I wanted her to jump after a thrown disc, so I started by acting as if I wanted her to jump for the disc in my hand, but as she started to jump, I tossed it gently and close to us. The idea was that the disc was moving and no longer in my hand. If she was watching, she could jump for it. If she did and caught it, I praised her and gave her a treat. Over several training sessions, I varied the direction and height of where I tossed the disc, always encouraging her to jump and catch it. I didn't start throwing it away from me until she could do this well. Using short throws with the disc just over her head, I gradually raised the height of the throws until she had to jump for them. When she was watching the disc, following it and jumping for it, I lengthened the distance of the throws.
Some dogs get so excited catching a disc they continue although to tired or hurt. One of our German Shepherd Dogs peeled off the top layers of his pads. He was leaving bloody paw prints on the ground but didn't want to stop playing. It wasn't until we saw the paw prints that we realized he was hurt. Always watch and protect your dogs because they will not protect themselves.
Page
1 |
2 | 3