Dusty is my frisbee dog! He loves it and lives for going out and playing frisbee. Believe it or not I had to teach him since retrieving did not come naturally to him even though he is a Golden Retriever! Here's a picture of him with the kind of frisbee I swear by!



This frisbee is called a soft bite frisbee and can be bought through any of the major dog catalogs for around $10.00 US. It doesn't hurt the dogs teeth and is easier for them to pick up if they miss it.

How to teach the dog starts out with small steps. Hold the frisbee and keep telling the dog to "Take it" or whatever phrase you prefer. Make it exciting by the tone of your voice and reward him with treats when he does. You really need to get excited so the dog will realize he did something really great!!

After he will consistantly "take it" from your hand you need to toss it about 2 feet in front of you and say "take it". When he does go crazy again and reward him with a treat.

After he gets the hang of getting it only 2 feet away you need to work on another new command. "Come" is given when he gets to the frisbee. You can have a short line on him so if he hesitates you can pull him in. The second he gets to you go crazy again and give a treat. You can give a treat every couple times he listens AFTER you realize he understands the command. Then eventually fade the treat all together for the come.

The last new command he will learn is "Release". When he brings it to you (you must have the come command working first before introducing this one) you want to tell him "Release". I give the dog a small little tap under the chin. When he releases immediately go crazy with praise and a treat. Again after he understands you can begin to fade the treat.

Eventually you will be able to throw further and further with him coming back and releasing so the game can go on and on and on and on and on.... You get the picture.

Have fun. That's the most important thing to remember and work in small increments of time. I find 10 to 15 minutes is tops for introducing new commands to a dog. You can do it several times a day but there should be a break inbetween the 10 to 15 minute intervals so the dog doesn't get overwhelmed and end up hating what you are trying to get him to love!

Hope this helps!