Dog Calendars, Dog Breed Information, Training Aids & Everything Else

yep!

jordan will chase down whatever i throw like she wants to kill it but once it stops moving she just looks at me as if she expects me to come pick it up and throw it again...

and you know what?

I do!!!! every time!!!

so who is in charge of this relationship?

You can begin teaching the fetch by first teaching your dog to "take it" by placing the frizbee in the dog's mouth, and take it back out after brief "hold it".   Lots of enthusiasm helps.   

...and peanut butter (LOL) 

it also helps to go get a border collie...

i just dont see my fat, lazy basset hound chasing frisbees...

Funny Sandy, you should see my bf's basset, he swims better than my flat coated retriever mix and she's not fat, and he out runs ALL of the border collies at the dog park, he's just three months shy of two years.  He's a pedigree with papers too, he's the most skinny muscular lil bassett I've ever seen in my life... everyone's always shocked to learn he's really a full bred bassett.

Anyhow I've read the best way to teach a dog to catch a frisbee is LOT's of patience and LOT's of work.  Like Janet said start out by getting the dog to take it.  After that you want to roll it on the ground vertically so that they pick up the drive to chase it, and then start tossing it or dropping to them from a very short distance like a foot and work your way up.  Eventually you're supposed to be able to get them to actually catch it, it takes a lot of time I hear tho... I actually got mine to chase after it and catch it once.... but we haven't worked on it in a while so obviously it's my fault she still hasn't picked it up yet... I should try it with my bf's bassett... he might actually pick that up before her since he's so much more athletic.

... but too bad he's more a dumb jock and she's just a highly food driven smarty nerd dog

My Border Collie and I absolutely love the Aerobie Sprint - similar to a Frizbee.   The Aerobie Sprint is a flat ring with a hole in the middle, flies like a dream, is easy to toss for anyone, and seems to last forever.   They cost about $6 and are sold in the human athletic sports/toys section of most general stores.

When first encouraging a dog to play with the ring, play a little tug-a-war with it...encouraging the dog to take the ring into his mouth.   Reward with "good boy" action.  The Aerobie Sprint can handle the tugs.  Then toss it short distance, low to the ground, giving lots of positive encouragement when the dog shows any interest in fetching the item.

Many dogs don't know to "look up" at first, but will eventually.   Add tossing distance and height only when successful short and low.

These are my suggestions.

Janet in Seattle

Keep in mind that very young dogs should NOT be leaping in the air to catch a frizbee or any toy.   Young Border Collies (and other breeds too)  will practically kill themselves leaping in the air, twisting their bodies, and crashing to the ground if encouraged to do so.  

It is best to wait until the dog is at least a year before encouraging them to leap high in the air.   Give their bones time to finish growing and be strong enough for those twists and crashes.  In the meantime, keep those tosses low to the ground.

Janet in Seattle