AG140: Building and Maintaining A Start Line

If your dog’s start line behavior started out strong and then fell apart, how did that happen? If you are looking to train a brilliant start line, how can you make sure that the behavior doesn’t fall apart?

As is with all behaviors, they increase and become stronger when they are reinforced and they can become more reinforcing with certain environments or cues. 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 release properly with clear criteria and cues, then your dog will be confused and those solid start line stays will have more mistakes. Your dog's behavior at the start line can start to change in classes or trials when the you feel rushed, you disconnect from your dog (thinking about the sequence ahead), or you are unaware of signals or patterns that unintentionally become a release cue.  Also, there can be some issues caused by stress or frustration which creates 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!!

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
   • 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/punitive stay cue tone
2. Being disconnected or distracted
3. Using unpredictable patterns or unintentionally pairing the verbal release cue with other body movement
4. Showing disappointment and/or negative emotions

Dogs will learn the start line routine pattern that you create. This pattern starts from the time you walk into the ring until your dog leaves the start line. As each of these behaviors progress, each of them is rewarded by continuing to the next behavior. It ends up being a very strong behavior chain that builds and gains momentum. If there are any unwanted behaviors along the way, those behaviors are also reinforced by continuing forward in the chain.

Unfortunately, most of these patterns usually go unnoticed until the dog is displaying lots of 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.