Clean Run Magazine - August 2007 - 14

unning Contacts, Part 3 By Ali Roukas-Canova, photos by Joe Canova Once you have completed both the foundation touch board training and introduced the contact obstacles at low heights, you are ready to begin training a true running contact. Your dog should now be able to hit the touch board with a collected stride, an extended stride, and should have at least an 80% success rate with a variety of handler positions. As you read please keep in mind that all of the exercises described in this article are intended to be done on both the dogwalk and A-frame. In addition, each drill needs to be executed multiple times with you in different handling positions, at different distances from the dog, in motion and not in motion, different obstacles before and after the contact, and so on. You need to do multiple repetitions so that you can assess your dog’s success rate with each different handling position and variation of distance from the dog—how often does your dog perform the behavior correctly from a particular handling position or distance versus how often does he perform it incorrectly. For example, if your dog is hitting the board correctly 8 out of 10 times when you are 4' away laterally and running with him, that is an 80% success rate. Before you begin a training session, decide how many repetitions you’re going to do with any given variable in your position, motion, distance, or change in equipment. When you increase the difficulty of an exercise, only change one variable at a time. Then when your dog makes a mistake, you can be sure of what most likely caused that mistake and what you can do to get your dog’s success rate higher. Proofing the Touch Board Performance Before we introduce the touch board to the dog on the obstacle, we need to proof our dog’s understanding of hitting the board with distractions present. There will always be another obstacle to perform after a dogwalk or A-frame on a course, so this exercise addresses the dog’s ability to multitask. Your dog needs to remain focused on the touch board to time his striding to hit it, knowing that he will immediately be driving off it to his visible reward. In sequencing later on, the visible reward is going to be another obstacle. Right now we’ll use the dog’s toy. Using a placed toy is also a great way to keep your dog from being too focused on your body position or motion. Proofing from a Restrained Send Starting with a restrained send, have the touch board on the ground about 2' in front of your dog. Toss your dog’s toy 2' straight beyond the touch board. Holding your dog’s collar in one hand, lift the touch board in the other so that it’s 1" off the ground. When your dog looks at the touch board, release the collar and give your Hit It command. When your dog pushes the touch board out of your hand with both front paws, mark with Yes, immediately followed by Get It to release him to the toy. If you’re using a regular tug toy, you’ll play a game of tug on the board when the dog brings back his toy. If you’re using a tug toy containing food, take a treat out and give it to your dog when he returns with the toy—making sure that he gets the treat with his paws on the touch board—then tug with the dog. Make sure that you do this exercise off your left and your right side. Progressions: Increase your dog’s distance from the touch board in increments of 12" as he is successful. When you increase the dog’s distance from the board, you will no longer be able to hold it up for him. You can, however, continue to start the dog from the restrained send. Continue to start the dog in a restrained send as you increase the dog’s distance from the board. As your dog gains confidence in accurately hitting the board and driving off it, you can move the toy so that it’s about 6'-10' away from the board. Clean Run | August 07 14

Clean Run Magazine - August 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - August 2007