[Muttluvr]

I took a contact seminar a while ago and the lady giving it said that it shouldn't necessarily be size that determines what kind of contact performance you choose for your dog, you should take body shape into account. Since Boxers (she even used boxers as an example) have deep chests they tend to have more weight up front which can cause more stress doing a 2o/2o on the A-frame contact.

I'm seriously considering a running contact, or a sit at the bottom for Foster because I video taped one of our practice sessions last weekend and I really didn't like how on the decent he landed very hard on his front feet (his rear feet came off the a-frame a little) and then settled back in th 2o/2o. Can't be good for his shoulders.

So for Foster I'm wavering between the running and sit. Sitting at the bottom will teach him to shift his weight back as he comes down, but I've heard that sometimes a judge will call an off-course if they get all 4 feet off and then their butt touches the A-frame when they sit. I think a running would work well for us now (since Foster isn't TOO fast) but I'm worried that he'll get faster as he builds confidence and he'll start out-running me.

Let me know what you decide and how the re-training goes! The only reason I hate to change Foster's contact is he has such a beautiful 2o/2o!