Course Details
Want a consistent stopped contact behavior?
Want to learn how to train a running or quick release contact?
This class will be covering all of that and more! I will be going over how I teach my 2o2o contact and quick release contacts. I teach a 2o2o off contact behavior with my dogs with a focus on targeting the rear feet, this way we can lessen the shoulder impact coming down the ramp. This class will focus on teaching the contacts for the Aframe and the Dogwalk, we will progress to using a board on the ground, but a full piece of contact equipment is not required. (Contact trainers can be used, and if you have a full piece of contact equipment, that can be used also)
My foundation for my dogs contacts is a stopped 2o2o off behavior, but as my dog progress, I move to a quick release contact or a running contact. I will be talking about how I progress to a quick release contact or running contact during this class and I will also be discussing why I teach a stop before my running contact behavior.
This class will be great for young dogs just learning their contact behavior or older dogs who need to have a different contact behavior taught.
Please email me with any questions about class!!
Registration
There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please
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Registration will begin at 11:30 AM Pacific Time.
For answers to commonly asked questions see our FAQ page.
Enrollment limits: Gold: 12 students, Silver: 25 students, Bronze: unlimited.
Silver level for this class is offered as "Working Silver". In addition to asking GENERAL clarification questions about the class lecture materials, silver students will now have the opportunity to submit two short videos, one minute each, for critique and review. You may submit two questions. Each question MUST have a one minute video attached so the instructor can actually answer a question that they can see. The question must relate to a topic in the class and the video must be a demo of the question. Please see the discussion forum for a detailed explanation - feel free to sign up at bronze, read the explanation, and then come back here to upgrade to silver if that interests you, and if space is available.
If you are interested in a bronze level subscription, you can sign up at any time during the registration period.
Syllabus
Week 1 -
Overview of 2o2o contacts and my philosophy
Overview of Running contact and my philosophy
Mat training – Foundation steps
Week 2
Mat training – Adding more distance and independence
Week 3
Mat training – Adding speed, distance, and different environments
Week 4
Adding the contact board to the mat
Evaluating form and positioning and why it matters!
Week 5
Working the board (back chaining)
Adding the cone for distance and speed
Week 6
Working the board with various distances and speed
How to transition to running contact or quick release (if that is the contact behavior that is desired)
Prerequisites & Supplies
Equipment needed
Foam mat or some sort of “raised” mat
A cone or something similar for the dog to go around
Bath mat (or something similar)
A contact board or a full contact
Testimonials
A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...
Thank you Amanda. This course was awesome, even at a bronze level. My experienced dog now has the contact training he needs for the way he wants to run a dog walk. I initially taught him a RDW, but after a while I figured out that a RDW wasn't really what he wanted. You taught me that my dog should have a choice. And I gave him that choice, and he's learning a quick release now and is so much happier. We are still working on it, as a transition from running to the quick release, but he's understanding and is enthusiastic. I'm so glad I took this class, even if just for the mindset of letting my dog choose his contact performance. And while I was working him, I also taught my youngster a stopped dog walk contact. He's still getting up to speed but he knows the end position really well and I'm excited for the future of both dogs. Thanks so much for everything! I hope you offer this class again. I would be very interested in trying it as gold now that I understand the concepts you use to teach the performance.
Amanda was so positive and gave great feedback. There was no question she wouldn't answer. She is very knowledgeable and I appreciate her so much!
Thanks for your help and encouragement, Amanda! We still have a long way to go, but I feel good about the path that we are on.
The lectures were very clear, and the videos were useful. I especially appreciated the slow motion videos explaining structure and form.. All in all a great class, and am really glad I took it to retrain our contacts!
Participating in this course at gold level provided me with great motivation to train our contact behavior in an organized way. It forced me to be disciplined about how I trained: to make a plan for each session, get video, conduct a post-mortem and use that to plan for the next session and that was a really good habit to get into, which I've extended to other agility skills I am training
I took the Gold level for one dog but trained this concept to both of my dogs. I saw huge changes in both dogs and I am on my way to really great contacts. Amanda made sure the foundation behavior was trained and teaching the dogs to engage their rear end makes so much more sense! I can't wait to take another class with Amanda. I love her positivity and attitude. Rhonda Y
