Video: Turns off of Running Contacts, by Dawn Weaver

Right, left, go on, plus close angle turns.

After training the first stages of running contact, a need soon arises to find away to train accurate turns after the contact.

Many courses today are being designed as not "friendly" to running contacts, or to phrase this more positively, to test the thoroughness of the training.

The biggest challenge I've confronted lately is close angle turns after the dogwalk. These are almost devilish for a young dog as they demand a very steep transition from extension across the contact to engagement of the hindquarters and collection for the turn.

The other part of the equation is being able to cue the dog to stay in extension when the course proceeds straight ahead of the contact.

I know these are items I've only begun to address with Samurai, so I was very excited to see that British trainer, Dawn Weaver, has very nicely outlined the basic skill set that needs to be addressed for training turns of contacts and a view into how she trains them.

Thanks Dawn for this video which is yet another example of how information sharing regarding dog agility training is becoming ever more enriched by social media and video on the web.

It's almost a miracle to be able to view the style and methods of trainers in distant places from nearly anywhere on the globe. Thanks to all who are contributing to this ongoing conversation.

Dawn Weaver and Dancer - Off to a Great Start!

A great example of keeping the fun in training.

Watching talented people work with their dogs is a wonderful way of gaining a vision of what great training really looks like. Here we see a video posted by Great Britain's Dawn Weaver of her new Papillon, Dancer, on her first outing with jumps and weaves.

From this little clip, you get a glimpse of some of the foundation steps that must have set the stage for this moment to fall into place -- seemingly so easily.

You see the target, and you see that Dawn has already built an amazing relationship with this little Pap. She has already taught her important lessons on attention,how to seek rewards, motion cues and how to both focus on her handler and work independently.

Most of all, you can see how much fun both Dawn and her puppy are having in this little episode. The little girl is learning lots, but she is obviously gleeful as she bounds toward each new lesson.

I'm sure little Dancer thinks all of this is just a very fun game. She doesn't seem troubled by worries of failure or about making mistakes. What a great way to build a winning attitude and the confidence to take great goals in stride.

It's a lesson for all of us to keep fun in the forefront and happy surprises at every turn.