I’ve already written a post about how to train (or retrain) a start-line wait. This is an incredibly useful skill to have, unless perhaps you are able to run much faster than your dog. It’s like a free gift at the start of every run, allowing you to be exactly where you need for the first few obstacles.
I’d always recommend training a reliable start-line wait as a long term solution, but sometimes that advice isn’t practical. Not everyone has the same priorities in life (or in their agility training). Sometimes it’s not worth the effort or the missed runs that you may need to fix a long-term problem. Or maybe you’ve started retraining, and you’ve decided not to ask for a wait in the ring until you’ve made more progress.
There’s also a group of dogs which dislike being left at the start, and tend to go slower if they are asked to wait. The handlers of these dogs tread a fine balance between trying to keep their dog’s enthusiasm up, and getting to the right spot to handle the start of the course.
Whatever your reasons, here are a few other strategies you can use to give yourself a head start on the agility course.
The Slingshot
How: Start almost parallel to the jump, and as far away from it as you can get. Face towards the jump, with your dog on your outside. Send the dog to the jump, then quickly spin around and start running.
Pros: If your dog will send a long way, this strategy will give you a better head start than the alternatives. Usually requires minimal training, especially if the dog knows a cue to send to the far side of a jump.
Cons: Some judges don’t like it, and may call it as a refusal if you accidentally cross the plane of the jump. The sharp angle of approach to the jump may cause knocked rails in some dogs. Dogs which aren’t comfortable with lateral distance may curve in towards their handlers over subsequent obstacles.
The Send-Behind
How: Stand facing the jump and just to the side, to give you a straight path to run. Position the dog in front of you, facing towards you. Send him around behind you (like in an obedience or rally-o finish) and start running.
Pros: Gives your dog a straighter approach to the hurdle than a slingshot.
Cons: Only buys you a small amount of time. Requires some training if the dog hasn’t been taught a finish.
push and go
How: Stand next to your dog, both facing towards the first hurdle. Put your hand on your dog’s chest and push him backwards, then start running. Alternatively, some small dog handlers pick their dogs up and drop them behind them – from a low height, of course!
Pros: No training required. Some dogs find the pushing motion quite motivating, so can be useful for dogs which need encouragement to start quickly.
Cons: Handler needs to be careful not to overdo it, particularly with the dropping method – you don’t want the dog face-planting! Usually only gets you a couple of steps ahead of your dog.
The Change of Position
How: If you usually leave your dog in a sit, try a down instead, or vice versa. You may find that the dog stays perfectly because he doesn’t have a history of breaking from this position.
Pros: A great short-term fix for a couple of shows. I did this with Rik when she started breaking her sit stays two weeks before an NZDAC. She held a perfect down stay for five days of agility competition!
Cons: It’s only a short-term fix unless your dog is exceptionally thick. On the sixth day (the last day of the NZDAC) Rik started breaking her down stay as well. It took a couple of months of training (and correcting her in the ring) before she had a reliable stay again.
The V-Set
This is a meta-strategy that you can combine with several of the other strategies. Let’s imagine that the dog is supposed to take the first two hurdles, and then curve in and take the hurdle to the right, instead of the one that’s straight ahead of them.
If your dog starts directly in front of #1 and takes the first two obstacles in a straight line, the wrong hurdle is going to be right in front of him. This can be very difficult to manage if you’ve been left behind and can’t get there to physically shape your dog’s path with a front or blind cross.
The dashed line shows an alternative path that you could set your dog up to take. If he jumps #1 on a sharp angle facing away from #3, then he will turn and take #2 on an angle facing towards #3. You can see how this reduces the dog’s laser focus on the wrong hurdle. If the dog is on your left, it’s now quite likely that he will curve towards you and take #3.