Posted by Butch Cappel
on July 20, 2009, 10:00 am
99.174.201.23
It's starting to seem clear that there is a difference in training techniques in PP work and for most dog sports. One other difference is history and how we look at dogs today vs. a few years back.
It dawned on me this weekend that the entire system for dog training has changed drastically.
take the "Twilight raid" for instance. In the Guard dog industry we have a similar training system we call "Fence kickin".
Fifty years ago the same results were achieved for military and police dogs by tying the dog up on a short chain or back tie and 'stressing' or tormenting the dog by flanking or other means to make the dog think his life was in danger. This was continued until the dog either attacked back or broke-down.
If you have been to any of my seminars you will remember my statement "I don't makea dog do anything. I make the dog Want to do everything I ask of them." It occurred to me that all the really life improving jobs we have for dogs today are trained this way.
There is no compulsion used in teaching a dog to do drug detection work, you certainly don't use force to get them to detect explosives, after all we don't really know how they do it, we have to kinda trust them to use that nose, why would you make using that nose an unpleasant thing for that dog.
When I think about it, all the higher levels of training are like that. The ones using the most compulsion are the mid level trainers doing Obedience and most sports. If you go to a SchH club or to someone that thinks they are a PP trainer most evaluations will be done by back tying the dog and having the trainer stress them until they pass or fail (sound familiar?). But the dog has no choice and Trained only occurs when the dog makes a decision to do the job.
That was the info, now here are some answers. Liltee asked "how do you ID a real PP trainer?"
The first answer is the techniques used. There are probably too many to write down just remember a PP trainer will do something like the twilight raid or fence kickin that allows the dog to make a decision and react properly.
After all if you are in a park when five or six GO-rilla types attack you that dog can make the decision to get the hell out of Dodge, so in PP you can't make them protect you, you must make them want to protect you. And you do this with techniques that allow them from the beginning to make choices that are correct.
Here is your quick tip for the day though. As someone said you don't have to bring YOUR dog to evaluate a trainer, go watch him work other peoples dogs. Here is the biggest give away that they have learned only "sport dog" techniques and continue to use them.
They will hold the sleeve in front of them the entire time, and the higher in front of them they hold the sleeve, the more "sport" type they are. Second, the first time you see them holding the sleeve in front and then slapping the sleeve to get the dogs attention on the sleeve, don't even wait to say "Thanks, but NO thanks" just leave!
This took a while but I think it is a good topic. As I said in my Challenge post, every one says there is a difference in sport and PP work, but literally NO body seems able to say what it is. I hope this is a start. HB thanks for kicking it off, questions or comments Please.
Listen Well, Bite Hard!!!
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