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Beachside Feb 2016

Discussion in 'Agility' started by labgirl, Feb 6, 2016.

  1. labgirl

    labgirl Forums Sage

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    Feb 22, 2009
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    Our club held one of its regular independent competitions today. Merlin ran like a dream. I can't believe the speed he has suddenly found. We had three clears and good placings considering they combine the large and medium results, and there is no way Merlin as a medium dog can ever match a large dog in speed.

    He came away with a 2nd, 3rd and 5th, and one E - well, you can't win 'em all!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmekLGgBtcg

    Sparrow worked her heart out for me. No clears, but she was really concentrating. I was strict on our startline waits and contacts, especially as several of my trainers were watching!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9fb7xalKkA
     
  2. Calliesmom

    Calliesmom Moderator

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    near Mobile, AL
    those were some great runs:yes:
     
  3. Lanie

    Lanie Forums Enthusiast

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  4. Lanie

    Lanie Forums Enthusiast

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    She is so crazy fast! Now I see the down at the bottom of the contacts you were telling me about. That's really cool. I have no idea how to train a running contact. Is this how it's usually done? She looks great. Such a hard worker.
     
  5. labgirl

    labgirl Forums Sage

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    Thank you:biggrin2:

    Merlin is about 16in. Every show I go to has different height arrangements, some have only 3 heights (KC) and others have up to 5. So at some shows he falls into small, and others he doesn't. The cut-off at Beachside for small is 15 1/2 inches, so he just slips into medium. Its a bit annoying as that means he is competing against large dogs, because they combine the large and medium dogs results. But he holds his own.

    The Kennel Club have just instituted a new rule, which is going to shake things up a lot. They are offering clubs running KC shows the option of having additional lower height classes. This is mainly to create a 'standard' or 4th height, so dogs just measuring out of medium will have the option of running at 55cm or 65cm, whereas until now they have had to run 65cm.

    But that's not all, clubs can offer optional lowered heights in the KC small and medium classes too at shows. So Merlin could run the medium(lowered) height which is the same as small height. That will be fab for him. The only glitch is that shows don't have to split the results, so a dog running medium(lowered) could beat a dog running the medium height, and I think that could become very controversial. But it is brilliant news for the dogs' welfare overall.

    The 'down' method was only introduced to me a little while back. Previously I was taught running contacts with Merlin by just rewarding him for running straight down. This proved hit and miss with Sparrow, so I was introduced to the down method.

    You begin by teaching the dog to put their paws on a target (the same way we start 2o2o), I use a green plastic coaster. Then you ask the dog to lay down with their paws on the target. You will normally start in front of the dog, but then you gradually move to the side, so the dog learns to drive to the target and face forwards, no matter where you are (unlike sending to a mat where they turn and face you).

    You then put the target a body-length distance from the bottom of the contact obstacle (we started on a-frame). Rather than take the dog full over the obstacle, initially we lifted Sparrow on near the bottom, made sure she was looking at the coaster and asked her to go 'down'. When she was driving to the target and lying flat, we had her start halfway, and then at the top, and finally running right over. We went through all this in one 10/15min session.

    Initially you reward any form of down, to let the dog get the idea. But after a couple of times you need to reward only when the dog lies flat and straight facing forward. Sometimes this means resetting the dog (as you see me do at the bottom of the dogwalk. She had come down and gone flat, but facing me at a 90 degree angle. So I corrected her).

    The important thing is the reward is always placed ON the target, not given from the hand. Otherwise the dog stands up again to get the treat. You want the dog to remain lying down until you release them. Eventually, you will release them so fast in competitions that it will virtually be a running contact. It has improved Sparrow's contact accuracy immensely.

    Do not use it on the seesaw though, because that would be dangerous if the seesaw caught or struck them.

    I much prefer this for a fast dog to 2o2o. I worry about the impact the 2o2o has on the front end of a dog. My friend has a small terrier that does 2o2o, and she runs down the contact so fast before slamming into a stop, that she almost does a handstand as her back legs lift up! I can't think that sort of impact is good long term. But with this method the dog is running and sliding into the down, very low impact, yet just as fast, and if you want to you can hold them in the down before moving off. I would love to re-teach Merlin this method, but I don't think he will do a down in public:wink2:
     

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