lezah—February 16, 2016
The media could not be loaded. Excellent frisbee. The flying squirrel is floppy but maintains its shape. This means it throws quite well - not as far as a hard round plastic disc, but still well enough to throw it a respectable distance and aim while doing so. It seems from these reviews, the large doesn't fly as well, so maybe try the medium even for larger dogs. The shape means that when it lands, it is easy for your dog to pick up- and doesn't matter if it flips over when it lands. This is key, because often the dog wont be able to scoop it up mid-air, and most regular frisbees, even rope-and-fabric ones, do not sit up away from the ground in this way. On the other hand, due to the it not being round, it is a bit more tricky for the dog to catch it mid-flight, because there's a risk of being slapped in the face by one of those squirrels "legs", though since they're rounded off and the thing is floppy, it's not a real hazard. It also floats on water and the corners glow in the dark, plus the orange is highly visible to the human eye, and the blue is visible to dogs' eyes. (Dogs have yellow and blue receptors) Unlike us, dogs' ancestors didn't spend millions of years foraging for red fruit on a green/brown backdrop, so when I see purely red/orange/yellow/green/etc fetch toys, I have to facepalm. Why make it so hard for the dog to see it on exactly the surfaces you'll be throwing it on (grass and sand/earth)?? Anyway, kudos to Chuckit for including blue in many of their toy designs. The fabric and stitching feel durable. Our pup loves it so much we let her misuse it as a chew-toy for a while, but that was just with puppy teeth. It is still just fabric. This isn't to criticise, but to advise fair use. This is a fetch toy, not a chew toy. As another review points out, fabric does have another advantage over plastic.. plastic frisbees tend to deform under teeth, causing all these little 'spikes' on the outsides of the disk. ____________________________ Ok, that's the product review done. I'm gonna add a part about how to even teach your dog to fetch. First a note on safety. Fetch can be quite athletic- running at full tilt, jumping high, landing hard while twisting around.. it can be hard on bones and joints. If you've got a young dog (under a year, or under 2 years for large breeds) I suggest not over-doing it. Try to throw low so that they don't have to jump so much, take breaks, consult with your vet. High impact activity can cause problems later on. Don't just throw the thing and expect your dog to immediately fetch it. Some dogs may do this and that's lucky for you, but many wont. Here're some tips for teaching fetch, if you have a dog who doesn't intuitively get the idea. + Some trainers say "don't teach fetch with treats" but this is nonsense. Yes, some dogs will at first get distracted by the presence of food and think "screw the frisbee, I want the treats!" but all you have to do is NOT give them any treats unless they make progress with fetching- that builds the value of the treats into the game of fetch, and eventually they'll enjoy the game in itself. Generally, when someone says "my dog isn't play motivated" or "my dog isn't food motivated", something is wrong somewhere along the line. Either the type of toy or treat being used isn't appealing, or something else is being done wrong. Virtually all dogs love play and food. They may prefer one over the other, of course, but then all you need to do is use the more preferable one as a reward for the less preferable one. So, if your dog prefers treats over toys, but you want to use toys.. simply follow a toy-reward based sessions with treat-reward based session, so that your dog enjoys the former because he knows it will probably lead to the latter. + Put away the frisbee when not in use so it's extra-special. + Practise indoors and in your own yard/garden first. That is, a familiar place where there aren't a bunch of distractions- no strange dogs or new smells, etc. + establish a marker to mean "yes! you earn a treat!", typically this is the clicker, but you can also use a unique, consistent word. Deliver said treat shortly after the marker noise. Make sure the marker is the FIRST predictor to your dog that a treat is coming. If you rustle with your treat bag or move your arm to deliver the treat before you say the marker, then the marker isn't being a marker. Mark first, and THEN you can rustle with your treat bag. + throw the frisbee and mark+reward your dog for going towards it, throw it again and mark for sniffing it, and so on.. for mouthing it, for picking it up, for picking it up and carrying it, for carrying it towards you, etc. Just start with whatever your dog can already do and reward that to let them know they're on the right track, then build on it. Do not ask for perfection from the start. + if your dog gets distracted by the presence of your stash of treats, simply wait him out. Don't move the treats out of reach- that makes it seem like a game of "jump to reach it".. just cover them (with your hand or with a bowl or whatever) so that he can't get them. Let him figure out that no amount of pawing or mouthing will get him a treat. Soon he will back off or look away- mark that moment and work towards him going towards/sniffing/picking up the frisbee instead. + Our dog would often go pick up the frisbee, but then instead of bringing it back, she'd run right past us to enjoy the frisbee for herself. In this case, all you have to do is.. first of all, take it away from them (helps to be indoors or in a small familiar area!) so they don't get to enjoy it solo. Frisbee is only for playing with the human! And next time, mark as they approach you (ie, they haven't even had a chance to run past you) and offer the treat right away, so that they have to drop the toy to get the treat. If they don't want to drop it, use tastier food, or a less appealing toy. + Keep the rate of reward high to keep your dog interested. A reward rate of 20-30 rewards per minute is recommended when teaching new behaviour. That is a lot of treats, you probably wont manage that frequency, but it's good to keep in mind that you almost cannot be too generous. Mark the smallest improvements. + If you want to teach a real "professional" finish, ie the dog presenting the frisbee to you by sitting in front of you holding it till you take it.. teach this SEPARATELY. Don't just add a "sit" cue at the end of a successful fetch.. after all, there he was, happily bounding along, overjoyed to see the frisbee and to be bringing it to you.. and then.. oh no.. the human doesn't seem happy? There's no treat? :( :( what is this? I'm supposed to sit? At this point he might already have dropped the frisbee in confusion. This is no good, you've turned a happy experience into a very confusing one. Instead, teach the behaviour of holding the frisbee while sitting in front of you till you take it from him *separately*.. that way, when you combine it with the fetch behaviour, it wont be so confusing, he'll already have a model of what to do and be like "oh okay, I know this! I know what to do" Personally I don't need such a "proper" finish anyway, but it bears mentioning this in general. People make this mistake for teaching a recall too. Instead of just rewarding the dog the moment he gets back, they complicate things by adding "sit" and "down" or whatever to the equation. Those aren't fun behaviours for most dogs, and often not practical when in a dog park, where sitting or lying down can put your dog at a disadvantage. That said- you can totally use a well loved trick or game of fetch, once your dog is into it, as a reward in itself. Ever notice how if your dog is distracted, you can wave a toy in the air and they'll come running? That's excellent- now you can build the value of the toy into your recall! Call the dog, and as he's committed to running towards you, reveal that heyyy you have the frisbee and you're gonna throw it! Sprinkle this in with your regular recalls so he never knows.. maybe something amazing will happen when hears his recall cue, rather than recall always meaning that you're gonna leave the park. /rant over :) enjoy! Read more
