Clean Run - February 2012 - 50

· Handlers often decide they need to “help” their dogs to achieve a stop or even just

to slow down on the contact, so the handlers stop next to the dog while he does the down ramp. The dog then slows and stops above the contact, next to the handler, and then thinks he has done his stop so jumps off. Dogs are great predictors of movement, which is why they rush off in anticipation of their owner kicking their ball, before it has even been touched! So if the handler stops next to the contact and then runs forwards to release him, the dog subsequently slows next to the handler but then predicts he is going to run and so jumps off.

maybe teaching a really good-quality stop with a high-release rate would be their best case scenario.

· There is no one size fits all with

Points to Consider · Not all dogs are suitable candidates for running contacts, but more importantly, a · If you look at how many handlers fail to teach stopped contacts successfully, which

lot of handlers haven’t got the enthusiasm, knowledge, equipment, and dedication to teach running contacts. is an easy behavior to teach, you can see why teaching running contacts has such a high failure rate. of getting to the other end of a contact to direct the dog forward on course, there is no point in teaching running contacts. ders, are heavily built, or may be a giant breed; these dogs are going to physically struggle to stop. efit from keeping on the move on a course and having to constantly stop on the way round would spoil their enjoyment of agility. However, some of these dogs would also struggle if they had a low success rate with running contacts too, so

· How fast is the handler compared to his dog? If the handler doesn’t stand a chance · How capable, physically, is your dog of stopping? Some dogs have straight shoul-

teaching contacts.This should be considered carefully alongside the dog’s temperament and physical ability to decide which contact behavior would suit him best. It should be a decision based on the individual dog, not just what you taught your last dog. You should have very good reasons for what and how you teach that particular dog. Dogs are individuals and should be treated and trained as such. Each of my dogs has had a contact behavior chosen for them after a lot of thought and training away from the contacts to ascertain that dog’s strengths and weaknesses. cific behavior on the contacts and make sure there is a black-and-white criterion for him to achieve.

· Always look to teach your dog a spe-

· Mentally your dog may struggle with a stop. Some dogs in particular may ben-

· Make sure that your training and your

competition performance remains the same—you should be doing noth-

(5, 21) 1 (−14, 17) 2

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Clean Run - February 2012

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