Posted by Lee on October 4, 2009, 2:08 pm, in reply to "Sport trainer vs Not-sport Dog! Video of the month"
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I believe almost all accidents are preventable. Although accidents can and do happen, you can't check your brain on the sidelines if you want to come out of something like this with minimal damage.
Several mistakes were made by the decoy...
1. First, you have to READ THE DOG. You have to know WHAT TYPE OF DOG you are working with before progressing to something like the scenerios shown here. You become familiar with a dog in many ways...and it only takes a few seconds to get an idea of what type of drives a dog is working in. If the dog has a tendency to work in tactical forward defense, as this dog, then you better be more careful about your work and OBSERVENT as you go. If you notice, the dog's bite was NOT the "desired SchH bite." What I mean by that is simple. When the dog hit the sleeve, he did NOT hit the center of the sleeve and focus on the sleeve. The bite shows awareness of the decoy. I say this because the dog targetted the END of the sleeve. Those who recognize this will understand what this tells us about HOW the dog is working. "TacticallY" might be a good word. And, a tactical dog is likely to drop a sleeve in order to retarget should it see the need...which in this case is exactly what happened.
2. If he would have properly evaluated the dog, he would have known not to work the dog on a loose line (no handler), not without a full protective suit anyway.
3. Why on earth would he CONTINUE to strike the dog with an unprotected arm when the dog clearly came off the bite sleeve when the decoy raises his "weapon hand?" In full speed it all happens very quickly, but in slow motion you can see the dog actually comes off the sleeve, sets his front feet, and then jumps into the striking arm. As soon as the dog came off the sleeve, the decoy should have quickly pulled the unprotected arm back out to esquive the bite and swung the sleeve back in front of the dog. Of course, he shouldn't have been stiking the dog to begin with given the initial bite location and demor of the dog. One needs to EVALUATE the dog prior to progressing. Working a dog like this without knowing more about which drive the dog is working in is stupid. One needs to READ THE DOG! And, only progress with work that goes in accordance to what the dog is showing.
4. The fourth mistake was slipping the sleeve on his "non-bit" free arm. Fortunately the handler got the dog off and prevented a rebite on the decoy as now BOTH arms were unprotected.
5. Next...falling down is a mistake, but I can understand he may not have been able to prevent that due to the pain. As he was probably in panic mode.
6. Finally, using his free hand to grab the dog's muzzle is a final mistake. He is lucky to not have lost his fingers on his left hand as well. Never use your fingers to open a dog's mouth. That is a great way to lose the use of a hand permanently.
7. Allowing this video to go public is his final mistake.
Next...The handler.
1. Why is this handler doing this type of work with a tactical dog on a loose line with a decoy that only has a sleeve?
2. Why does the handler "stand back and watch" as things continue? A friend of mine once got bit doing PP work with a dog on a back tie/post, but when the happened the handler didn't stand there and watch...but instead got the dog off very quickly...and prevented the dog from tearing any flesh. Quick thinking on a handler's part can make the difference between a nasty tear and minor punctures.
3. Why would this handler allow this video to go public?
The viewers
1. Not that they should have done anything, but don't you just love the way they all sit there and don't even react?
The dog
Although I personally prefer a "clean" dog with a more centerred bite for my own yard/dogs...the dog however looked great IN MY OPINION for TACTICAL real PROTECTION applications.
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