So today's RC training was awesome! And of course I didn't get video.
I was able to pack the board into the snow a bit (bit more like a carpet that way, flatter on the ground), I put up a few sticks to make a little channel, and I moved it all to a large area so that I could really whip her ball and get her running. It was way more fun than last time, and by the end I was able to start her further back and send her while throwing her ball. Fun stuff!
That sounds perfect and I could see how that would make a big difference. From what I've seen/read, the reason for the carpet and/or wider flatter plank is that you're way more likely to get actual running when there's little to no difference between the object and the ground. So having the board in snow would help accomplish the same thing.
And next time - video!
I don't find a running contact always works best at least not with AAC courses. A friend just sent me a vid (its private or I would link to it) from a masters standard course. The dog ends up flying straight down a line to the teeter. RIGHT after the teeter is a jump.. then the finish line. But your dog cant' take the jump going towards the 'crowd' it has to go around the jump and jump it back towards the teeter. Now a fast dog with an early commitment point is likely going to commit to that jump, now if you call off you risk a fly off the teeter or maybe a redirect to another jump that would be between the handler and the dog at that point.
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.
Now I am sure it is possible with a running contact. But it takes way more other skills for the dog to be profficient in. You can release as soon as the dog collects so the dog doesn't have to fully stop or you can ask them to hold it.. depending on what is requried. Kaiden has running contacts, but he's not all that fast so its no biggie. Dekka is VERY fast and low on impulse control. I will stick to my 2o/2o
An early release is a happy enough compromise between the two for a lot of people. Polona Bonač trained her dog to do both a RC and a 2o2o which is pretty cool! So I guess that is an option too
http://youtu.be/H9pJFYIEECU
I wish I had known more about RC training when Ziggy was young. He has HopeNPray style contacts. Well I'm not sure that's even entirely accurate...he has Race'em to the End and Try to Slow 'em Down or Distract 'em style contacts :rofl1: He's so fast, frantic, easily frustrated and has such little impulse control that I have a feeling maintaining 2o2o contacts would have been an ongoing battle. Being a Corgi 2o2o may have been a bit awkward for him anyway. Trained RCs would have been ideal and I may still play around with that, although he's 8 1/2 now (where does the time go?).
Whim's 2o2o contacts are pretty good, although it's hard to continue to maintain speed all the way down and the stop at the end. I do early release sometimes with her, mostly to encourage the speed. I think she's only missed a contact once at a trial and it was her first trial and a UKC trial with a tiny a-frame. She's getting better and better now with sticking her contacts while I run past and with distance work. Next I'll have to work on her going ahead of me and holding 2o2o. Jagger has a 4on contact that has degraded a lot over the years, not in the missed contact way but in the sliding down the a-frame anticipating a release way. The creeping/sliding/anticipation issues seem to be a pretty common problem with 2o2o for a lot of dogs/people.
I think the basics of 2o2o can be much easier to train than a RC. However, to get a solid no matter where the handler is or what is going on 2o2o while maintaining good speed and no creeping probably takes at least as much work as a trained RC. Although I'm not sure it requires as much space. To teach RCs you really do need to have access to at least a dogwalk 2-3x a week at a point. The early work can all be down with a plank but at a point, you need the DW. 2o2o training can be practiced a bit more creatively.