I dont have much a startline, it is too demotivating.
So correct me if I am wrong.
But why wouldnt you train a start line within the current rules? Not by reseting your dog, but by reaising it is a new envioronment with new stimuli (and even different trials are gonna be different) so why wouldnt you pick a lead out that your dog can do and grow it as it generalises? Say in class you can lead out two obstacles. Do one in the trial, or a half of one, and grow it up from there to what you can do in class? Like...we do with any other behavior to generlise it? New environment = lower criteria until it is generalised then build up criteria.
Probably, if the dog is holding 99% of the time, they have.
It's just a matter of figuring out what you're going to do that 1% of the time the dog breaks. No training or dog is completely perfect; it happens. Some dogs will shut down if you remove them, some dogs will get 'ring smart' and realize they CAN break at a trial, some dogs will fall in neither category or somewhere between the two.
My dog was exactly that, ring smart.
I don't understand how a startline is demoralizing. I have a very fast dog and I need to start out ahead of him. If I don't, then we have a battle with the sheltie spins and a very frustrated dog.