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OT- Can you "teach" a middle age dog to catch a frisbee ?

Milacron

Milacron

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Golden Retriever, middle age female in great health...reportedly will retrieve tennis balls, but no luck with Frisbee's in a few casual attempts....

And yes, although way OT, this is an attempt to solve a "problem".... and yeah, I mean in mid air and return it...
 
Milacron said:
Golden Retriever, middle age female in great health...reportedly will retrieve tennis balls, but no luck with Frisbee's in a few casual attempts....

And yes, although way OT, this is an attempt to solve a "problem".... and yeah, I mean in mid air and return it...
Click to expand...

Just go and find a stupider breed of dog before the Golden gets annoyed and decides to teach YOU a dumb trick or two.

Prolly already dog-laughing she has you retrieving your own damned Frisbee's for the next go 'coz you are a slow-learner about Goldens. Dogs have a rather droll sense of humour about such things.

She KNOWS it isn't a quail, grouse, duck, or goose y'see. Figures YOU for the dummy.

Born already knowing the difference. That's why we call them "retrievers".

The tennis balls are just to keep her hand in should an intruder invade the protected space. A burgler's throat is too high off the ground to justify the extra exertion.

:)
 
thermite said:
Just go and find a stupider breed of dog before the Golden gets annoyed and decides to teach YOU a dumb trick or two.

Prolly already dog-laughing she has you retrieving your own damned Frisbee's for the next go 'coz you are a slow-learner about Goldens.

She KNOWS it isn't a quail, grouse, duck, or goose y'see.

Born already knowing the difference. That's why we call them "retrievers".

:)
Click to expand...
Presumably she knows a tennis ball isn't a freshly shot bird as well, and yet she does ok with those...maybe because they are rolling on the ground already.... Limited search engine info indicates Golden's aren't the greatest breed of Frisbee catchers but in general they are pretty good at it. Just wondering if it is trainable.
 
Milacron said:
Presumably she knows a tennis ball isn't a freshly shot bird as well, and yet she does ok with those...maybe because they are rolling on the ground already.... Limited search engine info indicates Golden's aren't the greatest breed of Frisbee catchers but in general they are pretty good at it. Just wondering if it is trainable.
Click to expand...

Tennis balls flex, doggie-mouth kinda likes that. Old memory of snagging rodents for a meal before dog food invented humans to go-fetch it.

Just hire her a Doberman as an assistant. And buy extra frisbees to replace combat losses.

Louis Doberman standardized that breed in only 60 years from a cold start.
Inbred? Oy! Dice-roll. Quite often produces an "anger management problem" in a doggie brain.

Anything that MOVES...

:(

Or you could get a wire-haired terrier and larf as he tries to produce frisbee PUPS!

Anything he can get his legs around..

:D
 
Put a little smear of the dogs favourite food on the frisbee, hols it to his nose etc etc, then take it away and throw it for it to catch etc etc - …………....against that plot you have the GR's ''laid back'' nature,...…..like ''they just know'' said ball or frisbee will come down sooner or later, so why jump for it.
 
To a dog squirrels are tennis balls thrown by god...

Sorry Don no help to you at all but I have been wanting to say that for a while and had no idea where I would put it. Friend told me that years ago.

Good luck and have fun with your companion.

Charles
 
I'll be that guy-

We have done rescue for some years and got more than a few dogs with blown out knees that were dumped by owners who couldn't or wouldn't cash out for TPLO surgery to repair.
Frisbee and any dog let alone a middle age one is a good way to get the dog injured.

Having said that- smear some peanut butter on the frisbee- he will get the ideal soon enough though if any sense will just walk over to pick up the damn thing and skip the high jump...
 
My dog (long haired dalmatian) has a tennis ball obsession and will do spectacular jumps to catch one in flight. He will chase the frisbee, but always lets it hit the ground, then he snatches it up and runs off and chews it to pieces. Sorry, no help here.
 
Really... "Teach an old dog new tricks".
Not sure why but of course it can be done. As with any type agility stuff a few casual attempts will be absolutely fruitless.
You have to spend hours day after day no matter the age. The first step to "catch" with many is to get them to downfield and wait for the throw.
Not so much for the "flavored Frisbee", if like my dogs they will try to eat it so you will need a lot of Frisbees as they don't fly so well when chewed.
Treats are handed out of your hand for successfully doing each step you are training.
Some dogs are different. My Sammy would catch one and never really jump for it but would bring it back and drop at my feet for another go.
My Greyhound loves to leap but does not want to give it back and instead runs around me holding onto her reward until she gets the give command.

Can a middle age man with no experience be taught to be a toolmaker?
That is probably a harder task.
In both cases a lot of patience and attention is required.

"this is an attempt to solve a problem"?
I have lived with dogs since the day I was born. There is not much you can't get them to do for you if you invest the time.
The down part of older is simply plain physical ability. At 8-15 years old they just can't do all that stuff anymore.
Bob
 
redlee said:
It really depends on the breed and personality.
Click to expand...

I am not sure I agree with that. While I am not a formally qualified trainer, my wife and I have spent many enjoyable years competing in dog agility. Our observation is that skilled training is the essential ingredient, whether one has a golden or a chihuahua, or a young dog or a middle aged dog. There is little that you cannot train a dog to do given an affectionate bond, patience, and skilled training. Frisbee might seem like a pretty unnatural behavior for a dog, but no more so than running a series of 10 weave poles, slalom-fashion. My suggestion is to search out a good trainer, meaning a trainer with a recognized, established program that has produced winners in dog agility. The AKC is one starting place.

-Marty-
 
I have a large Red & White Irish Setter that likes to play ball but has no interest in a frisbee. Years ago I had a long legged kangaroo Chihuahua that would jump for anything you threw until he made a mis calculation and broke his left rear leg. That cost me $3k. After that just grounders.
 
I had a yellow lab that was simply not interested in catching treats or retrieving anything. She learned to catch a treat at a girl friends house when her dogs would catch a treat in the air leaving my dog with nothing. She caught on quick. But she never was interested in retrieving anything. She would chase a thrown ball in company of other dogs playing fetch but was more interested in what the whole smelled like once they got near the ball. Good luck.
 
After getting your dog all hyped up about Frisbees do not leave them alone with it. Intestinal blockage resection on saturday night after hours runs about $3800. Ask me how I know. Also, the flying catch thing is a young dogs game. Mine (same dog who ate the frisbee) tore her ACL 2 years ago treeing a cat, we declined the $5k surgery then after researching the success rate of 50%, time required to keep immobile and 50% chance of it happening to the other knee afterward due to taking up the slack while healing. Dog gets around fine with no issues (scar tissue forms a not quite good as new repair) but at 9yrs old not we've shelved the frisbee and no more cat chasing.
 
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