Lead out versus Running with your dog, Part 2
Stress.   In my quest to make "Doc" the UberSpaniel that he is, I studied with at least 4 other trainers prior to Olga, who all 'assumed' I should lead out with my dog. No discussion whatsoever - just "Put your dog here, walk out to here" and Poof there you have it. Stress. As I posted in Part1, my Doc dog would indeed stay at the startline, but he then had no speed and no joy. He was stressed and I was stressed.  I knew he was miserable. Why is it so often assumed that this is how we run a course? I even see handlers with awesome Lead Outs do a lead out when the course absolutely screams to run inline with your dog? Sure, in a perfect world, I would love to have both tools at my disposal: a Lead Out and a Running Inline startline with my dog, depending on the course beginning. Alas, I always run with my Doc, and I have NOT found a course yet that we can't do. You just have to be creative with you and your dog's "startline sweet spot", and not follow the crowd.  When I started developing Doc's in line startline, I learned to locate our "startline sweet spot" and there was usually a problem in that the ring fencing, or tree, or leash runner's chair would be directly in the spot where I wanted Doc and I to "take off". More stress. This was compounded by the fact that noone else had this problem cuz they were all Leading out and didn't notice that these "interferences" were 4 feet from the first jump. Gradually we worked through "interferences", and now Olga can have both her border collies tugging in front of the first jump, and Doc and I just go sailing through on our way to obstacle #2 and 3. Try it, you might like it! Personally, I didn't have a choice. My dog said "this is how I want to play".  I wish more people wouldn't see it as a limitation because we start running when our dogs start running. I think it actually helps the handler get in sync with the dog that much earlier that may happen with a lead out. My .02 worth anyhow.
Re: Lead out versus Running with your dog, Part 2
Tracy,
Thank you very much for your support. I have been a wreck over the startline issues and really, my dog Ralph has done very well in agility with no startline and no startline training. Now, if I had some training and could have some kind of plan for my in-line start, I think a lot of the stress would be gone. You should see poor Ralph at the startline. His body is tensed to the max. I have tried to analyze this, finding psychological reasons, deciding that I did not have the right "aura", did not have the right mental attitude, and on and on. None of it helped Ralph and me at the start. Then I would watch friends run their dogs who do not have the experience I have in agility and I look at their beautiful startlines and think what in the world am I doing wrong with Ralph. My other BC, Duncan, has a perfect startline and I never trained it. He just has a startline. My retired agility dog, Zeke, Â had no startline either and he made it all the way to LAA Bronze, but yes, driving me nuts at the startline. I just wish I could start the course with Ralph, relaxed, ready to have a fun and exciting run. He is such a fun dog and I feel like I am ruining it for him right at the start. I did take him off the course once for a broken startline, just a couple of shows ago and I felt absolutely terrible and he learned nothing from it. So, here I am and already I feel I am with a group who understands!
--LindaÂ
Re: Lead out versus Running with your dog, Part 2
And now you and Doc are featured in Clean Run! Very nice article by Olga,but I miss the Russian accent. VBG.
By the way, Kody and I started out with the ability to do huge lead outs,then for reasons I never figured out he went through a period of "no way Jose". We have our lead out ability back but most of the time I run with him,he is happier, and thats what counts. Olga has taken the "running with your dog" to a much higher level getting speed off the line. Long before I knew you, I heard admiring comments about your runs with Doc and your ability to bring the best out of him. Kodys original trainer mostly taught running with the dogs from the start but without any strategy behind it.
My main reason for leading out was to cover as much ground as possible to make sure "I" made it around the course without passing out. I have found that running with Bailey is an advantage when I want him in handler focus for some of those tight AKC courses. Its nice to have the option but, I agree, most courses don't require lead outs.
Cheers,
Jean
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Re: Lead out versus Running with your dog, Part 2
Where is part 1?
Thanks,
ChrisÂ
Re: Lead out versus Running with your dog, Part 2
Hey Chris,
If you click on Forums above, then scroll down to Start Line, there is an entry for it... or just click here: http://www.agilitydynamite.com/forums/dog-agility-training/start-line/lead-out-versus-running-your-dog
Tracy