All the myths around the Running Contacts Busting the Myths 7
I guess that the more beautiful, impressive and spectacular something is, the more myths there will be around it. I guess that's why running contacts attract so many myths. So here is truth and nothing but the truth - straight from their inventor 🙂
RC are much easier with small vs. big dogs.
Wrong. This myth originates in the fact that before my method, having "running contacts" was a question of having luck or not. And yes, small dogs will get lucky and hit more often if we let it all depend on luck. If we TRAIN it, then no, it's not easier to train a small vs. big dog. In fact, the training process is mostly longer with small vs. big dogs exactly as they can hit without really understanding more often. What is indeed easier with smaller vs. bigger dogs though is handling after DW - the shorter the stride the easier it is to get it in the right direction on time - but that's true for any part of the course anyway.
It's hard to handle after RC.
Definitely not true for A-frame - MUCH easier to handle running AF as stopped one as you can keep the momentum and don't even need to look back to know when to release. With DW, some exits can be tricky to handle, but it's easier as you think as again, the handler keeps the momentum the whole time + RC dogs love DW so much they can be send from anywhere.
RC take very long to be trained.
Depends. Some dogs do need a while to get the concept - and some hit reliably with any exit at full height in 2 months... I'm still figuring out what makes it so much easier for some dogs vs. others, but well, To says RC is the easiest trick she has ever learned and makes RC look ridiculously easy and fast to train.
RC require tons of repetitions.
Depends. The more tricks the dog knows and the better he understands the clicker and the better you mark the contacts, the less repetitions it will take to train them. And once trained, they don't require ANY repetitions anymore - no maintenance needed.
You need your own DW to be able to train it.
La, Bu and Bi were trained before I had my own equipment - on just a plank - and then finished up on on old, wooden, not-adjustable DW in my club. I do admit having an adjustable DW made things much easier with To. But when there is a will, there is a way 🙂
What do you think about the method with manners minder?
Well, that's basically my original method. That's how La was trained 12+ years ago - of course without the fancy technology and with just a food bowl, but basically the same thing. The reason why I switched to toys is that I found it hard to maintain the behaviour when she was highly excited. She never missed in training, but she did miss some in trials - always in the biggest ones... So I later "retrained" with a toy and she is much more reliable ever since. Neither of my other dogs (that were all trained with a thrown toy) had this problem - the more excited they are, the deeper they hit.
You can't have both stopped and running contacts, it's too confusing.
That's about that true as the statement that you can't have both sit and down, that it's too confusing for the dog then to know if you want either sit or down 🙂
RC are not reliable.
Depends how well you train them 🙂 Just as with 2ono2ff, your successful rate can be anywhere between 0-100% - depending on how it's trained...
Can you share some videos of non-BC, non-Sheltie breeds doing Running Contacts?
Yes I can 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
love to watch all that Rcs videos !!!! D D D
Hi Silvia,
I had not thought of that : “Small dogs can hit without really understanding more often”. But Yes that makes a lot of sense !!
Could it also be because :
1) the see-saw and the dog walk look the same until the dog is on it, even more so for small dogs.
AND
2) the see-saw behavior is more like the DW behavior for big dogs.
Because small dogs have to pause longuer when doing a see-saw (have to wait for it to go down).
I’m probably reaching too far but you certainly know better than me…
No, see-saw has no influence here. I saw thousands of dogs learn RC and only one or two got confused with see-saw. So it’s safe to say see-saw doesn’t affect their DW at all.
I have found with my dogs that they are less likely to fly off the teeter than other dogs (if it’s a trial where there happened to be a lot of fly offs or something). Mostly I think because the teeter I ask for a stop and on the dogwalk and a-frame I say climb and “gogogo” instead, so it’s a very different cue. Dogs who do stopped for all contacts have it harder because most people have shout two commands (teeter! stick it!) so they know it’s not a dogwalk, which means they’re more likely to be late. If I say stick it my dogs know a teeter is coming up. The one time in competition my older dog flew off was because I was late in saying my verbal 🙂
Any videos of short legged, long backed dogs? (Welsh corgis, dachshunds, etc.) Love all the videos!
We certainly had several corgis in classes -- will try to find some videos…
Corgi video would be fantastic! Thanks for looking.
OH, I just love watching RCs!!!! 😀 I remember watching all these dogs, well except Biscuit and Che. How did I miss Biscuit!!??? ;D
Really fun, definitely busting many myths! Jones is sure proof you can have both! Some day I should try to make a video of both his running and his 2o2o. Plus, you can add Jones as teaching an older dog RC!! 😀 He was 9 when he learned! He busted that myth!
That’s right! Why do so many people think that old dogs can’t learn new tricks??? And why do they think 6 is old? If that were true, they would be old more than half of their life!
What, does anyone actually think that a dog is to old to learn RC at the age of 6??? 😉
I think their consern must be “Is it “worth it” to spend so much time on teaching RC when, by the time they are taught, we’re probably gonna use it for just a few years of trialing? Or should we stick to the contacts the dog already has and spend time on all the other stuff we have to learn?” 😉
It’s a good think those people can be convinced that it is worth it 😀
Sure, I understand that concern 🙂 But I still think that teaching dogs new things is really cool, keeps them young and handlers more motivated. I for sure see that I’m less motivated to train when I don’t have a new thing I could work on!
Deciding to start teaching Aira RC at the age of 6,5 years is one of my best decisions! She is so much faster and motivated now that she is almost 8 years old, than she were before we started training RC! We haven’t had the time nor energy to train much else but RC, but we have had the time of our lives!!! 😀
So I would like to say a big thank you, Amy and Silvia!! If it weren’t for you two we would have stuck to 2o2o and missed out on all the fun 😀
Ah, thanks for the update!!! I’m pretty sure no one ever regretted taking up on RC! 🙂
He was 9?! Ahh maybe there is still time for teaching my older guy RC yet.
Hi Sadie! Yes, he is 10 now. 😀
I remember seing Karmen for the first time in april 2013, and I was amazed and completely in love with her running ! she was sure a part of my decision to give it a try 🙂
That’s funny, I saw myself on Karmen’s video, the day I took this picture 😉
Yes, Karmen is so cool!!! The best standard Poodle ever!
Karmen is my inspiration! I have a tall leggy standard poodle who right now is having a heck of a time with contacts. I think I may pull him off for the rest of the season and retrain him and see how it goes. Plan to put my young poodle in foundations class (not the one with the issue) and start him out with RC! Lots of talk with my agility friends about RC with tall “head up” poodle so this is my inspiration to prove her wrong! LOL
Oh yes, RC have much more to do with rear feet and separation as with the head 🙂 -- LOTS of Poodles (mostly smaller versions though) out there with RC!!!