# No paddling or shifting of feet on sit-stay



## TwoBigEars (May 11, 2013)

This is specifically for a startline stay (sit position) in agility. Ryker is very crazy for agility and wants to get on the course as fast as possible. We started with a good startline stay, but it quickly deteriorated at trials as he got more excited, and you don't get much time on the startline before the judge faults you for delay of start or training in the ring.

So I quit trialing him and went back to square one to re-establish his startline rules. I did a private lesson with another agility trainer regarding startline stays, with a rough progression as follows:

1. Dog in sit-stay at my side. Reward for sitting. If he moves out of position reaching for the treat (lifts a paw, butt comes up, etc) withdraw the treat.
2. Dog in sit-stay, take small step forward. Return and reward if he does not move.
3. Gradually increase distance from dog. Return and reward if he does not move. Sometimes release him after you walk forward. If he moves a paw, return to his side with no reward and try again.

It's a bit more detailed, but that's the rough idea. While this has been helpful and there has been much improvement in practice, we are still plagued by one little issue. Every time I start to lead out, Ryker shifts one paw forward. Every. Time. And every time, I mark it with a "no" or "ah", return to his side, and then lead out again. And I do think he is aware that the paw shifting is incorrect, because when I mark it with the "no" he moves his paw back to where it was supposed to be.

He usually only moves his paw the first time I lead out. Sometimes we have to go through this routine 2-3 times before he keeps his feet still when I lead out. It just seems like he has to test the "no moving paws" rule every time to make sure it still applies. And I do have to be strict about this because Ryker is definitely one of those "give an inch, take a mile" dogs, and it's not a far leap for him to go from shifting one paw to getting completely out of position. And I am consistent about this off the agility field too. No shifting of paws when sitting for his food, to go outside, coming out of his crate, etc. I know it can take time to undo bad habits, but we've worked almost a year at this and I just can't get him to stop! Suggestions??


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

Have you tried using a foot target? That might help make it clearer to him that his feet are supposed to be in a specific place (and not move from that place).

Or teach an alternative incompatible behavior like having his paws in a specific position/orientation. I know an obedience person who trained her dog to cross his paws one over the other on long Downs because otherwise he'd start creeping forward. It's not something anybody would train routinely, but it helped with that specific dog's issue.

Doing the circle-around exercise might help too (where you put the dog in a Sit-Stay and walk a circle around him). Many dogs will shift their front feet as they turn to look at you behind them, and so you get a lot of opportunities to specifically target, mark, and reward the behavior of _not_ moving those feet.

Good luck! It sounds like you're on the right path already, and it does take a lot of time to break entrenched habits. Sometimes it's just a matter of targeted practice over and over and _over_.


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