At my seminars, I like to address specific training issues the dog handlers feel is their dogs’ weakest point in protection. I would say that with the dogs who have already had some protection training, the single most mentioned problem is the issue of gripping technique. The most lamented concerns are a shallow bite and …
Month: June 2003
You want to work the dog at the lowest level of stimulation that he can just perceive. Put the dog on a leash and take him outside. Let him settle down so he’s not fixated on anything or highly distracted by anything. With some dogs it may take a few minutes for him to settle …
When fitting the Ecollar on the dog it must as high on his neck as it can go, just beneath his jaw. The strap must also go very high, just behind the dog’s ears. A dog’s neck tapers as it joins to his shoulders, that is, it gets bigger. If the Ecollar is put on …
One of the most difficult challenges in working with the Ecollar is working with a puppy. Puppies are the hardest because everything is new to them their distraction level is nothing one second and then at a peak the next. There’s very little in between. Everything is new to them. This makes it very difficult …
Each of the various behaviors (the recall, sit, down, place, etc.) that we train must be proofed. The basic proofing is similar for all of the behaviors; it just gets modified in its form slightly. You’ll need at least five dog toys. I use a tennis ball, a Kong, a K-9 Frisbee a large bumper …
This chapter assumes that you’ve already set the Ecollar on the dog’s “working level.” Throughout this section I say to use the “continuous button.” But if you’ve found that it’s too high for your dog and he needs repetitive use of the nick button or the tap mode, that’s what you’ll use. Tools for the …
The technique outlined below works well to stop a dog from chasing unwanted game, commonly known as “crittering” and for stopping dog to dog aggression. If you’re using it for the second purpose, just substitute a dog that your dog is aggressive towards for the prey animal. Where the references are made to “chasing game,” …
Before we start remember to look for signs that the dog is getting stressed by the training. If so, end on a success and continue later, after the dog has calmed down. Teaching the sit is usually the next step to getting the dog to be “collar literate.” That means that the dog understands that …
There are three general types of training with the Ecollar. The first is called “Escape Training.” Escape training occurs when the dog knows that it’s his action that makes the stimulation stop. He will perform faster and faster in order to make the stimulation stop because it’s uncomfortable. It’s in his own best interest to …
Gaining reliability The reason that dogs don’t obey all the time is that they are gamblers. “Let’s see if I can do what I wanna do THIS time!” I recommend this method to ensure reliability. BTW either a dog is reliable or he’s not. Reliability means 100%. My bottom line is that if the dog …