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 🙂 ) |
Toggle’s first match
I entered Toggle in her first agility match today and I think she did quite well on her contacts. I did not do a good job of setting her up for the dog walk, she got on it at a bad angle and was not as fast as usual, but her contact was fine, and her AF contact was really lovely.
Here’s video
OMG! 😀 I meant flying over the top of the A-frame -- crazy dog 😀
Hello, my name is Anna, and I’m a huge fan of your running contacts method. I’m retraining my dog’s contacts from 2o2o. I’m just wondering, what’s *your* criteria for your dogs’ running contacts? Also, how do you go about getting the dogs to separate their hind feet? Thank you! 🙂
I am interested in some feedback about increasing lateral distance (independence) while training running contacts. Do you have any tips on this? We have worked from running on the flat board on up to the decline of he dog walk ramp. I have a student with a young velcro dog. We would like to imporve lateral distance and want to be sure we do not get any side jumps. We are teaching this dog lots of distance tricks right now to help with the velcro issue which is helping with the dogs ability to work at a distance in a variety of situations.
Running contacts training as such promotes dog’s independence on obstacles because of all the repetitions with a toy/food after the first jump, it usually creates great obstacle focus. Most repetitions, I don’t even run with the dog, so they really learn to run forward full speed no matter what. Is there a toy or food this dog would run full speed to even without the handler? If so, the handler should use it positioned after the first jump and vary his position for each repetition: hang back, run far away etc.
Hi Silvia this is our progress in plank work and how we got speed. We trained putting the ball after two jumps most of the time, I was afraid to throw ball in advance because we had cero success a couple of months ago. Now that she was looking so good I give it a try once more and seems like she got it!! We are also working on turns. Any extra advice?
I had a lot of trouble with my PRT’s RC, since we weren’t training at full speed. I kind of knew I will have to retrain, but was hoping it wouldn’t come that far. But it did, when Silvia saw him she suggested I go back to the plank. Since speed was an issue the first time around, I had to find a way to make him run as fast as he does on the course. I put the plank on the ground, but in the sequence. And it worked!! His speed is amazing, and more importantly the stress level and enthusiasm are through the roof. We are now about 25cm of the groung in first sesion.So I think once we get to full hight he’ll have beautiful and fast contacts.
Happy to hear the good news!
I don’t really know how to get YouTube videos to show up on here, so if it doesn’t work, here’s the link:
My question is, on the first try, would you reward that? For a while, I just rewarded running on the plank, because he’s a 2o2o retrain, but should I reward that? Also, should I move him up a little more now?
Those are beautiful!!
Of course I would! And yes, if that’s what you’re getting in 90% or more, you can move up!
We trained running contacts for about a month, it was hard though, because I don’t have a dogwalk, but I used my 7ft teeter board flipped over.
The dogwalk was a bit slow because this was our first real trial.
Silvia, do you have any tips, suggestions, or critique on Stormy’s running contacts? Thanks!
Hard to say much after seeing one dog-walk… Can you tape several in a row in your training? Also, what is Stormy’s successful rate?
Well thankfully last night we finally finished building my dogwalk. Its full length, but right now its only 35″ tall. Eventually we will raise it. I’ll see if I can get some clips today. Her success rate is probably 3/5? I’m not quite sure, its hard to tell sometimes if she hopped it or not because she runs while hopping, so I’m going to have to watch some slow motion clips of it. Thank you so much for the reply!
Lower is better anyway, you should go as low as it takes to get something more like 90%. 60% is not good enough, so go lower -- and try to find a way to make her run even more, so that she doesn’t have time for hopping 🙂
I was actually wondering about that. I can get her to run full blown if I throw her ball at the other end, but if I throw her ball then the next time she’ll run full blown, get to the down ramp and then look to where I’ve thrown her ball, even if I haven’t. So any suggestions on what I should do there?
Hi, I watched some of your amazing running contact videos! And I’ve read how you tought it on your site.
My dog loves the dogwalk, but she jumps over the first contact! I can’t find it here on your site, so have you got some tips for me? How can I teach my dog not to jump over the first contact? The second contact works quite good, I point at it with my hand (half in front of her) so she slows down a little and touches the contact while running. I like to retrain the second contact on your way (with the clicker), I think that’ll work, but I don’t know how to retrain the first contact.
Suzanne
What breed is the dog and in what % she misses the first contact?
She is an Australian Shepherd. Last two times I did the dogwalk she missed the first contact 6 out of 10 times. when I try to slow her down she touches the first contact more often, but she likes the dogwalk so much that the only way to slow her down is to stand in front of her (for a couple seconds). So when I do the dogwalk on faster speed she misses it more often.. (like 6 out of 10 times)… The second contact she does very well, I slow her down a little by slowing down myself en holding my hand low, she never misses that contact. I will try to film our next training and place it here 🙂
It’s weird she is missing so many… I would probably first try with stride regulators when it comes to up contact, but I don’t meet that problem very often, so I’m not really the best address for that, sorry…
Oke, well thanks for your advise. I will practise the dogwalk tomorrow probably, so I will see what she is going to do then.
The first time she jumped over the up contact. The second time a put my hand in front of her, we bumped a little into each other (my hand and my dog). But she did touch the up contact very well!! So I will use this a couple of times and see if it will work every time 😉
her is a video of todays practice:
Hi Silvia,
I have a question about the “hitting” contact style of my dog. She’s a BC and her back feet aren’t split when she hits the contact. However, she definitely isn’t jumping the contact as her one of her back feet hit nice and deep at the edge of the bottom of the board and the other 3 feet are in the contact.
Will I have success if she isn’t offering the split back feet style?
Can you send a video, it would make it easier for me to tell if I like her style or not.
Hi Sylvia you might remember my “Agility Mix” from your workshop in Cincinnati in Dec.
Here’s a bit of slow motion video of her training running contacts. I have been starting her at the back of the platform to get maximum speed for her.
I noticed that when she starts at the back of the platform she hits yellow every time. When she starts in the middle of the platform, her striding often takes her over the yellow. She seems to be running and not jumping for all of the repetitions.
Should I be changing something to get her to hit yellow (only rewarding yellow) ? Or not worry about that yet, as long as she is always running?
Looks great! If you get 100% of just running, then I would probably stop rewarding the highest hits and jackpot the lowest ones. Did she stay medium then?