AG220: Building and Maintaining Stopped Contacts

Strong start

If your dog’s stopped contact performance started out strong and then fell apart, how did that happen? If you have a dog that has not competed and you want to train a brilliant stopped contact performance, how can you make sure that the behavior doesn’t fall apart?

Reinforcing behavior

Behaviors increase and become stronger when they are reinforced. Reinforcement happens when the dog accesses something they love (example, food or toys). This can also happen by when the dog performs a behavior that has been highly reinforced. When the dog accesses an obstacle that has been highly reinforced after exiting the contact, the entire contact performance is reinforced after the execution of that obstacle. 

The reverse also comes into play. A history of unwanted behaviors can be built into the contact performance, when the dog repeatedly continues forward after an undesirable stopped contact behavior. If that continues, the entire contact performance will become stronger in that environment. That’s why so many dogs have different performances at the trials. The environment becomes a strong cue for a different performance. There is also an emotional component in play, too. If there is stress or confusion, skills will disappear. It’s a complicated behavior chain that must be unraveled for individual dog and handler teams.

Because it can be tricky to reward your dog’s stopped contact performance in a trial, it’s important you work hard at exposing your dog’s trained routine to many situations, environments, and distractions. In an environment that has lots of distractions (like trials), your dog’s performance will get tested. If the training has also been tested and the handling and the release cue is clear to the dog, then those new situations shouldn't be an issue and can be easier to reinforce.

For the love of agility

Most dogs that do agility LOVE it. Training the obstacles and sequences with positive reinforcement, creates a strong desire to interact with them. “Going” becomes a highly valued reward for the dog. If you do not train or handle the stopped contact performance properly with clear criteria and cues, then your dog can get confused.  Then those lovely stopped contacts will start to deteriorate - maybe without you even recognizing the first signs. Your dog's behavior might start to change in classes or trials when you feel rushed or when you disconnect from your dog (Example - thinking about the sequence ahead or talking to your instructor while your dog is stopped). You might also be unaware of signals or patterns that unintentionally become confusing to the dog.  And for some dogs, there can issues caused by stress or frustration. That creates a negative conditioned emotional response. 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 stopped contact behavior to deteriorate:

1. Attempt to control the dog’s behavior
   • Backing up or facing the dog while the dog is stopped in position
   • Repeating the stay cue while moving forward
   • Physically attempting to control where the dog should go
   • Overly demanding/punitive or loud tone to stop the dog's movement or to cause the dog to stay (example, "YOU STAY")
2. Being disconnected or distracted while the dog is stopped in position
3. Using unpredictable patterns or unintentionally pairing the verbal release cue with motion
4. Showing disappointment and/or negative emotions with the dog's performance

Conclusion

Your dog learns the stopped contact performance that you create - intentionally or unintentionally. 

The best approach is to train an independent stopped end position behavior to your dog. This will help get you ahead or keep you ahead of your dog.