I’ve been running the “start dog” on our team for some time now and I have consistently decent starts. Starts are important because heats can be won or lost on how well you do at the start. I’ve started against the NAFA lights and the U-FLI lights. For this particular post I’m going to speak in terms of the current NAFA light system with a promise of a future post on the U-FLI light system.
First Things First
First of all, you need a dog that has good stamina to be your start dog. When you consider a race of three heats with a maximum of two false starts per heat, your start dog could run nine times to the box in one race. Multiply that over a day of racing and you have one tired start dog.
Now that you have established you have a physically fit and high stamina dog to be your start dog you are ready to learn how to get a good placement at the line.
What to Look For
When the judge starts the lights the first thing they do is flash up from the bottom and then start their decent. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Green. The top light is red, and comes on if you have false started. So, the lights are flashing up: READY! The first yellow light comes on: SET! The second yellow light comes on: GO! This all happens very quickly. You can say it out loud or think it in your mind. READY! SET! GO! I’ve found this cadence is essential to getting a nice start. I’ve also found that if that second yellow light is on for more then .001 of a second and I haven’t released my dog my start won’t be very good. At the very first glimpse of the second yellow light you should have released your dog. You’ll know if you are late or early by the “feel” of your release. It will take some practice to have a good release.
Where to Stand
Where to stand on the floor for your start all depends on your dog. If you have a 5 second dog I would start at 45 feet. If you have a 4 second dog, start at 52 feet. If you start at 52 feet and you false start by -.100 back up about 3 to 6 inches. Inches on the floor are feet at the start line. If your false start is -.010 or less, don’t back up any. Just try again.
If your start is consistently late .100 or more, consider moving up a foot on the floor. Dial in by moving inches forward or back to get that .050 or less start time.
How to Hold Your Dog
I have seen people holding their dogs in front of them while in a kneeling position. I’ve seen people start their dogs from a standing position, with their dog in front of them or on their left side. I’ve seen good and bad starts from all of these stances. I think it is how you are most comfortable. My 50 + year old arthritic knees can’t hop up from the floor quickly enough to get a good run up to the start line to give my dog a good chase in the run back, so I start with my dog standing in front of me. I think the chase is part of the fun for my dog.
Wrapping it up
Find the best dog for the job. Find your mark on the floor. Set your cadence. Ready! Set! Go!
I hope this is helpful to those of you who are just getting started in the lanes. Remember the most important thing about Flyball is having fun with your dog. I’ll be out there with you chasing that frustratingly elusive, wonderfully satisfying .000 start!
Fay
8 comments ↓
Interesting and helpful article, but I have to question some of the numbers. The first number I have a problem with is in your statement ”I’ve also found that if that second yellow light is on for more then .001 of a second and I haven’t released my dog my start won’t be very good.” Did you really mean 1/1000th of a second? The human brain is incapable of recognizing, estimating, computing or doing anything meaningful in .001 of a second. Studies have shown that the average human reaction time is over 2/10ths of a second. The reason we aren’t consistently 2/10ths of a second late is that our reaction time is built into our calculation of where to start. For a little fun, and to illustrate my point, check out link below.
It has a little game that will give you an idea of your reaction time. The important number is the variation in your reaction time, and even that will be several hundredths of a second. As you said, what you really go on is a feeling that you nailed your release. If you feel you hesitated even slightly, then expect a bad start and don’t move up on the next one to compensate.
The other number I question is where you recommend moving back 3 to 6 inches on a .100 bad start. I suppose you can try it if you’re extremely aggressive, but I’d back up 18 inches. I’d rather start late by a foot than make my dog run an extra 102 feet.
Another point to consider when starting is that the lights aren’t really accurate to .001. Remember that the time is taken when part of the dog breaks the light beam and the light beams are almost a foot apart (depends on the lights being used) The time will be accurate if the dog’s nose is perfectly aligned with the light beam, but if the dogs nose is between the beams, the time won’t be taken until the dog’s head or neck breaks the beam.
Worst case scenario, the time can be out by almost .02, so I agree that a starter should be happy with .05 or better starts, just to compensate for reaction time and clock variations.
One final point. I can sure relate to the ”50+ arthritic knees” comment. While initial acceleration is better off laps or feet, the important thing is that the dog be at peak velocity when it hits the start line.
Human Body and Mind - Sheep Dash
Wow Pete! Seems you are a bit more literal than I am! The point I was trying to make is that if I hesitate any, I’m losing too much time and my start will be poorer than I would like. I find that as soon as I see the second yellow light my dog should be released. Now, I’m sure you could come up with an equation for eye/hand coordination but that still isn’t the point. The point is, get your dog running as quickly as you can!
I and my dog would find backing up 18 inches is way too much. As I said before, “inches on the floor are feet at the line.” So backing up six inches will probably give my dog two feet at the line. I wouldn’t want it to be further out than two feet. If I false start a second time, well, it is unlikely I would run him a third time. I would take the “no finish” because the heat is probably already lost.
Hey Pete, Fay was playing that little sheep game and on the third try got a .000.
Yeah, but the best score I got was “Bobbing bobcat”. With a little practice I think I could get to “Rocketing Rabbit.”
Yeah, I’m a Bobbing bobcat too. I’m not sure how you’ve come to the conclusion that inches on the floor means feet at the line. A 4 second dog is running a little over 30 feet per second at the start line (based on my calculations and video studies by Zach Chernik). This translates to 3 feet per tenth of a second, and 3.6 inches (ballpark) for 1/100th. If the correlation were direct, you’d actually have to back up 3 feet on a -.100 bad start. While i would agree with the proposition that the correlation isn’t direct on a start when backing up, I disagree with inches to feet rule of thumb (am I being too literal again?)
BTW, after discussing the .001 thing, I did agree with the other way of looking at it, ie. having a feel for a good or bad release.
I think that inches to feet at the line is more of colloquial expression. I don’t question the number you have quoted but you have failed to insert the human factor into it. The feet come into play by your inconsistent release and timing. Like you said for a 4 second dog he would be running “3 feet per tenth of a second” so if you were a tenth of a second late in your release the dog would be 3 feet away from the starting line when the green light came on and you didn’t move an inch.
I have run starts with my Border Collie for about 3 years, Fay has been running him for the last year or so, and once you have found the right place on the floor after running a few heats, that you only need to make very small adjustments i.e. inches. As your dog tires over the weekend, you only need to move up closer to the start line inches at a time. If you have good timing I have found that I only need to move within a 6 inch range forward or backward and get consistently good starts. Fay consistently gets .0n starts and has had a few .000 starts.
I think we have beaten this one into the ground. I think the point of all of this is that after you have found the right position on the floor for your timing and dog speed you only need to make very small adjustments (inches). After a while, you can just tell whether you are going to be late or early by the feel of the release. I have seen people running start dogs that are very inconsistent and they fall into the trap of making too much of an adjustment on the floor when the problem is their release and timing. Timing and cadence is the key.
Agreed
I have found cadence to be a very useful tool no matter what position you start.
A calm, steady, verbal cadence synchronizes the handlers’ and dogs’ energy into a repeatable, consistent start.
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