Canine disc: America’s best export product to Poland

Abstract

Canine Disc is a sport that developed in the USA. It began as an act of rebellion: in 1974, Alex Stein and his dog, Ashley the Whippet, illegally broke onto a ball field (from which dogs were banned) to play disc in front of a stunned audience. Canine disc, similar to human Frisbee, evolved as a sport for the non-conformist: a sport based to a large extent on style and effect and, unlike some other canine performance sports, not judged according to very strict guidelines. This chapter traces how the perception of canine disc as an American sport contributed to the rise of its popularity in Poland in the period 2005-2015. Much of the appeal of canine disc had to do with the sport’s association with American culture, which, while always appealing to Poles, became a particularly potent source of fascination after 1989. The period under analysis is a time when Poles’ attitudes to companion animals were dynamically changing, to a large extent as a result of Western influences.