On Line Courses

[Aearoniel]

Yes they weren't particularly good examples of her running contacts, usually her dogs contacts are brilliant if you look at other examples of her runs I'd say these are the exception rather than the rule. All dogs have bad runs some times.

With Pip on his way I've been looking at teaching the foundation skills outside of the agility context and I think this will be a huge difference to even three years ago when I began teaching my 2nd dog, we started on equipment straight away instead of teaching the skills then applying them.

 

[Sharon]

would have been nice
as it happens, agility does not start at the training facility IMHO. If one does not have good focus, balanced impulse control, desire to work, strong sit stays with your dog at home, they not going to miraculously appear on agility field.

Well, this statement is not true because if you are starting out in agaility and your a newbie most facilities that teaches puppy classes and agility teach you this stuff at school(sit, stay etc)and do not allow you to go into agility if you don't have a relaible sit ,stay.

 

[SheltieChe]

very nice run, but anyone else have concern with both the AF & teeter performances in that video?

I remember Silvia mentioned somewhere that she often has "dirty" runs and still wins because of the speed her dogs run at. I have been looking at Dawn Weaver on line classes, she also offers Running contacts but I know she won't accept you in them unless you can "pass the muster" and she thinks it would be beneficial for your team. Few buddies I know are training there and love it great deal.
She also teaches shaped stopped contacts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMZndmmfqSY&feature=youtu.be

 

[SheltieChe]

would have been nice
as it happens, agility does not start at the training facility IMHO. If one does not have good focus, balanced impulse control, desire to work, strong sit stays with your dog at home, they not going to miraculously appear on agility field.
Well, this statement is not true because if you are starting out in agaility and your a newbie most facilities that teaches puppy classes and agility teach you this stuff at school(sit, stay etc)and do not allow you to go into agility if you don't have a relaible sit ,stay.

Sharon, I would prefer if wording was something different like... "my opinion is different"... whether my opinion is true or not who is to judge?
But to the point. I have not found classes to be good ground of teaching new behaviors. Testing- yes, proofing - yes. But teaching new behavior? Forget it, I'll go to the loo with my puppy
I have found that classes are beneficial for humans to teach them to teach their dogs but there is so many distractions for a puppy in the class I feel lucky if I get a practiced behavior remembered

 

[Sharon]

Sharon, I would prefer if wording was something different like... "my opinion is different"... whether my opinion is true or not who is to judge?
But to the point. I have not found classes to be good ground of teaching new behaviors. Testing- yes, proofing - yes. But teaching new behavior? Forget it, I'll go to the loo with my puppy
I have found that classes are beneficial for humans to teach them to teach their dogs but there is so many distractions for a puppy in the class I feel lucky if I get a practiced behavior remembered

Well, my opinon is different and I still find the statement false!!

 

[Sealtainn]

I remember Silvia mentioned somewhere that she often has "dirty" runs and still wins because of the speed her dogs run at.

Hmm... not sure that was what I'd think was a "dirty" run; I did think it was handled very well. My biggest concern was the AF. Yes -- high speed is a major contributor to what I see in that instance, but my concern with a dog that is performing an AF like that is that an injury will happen sooner or later. Hopefully this was an exception, and I'm guessing that dog is still green, but if my dog was doing an AF like that I would change something before the worst happens.

Maybe someone who knows this team can say if the dog is young, the turned neck while traveling the plank & jumping *up* and off the teeter as it did suggests it may not yet be comfortable on it. I'd prefer a dog be focused on this specific obstacle performance rather than watching the handler.
The dog will be better positioned to absorb the impact of the plank hitting the ground if the head is centered facing forward.
Like for the AF, difficult to judge from a single video, but if this is something that is repeated it could lead to a chronic injury - and/or the dog jumping of prematurely - they might get away with that more in europe than in the usa.

 

[SheltieChe]

Sealtainn,
thank you much for comments, makes sense to me.
I believe Le is the baby and is youngest dog that Silvia has. Here is La that just turned 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPazYnVEE0&feature=player_embedded#!

 

[3Stars]

out of my experience I see big trend coming of "teaching agility away from agility". I think that is how new Running Contacts course by SG will be taught too. Those people who are in Puppy Peaks do see that "work is play and play is work". I just read connotations to DVD of one leading obedience teacher's with tons of High in Trial etc and she writes that yeah, my dogs are rather play than compete... BIG revelation to me, nope, not my kind of teacher. I want my dogs to ask me to train them

I agree 100% with SheltieChe. Unfortunately, in my area there are mainly "traditional" instructors. I knew I didn't want to follow that path, and so I did 95% of my training outside of the normal classroom environment. I approach every training opportunity as if it is another fun trick. I taught Starr to do running contacts and heel with the same amount of positivity and enthusiasm as I used when I was teaching him to walk on his hind legs. He's been to a grand total of six agility classes in his life, but had his first agility trial last weekend and exceeded ALL of my expectations. He also demonstrates an impressive degree of adaptability, and an ability to extend his understanding that I don't see in dogs in the traditional class format. He LOVES to train, because he thinks training = playtime with his favorite human - and this enthusiasm has definitely extended to competitions (as I discovered last weekend ). I hate teaching new concepts in a class setting - too often the trainer doesn't have the flexibility to meet the needs of the different dogs. I'd far rather the trainer set the goal, I go home and teach it, and then it is proofed/modified as necessary the next week. We also do a lot of cross training - especially in freestyle. This requires only a dog, a human, and some optional household items, but it has helped us immensely - I consider it to be an integral part of our agility training.

 

[Sharon]

So what's next? Earning agility titles without trialing? Maybe we can just download course maps, and post a lot of smack talk about how we would handle the virtual course. Voila! A title certificate will appear in our email inbox.

I think this is such a brilliant idea.How much to charge and who to teach it?

 

[HopeShelties]

Heck, you can already earn yourself a toy sheltie championship just by sending in photos :x