Agility training

[Panzerotti]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

We've gone to training almost exclusively running contacts at my facility. With the exception of a few dogs for whom a stop is a necessity (body type or REALLY slow handler), all the newbies are learning RC's.

I love runnings. My dog is a crazy speed demon, but I've yet to find a running contact to be a hindrance. It just means I handle certain things differently. (To clarify though, I'm really only talking about the frame/dog walk. The teeter I guess is a running (she doesn't wait at the bottom once it's hit the ground), but it's kind of a stop by default since she has to wait for it to lower).

We've just signed up for a distance class starting next month. It's something that's going to be a big challenge for me, but I think it will be fun!

How do you guys teach the teeter? I've been starting to think about it, though I think I'll wait a while to start the training.

Are you taking a Silvia course?

[Dekka]

Originally Posted by Aleron

FWIW The teeter is generally not trained as a RC, as there is some degree of pausing needed to correctly perform it. When people talk about RCs, they are generally talking about a-frame and dogwalk. Plenty of people use running contacts in Europe, where challenges like you mention are pretty common on courses. But yeah, you need to teach the dog turns off the contacts or you can have issues with off courses.

It wouldn't really matter they would do that off a dog walk or frame too, just happened to be the teeter.

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

I love runnings. My dog is a crazy speed demon, but I've yet to find a running contact to be a hindrance. It just means I handle certain things differently. (To clarify though, I'm really only talking about the frame/dog walk. The teeter I guess is a running (she doesn't wait at the bottom once it's hit the ground), but it's kind of a stop by default since she has to wait for it to lower).

As I mentioned (and someone else did) its venue specific to a point. I would have no issue what so ever doing running with CPE. Courses just aren't that trappy and there is more space between things. To a point you need to train to what you are going to run. My fave is AAC, and the AAC courses seem to be being more and more trappy so either you need crazy directionals, or a stop. I dont' know what it is you run.

With JRTs a stop is the easiest

Also its a matter of know your dog. Fast dogs who take wide corners actually take longer on course than slower dogs who take better lines. So if stop contacts aids in control and saves you from having to call your dog back it can help you save time. (a stop doesn't have to be long at all either)

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Dekka

As I mentioned (and someone else did) its venue specific to a point. I would have no issue what so ever doing running with CPE. Courses just aren't that trappy and there is more space between things. To a point you need to train to what you are going to run. My fave is AAC, and the AAC courses seem to be being more and more trappy so either you need crazy directionals, or a stop. I dont' know what it is you run.

I suspect that there are people successful with RCs in all venues. Certainly a number of people in Europe with RCs and those courses are very twisty, turny, trappy.

Originally Posted by Dekka

It wouldn't really matter they would do that off a dog walk or frame too, just happened to be the teeter.

No doubt! It just wasn't the best specific example of a specific course where a RC wouldn't work because the teeter is by nature not going to be a RC.

[Aleron]

For the teeter, I'm a big fan of The Bang Game. I recently retrained Whim with the Bang Game and her teeter performance is so much more confident and solid now! Pre-teeter foundation work is useful too though and involves tricks and play that makes the dog confident with things moving/making noise when touched. You can teach your dog to push a skateboard around with his front feet, close cupboard doors and/or drawers with their feet or nose, shape interacting with strange objects (first easy ones like a box, then harder ones like a wobble board or even a lid from a trash can) and filling up a kiddie pool with plastic bottles and throwing toys into it (just a few bottles at first and work towards filling it all the way up). You can easily make a wobble board out of a piece of wood large enough to hold your dog and a towel or pillow under it.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by Dekka

As I mentioned (and someone else did) its venue specific to a point. I would have no issue what so ever doing running with CPE. Courses just aren't that trappy and there is more space between things. To a point you need to train to what you are going to run. My fave is AAC, and the AAC courses seem to be being more and more trappy so either you need crazy directionals, or a stop. I dont' know what it is you run.

I don't know what it is I run either I've done USDAA and NADAC trials, and AKC run throughs (though never an AKC trial). My trainer is an AKC judge, so our class courses are all prior courses she's set for AKC.

I think the main reason we've switched to almost all runnings is because it is SO easy to demotivate your dog with a stop if it's not really carefully monitored. We've all seen the pathetic "creep" down the back side of the frame when it's not trained incredibly carefully. With a running, you'll never have that issue (you just have to balance the leaping instead--but I'd rather have an over-excited leaper than a timid crawler)

I dunno. Neither is wrong--I just haven't yet seen a situation where I've needed a stop. It's not really that big of a deal in the scheme of things. I have no desire to compete at a national level, so I don't think it will ever make a difference.

[Panzerotti]

Originally Posted by Aleron

You can easily make a wobble board out of a piece of wood large enough to hold your dog and a towel or pillow under it.

Another thing to start! I did this sort of stuff a lot when she was young and she was cool with it. I'll rig up a wobble board of some sort to play with again though, that's a good idea.

It really is amazing how many things there are to teach in agility.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by Panzerotti

How do you guys teach the teeter? I've been starting to think about it, though I think I'll wait a while to start the training.

Are you taking a Silvia course?

WOBBLE BOARDS! I didn't use them when I learned the teeter with Lucy, but we do it with all our level 1 students now. The results are awesome.

[Dekka]

Originally Posted by Aleron

I suspect that there are people successful with RCs in all venues. Certainly a number of people in Europe with RCs and those courses are very twisty, turny, trappy.

Well yes and they train all those myriad of other crazy skills so they can do it too lol.

Cali>> None of my dogs do the creep. I have seen it but I have never seen anyone train who ended up with the creep so I don't know if its lack of specific criteria. Dekka drives into that position (well we have issues in trials with the stop not happening.. ) and sits there hair trigger ready to go again. So I can see it being an issue with a really soft dog or people who don't train specifically (you know the 'good enough') sorts. That said Kaiden has a running contact. Its ok, he sometimes misses the contact if he is really enthusiastic. His stride is different when he is really 'up' than when he is normal. I know I could work on it, but really I just pull him out to play in masters gamblers as thats our class

[elegy]

For those who train running contacts, how often do your dogs see equipment?

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by elegy

For those who train running contacts, how often do your dogs see equipment?

Frame 3-4 times a month. Dog walk 2-3 times a month.