Articles Tagged: 2o2o

Need some training ideas for maintaining your dog’s agility skills? This series presents a maintenance program that’s easy to implement and accomplishes a great deal in short sessions. This month focuses on the dogwalk.

Does a two-on/two-off contact place more stress on the dog’s joints than other methods? In a first-of-its-kind study, the author examines joint angles and body movement on the A-frame descent using Dartfish software.

In this three-part series, the author explains the progression for training a two-on/two-off contact performance, both with and without a nose touch. The final article covers sequencing the dogwalk, training the A-frame contact, and problem solving.

In this three-part series, the author explains the progression for training a two-on/two-off contact performance, both with and without a nose touch. This month’s article covers stair work, more plank work, and backchaining the dogwalk.

In this three-part series, the author explains how to train a two-on/two-off contact performance, both with and without a nose touch. This month’s article covers how to teach a nose touch and basic two-on/two-off work on a travel board.

When I ask agility competitors what they are least satisfied with, more often than not they answer contacts. Clearly, we all seek faster and more accurate contacts. Still the work of achieving, improving, and maintaining contact excellence can be daunting, leaving many stuck at a “good enough” performance level. How do you know if you’re stuck at good enough? Start by writing down a detailed description of your ideal contact performance and comparing it, objectively, to your dog’s current performance. Except for the possibility of physical problems, I believe that the dog’s understanding of the behavior you want on the contacts, your timely and exciting reinforcement of the behavior, and a program for routine maintenance are the keys to improving the speed of your dog’s contact performance.