Dog Training Psychology for Dog Agility

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Running Contacts in Dog Agility
running contacts

Above: Running Contacts

Running contacts vs.
 Stopping contacts. 


A running contact happens when a dog runs fast down an obstacle like an A-frame or Dog Walk, touches the contact zone and then continues to scamper to the next obstacle without stopping. 







Stopping Contact

A stopping contact happens when a dog runs down to the contact zone and stops for a moment before continuing. 

Here is a very detailed article describing the ideal stopping contact.  (NOTE: a New Window will open showing this article from Clean Run Magazine.)

Advantages of Running vs. Stopping Contact


Running contacts, if executed correctly, give the team a speed advantage.   Here you see a dog named Fame(US) running off the Dog Walk to win at Westminster. 


But it seems that a dog trained to do stopping contacts can sometimes be more reliable. Also, there are some twisty agility courses where a stopping contact can give the handler an edge.

A quick release from a stopping contact can also work very well and can come close to the speed of a running contact. 

"How did you train those amazing running contact?" I asked a lady at the AKC Nationals in Reno (March, 2018).

"I didn't," was her reply. "I trained stopping contacts and because of the nature of this trial," I gave my dog a quick release.

I talked to a well-respected dog agility trainer about running contacts and she said, "I taught just one dog running contacts," It was very hard to do, and I will never do it again!"

Here's a discussion of Targets for Improvement that features methods for training a stopping contact in dog agility.
stopping contact training
Two on Two Off
Jennifer Crank Running Contacts AKC Nationals 2018

Some of the best dog agility teams use running contacts including Jenny Damm, Esteban Fernandezlopez, Susan Garrett, Silvia Trkman, and Jennifer Crank (shown here at AKC Nationals). Notice how Jennifer is signaling with her dog side arm for her dog to hit the yellow contact zone.



Running contacts work well for many people, including. Silivia Trkman -- who has generously offered her method for training running contacts at 

http://silvia.trkman.net/cone.htm


I tried teaching Magic Momo Superdog running contacts and we made some progress. However, at AKC Nationals (2018) during the practice run, I discovered that she needed a lot more practice in running contacts before we can use them in such an exciting venue. 


For a while, I reverted to stopping contacts with the goal of 2-on-2-off (back two legs on the contact, front two legs on the turf.) I used a verbal cue to remind her to stop and worked on improving the timing of this cue for a fast run down to the bottom of the dog walk or A-frame. 


More recently, however, I discovered and now teach a secret sure-fire method that enables dogs to reliably do running contacts.


You can learn about this secret method at MasteryLearning.Thinkific.com


What are your thoughts? Comments and questions are welcome.  You can comment on our Facebook Group page.

Stopping Contact
Stopping Contact (this is NOT 2-on-2-off)
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