Contacts

I have been working every day with Pixel at home on the travel plank and already I am seeing a difference.

She was having a hard time on the aframe staying on and keeping drive to the target.

I went back and worked on just targeting on the flat board. And then I started raising the end up.

I have discovered I need to have the target closer for her to rock back on her rear enough to stay on the board. She doesn't have the muscle memory to rely on yet.

Last night I had her do the whole board off the couch and she was able to maintain position and drove to the target.

In a different session I also did some "happiest place" games. This is the best game ever that I got from Terry Simons. It really teaches the dog the value of staying on the board. Because that is part of the issue right now I figured it would help her to understand. I couldn't trick her off the board (out of position) so I am pretty pleased.

Contacts are one of those things that take a long while to get. But in the end it is so worth it. At this point I am pretty certain that I will also teach Pixel a running frame. But I want her to learn a two on two off to start.

So yeah. Progress is a wonderful thing!

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Updated: julie asked for more details about the happiest place...here you go!

Happiest Place explanation
The happiest place is just that- teaching the dog that the best place to be is on the end of the contact. You can do this two feet on the board, or four feet depending on your dogs contacts. The first step is to just feed the dog- the WHOLE TIME they are on the board. A Hotdog or Cheese string works best. You can't run out of food. Release before you run out. Once the dog is excited about the position and eagerly chowing down you then start to pull your hand away. If the dog leaves position you close your hand, until they get back in position then you resume feeding. They learn super fast that the food ends when they leave the board. You can do this on all the contacts- the teeter included. Oh, and you just get the dog to hop up on the board- not do the whole thing. You have to be there, ready with the food. It is also important to think about head position while you are doing this- feed low. I have found this works really well for all levels of dogs- it is a good way to proof your position, and a fun game to do with puppies. We do this in all of our intro classes. Hopefully i've explained it well enough!