The Right Equipment for the Right Job

Well, being a trial helper has really been a very interesting endeavor for me.  There is so much more than just having the dog bite the sleeve.  I have found myself reading books, watching videos of other helpers, watching video clips of myself, reading comments from handlers about different styles and so forth and so on.  There really are many things that you have to learn in order to be a truly good helper.  I am not there yet but I have my moments.  One of the things that I have learned is you really need to have the right equipment for the situation and specifically the right dog.  

I have learned that in the progression of the dog form early bite work to a complete dog there are several tools that will come into play that will help the handler and the helper move the dog up in skill.  The very first thing I introduce to the dog is the leather bite rag.  This is basically a very tough chamois. After that you run the progression of going through bite pillows to hard and soft bite tugs, and finally different bite sleeves.

Now bite sleeves are very different indeed.  There are many manufactures and also different styles.  Some of these sleeves are very friendly to the helper and protect in a way that when you wake up the next morning your shoulder does not feel like it is about to fall off.  Then there are some that present a great biting surface to the dog.  I have yet to find a bite sleeve that offers both.  I will say that the #1 choice in sleeve should ALWAYS be the sleeve that presents the best biting surface to the dog and allows the helper to position it correctly.  Comfort should be a distant second.

One piece of equipment I can highly recommend is a neoprene gauntlet.  This is worn underneath the actual bite sleeve and does add some comfort and allows me to work dogs a bit longer.  It helps prevent some bruising I would initially get when I worked dogs without it.

I feel that it is very important to know exactly what tool you need to use in each situation when working dogs in protection sport.  Knowing this allows the dog to continue to grow and helps prevent mistakes that can take time to fix

Teaching a dog to have confidence and do it right!

So you want your dog to listen but you need that "attitude" of confidence and almost an air of excitement?  Well how do people teach that?  Well I have found what works for my dogs.  A few years ago I was training a rather difficult exercise that I could just not figure out how to teach it with motivation.  So, unfortunately for me and my dog, I used an old method that would get the dog to produce the desired behavior because it had no other choice but to do it.  Now at this point in my training every time I come to this particular exercise my dog shows hesitation and no confidence at all.  So now I have to fix it but I have all that conflict stored up from when I initially taught the exercise.  The better thing to have done back then would of been to have more patience and used my brain a little more to figure out how to get my dog to respond.  Using force will save you time if you have to teach something, BUT you will sacrifice some of your relationship with your dog and will probably lose that confidence that you would have had if the dog learn in a positive nature.

Now this does not mean corrections don't have their place in a training program but if you are teaching something I suggest to find a way to make it fun for your dog and you.  This might take a bit longer but you and your dog will be happier for having done it.  One of the tools I use is a list of the top four training treats my dog likes to eat.  The way I go about figuring this out is to pull out some of those treats I think my dog likes.  After I do this I cut the treats into tiny pieces about the size of a nickel.  I will then show them to my dog, with one kind of treat in one hand and another kind in the other.  After that I will separate the the treats and let the dog pick which one it wants first. I will repeat this a couple more times to be sure of the results.  You can do this with as many items as you want, but I recommend doing 3 to 5 different items.

Remember when you are training your dog to have patience, think out what you are wanting to accomplish, and most importantly have FUN!

When do I start correcting my Dog?

Many people realize the importance of being able to correct a dog in certain situations.  But what are those situations?  Is it when you are asking the dog to sit and it doesn't sit, or maybe when the dog bolts for the door every time you open it?  The true question we should be asking is "Does my dog really understand what I am asking him to do?"  The answer to this question will lead you to truly know if there should be a correction.

So once I know that my dog truly understands the command then I can give corrections using a variety of tools.  These tools can include my voice, a training collar, or my hands.  Now I really want you to know that like all tools, you must know how to use them correctly.  If you do not know how to use any one of these tools, please talk to an experienced trainer and ask how they utilize them.  So,  let us say that I am working with my dog, and the dog ignored what I asked it to do, then I would use an appropriate correction in that situation.  You must understand your dog to know what correction to use in each situation.  A correction that is too hard can very quickly change the way the dog views your relationship.  It is always important to maintain a dog that is excited about working rather than one feels it must do what you want because of possible reprisal.  Now on the other hand a correction that is too soft will have no affect on the dog.  While it does not hurt the relationship like a hard correction it can send the message to the dog that it can do what it wants when it wants over time. 

There are other situations where a correction is needed even though the dog may not have a full comprehension of what you are asking of it.  These situations can include gross bad behavior like biting your hands,  mounting any person, or even urinating on someone.  These are clear signs of  dog dominance and should be treated quickly.  A dog that believes it is the pack leader and is aggressive in nature can quickly become a headache and could even land you in court if it continues.

So the true answer to the question is you can use a correction once you know that your dog really does understand what you are asking it to do or it is such bad behavior that it must be addressed immediately.  Remember to always have patience when training your dog.  Think about how to motivate him before you bring him out and then make the training session into a party!

Training with treats or toys. What really is better?

I often get asked the question "Do you use dog treats or toys to train your dogs?"  Well the simple answer is YES I DO!  I feel that many people may not understand what is driving the dog to do what you are asking.  Dogs truly live in the moment and they will respond to whatever is the easiest thing for them to do.  They can respond to our laughter, a great smell coming from kitchen, someone raising a newspaper over them, and even an invader in your home.  How they respond is a matter of  "is this the best thing for me."  The whole purpose of dog training is to teach them how to respond to these situations  So you are asking "Well that is nice and all but how do I train my dog to sit," or some other behavior?  Well I believe that food is the easiest motivator at first.  You can use the fact that the dog can smell food better than any toy,  to guide it to where you want it to be.  Now in my experience,  most foods do not create a dog that is going crazy jumping all over the place,  but there are exceptions.  With that said, placing a treat in front of the dogs nose and say lifting it up slightly will help to begin to teach a young puppy to sit.   You could even teach the dog to spin in different directions by guiding it with the food around in a circle.  Now to be fair to the dogs, please give your dog the reward each time he has done something correctly especially when you are teaching him.

So what place do toys have in training?  Well, once again depending on your dog, a toy can be used to build speed in your dog.  This is done by playing a came with the dog that involves a toy.  You will notice that the dog will do whatever it can to get the ball from you or to have you throw it.  You could even have a tug toy that each time the dog does what is correct it gets to play tug with you.

There are several methods for utilizing these motivators to get the results you want from your dog.  Get creative with the different games you play with your dog.  I have often realized in the training of my own dogs that the only thing in the way of them learning how to do something is...ME.

Tracking with Jasmine

Tracking sure is fun.  I took Jasmine tracking this morning.  Jasmine is my 4 year old German Shepherd.  We have recently started a new tracking training program.  It has been pretty intense for the first couple of weeks.  I had to lay nine tracks a day for six days the first two weeks.  I am glad that I am done with that.

I have really enjoyed our time out on the tracking fields.  It is just me and her.  She has really responded well to this training system.  I basically let her figure out where the track is.  Of course I have to play the role of guiding her when there are challenges and my favorite part laying the tracks.  Actually, laying the tracks is the hardest thing to do.  I think I walked a total of eight miles laying some tracks the other day.  I also need to get a new tracking leash.  The one I currently own is nylon and it burns my hands.  Ouch!

Well let me know about your tracking adventures!

Al