Articles about American Pit Bull Terrier
He lacked nerve. He was not "tough" or "hard" or "real" or "only wanting flesh" or any of the other lame excuses people make for their nervy dogs. Being able to cut through the crap is essential for the serious trainer, and it was something this man learned early. So why could this Doberman bite, but not guard? The act of biting releases stress – in a BIG way. Barking in front (guarding) builds stress. When teaching the guard in front, the dog is rewarded for correct behavior by getting to bite. A strong dog is rewarded for correct barking (prey barking) by having the decoy (the person to be bitten) move IN a few steps toward the dog. The dog learns to "call" the decoy in by the correct barking (a calm, deep, powerful bark, not a defensive, high pitched bark). Interestingly enough, trainers who use defensive techniques will do the opposite, having the decoy run away from the dog as it barks for a reward. This running away boosts the ego of the defensive dog who is, after all "defending" himself. The prey dog is hunting. The defense dog is defending. There is a HUGE difference in how these two drives work. But that is for another time! What has all this to do with teaching the release? Much. You must grasp the fundamental reason why a dog would give up a VERY high ranking reinforcer of his own free will. Like you or anyone else, he'll only do that for two reasons. A) he is offered an even higher reinforcer or b) he gets the crap yanked/shocked/chocked out of him if he doesn't. But remember, with the bulldogs, using force to pull a dog out of a "fight" may result in your having to use an extreme amount of force. You are, in actual fact, causing the dog to "cut out" and leave the fight because of pain. Not for me, said the little red hen! PART II Teaching The Out: The First Step So we have a pup or dog who has been born with, or had conditioned into him, a strong desire to chase, grip and hold. Perhaps a Frisbee, perhaps a ball or Kong, perhaps a jute roll. Whatever the object is, you must have two of them. And you must have a consistent word (or whistle if training in ring sport) which will mean "release very quickly" to the dog. We will use "Out"....to continue reading this article please click on here...
