What I have found when training my Frisbee Dogs during hot weather is that you can wet their bodies with cool water and let them shake off before and after a work out.  Also, it I have found a good work out schedule by training 3-5 minutes in warmer weather and resting double or triple the time, before starting the training session over.

Here is another worthwhile tip when training in warmer weather, try baiting your water with an electrolyte supplement, or even can food for quick easy energy.  This will help dogs drink who are normally not good drinkers. 

Something that I always carry in my car during the hot summer months is a bottle of rubbing alcohol.  If your dog is close to over heating or over heating you can pore rubbing alcohol on your dog’s pads to draw the heat out of their body.  If your dog has over heated and is wobbling around or gasping for air this is an emergency situation and you should immediately cool your dog down and seek veterinary attention.

So, have fun training your dog, but remember that when a dog runs they usually put all of their sprinting energy in their work out and their body temperature can rise very easily.

Melissa Heeter, 1997 Canine Frisbee disc World Champion

WOOF! Sports USA

USDDN International Judging Director

After seeing one of my friends’ dogs, a Border Collie, and learning how smart they are I thought boy that sounds like a great challenge.  Well, boy was in for a surprise.  As I learned my first Border Collie, Cody, was definetly smart, but I was not ready for the daily physical and mental stimulation he required.  Even with my dog training and horse training background I was not ready for how much time he really required to not be bored.  One day, over two decades ago, before crating was popular I came home and Cody had found a way to open the round knobbed pantry door and shake every dry good - flour, sugar, brown sugar, and pasta all over the living room.  Boy, that was a real eye opener for me on how bored Cody was. 

Immediately, we started to play ball with him and it definately helped.  However, the real difference came after attending a fundraiser for a local humane society and entering a canine Frisbee disc contest.  Since Cody chased a ball he easily switched to a flying disc and came in second play at a local contest.  Well, Steven, my husband, and I when went home Cody just went to sleep and from the day that the plastic flying disc entered his life the destructiveness completely disappeared.  Yes, it was an amazing change.  So, a simple game of fetch, catching a flying disc, changed his life and mine.  Not only did we have a great bonding sport, but I was able to change my hobby of training animals into my life long dream of starting my own dog school.

So, remember that tennis balls are soft, squishy, and fuzzy which look like rabbits running along the ground and flying discs look like birds flying in the, so give your dog a natural job and let them run, jump, chase and bite a tennis ball or flying disc.

Melissa Heeter