Ciders Running contact history

There has been a very long break in my writing, but now we are back on ;)

Just wanted to tell a little about Cider and my adventure
the last 1½-2 years....

Running contact on dogwalk....
In the bottom there are 2 videoes, training and competition...

Cider is my little autist, she is so clever almost to much.... I started training RC from she was young, but didn't really know how, just out her on a low DW, and throw a toy, but because she was jumping, a put a help on, to get her to run under, and therefor hit..... Let me just say we didn't get ready before she started competitions, so I disided to put 2o2o on her at first,JUST until we were done with the RC... BUT because my litle clever black devil was soooo goood, and was beginning to break all records in moving up and become a champion as the yongest, my 2o2o became worse and worse and slower and slower, because we competed with the very fast dogs, I didn't had "time" to get her down in position, which resulted in she didnøt really knew what do to on the contacts in competition...

Looking back I am glad I got the experience on my own, and really saw what it means for a young dog, that the criteria is clear from the beginning!!

Because Cider clearly had no idea at all after only few competitions, and I ruined her contacts totally! :( But because she was still fast and almost everytime got the contact any way, I didn't do that much about it, either than train speed in training....

But after 2 years with always a 3 place (If Primadonna and Dweet got through the course), and clearly to slow contacts for international competitions,  I decided to do something....

I think she deserved more, she was better than that....

So after national championship 2013, then I started for good with RC!

I bought Silvia Trkmans RC DVD,  and started training, borrowed a DW and started up in the garden.....

Am I happy for the results, YES
Has it been easy, NOOOOO

Everyone who say to me: "I will have RC on my next dog", I just think go for it...

BUT I think everyone should be aware that it is not always easy, and can give very many frustrations!
BUT then again, it is fun, and the dog is for sure enjoying themself, but the difficult thing is to not think to much about 1 great sessions, and then 1 really bad afterwards, and then 1 good, and then 2 bad, 3 good, and so on.... I will still say the feeling after a great session can make me fly high for longer, than the bad feeling after a bad session is not that long.... :)

I am lucky to also have a great and fast 2o2o DW with Primadonna (1½ year older than Cider), but her I took the time and train the position also in the beginning of her competition career...
This I am also very happy about, eventhough she still cheat me, and about 5 time per year go before release in competition..

She very rarely jumps them, but I expext that she will stay, and is she don't I will be one step behind my thoughts of handling....

With Cider it is a release that I don't have to think about this, just run.......

My only advise to people is, what ever you do, DO IT 100 % !!
The long way will always in the end be the fastes to succes !!

Have Cider had  100% perfect contacts in competitions, NO
Have it all been living the dream, NO
Have it been with out frustrations, NO

Would I do it all over, HELL YEAH :)
And already started with my puppy Movie, we will start the journey now at almost 10 month old...

Ciders contacts was a test this year (she turned 4 in may), but she will keep RC, she loves it, we gets faults, but she is so happy for this, and she understand what to do, so we will keep on, and hope for more perfect hits in competition!

In training they are almost every time perfect:
They are deep, and they are clear!

This is a fine contact from competition:

I understand that the judges have a very difficult time, judging the running contacts, especially because  50% of Ciders contact in competition is one paw on the contact, and one paw over (that is  enough for no faults, but difficult to see).....

Here is some pictures taking from videos, thats why the bad quality....

Pure judges!!

BUT I will praise them, I have never been given a fault there wasn't there, and even though I could be in doubt after a run, I can see on the video that she actually almost everytime have one paw in, but if I am on the other side of her hit, I can't see it myself...

I have made a statistic over her contacts, so I could get a realistic view over her hit:
My goal for this year was 50 % hit
(for retrain I heard it could take more than a year for getting them to understand the new pattern)
It went so much better than i dare hope for!!!

7/50 missed contacts (14%)
22/50 hit in the contact with one paw (44%)
21/50 perfect hits, 2 paws + in contact (42%)
So I am sooo happy! And hope for a lot more perfect hits next year :)

IF you deside to start training runing contacts, I would really recommend that you get help from someone who knows and have done it before you.....
Sometimes you can have the same thoughts as your "teacher", but if they confirms yout thoughts you will belive it more, and dare go through with it, even thouhg it will take 1-2 sessions before it is perfect again, I feelt on my own, that if it didn't helped right away, I tried something else...

Most of the time you should just be patient, and therefore it was all the money worth going on Silvia Trkmanns online class! She really helped me being patient, and always had a new different approach to the problem, if the first didn't helped, and answered quick, so I could adjust my training already for next training! I could really recommand this !!
I do it again with Movie!

Cider loves this, and we will keep on :)
(at least for one more year ;) )

I have made 2 videoes, some clips from our training, and after the best camera clips from competitions (were you can see the DW contact, come videos was from very bad angles, but I can remember almost all our DW this year anyway :D )

Trainings:

Competitions:

Picturs taken by Helle Lindhold Larsen, Tina Hindsgaul and Sissel Bagge