Agility Training Talk Thread

[ness]

Yep have watched the running contact dvd but not gone anywhere further than watching it. Ended up deciding I would attempt a 2o2o instead .

[sheena]

Has anyone watched or trained the Rachel sanders running contact DVD?

We're going to do it with Pep. After watching it, I decided to do the groundwork with the girls as well. We're finding it a very worthwhile exercise to practise observation, placement of reward & teaching the dog to be less handler focussed/ dependent.

Is that this one, by any chance, as I was thinking of getting it.

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...p;ParentCat=449

I have taught my girl the 2o2o but during a trial she forgets all about it & often misses her contacts, like as if she's in a hurry to get to the next obstacle

Edited October 27, 2010 by sheena

[Vickie]

No, that one is about training/fixing a 2o2o.

The one I'm talking about is training a running contact on the aframe

[sheena]

No, that one is about training/fixing a 2o2o.

The one I'm talking about is training a running contact on the aframe

Is it just called "Running Contacts"

[Kavik]

Yes I have seen it. I did the groundwork for it too, very fun and interesting exercise. Then I decided to go with 2o2o after all

I think Michelle also used this method? But she had problems with it due to competing in both ANKC and ADAA and the A-Frames being different sizes, so while she would get the contact on ANKC A-Frames she would miss them on ADAA ones.

I have a box already made if you need one

[DeltaCharlie]

Is it the 'Reliable running AFrames: a method for all types of dogs'? If so we have it here but I have never actually watched it. I went from 4 on the floor to a 2o2o with Delta but never really considered running contacts. Without my own equipment it would have been too hard to train it reliably, just not something you can do with training twice a week.

Now that I have 24/7 access to equipment I could possibly try it with Whip, but not until after he has a reliable 2o2o. That way I can always go back to it if needed. I quite like having the option up my sleeve to make the dog wait on the end while I regather my thoughts and get into position lol. I think it is the reason Delta and I do so much better in agility than jumping, because I get a chance to take a few seconds to work out what I am doing next and settle her if she is becoming feral. Probably not the best reason to give for liking 2o2o though... that im lazy and cant think on my feet LOL

[Vickie]

No, that one is about training/fixing a 2o2o.

The one I'm talking about is training a running contact on the aframe

Is it just called "Running Contacts"

it's called reliable running AFrame.

I think the whole thing would be hard if you didn't have regular access to an AF, but the groundwork can be done with a PVC box (took me 5 mins to make) and 2-3 jumps.

I think the groundwork is useful for general agility, regardless of what you are planning to do on the af.

[Vickie]

Oops, we posted at the same time Bec.

There are extra steps to go through if you already have a trained 2o2o

[Collstar]

is there anywhere you can buy agility equipment in australia?

i've been doing some training with my dog, and he is grasping concept well, but he just needs the extra practice, especially with the weaves

anyone have any websites?

[Sayreovi]

Thinking I should really join this thread, I have finally entered Darcy in another trial, it's a double on both days so hopefully by the last runs we should be going good

The last one we competed in was, geez, I think a couple of years ago!

There isn't really anything I am too worried about, he has really good weavers and hits his contacts well in training but I am training him to drive forward so will be interesting to see if he does it all together in a trial situation. *fingers crossed*

[Sayreovi]

is there anywhere you can buy agility equipment in australia?

i've been doing some training with my dog, and he is grasping concept well, but he just needs the extra practice, especially with the weaves

anyone have any websites?

The weavers are dead easy too make, I made a full 12 pole set out of PVC, the instructions are somewhere on the web....can't remember where though, if you do a search a few sites come up!

Jumps are also easy to make, and makeshift tunnels can be bought cheaply. The main thing is the contacts, if you or someone you know is handy, you can build them easy enough.

I wouldn't buy the contacts, jumps or weaves, the contacts are way to expensive for home use and the latter 2 are usually cheap and if you have a reasonably quick/hard dog they will demolish them...found that out the hard way!!

Top Buy has a tunnel and collapsed tunnel, they also have jumps and weavers but I haven't tried them.

http://www.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/Dogs-c1371.htm

Edited October 27, 2010 by tollersowned

[Collstar]

thanks so much for the advice tollersowned

you know what your so right.... i reckon they would be easy and Much cheaper to make! that will be my holiday project i think!

what are the contacts? i know the concept... but didnt know that it was something you could buy

[Kavik]

I think it's worth buying weaves with bases if you are serious. I found that stick in the ground poles were great for training - you can have them in any configuration and angle (so can use them for slanted pole training, or channel weaves, or teaching a 2 or 3 pole entry) but found that once Kaos was weaving through them fast he could sort of push them out of the way, and when we went to the club or to a trial he was VERY slow in the weaves as they were more rigid and he couldn't push them out of the way and was not used to having to bend quite so much. Once I bought some solid base poles (and peg them down!) his footwork and confidence has improved a lot in training and trials with solid bases, though still not quite as good as at home.

[Collstar]

hmmm very good point Kavik!

my dog is at the stage where he only fast walks through the weaves.... so he is Very slow and i doubt he would push sticks out of the way! i want to try the 2 or 3 pole entry method to try and speed up his weaving, and when we get to a faster pace then i think i would look into buying somthing more stable and of better quality!

similar story with the jumps, i want to work on entring the jump from different angles ect.

when i eventually get a border collie i might have to invest in some better equipment... but i havent found many place to buy equipment yet

Edited October 27, 2010 by Collstar

[sheena]

No, that one is about training/fixing a 2o2o.

The one I'm talking about is training a running contact on the aframe

Is it just called "Running Contacts"

it's called reliable running AFrame.

I think the whole thing would be hard if you didn't have regular access to an AF, but the groundwork can be done with a PVC box (took me 5 mins to make) and 2-3 jumps.

I think the groundwork is useful for general agility, regardless of what you are planning to do on the af.

This one.... http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...p;ParentCat=449.

I have another one by Barb Davis called Training running contacts with stride regulators.

ETC Name

Edited October 27, 2010 by sheena

[kelpiechick]

Vickie,

I retrained my younger kelpie's A frame using Rachel Sanders method. In general I am not a fan of running contacts but stopping was no longer an option so I made the decision that I would rather risk missing a few contacts if it made him more enthusistic running agility, which it certainly has done.

I chose this method because I liked the idea of being able to do the majority of the foundation on the ground away from equipment. In effect it's still very much a stride regulation method but the dog patterns the striding on the ground with the box first.

Have been doing it for close on a year now although I haven't had the box faded anywhere near that long.

What I have found when trialling is that on courses where he gets a good run onto AF and gets his 2 hits in the 'correct' spots on the way up, then he also gets 2 correct hits on the way down but if his striding is off for some reason (course design, poor footing, late call, etc.) then he doesn't get his hits right on the way down. So far he has only missed 2 trialling and one was on a gamblers course where I tried a back to back, plus he's had another one that was legal but put in 3 hits on way down.

This is a tall dog jumping 600 - another club member is training her poodle using same method- she hasn't had problems with dog missing but for some reason is having more problems than me getting a consistent number of hits up and down.

Have you seen the running contacts blog here? Has good accounts of a number of people's training using different methods and a few with this method.

Overall I like the method but don't believe there is such a thing as a 100% reliable running contact, which I'm willing to wear.

[perfect partners]

is there anywhere you can buy agility equipment in australia?

i've been doing some training with my dog, and he is grasping concept well, but he just needs the extra practice, especially with the weaves

anyone have any websites?

There are a few people who make agility equipment in Australia listed on the Aussie Agility website.

[Luke W]

question, if you could do your time over with your dog training wise what would you change or do

So, so, so many things!

More building drive at an early age

More tug

Less food

Stricter contact criteria

PS - Hi everyone - thought I'd join the fun.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Luke W

[Vickie]

Thanks for sharing your experiences kelpiechick

I will go have a look at the blogs, and agree, I haven't heard of 100% yet either.

Peppi has a pretty natural stride that we are hoping to cement as much as possible with the DVD training.

We have Ronda Carter coming for seminars early next year, she has also trained this method, so I am confident that she will be able to troubleshoot any issues we are having.

[sheena]

In Rachel Sanders DVD, does she do the contact training with stride regulators ?? Just wondering if the method is much different to the DVD I have by Barb Davis, where she teaches using stride regulators & hoops.

Has anybody seen this DVD training 2o2o by Spot On Agility.Com. It is advertised in this months Clean Run Magazine.

http://spotonagilitydog.com/