RUNNING CONTACT FOUNDATION CLASS – FUNtastic DOG

IMPORTANT NEWS regarding RC FOUNDATION class:

I am excited to say that the FOUNDATION RC class have been UPDATED! Partly with how we chronologically follow the program and partly with adding few new features that have been quite a game changers (like 2STS, 3STS, fake DW instead of just target on the floor,...). All that has contributed to the fact, that a lot of dogs who are OLD ENOUGH (including dogs in RETRAINING) progress very quickly with their training and are after few weeks ready to move to advanced class where they start running full DW with great success.

Because of that I wish to give everyone an honest opinion about WHEN to join the class.

1) If you are new to RC training and/or you wish to start this training with younger dog, then no problem to join the class with dogs that are older than 7 months. In this case we will progress very gradually with training, have a lot of fun with generalising behaviour on the floor (specially with fake DW and introducing different situations after it- like static toy, (straight) tunnel, wing, adding your movement and running, increasing distances, having fun with discrimination games,...). We will also take time to build muscle memory and you will become an expert about how to find 2STS and set your dog for success in any situation. With so young dogs we will work a lot also on motivation, making them love the game, but with still very limited number of repetitions.

2) In case you wish to progress a bit faster with RC training, then no problem to wait and join the class when dog is around 10 months old. Like mentioned, with few changes in the class, dogs that are old enough are mostly progressing very fast with their training (running full DW just weeks after joining the class). Also in the case of joining the class with 10+month old dog, we will of course take time to make dog love the game, teach you all about importance of 2STS and correct rewarding, adapt the training to the individual needs of your dog (specially regarding motivation and optimal state of mind), but we will start very soon with plank/DW training (parallel to target on the floor games) and 2STS will allow us to build muscle memory of perfect hits from beginning and then also soon progress to full DW.

Another important news is also that moving from FOUNDATION to ADVANCED RC class is possible every 1st of the month! That is so practical because you do not have to wait for months for the new class to open, but instead you can upgrade your training when it is the most optimal for your INDIVIDUAL dog. Also, if you "graduate" from FOUNDATION RC class sooner than in 12 weeks, the weeks that were not used in foundation RC class are ADDED to ADVANCED RC class.

ADVICE: In case you plan to book private lessons for FOUNDATION RC training and you haven’t yet audited the FOUNDATION RC on-line class, I suggest to do that few weeks before you plan to book the private lessons, since that will allow you to get to know the program better before we even start. And since video instructions and lessons are very clear, you can also start with exercises sooner (if dog is old enough) and that will also allow us to progress faster when booking private lessons.

After huge success with my first RC class, I decided to also open the FOUNDATION RC class (which is appropriate for ALL dogs from 7 months on).

The biggest reason why I decided to open also “FOUNDATION” of the RC class is, seeing how much my program with TARGET on the floor training helps dog UNDERSTAND and GENERALISE the behaviour and how much less repetitions on plank/DW are needed because of that. And that part of the TARGET training can be without problems done also with younger dogs, since it has low impact on their bodies -it is nothing more then controlled running on the floor (much more controlled running then my youngest puppy is ever showing when running in the woods), but at the same time, it challenges the brain and helps you build great understanding. And besides building great UNDERSTANDING of targeting regardless of WHAT is FOLLOWED after target (food machine, toy, wing, “nothing”,…) and regardless of your MOVEMENT, we will also add some games, which will already help with DISCRIMINATIONS (like discrimination between target and tunnel,…) and help us PROOF the behaviour to perfection. Besides that, one REALLY important part of my RC training is also building CORRECT MUSCLE MEMORY of running through target from beginning (we all know that when building muscle/brain memory, it is much easier to teach the dog from beginning the correct behaviour/movement, then having to change and re-write it later). And besides that, building muscle memory also takes time, so starting slower with younger dogs is another benefit. And building CORRECT muscle memory will be also one really important part of training RC with younger dogs, because once dog masters the correct muscle memory of running through target, teaching RC becomes really easy.

With FOUNDATION RC class, we will of course also NOT NEED the access to the DW (we will do all foundations with the help of TARGET, FOOD MACHINE, TOYS and PLANK and some obstacles like TUNNEL and WINGS to help us with discriminations, generalisations or with motivational issues). And that is also one of the reasons to open RC FOUNDATIONS – to avoid people training with too young dogs on the full height DW! Because like mentioned, SO MANY foundations for TARGETING (building correct muscle memory and focus for target) and GENERALISATIONS (adding movement, rewarding with toy, rewarding with food, adding obstacle after target,…) can (and must) be first done AWAY from the DW (and even plank), since that is much nicer for dog’s body and also to avoid bringing conflict to DW training.

And just like with ADVANCED RC class, we will also in this FOUNDATION RC class pay a lot of attention to probably one of the most important parts of any RC training : ADAPTING the class/method to every individual dog, based on his CHARACTER, SIZE, PHYSICAL ABILITIES,… ! Individual differences between dogs play a huge role when choosing the optimum training for every dog. Because of that, you have many different types of exercises in this class, which will help you get the best from every dog. Like mentioned, the approach of training for crazy, powerful dog cannot be the same as with less motivated, more sensitive dog!

Last but not least, I also put a lot of attention to SAFETY (you get that when you train RC with malinois :)) and that is another reason why I do many RC foundations away from full DW. We will also talk a LOT about all important equipment SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, which are much more important then you might think, because unsafe conditions are not only DANGEROUS for dogs, but they can also make your RC training much less successful (things like slippery target, ugly edge on lower heights,… can soon lead into over reaching, getting caught into FF hit pattern, avoiding target,…).

I have experiences of training RC for the past 18 years – all my dogs successfully had running contacts from beginning (Cavalier King Charles, Papillons, Pumis, Malinois and Pyr Sheep). The “classical” RC has also been huge success from day one and just in the past 4 years, I have had over 2000 RC students, which all helped me to tailor the class and method to perfection and all that will be included into this NEW FOUNDATION RC class.

So in case you have a dog with which you want to set GREAT foundations for all further RC training, you are welcome to join RC FOUNDATIONS and then proceed to ADVANCED RC class (click here). (Joining ADVANCED RC class is possible only for students who have joined RC FOUNDATION class eider as AUDITOR or WORKING TEAM).

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