Does the walk up matter?

Picture this.....handler gets the dog out of the car, and starts to walk to the track. The dog is running crazy circles around the handler, charging to the end of the leash, pulling like a freight train, and in general being wild and rude. They get to the start flag.....

What is the dog's mental state at this point in time? Is he focused, thinking, engaged? How about the handler--is she calm, focused, relaxed?

The dog bolts away from the flag towards the second flag. Do you go? Do you allow the dog to drag you down the first 30 yards and hope that by the time you pass the second flag he's actually tracking? How's that going to work for you when you try TDX?

But Judi, we WANT our dogs to pull in tracking. Yes, we do. Strongly, and calmly--on the track. I have never suggested that tracking is an excuse for rude behavior....and after listening to Julie Daniels for a weekend, I've come to appreciate that 'rude' behavior is also emotional behavior...and we want thinking dogs, not emotional ones.

Mary Ann and Jack have been working on a clean, quiet walk up for over a year. If you know Jack, you can appreciate what an effort this has been for both of them. MaryAnn doesn't tell Jack what to do--she doesn't try to cue/command the behavior she wants. Rather, she has slowly and painstakingly shaped the walk up as a separate behavior. Recently, she's been going novel places, putting in a short straight track, and working just on the walk up. This will mimic a test, where for many dogs, the novelty of the new location amps them up to a totally emotional state.

Why not just cue/command the behavior? If you are super excited about something, can I order you to stop feeling that way? I can make you act calmer...but what is happening inside? Is the excitement building, and perhaps some frustration as well? When you get to the exciting thing, are you going to be calm, or might you leap up and down with glee? The same concepts apply to your dog: if you squash the craziness, you could either get more of it later, or the dog might start to associate tracking with being squashed by you. Neither are a recipe for success. Training your dog to walk quietly, allowing him to figure out what behaviors get him both reinforcers and access to the track, will allow you to have a quiet, thinking, cooperative partner at the start.

As an aside, as I've watched MaryAnn and Jack over the year, I've watched his starts and turns improve as the walk up improves. His tail is still a blur--he's still having a blast--but he's thinking, working, up to the track, and starting just beautifully.

It's something to think about. How would you start to shape a nicer walk up? I'd suggest food scatters BEHIND YOU, so the dog doesn't get into the head up, chest out, pulling position. You could also just feed (constantly) from your hand, making sure the leash is loose. There is no way to fix this quickly--so please don't tell me you tried it for a month and it's not working. I promise, if you are consistent, and help the dog make good choices every time you walk towards a track, a year from now your dog will walk quietly. And yes, if your dog is a serious puller, it may well take that long......

Here's Jack today: https://youtu.be/OH9VZIWn7RY?si=9t_9EF53UQTtvfR0