AG220: Building and Maintaining Stopped Contacts

Where It Goes Wrong!!

Strong start

If your dog's stopped contact performance started 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 (for example, food or toys) for specific behavior. Behaviors can also be reinforced when the dog does something that they love to do immediately following the behavior. When the dog goes directly to the next obstacle after exiting the contact, the chain of behaviors (entire contact performance and next obstacle) is reinforced when there is a positive conditioned emotional response for that next 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 performance. If that continues, the entire unwanted contact performance will become more likely to occur in that environment. That's why so many dogs have different performances at the trials than they have in training. The environment becomes a powerful cue for a different performance. There is an emotional component in play, too. If there is stress or confusion, skills will eventually fade or change. It's a complicated behavior chain that needs to be unraveled for individual dog and handler teams.

Because it can be tricky to reward your dog's stopped contact performance in a trial, you must work hard at exposing your dog's trained routine to many situations, environments, and distractions. In an environment with 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 are 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 disconnect from your dog (For example - thinking about the sequence ahead or talking to your instructor while your dog is stopped in position). You might also be unaware of signals or patterns that unintentionally become confusing to the dog. And for some dogs, stress or frustration can cause performance issues. It 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 (for 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 or other negative emotions because of the dog's performance

Conclusion

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

The best approach is to train your dog to do an independent stopped position while introducing handling and other distractions. Doing this will free you up to navigate the course independent from your dog's performance on the contact. It gives you many more options.