Earlier this week we saw Shayne’s search drive flourishing and the umph she puts into searching…  I wanted to share with you what Shayne really loves and what she really has a ridiculous amount of drive for…. frisbee!  I don’t think I’ve actually put video on here of Shayne playing disc and that is just such a huge part of getting to see the crazy monster she really is, LOL!
This is a trick I started in the fall but the winter weather and then the presence of Dexter really prevented me from really nailing down this sequence.  Well, I’ve had a renewed inspiration after seeing how well she did after not practicing for months.  I had wanted to keep this trick under wraps until I performed it at a competition but not many competitions on the books for me this year unfortunately.  I figured putting an “in the works” video up would give me motivation to get it put together.
Right now it’s rough and not reliable but I really can’t wait to have it reliable and smooth.  You’ll notice in the video that there is no food… the reward for the behavior (or an approximation of it) is either another frisbee toss, another trick (in the sequence), or tug (not actually in the short clip but something I used).  When she’s like this, I could drop a steak on the floor and she wouldn’t even bat an eye… the only thing on her radar is the disc and me.  With the exception of the initial flip, all the behaviors (including the reverse vault) were taught with food rewards to get an initial conceptual understanding.  I need to go back and firm up the positioning for the “rewind” behavior but I’m so pleased and excited about how this is going to end up looking.
A note on safety… Shayne has been doing these type of aerial stunts for years and knows how to control her body in the air.  She is also in really good physical condition–she has sufficient muscle mass to absorb and redirect the force of the various tricks.  I take care to avoid injuries by warming up and cooling down as well as keeping disc-placement appropriate and I make sure to NOT repeat high-impact skills over and over again.  Basically…. she’s a professional and you shouldn’t try this at home (without lots of training and practice!).
Enjoy!!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yLqc8kdZLQ]