IMPORTANT NEWS/CHANGE regarding RC classes: I have had the chance to observe dogs in foundation RC for over a year now and I couldn’t be more happy and satisfied about the progress they make and  it has also confirmed  how important it is, to set great foundations and start building the correct muscle memory from beginning, because once you do that, successfully finishing the RC training is much easier, faster and understandable for the dog. Because of that I came to an important change in my classes! 

 From now on, I will divide my on-line RC classes to TWO parts:
– to FOUNDATION RC class and 
– to ADVANCED RC class

That will in practice mean, that FOUNDATION RC class will be MANDATORY for all students (either as WORKING SPOT or AUDITOR), who will want to then join the ADVANCED RC class. BUT because of that, ADVANCED RC class will also have few changes and it will also be cheaper.

After huge success with my first RC class, I decided to also open the FOUNDATION RC class (which is appropriate for ALL dogs from 6 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).