Contacts?

[Ace]

I am just starting to do DW contacts with Rush where she stops into a 2o2o position. She is VERY fast and slides right into position, but only when I am running with her. I compete in NADAC with my mixed breed and I would like to compete in that venue with Rush. There isnt a lot of USDAA around, and I am not to fond of AKC. So distance is key. I have been using target plates, but even with them, Rush will stop short and look back at me for direction, or she wont run as fast. I have taught her distance with poles, and she can get pretty far from me. I have never had this problem training Bear, since she naturally runs ahead of me, Rush is my Velcro dog though lol.

 

I have thought about throwing a toy? but not sure about that.

 

Rush is 10 months old and we just started to get into agility more seriously then before.

 

Anyone have any suggestions for something other than a target plate?

 

I try to be creative with training but I like to hear from other people who have experienced a dog like Rush, I dont want to train a certain method and then have to retrain because I didnt ask for help.

 

Thanks in advance for reading lol.

 

Diane

 

P.S. I will get a vid of her contacts if I can to show you guys what I mean.

[Alaska]

I think Amanda Nelson's gate training approach (Consistent Contacts) might be what you need. Gates are cheap and easy to build and are a great training tool.

[dogsofmenace]

I would start with a board at home about the same side as the downside on the dogwalk on the ground. I would put her in a stay a few feet away from the end of the board, lead out to the other end and then ask her to drive into her 2o/2o. Gradually you can move your position further back/lateral to the board to build the distance you are from the end. I think that's a pretty simple way to do it and you don't need a full dogwalk either. You can also practice running with her to the board, running past the board while having her keep drive to the 2o/2o position, etc. There are endless ways to proof contacts with a board!

[Root Beer]

I don't know if this will help, but I've been working with Dean on something sort of similar.

 

He tends to toss his back feet off of the dogwalk board when he gets into his 2o2o. I've been working with a board at home and I put two short "barriers" next to the board on either side and use a target plate to get him into the exact correct position every time he comes down the board.

 

Right now I'm not worried about speed.

 

I'm using the cue "bottom" to mean "get to the 2o2o and hold it". The really nice thing about using the barriers and the target is that I can stand anywhere in the room to cue it and he gets it right. He holds a sit-stay on a chair and the board is slanted down from the chair to the floor. It works really well.

 

I also put a few treats on the plate, so he doesn't break before I give the "wait" cue. Once waiting becomes the default, I will fade the extra treats.

 

Once he is completely solid with this, I am going to remove the target plate and put the treats right on the ground and repeat the process. Then I'll start to move the barriers away.

 

Once I can say "bottom" and he goes right from the chair to the 2o2o, I will start to work it on the dogwalk and once he has the behavior solid on the dogwalk no matter where I am when I cue it, I plan on working on having him speed up.

 

Don't know if that helps, but I thought it might.

[Ace]

Thanks for the tips! I only have a plank from my teeter, Rush broke my DW

 

When you guys say move away, do you move like lateral distance? or do you move backwards? And do you guys use a clicker and treats, or toys?

 

I tried a little of it today with the plank flat on the ground and throwing a ball and telling her to stop, but that didnt work, after she knew I was gonna throw the ball she went into the position faster, but didnt hold it. And I couldnt get distance because she wanted to be by me lol.

 

Think it would be a better idea to do running contacts? or safer to stick to 2o2o?

 

Thanks again! You guys have been helpful

 

Diane

[Root Beer]

I do use a clicker to mark the instant the dog gets into position. As Dean begins to hold the position longer, I will delay the click until just before release so he understands that holding the position until released is part of the criteria.

 

I move all over - lateral, back a bit, out ahead. I have Dean in a sit-stay on the chair and I move either lateral, back a bit, out ahead, etc. Then I release and cue "bottom", he goes to the end of the board where he is 2o2o, I click, give him a few seconds to eat the treats, cue "wait", release, throw another treat out ahead so he can drive out to it.

 

I guess eventually I'll be moving as he moves into 2o2o, but not yet. He's not that solid.

 

If I were to use a ball, I would hold it in my hand until the dog had held the position as long as I wanted it. Then I would release and throw. Maybe once the stop/wait is very solid, I would throw it beforehand, but not yet. So, if the dog breaks too early, the toy is not thrown. The dog learns that to get the toy to fly, he or she must stop and wait.

 

As to running or 2o2o, both will require training if you want fluency when you are passing by or in a different location. Maddie does a running, but she is slow over the dogwalk, so we jog along together and I am always with her to point to the contact zone as she runs to it. If you want an independent contact (I want that with Dean), you'll need to train the dog somehow to get to the contact zone without you being there.

[Ace]

rush contacts

 

There is a link to a few reps of her dw plank contacts. The first ones are where the trouble is, she lies down and does the whole look down thing, but doesnt touch the target. She wont go to the target 50% of the time, and if the target isnt there, she stops halfway down the plank into a 2o2o.

 

The vid is for those who wanted to see what it looked like. I dont like doing agility with her that often, only a few times a week (2-3).

 

Diane

[dogsofmenace]

It looks to me like she just doesn't really understand what her job is yet. Her success rate doesn't seem very high right now. I second my suggestion to start out recalling her to the 2o/2o position while you are standing right next to the end of the board. Doing that, I think her success rate would be a lot higher. Once it is, I would very slowly move to more difficult positions. If you ever see her being less successful, I would move to an easier position for her. I would strive to get and 80% success rate before making it more difficult.