Contact Self-Reminders

This post is a self-reminder. For all that I love playing with my dogs, I need to analyse what we do and what I want for me to ever get there.

Although there will be some variation from handler to handler, I think there is a fairly standard formula for “perfect contacts” (actually, for perfect anything — weaves, jumping, tunnels, startline, etc) Whatever method you train for, you want your contacts (or weaves, tunnels, etc) to be:

+ FAST
+ CONTROLLED**
+ CONSISTENT

Obviously there is an underlying theme of “do the obstacle correctly”, but I’m assuming that’s a given.

Kim’s contacts
– INCONSISTENT!
– Poor early training means she sometimes stops/creeps the dogwalk plank (and leaps) or just runs and jumps
– Seesaw is extremely unpredictable
+ fast fast fast
– lack of control

Dylan’s contacts
– No speed: is slow, creeps the downplank, and underconfident on dogwalk
+ Consistent consistent! Has never being marked for missing a contact in competition.
+ control

I have achieved FAST contacts with Kim, but am missing the other 2 points. In attempting to avoid that with my next dog, I have trained Dylan to be CONTROLLED and CONSISTENT, but have somehow missed out on the FAST bit.

Future!Puppy will have FAST, CONTROLLED and CONSISTENT contacts. (Remind me, 4 years from now, that I said that. And nobody panic, as future!puppy is in the faraway future.)

** Control does not necessarily mean stop contacts, or whatever. It just means that the dog isn’t going to lose all self-control (or the handler lose all handling control!) when the dog performs the obstacle. It’s no good having a fast dog who consistently leaps from the top of the Aframe — control is also needed.