Contact zones, what works for you?

[Guest OCDBC]

I'm new to these boards, sort of. I've been lurking for several months now and have decided to take the plunge.

I have a three year old tri-color female (or should I say she has me) named Daphne who lives for agility. We've just started competing recently and of course that brings up all kinds of new training issues. She had started missing the contacts, so I went back to the basic target plate with clicker training and have pretty much got things back to where they were. Now my question is, do I continue with the wait on the contacts, or try to wean her off that and maybe just click when she hits it and continue to help increase our course speed. I've had several different instructors through the club I belong to, and of course each one has a different and valid opinion.

 

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Cindy & Daphne

[UpNatEm]

First if you go to yahoo's egroups and join NADACagility discussion group you'll get tons of great tips.As far as contact zones I never use the clicker training but simply words.I make Belle stop totally in practice on the zone and use the word "touch".I won't release her until I say GO.In trials I have seen the Elite level dogs literally stop and wait on the zone until the owner says GO.I say keep making your dog stop on the zone even in trials as a reminder to listen and anxiously wait for GO.

 

Sue Barta

Country Manor Border Collies www.bartasborders.com

[diane allen]

If I could say we have perfect contacts, I'd give you my advice. As it is, you're getting what you pay for!

 

I've tried a variety of things. But I think on my NEXT agility dog (who is not in sight or even really in mind, at this point), we're going to totally backchain contacts: starting with the dog "in position" at the bottom, with whatever command there will be. S/he will get rewarded (clicked or verbaled or whatever) at that moment. If she runs to the contact and assumes that position, yippee! THEN and only then will we begin working down the down side of the obstacle.

 

My poor Lucy was so confused about contacts. I was using a particular word, and I really thought she understood her job. Then I worked with a friend, and she helped me see that the word, to the dog, meant "stop whenever you hear this word." Of course, with a border collie, my mouth was never working at the right moment, so she might hear the word at the top of the obstacle, at the middle, and occasionally but rarely, at the bottom. ARGH!

 

So we retrained. I think it's better, and she rarely bails off now. But we went through a very long period of creeping down the contacts, still unsure of where that scary intended place really was.

 

And now, at trials, we try to stop, then give the "release" word before going on. Especially if she's blown enough to NQ before a contact, we exaggerate that stop. Most judges won't call that "training in the ring," and it reinforces that trials are NO DIFFERENT than practice (which dogs figure out pretty quickly!).

 

So - there's my opinion. Hope you get more!

 

diane

 

[This message has been edited by diane allen (edited 08-05-2002).]

[Guest rtphokie]

Just a tip about doing running contacts in trials. Yes you get speed, but you also run into problems. First of all, running contacts take a LOT of maintenance work constantly to be able to trust your dog to do them without you. You constantly have to reinforce since the performance requirement is somewhat vague. Second, your timing must be very good. Stopping the dogs on the contacts give you a crutch, which lets you get ahead or catch up or turn tightly off the end into a tunnel beside the contact. When your running dog is flying over the dogwalk at Mach 3, she's already picked up the next (often off-course) obstacle straight ahead. So you must be able to turn her quickly and sharply w/o pulling her off.

 

I have dogs with stops and dogs with running and I suggest to most people to teach stops, especially beginners training their first dog. You can always release quickly in trials when you need to. Stops are much easier to teach and maintain. My puppy will learn stops.

 

Laura

Raleigh, NC

[Guest OCDBC]

Thanks everyone, I'll be continuing to work on her stopping at the contact. She's so much faster than I am, my timing is terrible, and I've decided I need every crutch I can get. Going off course is the only reason she didn't have any qualifying runs at the trial we attended, so it really does make sense to have that added control!

 

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Cindy & Daphne

[UpNatEm]

One thng I learned Cindy was each of my dogs works differantly.Each has differant cue words or strategies.I learn this through trial and error.I can trial for months with one and a lightbulb hits me thinking on the way home from a trial what might have worked better.Trialing to me is differant then practice and school.In the beginning for trial you want them to go go go,then later you want to teach better control.At trials I see what we did wrong and think how to practice.Then I go into a trial with the attitude of we're aren't here to run like the bandit but run simple and clean.Two times at a trial Belle ran off course and wild and I pulled her after 3-5 obstacles and it helped the next day.For contacts training the back chaining works or simple stop and wait.For trials too it would help to have someone video tape you if you want extra help.

 

Sue Barta

[UpNatEm]

One thng I learned Cindy was each of my dogs works differantly.Each has differant cue words or strategies.I learn this through trial and error.I can trial for months with one and a lightbulb hits me thinking on the way home from a trial what might have worked better.Trialing to me is differant then practice and school.In the beginning for trial you want them to go go go,then later you want to teach better control.At trials I see what we did wrong and think how to practice.Then I go into a trial with the attitude of we're aren't here to run like the bandit but run simple and clean.Two times at a trial Belle ran off course and wild and I pulled her after 3-5 obstacles and it helped the next day.For contacts training the back chaining works or simple stop and wait.For trials too it would help to have someone video tape you if you want extra help.

 

Sue Barta