After my last article I was really stumped for my next topic. There are so many things one can write about. But with a lot of topics I found that a magazine article would either be too general and not of any great value or way too long and detailed to go into a magazine. …
In the last two articles I had the opportunity to discuss Prey Drive Promotion. I feel that protection training should always begin there. If dogs have been trained in a similar way, we can start to incorporate defense drive promotion as part of training. At this stage I would like to see at the very …
Unlike most dog events, working dog competitions are not so much a test of how well a dog can do a particular exercise, but a more fundamental examination of the dog’s temperament. Whether it is Schutzhund, Ring Sport, herding or service dog trials, the points may be determined by how well a dog does each …
The following outline will hopefully make the protection phase for the Working Class dogs in the show more consistent and allow handlers to know exactly what is expected. Melanie Rupp and I have discussed this exercise at length. Thanks Melanie. We would like your input and ideas. Please feel free to contact Melanie or myself …
Continued from Part 1 The Hold and Bark I would say that the easiest exercise to practice with an arm on the right is the hold and bark. It does not involve a lot of mechanics from the helper. The picture of the helper with the sleeve on the left is a familiar one. The …
I wouldn’t dream of raising a puppy without using a crate. Crates are a great tool to use when you can’t actively supervise your pup. And you know how much trouble puppies and young dogs can get into when they are not supervised! A crate will also make the job of housebreaking much easier. The …
A good foundation is where everything starts. I’ve covered foundation topics over the past few months and looking back, I think I missed something. The reason for that is probably because what I will discuss in this article may not become an issue until later in a dog’s career. But I think it should be …
Several of my students have asked how to manage a dog that jumps on the counter when the owner is either in or out of the room, and clears all the contents. Owners try to put the contents on the counter to the back but the dog finds a way to remove anything that is …
Continued from Part 4 Fighting “Drive,” Conclusion This brings me to the end of the discussion of fighting ?drive?. The major contributing components I have been able to isolate are the six I just described: prey drive, defense drive, frustration aggression, social aggression, dominance behavior, and rage. All dogs will have these components in some …
Building Drive in Obedience Discussions over the last few years regarding the protection phase center around active and reactive aggression. In these discussions the importance of having a dog initiate the work is generally agreed to by most. The concept of having the dog initiate the work is seldom discussed regarding the obedience phase even …