AG140 Building and Maintaining A Start Line

Week 1

• Where it goes wrong
• Station training
• Freeze in Position (Offered Stay)
• Clean Verbal Cues & Event Markers
• Work Away from Rewards (Remote Reinforcement)

Week 2

• Start line issues
• The Stay
• Introduction of the Release Cue
• Handling the Release Without the Dog
• Training the Release from the Station
• Handling the Release from a Station
• Focus Evaluation Procedure

Week 3

• Reset Start
• Positions
• Training and Handling Release from a Station (continued)
• Work Away from Reinforcement - Add Transitions and Work

Week 4

• Release from Position
• Setup at the start line
• Leash On and Off Procedure
• Station Training - Distractions

Week 5

• Lead-out/Release from the Setup
• Moving to the first obstacle
• Work Away from Reinforcement - Toys
• Work Away from Reinforcement - Add a Ring Entrance

Week 6

• Putting it all together
• Testing the Start line (delays, changing setup position, changing handler position etc)
• Ring Exit Strategy (this affects your ring entry)

Strong start

If your dog's start line performance started strong and then fell apart, how did that happen? If you have a dog who hasn't competed and you want to train a brilliant start line, how can you make sure the behavior doesn't fall apart?

Reinforcing behavior

Behaviors increase and become stronger when they are reinforced. Reinforcement occurs when the dog accesses something they find valuable (for example, food or toys). Reinforcement can also occur when the dog performs a behavior that has a strong value (based on a long history of reinforcement). For example, when your dog accesses a highly valued obstacle after performing a skill (like the start line), all of the previous behaviors are reinforced by the execution of that obstacle. So, you can reinforce your dog's start line by releasing it to perform the first obstacle (if that obstacle has value for the dog).

The reverse also comes into play. You can build a history of unwanted behaviors when you repeatedly cue forward momentum or allow your dog to continue to access obstacles after your dog performs unwanted behaviors. Some of these can be accidental. But when you allow your dog to form undesirable habits, they will get practiced and can even become stronger in that environment. That's why so many dogs perform differently at the trials. The environment serves as a cue for the dog to behave differently.

There is also an emotional component in play. If there is stress or confusion, skills will get weak or disappear altogether. It's a complicated behavior chain that needs to be unraveled to clear up confusion for individual dog and handler teams.

Because it can be tricky to reward your dog's start line performance in a trial, you must work hard to expose your dog's trained routine to many environments and distractions. In an environment with many distractions (trials), your dog's performance will be tested. However, if the training has also been tested and the handling and the release cue are clear to your dog, then those new situations won't be an issue. As long as new environments and distractions are gradually layered into your dog's experience with plenty of success, then your dog will eventually handle distractions that seemed impossible in the past.

For the love of agility

Most dogs that do agility LOVE the sport. Training the obstacles and sequences with positive reinforcement creates a strong desire to interact with them. Going to the next "thing" becomes a highly valued reward for the dog. However, if you and your dog are not communicating well (your cues are not clear), both of you will be frustrated. The lack of communication will deteriorate your dog's start line stay - maybe without you even recognizing the first signs. For example, your dog's behavior might start to change in classes or trials under certain conditions when:

1. You feel rushed,
2. You disconnect from your dog (thinking about the sequence ahead or talking to your instructor),
3. You are unaware of the signals or movements that your dog associates with the release,
4. You are unaware of patterns that unintentionally predict a release

Also, stress or frustration can cause issues, creating a negative conditioned emotional response in your dog at the start line. And when that happens, you no longer have a dog that can think clearly. Anything can happen!!

What causes behavior to deteriorate?

Here are some examples of handler behavior that can cause a good start line behavior to deteriorate:

1. Attempt to control the dog's behavior. Examples:
   • Backing up or facing the dog while leading out.
   • Repeating the stay cue while leading out
   • Physically placing the dog into position (i.e., pushing the rear down, etc.)
   • Overly demanding or punitive stay-cue tone.
2. Being disconnected or distracted.
3. Unintentionally using predictable patterns (examples: two steps then release; handler looks at the dog then releases) when you release your dog. Those patterns end up becoming the release cue instead of the intended verbal cue.
4. Pairing the verbal release cue with motion (example: reaching towards the dog with a hand at the same time the verbal cue is given, moving forward at the same time the verbal release cue is given)
5. Showing disappointment and negative emotions - even when it's not directed towards the dog.

Conclusion

Your dog learns the start line routine pattern that you create - intentionally or unintentionally. This pattern starts from the time you walk into the ring until your dog leaves the start line. As each of these behaviors progresses, it is rewarded by continuing with the subsequent behavior. It ends up being a robust behavior chain that builds and gains momentum. If any unwanted behaviors occur along the way, they are also built into the routine.

Unfortunately, most of these patterns go unnoticed until the dog is displaying many unwanted behaviors, including leaving the start line before the handler's intended release cue is given. To solve these issues, you have to break things down and rebuild a different set of behaviors with clear cues.