AF: Running or Stopping

I'm not gonna give you much of an advice here, but I'd say you need to make that decision according to your dog. My dog has 2o2o on DW and teeter. I decided for 2o2o for DW and teeter, because his contacts weren't realiable at all. It even looked dangerous on teeter. He was flying over teeter at great speed and although my trainer was telling me it's fine, I didn't agree at all. So after consulting this with another trainer, she agreed with me that at his speed etc it's better to slow him down with some command. Now he's got great contacts on DW and teeter - though, we still need to work on it at trials. I guess I'm nervous and I wasn't very consistent at trials, so they were more like running contacts - on DW. I think aframe is a bit different. I'm lucky to have a dog who has naturally running contacts on aframe. It didn't take any effort for us to train aframe, because he always flies over the top of aframe and always hits the contacts. You could try to run your dog over aframe and study his style and speed on aframe. Then you could decide whether it's better for him to have running contacts or 2o2o. If you went for 2o2o, I'd also start with backchaining and aframe at small height. Though, I don't see many small/medium sized dog having 2o2o on aframe. I think they're usually better off with running contacts. But that's just me, I might be biased since my dog never had an issue with AF. :wink2: Anyway, both ways will take some time and you need to be consistend and keep it up until it's 100% reliable.
 
helps said:
I'm not gonna give you much of an advice here, but I'd say you need to make that decision according to your dog.
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Yup, I totally agree. The problem was/is that I'm not sure what is needed for him. I had to do the 2o2o for the same reasons as you. Koji started flying off the teeter and I knew it was only a matter of time before he hurt himself. But, instead of a 2o2o, he does a 4-on, because I hate seeing dogs back ends go up when the teeter is bouncing off the ground. But he does have a 2o2o on the DW.

for anyone else reading too:

I finally got a semi-answer from my trainer. She said it's up to me as I'm going to have to do the training, however, she said if Koji could be trained to look down at the ground he'd take one more step and always be in the contact zone. So, that'd be a matter of training. His natural stride brings him about 6" above the contact, so he flies.

I also think with more strength training (rear end) and confidence, he could have a better stride. What I'm going to do is strength train him over the next few weeks, start working on the box again, and get him on the AF in June (lowered a bit). I have a few ideas and people to talk to about helping him to get to the bottom more. I think when I start working with him more, I'll see what is more his "natural" style and work with it.

So, back to basics for now and also doing some strength training.
 
I went through this battle too - 2o2o is more reliable, but I hated the pressure it put on Starr's shoulders on the A-frame. I ended up deciding on a running contact. I'm using a stride regulator, and I'm having great success. I think part of it will be muscle memory as well. We're trying to go out to the agility yard 4-5 times a week, for 5 - 10 minute sessions, with a focus on the a-frame. I'm also using a ball as a reward, which keeps him driving forward - he retrieves the ball and comes to me for his treat.
 
SheltieChe said:
this is another tidbit that might help you to make your decisions
http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2012/05/should-you-run-or-stop-your-agility-dogs-contacts/
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Thanks. I did read it, but it basically it says everything I know and never answers the question. Typical, "it's up to you, the time you want to put into it, and your dog". Ugh.

I think it's best to ask a non-biased trainer (preferably your own). My trainer doesn't have a preference so it was good to hear from her.
 
I thought tidbit on having a good eye was really important. Because I have tried running contacts and I CAN NOT SEE while we both running if criteria was met.
Since I am a bit older that Susan's 29:winkgrin: my eyesight is going awry and I have never trained horses so no help there either . I am looking forward to " training my eyes" exercises, not because I really want those RC but because it is a training challenge:biggrin2:
But that brings me to the thought that it probably does not matter who is teaching you RC or which method RC one chooses, if one can not "see" the criteria those contacts are going to be unreliable.
 
Running Frames

SheltieChe said:
I thought tidbit on having a good eye was really important. Because I have tried running contacts and I CAN NOT SEE while we both running if criteria was met.
Since I am a bit older that Susan's 29:winkgrin: my eyesight is going awry and I have never trained horses so no help there either . I am looking forward to " training my eyes" exercises, not because I really want those RC but because it is a training challenge:biggrin2:
But that brings me to the thought that it probably does not matter who is teaching you RC or which method RC one chooses, if one can not "see" the criteria those contacts are going to be unreliable.
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Have you even ever trialed a dog?
 
First, before things get personal (and maybe they weren't going to, but I'm going to jump on anyways), let's please remember to be respectful of all viewpoints and training methods. Not everyone here is at the same skill level, and I think we are all aware of that and should be respectful of ideas and opinions regardless.

Now, back to the topic at hand.

Cheryl, I know you're struggling with this decision, so I will tell you how I feel. This is just my opinion, I am not an expert, nor have I ever put an ADCH (or its equivalent) on a dog.

I would never train a running contact with a dog that does not naturally, smoothly and consistently run a contact on his own, without constant access to a world caliber trainer.
 
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