With an armful of lime-green discs, Daniel Suda sprints to the center of the field — the sweet spot — as Charli xcx’s “Apple” booms through the speakers. He points a disc at “Fat Tuesday,” his Beauceron, who races onto the field in elegant stride.
In quick but graceful succession, she catches a disc tossed to his left, one through his legs, and another from behind his back. Suda runs a few more paces, kneels, and sends another disc soaring. Fat Tuesday glides toward it and, with an effortless leap, catches the disc midair.
In the UpDog Challenge game of freestyle, teams showcase their talent in Disc Dog through high-energy, creative, athletic presentation. “The whole point of UpDog performance is to put on a show,” Suda says, and the “Apple” routine is just that — a fun, energetic display of technical skill, teamwork, and several winks at the Charli xcx album “brat.”
The Dallas-based team was crowned Mega Division Freestyle World Champion at the 2025 UpDog International Finals. On November 7 and 8, they’ll compete at the AKC UpDog Invitational for Freestyle, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Fat Tuesday stands out for more than her brat-green aesthetic. In addition to being a rare breed for disc sports, she’s a confident, versatile, “365 party girl” with an infectious joie de vivre.
“That’s been truly a pride point for us,” Suda says, “that this dog can be successful on the disc field. She can be a champion in the show ring. She can be a Mondioring dog. This dog can do it all.”
The French (Quarter) Connection
Fat Tuesday (CH Tipsy On Bourbon St Du Vaillant Feu DDU) was born on February 22, 2022 — Mardi Gras of that year — so her breeder, Lauren Trathen, named each puppy in the litter for the spirited celebration.
“There’s literally not a more perfect name to describe this dog,” Suda says. “We always say she loves to party, but more in a joking way. She’s just a very happy, positive dog who loves to play.”
Before Fat Tuesday joined their family, Suda and his wife, Catherine Saenz, had competed in agility and AKC Scent Work with their Corgis, “Rexy” (a Pembroke) and “Sriracha” (a Cardigan). They were looking for a larger dog to compete in agility and were attracted to the breed’s versatility, size, and personality.
“They’re just a goofy herding breed, kind of like a Corgi, just a very different body type,” Suda says. They got “Farosh,” a male Beauceron, in 2020 and “truly fell in love with the breed — so much so that in 2022 we got Fat Tuesday,” he says.
Now 3 years old, Fat Tuesday excels in nearly every sport Suda and Saenz try with her. She recently finished her AKC championship in conformation, and competes in Diving Dogs, Mondioring (an obedience and protection sport), and AKC Rally. She’s also training in bed bug detection.
Upping His Game
One day in 2020, Suda was throwing a soft disc to his dogs in their yard when, to his surprise, Farosh caught it. He filmed another catch and posted it to Facebook, where a friend suggested he try a game called “toss and fetch” through the K9 Frisbee league.
Toss and fetch has a simple objective: the dog catches a single disc as many times as he can within 60 seconds. Suda and Farosh gave it a shot, and before long, they were playing other disc games through UpDog Challenge.
From the get-go, Suda appreciated the friendly, diverse, inclusive community of disc sports. Judges and competitors alike cheered him on, offering support and encouragement on how to improve. “They were incredibly welcoming to me, and I had no idea what I was doing,” Suda laughs. “I went with poor throwing mechanics and the two Frisbees I owned at the time, and they’re just like, ‘Keep coming, keep trying. We’re going to get you to be better.'”
UpDog is a point-accumulation game — handlers can make a mistake or dogs can miss a catch, but still succeed and earn “UPs” (UpDog titles, which AKC recognizes through the Title Recognition Program).
“You can find success no matter how you play, whether you’re hyper-competitive or just getting out there to play with your dog,” Suda says.
Let the Good Times ‘Roller’
Today, Suda is an UpDog Head Judge Trainer and co-leads the Dallas–Fort Worth Disc Dog Club. Farosh is the first Beauceron to earn Disc Dog Unobtainium — the highest UpDog title earned through AKC — and Fat Tuesday is the second.
Though gaining in popularity, Beaucerons are atypical for disc sports compared to smaller, springier breeds like Border Collies (though Suda and Saenz have one of those, too). Suda has enjoyed being an ambassador for the breed and now sees more disc doggers competing with Beaucerons than when he first started.
“They can compete just as highly as any other breed. I don’t think it’s a breed-specific sport,” he says. “It’s about the connection of the team and their ability to find success on the field.”
Suda says he’s happiest when he’s playing UpDog freestyle — the creative, choreographed game where judges score teams based on performance, teamwork, and technique. With Fat Tuesday, Suda is in constant motion, maximizing the field space to show off her power and drive. He also varies his throws — utilizing backhands, forehands, and rollers — to showcase his own skills.
“It’s become unique that I’m out there playing freestyle with the biggest dog on the field,” Suda says. “I’m doing dog catches and vaults — just like you would do with a 30-pound Border Collie, I’m doing with the 75-pound Beauceron.”
But most of all, Suda loves that UpDog is “genuine fun” for everybody and every dog — a welcoming, inclusive community with opportunities to succeed at even the lowest levels of competition.
“We don’t care if you’re new or if you’ve been playing for 20 years,” Suda says. “Everyone’s going to be cheered on.”
Catch! The AKC UpDog Invitational Presented by GEICO will premiere on ESPN2 on Sunday, November 23 at 1PM ET. You won’t want to miss these high-flying dog teams in action.