A 19-year-old college student and his dog held an entire stadium and a nation in rapt attention for eight long minutes and a new sport was born in 1974. Alex Stein and his dog – Ashley Whippet, jumped the fence to stop the nationally televised baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds. As the stadium and an amazed audience spread across the United States watched, Stein threw flying discs for the dog. The dog running at 35 miles per hour leaped 9 feet off the ground to snag the discs. Eight long minutes later, Stein was escorted off the field and arrested. They could take him off the ground but not off the mind. A new sport was born – Disc Dog.
The sport is one that catches the eye as it requires coordination and timing. A ball is fast and it is unlikely that a dog can catch a ball in the air thrown far. It also does not allow the human eye to track the movement of the small ball and the dog together. A disc can hover and at times change direction. Being bigger and slower, it allows spectators to enjoy the skill of the handler and the dog.
Like most dog sports, it brings out the dogs instinct to chase and stop objects. Unlike Rally or Agility, Disc Dog is a sport, which might actually injure the dog unless properly trained. The training and the objective is simple enough – the handler launches the disc, the dog sprints after it and catches it before it returns to the ground. Age and breed are no bar to the sport, all it requires is a very fit and healthy dog who loves action. The handler helps the dog to develop the self-control and discipline needed to learn the sport. It also educates the handler how to motivate and teach the dog. The training requires patience and requires the handler to take care that the dog is not injured.
Disc dog competitions offer far more fun and variety than competitions of other sports. There are two primary types of events here. One is Distance/Accuracy and the other is Freestyle. The first as the name suggests is scored on the basis of the location and distance of the dog’s catch and landing. In some competitions, evaluation is also made on whether the dog was airborne when the catch was taken and how the catch was made. Throws and catches are to be made within specified time limits and in some cases, within marked boundaries in the field.
Freestyle is one event where imagination and dexterity are on show. Launching of the knees, back or the chest of the handler makes great viewing as does throwing multiple discs. Scoring is done on several parameters including showmanship, artistry, agility, difficulty, accuracy in setting up the catch, how the catch is made. The handler may use multiple discs, which would require the dog to make rapid returns or drop one disc in favor of the next or catching the second while holding the first.
Free time, a disc and an open field is all that is required to begin and hence the sport is easy on the wallet. Motivation is what drives athletes towards seemingly improbable achievements and remains true for a dog trying to snag a disc in midair.