Dogs on the Disc Golf Course

[Prafeston]

So I was on a local course which is also a park right next to a fitness center and there are some sidewalks that zig-zag through the course. So there are a number of walkers and other people on the course.

Today I was waiting for some friends I was meeting up with and so I was taking some practice shots on #1. I threw something like 6 discs and when I was going to pick them all up this women was walking to me with one of them in her hand and she kept saying "Sorry." and I was thinking "Oh it's no big deal I wasn't actually playing the hole so it's ok she picked it up." But then I saw her dog running around behind her and was like "Oh no"

She hands me my disc and keeps saying sorry cause apparently her dog grabbed my disc and put some nice marks on my BRAND NEW TM1 River. I had literally just thrown it for like the second time.

I really wasn't too upset. She was kind and her dog was cute, but I wish she would have had him on a leash or at least was able to keep him away from my discs. She later came to me at my car and asked me how much that disc cost and I told her it wasn't a big deal and the disc was about 15 bucks, but she didn't need to give me any money. She still gave me $5 bucks though.

Now my brand new River looks like this.

I did throw it a couple times after that as a second shot here and there on the course and it seems to still fly like it should.

Anyone else have any issues like this with stray/untrained dogs?

I've played several rounds with some buddies who keep their dogs unleashed as we play, but their dogs are pretty well behaved and they know not to touch the discs.

 

[Hampstead]

One of my biggest pet peeves (no pun intended).
I love dogs. I have 2 dogs that are essentially my children.
I HATE dogs on the course.

 

[jkdisc]

i havent had an dog issues at the dg course, i have many other places. my gf is an animal control officer so i let her handle it.

 

[slicemaster]

Not a great idea

About a month ago I got to witness an awful accident with a car and dog at Bart in Austin. The dog didn't make it and it was all because his irresponsible owner didn't have him on a leash and let him run around on a course close to a road. I love dogs. I have two. They have never and will never go with me to play. I will happily take my dogs to the dog parks and let them run wild but now where they can be a disturbance to anyone else. It's a bummer about your disc and yet another reason dogs do not belong on the course.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Where's whats his face with the links?

 

[GLong]

this same thing has happened to me twice, once when the dog was on the leash. the owner was so effing oblivious that she didn't notice the dog carrying the disc around!

 

[Um...]

Without a doubt my dog's FAVORITE THING is to go disc golfing. That said, taking her is a nightmare. She gets so wound up and excited that she's loud and runs all over the place, which I know is disrespectful to anyone out there. The good thing is that she knows not to put her teeth on the discs, but she compensates by placing one slobbery lick on every single one she finds. And believe me, she is all about finding them, which is great if you go into the shule, but no matter what they're guaranteed to come out slobbery. Kills me that I have to leave her most of the time, but she can't handle her ****.

Sucks about your new disc. I had that happen to a buddy of mine recently. We were playing in a park, some random dog runs up, picks up my friends SSS Voodoo, chomps it right through the rim, drops it and runs off. Ridiculous.

 

[Stetz1010]

This is the exact reason I DON'T bring my 6 month old pup to the course. My parents (living at home this summer) always bitch when I go out to play a round that I should bring my dog. My response is that he would go bonkers and grab every disc in sight. I would feel like a huge schmuck if I brought him an he chewed up someones disc. Therefore he stays home in his crate for a mere few hours while I go sling.

The worst part is NY has a leash law that a lot of people tend to ignore when I see them walking around my local course. It's entirely wooded and gives them the idea that they don't have to have their dogs leashed. I even had a lady tell me, "My Princess (exact words) doesn't bother anyone! She doesn't want your stupid frisbees!" Not the point ya mouth-breather. No one wants to be walking to the next tee and step in a pile of fresh dog turd.

 

[dashiellx]

It doesn't bother me as long as the dog is well behaved. But I would imagine that is the response most people would give.

 

[PhillyMatt]

Did you get her #?

 

[jkdisc]

i always leash my dog because she isnt friendly to other dogs, when people have their dogs off leash and the dog runs up to mine they say "don't worry he's friendly", well mines not and now its chewing on yours and its your fault

 

[Prafeston]

Yeah, when I play with the friends that bring their dogs it's usually not a big deal, but I could see how some might find it annoying. I love dogs and as long as they don't touch my discs that's fine with me and I know their dogs know better.

Fortunately the River didn't get any structural damage. Still flies fine...just doesn't look as purdy as it did! None of the bites/teeth marks punctured all the way through.

PhillyMatt, might have if I was single. She was kind of cute. Probably why it didn't bother me too much. She'll know better next time she's there to keep a better eye on her dog...and maybe put him on a leash...I probably should have told her she should leash him next time she's on the course.

 

[DeadEye]

It all depends on the dog. There's a local who is well loved around here, who never goes anywhere without his dog. Dog's name is buddy, and because he's been to the course so much he knows how to act. Stays on the leash the majority of the time, but when he's off of it he doesn't venture too far. Even knows to take craps in the rough, one time I saw him sniffing a spot in the fairway, his owner said "Hey, not in the fairway". The dog walked over to the rough and did his business.

I take my dog out only once in a while because it's a bit of a pain, and he's a longhair who can't take the texas heat. I did make sure to stop letting him play with frisbees around 3 years ago, so now he doesn't care about the discs. Once or twice he'll act like he wants to chase it, but once he realizes it's not his ball or a toy he just turns around and goes off to sniff. It's really about exposing the dogs to the environment, and teaching them how to behave.

 

[Smigles]

my dog can walk beside us and knows not to go after the discs (most of the time) ^^

But stray dogs can be annoying.

 

[tarel]

dogs should be a courtesy violation

 

[chris deitzel]

My dog Frisbee has played over 2000 rounds in the last 11 years.

 

[tbird888]

My boy Smokey that TOURNEYPLAYER and many others has played 11 courses since I got him in October. He stays on the leash and has no interest in discs. Dogs are great on the course when the owner is responsible about it.

 

[cmchavis]

I have quite a number of stories about dogs on courses where they shouldn't have been - a number of them end with the dog getting nailed with a disc and a few with the owner getting yelled at by a bunch of us right before the dog gets nailed with a disc, a few with warnings that it'll cost the owners $$$ if the dog bites our disc and a few that nothing happened to the dog or the owner, but we told the owner off anyway for letting their dog run around w/o being on a leash when required.

Most people just don't have a clue as to what discs are worth and I wouldn't think they would. Had a dog bite a friend's disc and the owner gives him $2.00 for a new one - he got extremely irate when he was shown the real replacement price of the disc.

 

[brewcrewdominates]

So you can go replace your River pretty easy, but what if the dog chomped on a CE disc or a KC Pro Teebird? My buddy brings his dog out on the course and while she is well behaved and would never pick up a disc, it pisses me off most of the time. Just because he likes his dog on the course, doesn't mean everyone else does. As someone else stated, that's what dog parks are for.

 

[JoshEpoo]

They're a nuisance. I've had them steal my discs, run up and distract me and get in my way while driving, seen them get into scuffles with other dogs that causes drama between the owners, and been annoyed by loud whiny dogs.

Of course it's the owners responsibility to train that behavior out of the dog, but it's often their natural instinct to be annoying and meddlesome, and I don't even trust people to behave properly, let alone their dogs.