Allow Your Dog to Say Yes
Start Button Training for Opting In to a Session
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Do you ever walk into the ring for training, or competition, set your dog up on the start line, lead out, and then…..nothing? Your dog either takes off zooming around the ring, sniffing the corners, visiting the ring crew and judge, or just never releases from the start line, looks around semi worriedly, breaks their sit and slowly meanders off. I see this a lot in students and in competitors, and I’ve dealt with this a lot with some of my own dogs. If you don’t have a herding breed (and maybe even if you do) chances are you’ve dealt with this in some form or another. I hear from students or friends “I don’t know what happened, I thought she was with me”, or “I don’t understand, sometimes we have great runs, and sometimes we’re so disconnected”. It’s frustrating and disheartening, and it takes a huge mental toll on the handler. You start to think that maybe your dog just isn’t cut out for Agility, or that you’ll never achieve your goals. You start to lose confidence in the skills your dog has, because who knows if they are paying attention enough to perform them?
So how do you know if your dog is really with you? How do you know if they are ready, engaged, and willing to work? How can you be sure before you even unclip the leash? I’d like to share one method I have been using; it’s not new, in fact some of my early students will remember it, but it’s something I’ve been revisiting as Casey has requested to train more and more. It’s the incorporation of a Start Button - or in laymen’s terms, it’s giving the dog space to tell you they are willing to work. Disclaimer - I’m going to describe how this looks for a stress-down dog, but all the concepts also apply to an over-aroused dog. Essentially when we incorporate a Start Button, we allow the dogs time to adjust to their surroundings, to explore the environment, and become emotionally ok with it before beginning to work. There is no high-pitched name calling to get your dog’s attention, no collar popping or physically forcing your dog into the sit you’ve been asking for 10 times. There is patience, observing your dog’s body language, becoming more in-tune with the micro signals they are sending you, and allowing your dog to opt-in to working with you. The value of a Start Button is four-fold in that it:
Gives the handler a definitive way to tell when the dog is engaged in the work
Increases handler understanding of their dog’s body language and emotional states
Creates a dog who is more willing to work, and sustains their engagement for a longer period of time
Grows the bond between dog and handler - you will reap the benefits of your dog’s trust as they learn that you will not ask them to perform beyond their emotional limits
Building a Start Button
All of this sounds great, but how do we put it into practice and start building our Start Buttons? It’s simple; you can practice it anywhere at any time, incorporating this into your morning walks, and definitely into your training sessions. In the scenario below, I’ll be using eye-contact as my Start Button. You can make your Start Button any physical cue from the dog that does not have a different meaning such as a hand boop, or a line up, but it has to be something they can offer freely vs. something you ask for and they are “forced” to respond to.
Be prepared with a clicker and treat pouch.
Start with the dog on leash. Allow them to sniff and explore the environment you are in. During this period, simply follow the dog; the dog needs space to check out the environment, ensuring there is nothing they should be concerned about.
As a handler, your job is to spend this time watching your dog, reading their body language. Are they excited or nervous? Empirically, how do you know? The more you can pick up on here, the more you’ll be able to tell if your dog is ready to work in the ring.
Your job is not to call the dog’s name or otherwise try to get their attention (no kissy noises or random clicker clicking). Allow them to dictate direction of the sniffing - follow them, don’t lead them (within reason, don’t allow them to go to unsafe spaces or exit the training ring if training).
As the dog becomes more comfortable in their environment they will eventually wonder what they are doing and look to you for direction. When the dog makes eye-contact with you, click and reward. BE PATIENT! Steps 2-3 can take 15+ minutes for a dog who is super nervous. It takes a lot of discipline from the handler at this point not to try to “lead” the session by calling the dog’s name. Just wait it out.
If you feel like you know your dog well enough, and they are simply too overwhelmed to work with you in this environment, put the dog away and try again in a less concerning environment. Remember, this is not a punishment for the dog. This is the handler acknowledging the dog’s emotional state, and understanding that their dog is so uncomfortable that the best thing to do is remove them from the situation.
Your dog will most likely immediately go back to sniffing after step 3. That’s fine, continue allowing them to lead, eventually they will offer eye-contact again and you should click and reward.
At some point, your dog will offer sustained eye-contact, often sitting directly in front of you, and staring at you almost as if saying “ok mom what are we doing here”. This is your “I’m ready to work signal”, but just to be safe, we should double check. Ask for some simple cues that your dog understands well such as sit, down, left, right, nose touch etc. Click and reward for each. If your dog is unable to perform a cue, make a mental note, your dog may still have some discomfort with the environment.
Start working. If your dog checks out at any time, go back to step 2.
Over time, you should see that it takes less time for your dog to offer that first set of eye-contact, and from there that it takes less time to get to the point of sustained eye-contact. As a handler, you should pay attention to the amount of time it takes in different environments. This will give you a lot of cues about the dog’s emotional state - the longer it takes, the less comfortable the dog is in that environment. Additionally, make a commitment to yourself and your pup that once you start using a Start Button, you will never ask for work until your dog has offered their Start Button behavior. This is where you build the trust with your dog that you will never over-face them in an environment they can’t cope with, and trust me you will reap huge dividends here in terms of your relationship with your pup!
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get working on your start button! Already have one? I’d love to hear what your start button behavior is, and how it has worked for you!