Fur Flies in This Competition : Recreation: Ventura Frisbee contest is not dog eat dog. At stake are T-shirts and bragging rights.

By RODNEY BOSCH

June 13, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Bill Schwan sat in the shade, appraising the competition, as his dog, Sonder, gnawed on a Frisbee by his side.

“You see these Australian shepherds?” the 30-year-old Venturan said, pointing around the grassy picnic grounds Saturday morning at San Buenaventura State Beach. “Those are the ones you have to look out for. They can really soar.”

Schwan and 12 other humans gathered with their canine co-contestants under sunny skies at the beachside setting to take part in Ventura’s annual Canine Frisbee Championships.

The event attracted four-legged Frisbee-catchers big and small--some veterans of similar competitions, some new to the contest circuit.

“I want a ribbon for my refrigerator and 15 minutes of fame for Sonder,” Schwan said as he readied himself for his first tournament.

Saturday morning’s competition--one of about 100 contests held nationwide--was rescheduled from last weekend after the event was canceled because of rain.

In front of about 400 cheering spectators, dog owners rose one by one to toss a disk 20 yards or so and wait for their canine partners to run it down and snag it out of the air.

Many of the animals garnered oohs and ahhs from appreciative visitors as they launched themselves into the air.

Contestants--vying for T-shirts, a sports bag and bragging rights--were allotted 60 seconds to throw the disk as many times as possible. A successful catch earned up to six points, depending on the distance of the throw and whether the dog was airborne when the catch was made.

More than a few errant tosses prevented the acrobatic animals from getting to the Frisbees in time, though.

“This is kind of comical,” said a chuckling Sue Martinie of Ventura, who watched with her husband, Bob. “I’m not really sure who’s on show here--the dog or the owner.”

Venturan Frank Ricketson and his German shepherd, Duke, won the loudest response from onlookers after Ricketson hurled the Frisbee deep into the crowd.

“Look out!” Ricketson yelled as Duke ran full-tilt into Ricketson’s wife, Diane, who was videotaping the event while sitting on the grass.

“I got the whole thing on tape, but when he slammed into to me it knocked the camera to standby,” she said, smiling and unhurt.

The event attracted dog owners and spectators of all ages, including 11-year-old David Dado of Ventura, who entered with his black Australian shepherd, Zoey.

“People really like to watch her at the park, so I wanted to show what she can do,” David said.

Four-year-old Erin McClain--who watched with grandparents Bill and Alexandria Graham of Ventura--played catch with a few of the dogs along the sidelines. Tossing the Frisbee to a dog was a new experience for her.

“My dog never, ever catches Frisbees,” the pony-tailed Erin said. “My dog’s a girl, that’s why.”

Andrew and Grace Strick drove from Thousand Oaks with their Doberman pinscher, Sampson, to compete, although the dog has only been in disk-catching training for two months.

“He’s ready to make his mark on the world,” Andrew Strick said.

As Andrew and Sampson made their tosses--sometimes not so successfully--Grace playfully admonished her husband from the sidelines.

“He doesn’t like catching those like that,” she said.

The eventual winner of the competition was Dan Kott of Saugus and Phriz, a coal-black Labrador-shepherd mix. Kott said he has competed in similar events for four years, but Saturday’s victory was their first.

“Phriz is a real Frisbee freak, but so am I. I don’t know who has more fun doing this--myself or her.”