A3000 Contacts Comeback: Rehab for Stopped Contacts

3 WEEK CLASS - Do you have a stopped contact that’s almost there… but not quite living its best life?

You’ve done the training. The understanding is there. But maybe it’s inconsistent, a little "creepy," or tends to fall apart the moment you leave your home practice field. If your contact behavior holds up in training but fails under pressure, Contacts Comeback is for you.

This class builds on the work you have already done. Your dog knows what a contact is supposed to look like. What we’re doing now is identifying any small gaps in the foundation and turning your good behaviour into a rock-solid one that holds up under all circumstances. Truly spectacular performance often requires taking a clear, honest look at what’s already there…and that’s exactly what this class supports.

In this class, we’ll give your contact behaviour an upgrade. Our focus will be on the dog walk and A-frame, though the concepts and skills apply directly to teeter behaviour as well.

Week One is all about clarity and consistency…what strong criteria really look like, where understanding tends to break down, and why. We’ll strip the behaviour back to the end position, clearly defining, refining, and strengthening it. From there, we generalize. A lot.

Week Two, we begin rebuilding and layering in elements of the contact equipment…navigating a narrow plank, moving directly into position across that plank, and…if you’re guessing what comes next…you’re right…even more generalization.

Week Three, we reintroduce this newly refined behaviour onto full contacts. And of course, what follows that reintroduction? You guessed it…even more generalization.

Our earliest (and arguably most important) work happens off the equipment, so for the first two weeks you’ll only need a platform and a plank. As a bonus, the skills you learn will give you creative, practical ways to maintain sharp, confident contact behaviour even without equipment. In Week Three, plan to have access to a dog walk and/or A-frame a few times during the week.

While we’ll follow a structured curriculum, the focus is always on your individual team and its specific needs. Every team may be working on something different, which makes watching your classmates incredibly valuable. You may spot solutions you don’t need yet…but will be very glad to have in your toolbox later. Ready to bring your contacts back better than ever? Let’s do this!

Teaching Approach:

Lectures will be released at the start of the week. Lectures are a written with video demos. Feedback will be written with the use of still shots for clarity. In some cases voice over video may be used, I find in some situations it is helpful to explain in real time with the ability to slow down, rewind or stop video to help you see and understand a concept.