Granite State Disc Dogs Set to Fly High at ELF Autumn Festival

The Granite State Disc Dogs' motto says it all: Living free and flying high. The New England-based disc dog club, self-described as "a group of crazy dog people," is passionate about sharing the sport of disc dog as a way to further develop the strong bond that exists between dogs and humans. The group's mission is advanced through competitions, demonstrations and training clinics. Members facilitate multiple disc dog competitions annually to provide opportunities for players to test skills, showcase their hard work and earn qualifying spots to national and international competitions. While spectators are welcome at competitions, members also put on disc dog demonstrations to share the sport with communities at fairs, festivals and fundraisers, such as the ELF Autumn Festival at Cheshire Fairgrounds on Sept. 13. Additionally, they've organized training clinics since 2013 to help members of all levels improve their skills and hold annual Disc Dog Camps. Sarah Stewart is the demonstration coordinator for the organization and is the proud owner of four disc-trained dogs of her own, one a purebred border collie and the others mixed breeds that include border collie. While she says the herding breeds really excel at the sport, many different breeds can be trained and successful. She's been a participant in the sport for more than 20 years and got started with flyball, a relay race for dogs, before a friend told her about disc competitions. While she started competing as a novice, she moved up quickly and then was "blown away" by the freestyle competitions, she said. "It's jaw-dropping and I wanted to do it right away," Stewart said. "It's a very chill sport. People help each other out. That's what I like. It's not like agility, with classes; it's more creative. You can make it your own and expand it to fit your style." While the group was founded in New Hampshire in 2011, Stewart said the original founders have since moved away and many of the current organizers of the group now live in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Stewart lives in Connecticut, close to the field where they hold competitions and training clinics, but travels to New Hampshire often for demonstrations. Competitors often attend from all over the country and Canada, especially when events are qualifiers for world final competitions. The two types of disc dog competitions are "toss and fetch" or freestyle, she explained, with "toss and fetch" being a timed game of fetch on a field laid out to score the distance and accuracy of throws and the dog's catching ability. Freestyle involves the handler and dog performing a choreographed routine set to music that showcases a variety of tricks, maneuvers, throws and teamwork that's judged by a panel on abilities, accuracy and more. Although larger dogs can do well, for her own freestyle routines, she prefers a dog that weighs 40 pounds or less since the dog will often push off on the handler. Stewart said the UpDog Challenge organization (updogchallenge.com) is a popular resource for finding competitions and learning games. The dogs love it, too, she said of the sport. It can be a great outlet for them and spectators can hear their vocal enthusiasm when they get out of vehicles at demo events. "They shriek and go bananas," she laughed. While training can start with puppies as young as eight weeks, it should be a roll-and-fetch game at first, she explained, as puppy joints can be damaged by jumping. "They want to chase you," she said of first steps. "When they come back, you get excited. You take their natural drive and go with it." It's good to keep beginning sessions short and it's also important to use discs that are specially designed not to crack or break. Members of Granite State Disc Dogs will perform three times at the ELF Autumn Festival, she said, with up to six people attending with multiple dogs of all breeds and sizes. Routines will feature a variety of tricks in addition to the discs, and last 20 to 30 minutes each. She encourages anyone who wants to get involved to come watch the show or to reach out online or via Facebook Messenger. "We'll find someone to help," she said. "We like to get new people involved." For Stewart, disc dogging has become a passion that extends beyond a pastime. "My dogs are my life," she said. "It's something I do to bond with them and it's a different level of bond when we're performing in-sync. It's an incredible feeling. We're connected and it's amazing what they can understand." To purchase tickets to the ELF Autumn Festival, visit ticketelf.com/events/elf-autumn-festival. For more information about Granite State Disc Dogs competitions, demos, and training, visit granitestatediscdogs.com. Follow on social media @GraniteStateDiscDogs for upcoming events.