Teaching your dog to play catch would probably fall under ‘advanced training’, translated that means that this trick is indeed a little tricky to teach your dog. But is it an impossible trick to teach your dog – absolutely not. The only thing is that it will require a bit of patience on your part and with the help of some of the pointers from the secrets of a professional dog trainer, you should be able to get your dog to catch a disc, ball or pretty much anything you want him to catch. So look at the pointers given below and get ready to have some fun! Are you already imagining yourself playing Frisbee with your dog, if so, read on!

1. The meal ticket – the best way to get your dog started on this game is to introduce the Frisbee as his dining dish. This will allow him to associate with the disc in a positive manner. Dogs, in general are very quick in making associations especially if it involves food in one form or the other. So use that information to your advantage.

2. Encourage him – Try dragging the dish in front of him and encourage him to catch hold of the dish. When he does this, do not forget to use positive reinforcement, such as rewarding him with a treat every time he performs correctly. You can phase out these rewards later on.

3. Track the fun – Start to roll the disc in front of him; he will learn to track the disc when you do this. By learning to track the disc he will be able to catch it effectively.

4. The short length – Try throwing the disc for short length, remember not to throw the disc directly at your dog as it may end up hitting him. Start small; so go for shorter lengths at this stage of the training process. Remember to use positive reinforcement all through the training process and start using word associations, in this case ‘catch’. Remember to reward him with a doggy treat every time he does this correctly.

5. The full length – Going the full length is never easy, at least not in the beginning. It will take your dog some time to get used to tracking the disc over longer distances and to catch it by jumping up in the air. But with repetition, he will be able to perform flawlessly every time you say the magic word ‘catch’.

With these pointers from the secrets of a professional dog trainer, you should be able top get your dog to catch a Frisbee or anything else you would want him to catch. Teaching your dog to play ‘catch’ is not easy but with a little bit of effort and the pointers given above, you should be able enter your dog into professional competitions. Now, that’s something to ponder about, huh?