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We
have all heard the myths concerning protection training, that it creates
a vicious dog. However, Jack Rayl, co-founder and president of
Service Dogs of America
uses this analogy to explain protection training. This really put it all
in prospective for me. If you teach a child to box, you build his
confidence in himself so when the school bully tries to pick a fight,
your child is not afraid but capable of standing his ground. You have
given him the confidence he needed to protect himself. In your dogs
case, the confidence to protect you when the need arises. A well
trained dog is more confident, self assured and capable of doing what is
necessary to protect and defend his family.
Now this being
said Personal protection dogs are not for everyone.
It is important to remember owning a
protection dog carries with it more responsibility than owning an
ordinary house pet.
Things to
consider:
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Is your
dog/puppy right for protection training? |
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What
level of training, do you need? |
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Finding a
trainer or organization to assist you with correctly training
your protection dog. (Service dogs of America) |
There are several means of training for protection, optimally your dog
should like "playing the game" in order to make training more fun, but
dogs with less drive can be trained civilly which brings out their
aggression through confrontation. With this type of training you have to
be very careful not to create a fear bitter, you have to build the dogs
confidence as well as teaching him/her to work. Overly aggressive dogs
can be protection trained, but are usually more suited for service work
only, they do not make safe family pets.
Where to start:
First and foremost
obedience training and socialization should be your foundation.
Evaluating
a prospective puppy for a future protection dog:
Once your puppy is home how to teach him the game:
See Video page
for examples of "Playing the game"
Throughout this page you see the phrase "playing the game" Now many of
you may be asking "what does that mean?" It is exactly what it sounds
like. You teach your puppy to play, as your training progresses so do
your toys.
A great
technique for training prey drive or play drive is to attach a ball or
rag to a rope or lunge line ( like you use for horses), casually lay the
ball on a string near him. Start by making it fly into the air by
jerking on the string. Be sure to use praise and excitement when doing
this, "get the ball", "good boy". As soon as he looses interest, or
thinks the ball is 'dead' make it jump again with the same high-pitched
noises you made before. Let him 'kill' it a few times during this
session. Soon, if you are effective at making the ball 'fly' and 'die'
your puppy will be wild about it and with consistent reinforcement you
will be able to use the ball to get your puppy to do anything, using the
ball as a reward.
You can
advance your level of training by playing with a puppy sleeve or tug.
Here we caution you to get involved with a trainer or organization
before getting more advanced with your protection training. You must be
careful that this remains a game when playing/working your own dog. Here
is where SERVICE DOGS OF
AMERICA can very helpful.
There are several levels of
protection dogs:
The
Personal Protection Dog
is usually referred to as being the one that bites. A personal
protection dog protects from it's knowledge of training which the dog
has received. These dogs are trained to quickly become friendly toward a
once threatening man when he becomes friendly. Another example would be
when an agitator who has just gotten bitten by a dog during a training
lesson while wearing protective underclothing gear, walks over to the
same dog in a friendly manner after the lesson is over (with gear still
on) and pets the dog without getting bitten. This is why protection dogs
are best. The protection dog is put in many scenarios during their
training which the dog may encounter when in a real life threatening
situation. These scenarios prepare the dogs for anything that could
happen. Unlike the attack or guard dogs which aren't likely to be ready
for any situation they encounter when threatened because these dogs are
surprised since they had no training to prepare them for many real life
situations. This will cause the dog to incorrectly protect in order to
sufficiently stop a dangerous man. The more experience a dog has, the
better they will work, which holds true for other training besides
protection training.
The
Hold & Bark Protection Dog
is basically the same as a personal protection dog but without a
bite. These dogs will hold a person in place by corning them or knocking
them down and standing on them while barking in a monotone bark (one
bark right after the other). They are trained to never bite in any
situation. The use of muzzle agitation training is vital for these dogs
so they will learn to not fear touching the bad guy and to knock them
down correctly if the situation warrants the dog to do this procedure.
During the muzzle agitation training the dogs are trained when to apply
the knocking down procedure and when not to. With this type of
protection dog there will not be any bite liability to worry about. To
be sure the dog does not bite, underclothing protective gear is used in
the training.
The
Police Dog is an advanced personal protection dog. They are
trained more extensively to different real life situations. They learn
to walk on uneven and unstable ground, grating, jump over 6' fences, go
under buildings, and chasing and biting the bad guy in various places
from into a car to moving elevators and on crowded streets.
The
Schutzhund Dog
There are three
schutzhund titles: Schutzhund 1 (SchH1), Schutzhund 2
(SchH2), and Schutzhund 3 (SchH3). SchH1 is the first
title and SchH3 is the most advanced. Additionally,
before a dog can compete for a SchH1, he must pass a
temperament test called a B or BH
(Begleithundprüfung which translates as "traffic-sure
companion dog test"). The B tests basic obedience,
sureness around strange people, strange dogs, traffic,
and loud noises. A dog that exhibits excessive fear or
aggression cannot pass the B and so cannot go on to
schutzhund.
The Schutzhund test
has changed over the years. Modern Schutzhund consists
of three phases:
tracking,
obedience, and
protection. A dog must pass all three phases in one
trial to be awarded a schutzhund title. Each phase is
judged on a 100-point scale. The minimum passing score
is 70. At any time the judge may dismiss a dog for
showing poor temperament, including fear or aggression.
In the tracking
phase, a track layer walks across a field, dropping
several small articles along the way. After a period of
time, the dog is directed to follow the track. When the
dog finds each article he indicates it, usually by lying
down with the article between his front paws. The dog is
scored on how intently and carefully he follows the
track and indicates the articles. The length,
complexity, and age of the track varies for each title.
The obedience phase
is done in a large field, with the dogs working in
pairs. One dog is placed in a down position on the side
of the field and his handler leaves him while the other
dog works in the field. Then the dogs switch places. In
the field, there are several heeling exercises,
including heeling through a group of people. There are
two or three gunshots during the heeling to test the
dog's reaction to loud noises. There are one or two
recalls, two or three retrieves, and a send out where
the dog is directed to run away from the handler
straight and fast and then lie down on command.
Obedience is judged on the dog's accuracy and attitude.
The dog must show enthusiasm. A dog that is uninterested
or cowering scores poorly.
There are several other
consideration to make when choosing a protection dog.
Male or
Female -- Adult or Puppy. Click the link to find some helpful
suggestions.
Angie Young
German Shepherd Breeder
Chattanooga, Tennessee
423-595-8317
camelotshepherds@comcast.net
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