Running contacts and especially the dog walk could be called the mother of all obstacles. The extreme speed required and other demanding aspects of the obstacle make it challenging to train.
A dog needs to be very skilled in order for him to run a dog walk that is less than 30 centimetres wide and 120-130 centimetres high at a speed of 11 m/s. When training the running contacts on the walk, an accurately timed reward is of significant importance and is therefore also practiced during different stages of the course.
On the course, the tasks have been broken down into six different stages and each of them has an important role in training your dog to successfully do the running dog walk. Practice each stage with your dog until you have learnt the necessary skills. The purpose of the tasks is to also develop your dog’s motor skills. By following the different stages and finishing the tasks, your dog will be able to do running contacts on the dog walk with speed and confidence. The tests along the way help make sure you are ready to move on to the next stage.
On the running dog walk course you get:
- Clear tasks to help you and your dog progress towards doing the whole running dog walk
- Precise written and video instructions to complete each stage of the tasks
- Instructions on how to practice turns
- A membership to ILOMME Dog walk Facebook – group
- Answers to the most frequently asked questions
Practicing running contacts may sometimes seem a bit challenging. You can get help and support from ILOMME Facebook – group where you can share your own process with others and offer help and support to one another. You can also find training videos in the group.
“I’m Harri Katainen -an agility coach- and this is the running contact course. The ILOMME running contact course is based on the dog’s mental processes. When I began to teach my dog the running dog walk, I found many instructions that concentrated on what the dog is doing but, at the same time, I noticed that my dog didn’t really know what he was doing. Not until I found studies on dog awareness and learning ability, did I understand that I have to come up with a way to tell my dog what I want from him in a way that he understands. And this is how the running dog walk course came to be. What also resulted from this was a whole new way of training my dogs.
You can also participate on this course even if your dog has already done some running DW training and you haven’t had success with it. You’re welcome. We will help you.
On this course, your dog can learn the running dog walk really quickly – some have done it in 4 weeks. I’m often asked whether or not it’s possible to switch to a running contact after using a stopped contact. Yes, it is, but the tricky thing about it is that the dog begins to prepare for the stop so early on the dog walk that it’s slowing down rather than running. The first rule of a running dog walk is that the dog runs the whole dog walk; the second rule is that he touches the contact area with his rear paws. So the answer to the above question is that yes you can switch from a stopped contact to a running one, but it’s a bit more difficult. Then again, if you want to teach your dog a stopped contact, first teach him a running contact and then teach him to stop. It’s easier this way.
Running contacts interest agility athletes simply because it’s faster than stopping.
Why should you teach your dog a running contact? Well, because running is much faster than stopping. Another important fact that supports running contacts is that dogs like running more than stopping. And when the behavior is rewarding, it sustains. When the running DW has been trained well, each rep improves the running contact behavior. When I began agility, everyone did stopped contacts and 60% of training consisted of reinforcing the behavior whereas nowadays contacts are obstacles like any other and trained accordingly.
I’m Harri Katainen, welcome to my running dog walk course. I’m certain you won’t return to stopped contacts.”
By purchasing this course you will receive precise instructions on how to progress towards doing running contacts on the dog walk with speed and confidence.
