New to frisbee...

Jubilee has always "played" frisbee but we have never pursued it for various reasons. A friend convinced me to take her along to an event this weekend and I am a little nervous. If anyone has any pointers for a first timer please chime in! Thanks!

I've only ever done one "competition" but from what I gathered, there's not much to it. If you can get the frisbee to go where you want it (which seems to be my problem!), everything else will fall into place. We tried it at an outdoor venue, and Elsie's biggest problem was the speaker system. It was set up about half way down the field.....she didn't like running past it. I'm sure Kel and Sarah will chime in and help out a little more!

Annie is right... it's a pretty straight-forward sport... at least when it comes to Distance & Accuracy/Toss & Fetch (name varies depending on the org). Freestyle is obviously a bit more complex, but most people don't jump into that until they've done a few events with just DA/T&F. There are a few other fun events that some clubs will offer as well, like bullseye, obstacle courses, etc. The main complicating factor for most teams is just plain being able to throw well!

I'm not sure which group or org you'll be competing with... so, as for specifics on what to expect, I'm not sure there. The setup will vary slightly from group to group, obviously. If you have questions about anything in particular though, I'd be happy to help.

Chip might notice the thread too... he's been in disc dog the longest out of anyone on the forum, I believe.

Kel wrote:Annie is right... it's a pretty straight-forward sport... at least when it comes to Distance & Accuracy/Toss & Fetch (name varies depending on the org). Freestyle is obviously a bit more complex, but most people don't jump into that until they've done a few events with just DA/T&F. There are a few other fun events that some clubs will offer as well, like bullseye, obstacle courses, etc. The main complicating factor for most teams is just plain being able to throw well!

I'm not sure which group or org you'll be competing with... so, as for specifics on what to expect, I'm not sure there. The setup will vary slightly from group to group, obviously. If you have questions about anything in particular though, I'd be happy to help.

Chip might notice the thread too... he's been in disc dog the longest out of anyone on the forum, I believe.

Thank you! I guess the group is Skyhoundz? It is a toss and fetch. I am going to enter novice. I am concerned about my throwing. Sometimes I am good and other times not. Jubilee is a good catcher though so I am hoping to just have a good time with her.

Chip and Crash are Skyhoundz champions, so if he sees this I am quite sure he will chime in as well.

Yeah I met Chip and Crash at Flint and they are quite the team!!

Good luck Andrea! Sounds like fun!

We went today...it was a good time. I was nervous as all get out. More than flyball, more than dock diving. I got up to throw and I was shaking! We got seven points but will definately do it again!

Well, good job to both of you... and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm sure with time you'll both do better and better and the nervousness will fade away.

I laughed at the first score Elsie and I received. We had 11.5 total. I don't remember what everyone said the winners usually get, but I'm sure it's more than 11.5! It was the darn sound system that messed us up! (excuses, excuses) Sounds like you had a blast though, so that's great!

Does anyone know if you can use any frisbee or does it have to be the standard plastic? Sage got a Kong flyer for Christmas. I never knew she could catch a frisbee in the air until I got it. She never caught any other kind that I have used. It's like she knows she caught it and runs back almost like she's smiling. What a fun new thing for my girl! If we can use the kong flyer I would be tempted to try a just for fun disc event.

At the disc event we did in Waterford they were going to let us use our Old Navy frisbee's but you couldn't use a fabric frisbee or rubber disc. I don't know if the Kong disc would be allowed. You would have to ask the people running the event if it's allowed. I think this was only allowed in Novice toss and catch, it the higher levels you must use their "approved" discs. Rocky LOVES any kind of frisbee so it's not an issue for us really... Crazy Labs.

It is really going to depend more in the individual organization and host club what discs are allowed. Some will only allow the "competition standard" discs, some will allow those plus any other regulation type disc (we swear by and ALWAYS use Hyperflite Jawz, for example). Some will allow any disc (soft or hard) for Novice division competitors only. If you throw outside of Nov div, nothing but the regulation competition discs will be allowed (exceptions possibly made for Jawz or some Hero discs). The only thing that will NEVER be allowed, regardless of org or hosting club, are easily shattered plastic discs.

I have seen both rubber and fabric discs allowed at events, but only for Novice division. The MI events are usually pretty good about allowing newcomers to the sport to use whatever disc their dog is used to (as long as it is safe, not torn up, and not easily shattered or otherwise broken). Once you have been to a couple events, though, plan on transferring your dog over to a competition approved disc. Again, my top recommendation and preference is always Hyperflite Jawz discs. They are by far the toughest and also do not wear down the dog's teeth like some plastic type discs do. I hate the plastic discs because they wear a dog's teeth and my boys DESTROY them within a couple catches tops. Punch right through them on each grab every time. Rubber and fabric discs don't hold up to them either...

We love the Old Navy discs for Rocky. He is very destructive with plastic discs. The Old Navy discs are tough and fly great. Ours last forever and usually end up dry-rotting from old age. He can punch holes in it and it doesn't rip or crack. I don't like hard discs for him because he is very aggressive when catching and I worry about him knocking himself out with a hard disc.

They MIGHT let you use a Kong Flyer, but honestly those don't fly very far for toss and fetch b/c they're so heavy. You're talking about the rubber red disc, right? I really like the fastbacks and hero discs the best; they seem a little more durable and 'soft' than the K-10's they hand out at Skyhoundz events. Ron and Apryl have really cool fastbacks with their logo on them too!

Sara's right... the rubber and fabric discs don't tend to get as much distance because of weight. Plus, it's usually a lot harder to be accurate with them because of their "floppy-ness." The only person I've seen get really nice throws with a fabric disc at an event was Dan Avery with Lily... and even then, he was having trouble because of the winds.

Fastbacks and the various Hero discs are good for most dogs. Some will still puncture the heck out of them, though... which is why I go with the Jawz discs.

Then for a little from both worlds, you can go with the Jawz X-comp. They are about 90% as durable as the regular Jawz, but fly a bit better and are generally easier to direct/control.

So the Jawz are actually stronger? I bought a Frost-Bite before Christmas for some winter play and it didn't hold up too well.....Connor tends to "chew" it on his way back to me- and then Elsie tries to snatch it from him and play tug It got so rough that I was afraid it would hurt their mouths.

Yes, the Jawz are by far the toughest discs out there. Granted, they are not meant to be chew toys and shouldn't ever be left with a dog for long periods of time to knaw on... but they will definitely hold up better than anything else on the market. My GSDs will sometimes chew/mouth the disc on the way back, too. It's held up to that as well. Its main selling point is puncture resistance and general wear and tear, though. Some of the Jawz I have now have been in use for practice and competition for FIVE YEARS (and are just now, over the past few months, showing wear and are "practice only" quality). Try getting that sort of lasting power out of any other disc. Everything else we've used gets destroyed within one practice session... and often in no more than a couple catches.

Jawz definitely last, but they're pretty heavy too and unless you're a really experienced amazing thrower, they're hard to get a lot of distance. They're not great for freestyle either being heavy and plus they're expensive--too pricey to buy the many discs you need for freestyle for me at least! I bought my last batch of discs from Ron and Apryl, 10 fastbacks for $20.00 which is a GREAT price. I always buy them in 'bulk' because I do go through them, but they work the best for me.

Thanks for all of the info everyone, it helps a lot. The girls destroy plastic in less than 5 minutes. The flying squirrel is really hard to throw. I bought Sage the Kong flyer mainly because I figured it's indestructible. I seem to be able to throw it better than anything else I've tried, then again we are out in the yard and I'm throwing it kind of far. I was shocked that Sage was jumping up and catching it with all four feet off the ground. She seems to LOVE our new game. I will look at all of the options you have all listed. Maybe I can try a few different ones.

Sara - Will you still list when there are "fun" disc events? I know you have in the past. Can anyone go try it for the first time even if you have no idea what you are doing, lol?

You can definitely "just show up" and give it a try. The MI disc dog people are all very welcoming and good with helping new teams out.

I normally post disc events in the Other Sports section as well, so I'll try to post any I see/her about myself. My guess is that Sara and I probably get a lot of the same emails about events. I think Beth DeVries posted about one awhile back, as well.

As for the Jawz being pricey, yes, that's true. But it's definitely worth it when they last so much longer than the other comp discs. Most disc people I know who use other disc types (even those with softer mouth dogs) will rotate their competition discs out every 1-3 months (give or take, depending on your dog). So, having some that will last for years is definitely worth it for me. So, it really just boils down to personal preference and what you plan on doing with them.

We just showed up last spring with Rocky and we had no idea what we were doing. This was evidenced by the way I was throwing for Rocky in the Toss and Fetch. Kristy beat me with my own dog at a game I taught him. That was embarassing. We had a blast and if they do it again in Waterford this spring we will go back and do it again. Never know, maybe Leo will be up for some T&F...

Now THAT would really be something... a Pyr disc dog!

Leo can do anything HE wants to do... Problem is HE doesn't want to do much... Maybe if I could use a pizza as a disc?