For more on running contacts, it's best to join running contacts class or get a Running Contacts DVD. This page is meant for those who just have a quick question or want to show their finished product - you are very welcome to do so, it still brings a smile to my face when I see a beautiful running contact, it's something addictive about it. It is on times frustrating as well... - but it all makes the end result even sweeter. So... Happy training, everybody!
 Silvia Trkman is known for bringing every dog, from her first dog on, to the very top of the sport. Her dogs are known for great speed, tight turns, running contacts and long and injury-free careers. Silvia is in agility since 1992 and is– 3x World Champion (with two different dogs)
– 5x European Open winner, with 4 different dogs (Lo, La, Bu, Le)!!!
– National Championships podium and World Team member with every dog she’s ever had – National Champion for 22-times (with 5 different dogs of 3 different breeds) – World Team member for 19-times (mostly with at least two dogs at the time – sometimes four 🙂 ) |
We just started training running contacts with my 7 months old pyr shep Flamma. Here is the second session:
We’re at the absolute beginning of training, but we still have encountered quite a few problems 🙂 I just wanted to share them and maybe get some new solution ideas.
1. I can’t see what my dog is doing so I have rewarded every try the same way for now
I send Flamma by holding him and releasing him to the toy. Because of that I am behind my dog and I can’t really see his foot placement. I think I have to teach him stay at the end of the plank so I could stand next to the contact zone and release him by command. Maybe I would then see the foot placement better. In which angle do you prefer looking at the dog’s foot placement? I have watched quite a few rc training videos and I think that it would be easiest if I watched him from the side.
2. Flamma turns towards me if I click or say “good!”
Well, it’s impossible to tell the dog he has done something well if you can’t use some kind of sound to show him that. So we need to work on this, too. Maybe I could just throw him a ball and click or say “good” when he runs towards it and then when he has the ball i could reward him?
3. When he runs fastest, his stride doesn’t hit the contact zone
The 5. and 6. repetitions are the fastest ones and in those he doesn’t hit the contact zone. In reps 2 jand 4 he doesn’t run that fast but hits the contact zone really nicely. In the slower reps he takes two strides on the plank and in the faster ones he takes just one. Maybe I should release him from further away from the plank so that he would hit the contact zone when he runs at full speed. I’m not really sure if that would work because I think that when he gets so comfortable with the plank and starts running full speed, his stride length will grow even more and i think he will hit the contact zone even if he takes just one stride on the plank.
4. Flamma doesn’t run full speed to a non-moving toy
I have my friend helping me out by pulling a fur toy on the ground for now. I’m afraid that Flamma will learn to run to the first human he sees after the dogwalk to get a reward 🙂 The fur toy is attached to a 10m rope so he doesn’t get the toy from my friends hand but still. I maybe should teach him to run full speed to a ball on the ground by throwing it, restraining the dog and releasing him when the ball still moves and gradually increasing the time from throwing the ball to releasing the dog. The only problem is that Flamma runs to a ball slower than to his fur toy and you can’t really throw the fur toy.
Haha, I never thought I would have to teach Flamma so much other things beyond the contacts itself while training rc:s 🙂
1. from behind. I never start from stay, always from a restrain and I just stay there pretty much the whole training process.
2. he turns back even if his reward is in front of his nose? Then yes, work on it 🙂
3. forget about the contacts. Work on running, jackpot the lowest hits, but don’t obsess with hits as such too early
4. work with fur toy for now and away from it, work on his speed chasing the ball
Also, can’t you find any better, thinner plank? This one looks really thick, I wouldn’t want my dogs to step on that edge…
Okay, thanks for the advice. Yes, he turns towards me even if his reward is right in front of him 🙂 He has lernt quite well what the click and word “good” mean 🙂
This plank is unfortunately the only wide one available. There are some thinner planks, too but I figured it would be better to start on this wider one. There is some gravel in front of the edge of the plank. So the edge is on ground level tecnically, you just can’s see it quite well on the video.
Hey Silvia 🙂
I wanted to show you how our contacts look like now. We are a little bit higher than the dogwalk normally is. Some say that You jumps, but I don´t think so because his legs are splayed. But my problem is that I don´t really see it, because he is very fast and my camera hasn´t got HD 😀
Greets
Valerie
Why are you going higher as a normal dog-walk? Just try the dog-walk now? This is not the best angle to tape contacts, but to me, it looks like he is not jumping, but he is hitting quite high. -- No problem if he is always there 🙂
I first didn´t know that it was higher, but then I measured it (after I took the video!) and put it lower now 🙂
Thank you very much for your statement, it means a lot to me. I will switch to the DW now and film the training.
This is from this morning, his flat plank work. Sometimes I tossed the ball in advance and sometimes I tossed it as he hits it. Out of 10 tries he jumped once with the ball tossed in advance. I think it was a bad throw? He seems to be particular about where the ball lands, is thrown.
I didn’t get all tries because my camera messed up.
I started clicking for one session but as I was clicking too many jumps she got the message and started jumping.. so, no more clicking. I hope she still understand what I am aiming for when I jackpot low hits. Here is the last “experiment” where I try to find out at which distance to start her for low hits.
Now the question, if I always start her at say 230 cm from the end, how do I transfer that to a normal dogwalk? Or will that come automatically as she learns to run?
Don’t start her that close to the end, find a good spot at some distance away from the plank to start. This is just to help you have something to jackpot. Later in the process, she will need to learn how to adjust her striding to take the last one from the very end of a dog-walk. But it’s still a long way till then, for now, you can help her so that you have something to jackpot.
Thank’s for your answer Silvia! I can try to start her a little bit further away, the terrass ends pretty much there. 🙂
How do you Silvia (and all other running contact fans) manage with the judgement of low hits? I often see that I missjudged when looking at the video. Perhaps a marked area at the end would help.
Yes, I usually have a tape just a little bit bellow where the contact start, it helps me recognize low hits faster 🙂
Just wanted to share my running experience here. I started with running contacts two years ago as a total amateur, I have never ran agility before. But if you never know, if you never try!
So here is the video:
Phoebe is now 2 years 4 months old. She loves running, and she loves running contacts! 🙂
Big thanks to Silvia for all the help and the inspiration.
Maja
That was awesome to watch!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Really wonderful journal!!! Well DONE!!! Looks awesome! Love your dog!
Thank YOU for the great video!
Just watched your video for the 3rd time! Love it! Super inspirational 🙂 Thank you!
P.S. Great song 🙂 It was perfect.
Hi Silvia!
I think we are getting there! Much improvement, less jumping, more speed!! YAY!
This is the first time he has run with this much speed since his teeter crash!! I needed your push to get him going again and it seems to be working!!! He looks more confident = less stride adjustments. 😀 And his hits are much nicer, lower. Thank you!!
Wow, that sure looks much faster!!!
Hey Silvia!
First time posting a video… first time training a running contact. This is 7 month old Mudi Griff (from Irhaberkí Mudi in Hungary.) My friend Amy (yes, Amy with Spur in videos above) got me hooked on running contacts a year ago, and now I am going to try them with Griff. I am starting from scratch -- he is a great dog, lots of drive, lots of hard work 🙂 He keeps me on my toes! Silvia, I have your heeling video that we got a few weeks ago, and things are going well with that, and just got the Cik/Cap video, will start working on that next. Anyway, where are the videos from the second session… I started with a long skinny board, but then moved to this wider, really thin board to just work on him running over things. Right now, I have him running in one direction… I am experimenting with throwing the toy, placing the toy before hand… and using a stationary treat dispenser (Treat n’ Train.) I also have had him in both a collar hold AND a stay… but I notice that you only use the collar grab. Is there a reason I should not work on having him stay and releasing him to the board? In this video, I am just using the presence of the toy as the marker… but you can see in his two failures, I have pre-placed the toy… and have no way of getting it back after he performs the incorrect behavior! Yikes! So when do you deliver the reinforcer? Any other suggestions? I am brand new at this, so any input would be fantastic!
Could it be you placed the toy too close? I would say so based on how he moves… If the distance is correct, then just work with a thrown toy for now. For now, no big deal if he gets his toy in each case. But of course, only mark the good ones and then reward them more, either by playing more, happy voice, another toy/food that he loves even more -- or all of that. Dogs are smart enough to see the difference. Very nice puppy by the way! 🙂
Right, the stay question… It’s perfectly o.k. to start from a stay. It’s just that me&my dogs are not too fond of training stays and prefer to avoid it if possible 🙂
Thanks Silvia! I think my toy is too close to the end of the board. He definitely scrunches up his body a little bit and drops his head down, as if he is going to grab the toy that is just off camera… and I do think that’s about how close it was. How far should I place it? At any rate, just farther than it is now! Is the size of the board ok for now? It’s about 2 feet by 4 feet, and very, very thin. Good size for now? Thank you again for the feedback, much appreciated!
Yes, that’s what I thought… It’s too close yes, should be at least 5m away… For now, your plank is o.k., but definitely start searching for something longer! 🙂
Silvia --
What are your thoughts on electronic touch boards in combination with your method? I have one and think that it would make things easier for me to mark. I noticed that Spur’s mom is using them and it seems to be fine. Just wanted your thoughts. This is for a 7 yo retrain Golden who hasn’t actually performed a 2o/2o in competition in about 3 years.
Wendy, I actually have two strike plates because I was SO bad about seeing good hits. They help ME to know when he has hit the contact. I have to mess with their location sometimes on strange dog walks because the two together are only two feet long, so they don’t cover the WHOLE area and I don’t want to be specific with little Spur. He wrings his paws too much to be too specific with his foot placement, so on occasion he has a good hit that misses the strike plates, but I am getting MUCH better at seeing the hits. Videos help tremendously, too!! I think the strike plates helped me a lot to train my eye. I don’t use them all the time, though, any more especially now that he is running faster ahead of me. I don’t need them when he is doing that.
Amy -- were did you get your strike plates?? They look different than mine. How reliable have they been. I will upload some of our training sessions later tonight.
Sure, it helps with the timing problem we probably all have :). But as Amy says, it’s important that it’s not too small, requiring too specific hit. Ideal are electronic mats that cover pretty much whole contact area.