fun in the Sun Qualifier this weekend and her catch percentage the past 2 weeks or so has tanked.  The conditions have been windier and her inexperience has made it hard for her to read discs and again, being a cattle dog, she tends to pre-jump in anticipation.  After 5 or so rough routines in a row, and most of the misses coming on her usually-rock-solid 20 yard toss and catch, we did a run-through with Jason’s Super Heros.  It was also the first practice without 20 mph wind gusts too so go figure.

The result was much improved.  She had a much higher catch percentage than with the 235′s and BOY does she LOVE to tug those rubbery discs!!!  I can hang on fine if I keep her front feet off the ground, but if she gets full tug leverage with those discs – wow she’ll take my fingers off with her head whip!  So I’ve decided this weekend for the event, I’ll run her with Super Heros and see how that works.  I’ll likely catch all the same “heavy disc” flack from the veterans…

Next up – a post about all the different disc types, styles, weights, etc that we’ve tried over the past 3 years.

Leilani is still a bit of a puzzle for us.  She is by far the best bed snuggler in dogville.  Her love for Lilli and enthusiasm for the game of “chase me” is unparalleled.  She is a patient and steady shaping dog and has the best retrieve in the house, dropping the object confidently in your hands every time.   It is sad for us though that she seems to lack a work ethic, her drive is stuck in neutral m0st times.  Up next for LeiLa is agility training to see if that is something she might love.  Otherwise we will just teach her a ton of cool tricks.

The Kai bear has fully settled in.  She is very well behaved, soft, gentle and beautiful.  In a few months she has already progressed further than we imagined.  She doesn’t have the intensity of the Lilli or Moxie which makes for a very smooth style.  The other two are killers and Kai is just a chaser. She went from no disc drive or interest to being a disc maniac.  She loves to play and bounces to show her excitement and enthusiasm.  She looks great in the air, all four paws straight out, landing well, and sprinting for the next toss.  Kai is a missile sometimes, charging paws first to the more vulnerable areas of our guests.  She is working on butterfly tosses now.  She will be a great reverse dog if I can figure out how to train it. Ron? Apryl? Tracy? Abby?

Lilli is awesome. I mean I love that dog more every day especially since we worked out our drop issues (Lilli prefers to keep what she kills).  We have some cool new moves with Lilli, the foot vault and the bender.  She is so intense with everything she does.  Her butterfly catches have been less consistent lately, not sure why that is. And her flip (landing) doesn’t seem very healthy so I am phasing it out of my work with her.  Lilli loves to learn new stuff.   Writing a routine to do with her is very fun, since she knows so many tricks and learns new stuff so quickly. She learned the knee scoot in one session.   She is not dynamic in the air, but she is the hardest working dog I know.  She keeps her eyes on the prize be it a long toss or a butterfly leg vault.She and Andrea took first place in their division at the Quad. Not bad since Andrea had less than a week to practice with Lilli, was doing her first ever freestyle routine, and did it all on her own as I was home with a Back injury.

Andrea and I will be busy this month and for a while as disc dog season is in full swing.  We hope to travel to a few nearby states to meet new friends in the sport.  We’ll also have plenty Florida competitions to keep us busy between the Central Florida Club and the Tropicanine events John Arnett sets up. Andrea and Moxie are learning more every day and I expect them to be a very dynamic team!  I look forward to getting back on the field this week in Central Florida with Kai and Lilli.  This will be Kai’s freestyle debut.  We are grateful for our dogs and the dog sport community.

Last night I figured I’d try teaching her to flip in the usual space where we do all of her shaping – inside on the carpet.  She loved it!  She did some little “umpa lumpas” and was very emphatic and focused.  I think I’m on to something!

This morning, she was extra amped and playful in her crate so I brought her out to try some more flip practice on the shaping carpet.  She was a disc monster – tugging and flipping and stretching to do more a real flip motion while coming back for more.  (Most often outside during training, she’ll take a tug but doesn’t hold or really pull on the disc.)

I have a new plan.  I’ll teach her to flip, catch butterflies and some short tosses on the carpet inside and when I feel she’s super confident, bring it back outside.  Hopefully building her confidence in the action itself, when she goes outside to practice, the stress of the training itself will be minimized or gone altogether. Check out a quick video of this morning’s session.

We’ve also put a couple more pounds on her over the past few weeks after Jason suggested it may be better for her.  She was very lean like the other girls – which is what I like to see in a disc dog.  However she comes from conformation lines and it seemed she was too lanky -and floppy.  She now seems much more balanced and strong and she didn’t flop at all during flip training – rather landed soundly.

I love the challenge that our girls have brought to us.  They are all very different and it has motivated me to be a multi-dimensional trainer versus just doing things the one way I know how.  We have one hardcore, one soft and one aloof.  I’m certainly looking forward to our next hardcore!!  Learning about the different personalities and training styles that are effective for each dog have taught me the value of assessing the individual dog for how they learn.  There isn’t a single perfect formula.  I plan to write a post soon about different training approaches.  The thought came to me after a great conversation with Apryl Lea yesterday – she helped me by figuring out what type of student I am.  Anyway…more on that later…

This was Jason and Lilli’s second freestyle competition and they rocked it!  Unfortunately, only 2 novice teams showed up.  That may make it appear that it wasn’t much to finish first…  To give FULL credit where it’s due, Jason and Lilli scored 79 points between their freestyle and D/A scores, (at Canis #1, Jason and Lilli scored 65 – what an improvement!) and the top finisher, Gary Duke, in the Super Open Division (expert) finished with 85 points I think it was…and they score more for each area by 3 points (I believe that’s how it works). We’re confident that she’ll be able to keep up with the big boys when she moves up from Novice at our next event!

Lilli caught every single disc and Jason made good throws each and every time.  It was a brilliant routine and we’re so proud of our freestyle team!  Check out Lilli’s newest trick, the butterfly back flip!  It was SICK!  Here’s the video:

Kai and I registered for her first Distance/Accuracy event.  My expectations were to keep her on the field, and my hopes were that she’d play just like we do at the parks and fields we train on.  D/A includes 2 rounds – 60 seconds each – where the object is to throw the disc within the boundaries of the field – ideally in the 40 yard zone.  The team is awarded .5 points additional for each catch made in the air versus with any paws on the ground.

Our first round, I didn’t notice that in the next field over, people we practicing long throws with their dogs.  She lined up fine and went around fine – ran out, caught the first disc, spotted the dog in the next field streaking after a long disc and schoooooommm…she was off to the races after that dog and his disc.

The next round, our plan was to keep it really, really short and add lots of tug with the goal of just keeping her on the field. We asked that the other competitors keep the plastic out of the air while we were up and that worked like a charm.  I first tossed the disc 5 yards and recalled and she came.  Then 7 yards a few times and she came each time and we tugged each time.  Jason thought I certainly could have stretched it to a further throw – I was a bit too nervous.  We got a nice cheer from the crowd each time she caught the discs and came back!

After the event was over, Jason and I took her back out on the field, with other dogs playing nearby, and threw long throws.  She came back each and every time!  I’m so glad this first time experience is over and done with and we can look forward to a solid round next Saturday!  The camera didn’t record Kai’s rounds.  Jason was judging and something happened and it didn’t record.  Can’t say I’m disappointed!  We’ll have fresh video of a great 2 rounds next weekend!

When we first heard of Kai (then her name was Sketch), we were told she was a high drive Aussie with performance potential.  We weren’t really looking for another dog – Leila was only 6 months old and we still had a TON of training to do that was keeping us busy…but I couldn’t resist at least connecting with the breeder and current family and learning a bit more about her.  We had an Aussie Pool Party and invited Kai, her owners and Ami Boxer and her pack – who includes Kai’s sire.  I was pretty sure in the first few minutes that she wasn’t what we were looking for performance wise.  We enjoyed the day none-the-less and I really enjoyed connecting and talking dogs with Ami.

The owners asked that we give her another review without all the hoopla – that she’d show more drive and focus.  I had shared with Jason before we met her that I’d only want to take her if she was already catching or at least tracking the disc and had basic obedience and a nice pile of drive to play with.  She had none of the above.  We then found out that Kai shares Lilli’s grandsire – they’re cousins – so we gave her a 1 week trial. Her current owners had allergies and she was overwhelming them a bit.  We were leaving in a week to go to Ron Watson’s Pawsitive Vybe Disc Dog Camp in Michigan and really struggled with whether to take her or return her.  It really came down to guilt…if I’m to be completely honest.  I didn’t have the heart to give her back to a family that wasn’t able to really work her.  Several friends (and experts) advised us against keeping her for those reasons.  When we went to Susan Garrett’s Skills camp in Ontario after Ron’s camp, Jason reminded me of a valuable thing that Susan shared.  ANY healthy/sound dog can be a successful performance dog with the right kind of training – or at the very least – a great family pet.  I was really just looking for the easy way out – and Kai was going to be a lot of work.  During our deluxe road trip to the north-country we decided to keep her.

This really ended up being a long story…  Lots of performance trainers of all different sports pick and choose their dogs – all requiring specific criteria.  Others like Ron and Apryl often end up keeping high risk dogs – performance viable or not – just because they have nowhere else to go – hence a houseful of dogs!  We had a choice with Kai.  I’m sure that her sliding doors future would have looked very different from the dog she is today had we not made that choice.  And not necessarily good or bad – just amazingly different.

In less than 2 months of focused training, Kai has transformed from a no-to-low drive, not focused, lacking basic obedience, no retrieve and generally aloof attitude towards training to a focused, driven, tracking and retrieving, jumping, flipping machine who demands play several times a day and belly rubs at night…all night.  It really came down to Jason’s challenge – that Kai would prove whether or not I’m a good dog trainer.  We got lucky with Lilli and we know it.  Kai wasn’t being handed to us a finished dog.  I like challenges.

So with no further adieu – here is a video of Kai we shot today in the outer band winds of Hurricane Ida – practicing for her first D/A event this weekend at Canis Major.  She’s amazing.  A different dog.  We chose her as a superstar – even though she didn’t appear to be that initially.  I’m grateful for the challenge and rewards of transforming and growing with her.

The first date for Canis Major #1 was sometime in September, but it was rained out.  Then rained out again the next weekend.  Followed by several weeks of finals and worlds freestyle competitions…finally we had a date…AND IT DIDN’T RAIN!  It was also close enough to Halloween to make it an extra Spooktacular event with costumes and everything!

We had been working on the routine for over a month with a couple-week-long hiatus in the middle where we did nothing but free play and practicing vaults.  Jason kept the routine simple, with staple moves we knew were solid and we added the noodle in the beginning for fun. (Noodle is Lilli’s latest trick – a backwards walking weave)  It was a windy day but they all had a ton of time to throw and practice with the wind and our Hero Discs made it easier.  Jason got several compliments on his great throws in the D/A round of the event.

The big lesson I learned…check the CD with the routine music.  Make sure it plays.    Of course, ours didn’t so that made for an interesting beginning to the routine and some extra time for Lilli and Jason to connect before starting.  I don’t think anyone really got the coolness of the song we picked considering it sounded all crackly from us rigging the iphone to their equipment.  After the music drama was over…Jason and Lilli rocked it.  Here’s their vid.

Lilli and Jason took first place on Saturday.  I am so proud of them, I can’t even express it all.  Lilli has won everything she’s ever tried, the first time out.  She’s amazing.  If she wasn’t our first disc dog, she’d probably already be competing on a National and World level.  I guess everyone starts out with an amazing crash dummy dog that they break while trying to figure out how this disc dogging thing works.  It started with just wanting a dog to fetch and retrieve a frisbee…and look at her now.  Proud Mama. 

It started with contacts – Lilli needed to learn 2 on and 2 off in preparation for her first agility trial in February.  I’ll post a separate article about our progress with target training.  Once she got that down, we needed some other stuff to work on.  I began to touch on some behaviors I had started training a year ago when we were focusing on obedience and beginner disc dog skills.

To help me to remember what we’re working on and to track our progress, these are the behaviors we are focusing on now.

• belly – basically a play dead and wait for release
• over – roll over
• “quiet” down – Aussies tend to bark a lot so we’re working on only quiet downs
• stand & around – Lilli has her stand on back legs down pat so now we’ve added turns
• left – turning to the left – helpful in agility handling and for freestyle – working on only verbal cues
• right – turning to the right – we’re just beginning this side so still using hand cues
• tidy up – started tonight – she brings her toy and puts it in her toy basket – not sure of the value
• touch – 2 on 2 off w nose touch – we’ve moved from the step to the treadmill – nice progress

I appreciate training a bunch of fun behaviors instead of just one.  Susan Garrett mentions on her blog that training (specifically referencing 2×2 weave pole training) should only be a few minutes at a time, then moving on to a new activity.  Agility has helped to fine tune this process by proofing.  You work on the behavior, get a great result and leave it alone.  Come back to it the next day or in a week, and it’s amazing how well the dog remembers and how the skill has developed while they’ve been “thiking about it”.

So we work on something, then move to something else, then back, always moving from more difficult or new behaviors to more “fun” behaviors that give the dog success and reward.

All this to train 2 on and 2 off.  Which by the way, is going beautifully.  I’m very impressed with her progress.  And we’ve trained it all in a relatively small space in our living room – no large field or rental facility required. 

We took some new photos and put a short video together of Lilli’s flip progress. The photos were tricky – her flips are so fast most of them came out blurry but we got a few good shots to share here.

Lilli on her way up

Lilli on her way down

Here’s a short video of Lilli in action.  Again, please kids…don’t try this at home. 

We hope you enjoy our videos and photos. Lilli is a fantastic dog that loves to do any job we give her. Most of the training has been about connection and patience – and mostly…just having fun!

Here’s a video of Freestyle Weaving and How to Train this trick below.

How to Train Freestyle Weaves

Start with a toy or frisbee that your dog LOVES.  Set the dog up facing you to the front.  Spread your legs wide enough to fit the dog easily and take a step forward with one foot.  I suggest always leading with the same leg.  This was a tip from our disc trainer John Arnett – always starting on the same side helps the dog to anticipate the behavior.

Take the toy and hold it behind your back and drop between the space in your legs and shake it while giving the command (weave, through, etc…).  The dog should go through your legs toward the same hand the toy is in – looping from between your legs off to your side.

Then take a forward step with the opposite foot and switch the toy to the opposite hand, placing it behind/between the other leg.  Shake the toy and give the command, luring the dog through.

Take your time with this process and give the dog lots of praise for each successful “through”.  Reward with the top you’re using as a lure – toss the frisbee or tug with the toy.

Once your dog is able to do a few weaves, work on the release word – like Go! – which tells your dog that they can look for the toy to be thrown and no longer need to focus on weaving. I also always complete the weave on the same leg every time.

Wala – you’re weaving! If you’re also doing agility, I suggest using a different word for the agility weaves, like poles, so the dog doesn’t get confused. Have fun!