It’s club training day, phase B training is coming to an end. Time for the good stuff: Protection. Once the helpers, training directors and handlers set their mind on protection, obedience becomes a distant memory when it comes to training concerns. Obedience is over with the end of phase B. Or is it? Again, I …
Electronic fences (also known as “invisible fencing”) have become popular in some areas. One advantage is cosmetic– you can’t see the fence, so it is allowable in housing areas that prohibit regular fences. Electronic fencing is relatively low-cost compared to regular fencing. And some dogs do well with this type of fencing and learn to …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
A few weeks ago I got into a bit of a debate with another trainer over the fact that I did bitesuit work with a dog who is destined to be a competitive Schutzhund dog. The accusation was that suit work leads to sloppy gripping technique as well as “dirty” cheap shot behavior in Schutzhund …