Click the link to TK9s newsletter archives.....

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs027/1102018903310/archive/1102648615808.html

News

Lots of new videos on the Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/TarheelK9

March/April newsletter will release at 10:00am...if you aren't recieving the newsletter and want to, please email me your address to: malinois_jb@mindspring.com

Check out the new videos on the blog's youtube channel.....

www.youtube.com/TarheelK9

I wrote a piece on Policeone.com about machines and K9s, here is a report from Thailand about hand-held explosives scanners, where the PM of Thailand has stopped machine purchases because of the poor performance rate in favor of increased use of K9s....

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_490911.html

Watch the instructor pictures scroll.....

http://www.invictustactical.com/

February 22-24 2010, Tuscany Hotel Las Vegas

I just finished reading your book and had a couple of questions for you regarding some of the techniques you described. First it was a great read and I really enjoyed it and I am definitely recommending it!

Countering Techniques:

Pushing the Head.
 
Do you find that this technique develops a dependency? I have only seen it used by a few trainers but I have found in most that use it their dog's either only counter when their handler uses this technique or counter when they seem to anticipate this (ie the handler coming up the line and moving towards the collar or neck...much like the anticipation or dependency of a choke off.). I would imagine this would be most useful when part of a decoy's repertoire to first teach a reluctant dog to counter but if over done it may lead to a dependency or if only used in rare form to keep from developing a dependency? Do you find any conflict for the dog that has needed a method of induced gag reflex to teach the out? Just curious on your thoughts and experience with this.

Jaw Manipulation.

From your description this technique sounds a lot like implementing a traditional forced-retrieve method to bitework. Is that essentially what it breaks down to and how much repetition do you find is required with this method? Is this something you only use from time to time or does this method have a starting and end point (ie a "finished" retrieve)? Also curious if there is a rate of dependency with this method?

After reading your book and watching more KNPV footage I have been wanting to ask someone why the KNPV Decoys do their face attack as they do?
It looks as though they absorb the hit and pretty much jam the dog every time. I have little experience with KNPV other then videos etc. but was curious what your thoughts are on this decoy approach in trial.

Answer:

Good questions. I think with almost all techniques for countering, there is some kind of physical cue from the decoy/handler (stillness, setting the sleeve parallel to ground or perpendicular, pushing the head, etc) that preceeds the actual physical counter, which is then rewarded. This is why we use the "walking backwards" technique to get the dog to push himself into the grip with the helper doing a natural movement, walking. This is done in conjunction with the head push, and so the dog learns to push in on his own. Also, doing it after a drive, so the drive becomes a cue for the adjust, allows the dog to learn to push both in prey and defense on his own. In the case of how I work dogs, mostly the dog cues on being set down to re-grip (the head push somewhat secondary) and that is easy to fix, using successive approximation, and voila the dog regrips on his own. In PSA and KNPV or Police work, a "pulsing" grip isn't penalized as it is in schutzhund so our dogs tend to constandly drive into the grip while biting, and this is often a more natural bite for a malinois, instead of getting munchy sideways, they drive in to release some of their frustration.......if decoyed properly you eliminate the help from decoy and handler on the adjust and then reward it when it happens on its own......aghain a successive approximation technique at work. I also use the stick over the head, hooking on the back of the neck, and pulling the dog into the grip with the stick itself, so that the dog cues to come into the grip from the stick motion.....

Serendipitous - definition - to come upon by accident.

I have found over the years, that a lot of my best insights into training have come about by accident, and are therefore classified as "serendipitous." Here is an example.....

I am sitting in a chair out front of my building, one of the police K9 handlers comes around a car, and his dog sees me and the dog is in that moment of conflict between lighting up on me and not......the handler immediately verbally corrects the dog, making him less likely to aggress on me or any other passive person. I think it is important, obviously, to let our new handlers know how to recognize those moments of serendipitous training that occur all the time, so that their dogs are more likely to give them the responses they want, even when they come outside of structured training, or at least to take a lesson from these situations and set them up as training.

Another example: We teach our detection handlers to make a clear context for a narcotics sniff. The dog usually comes to the search area, is made to sit, and then started with an initial presentation.....but how many times does a handler walk to the area, close enough for the dog to already be in odor at the start, and the handler corrects the dog into the sit, away from following his nose dorectly to the odor he already got a whiff of??

If handlers are aware of these serendipitous moments, we can prepare them for these accidental gems, to be on the lookout for them, when the dog comes upon it on his own, and his head is already engaged without the handler telling him what is to come.....

http://www.youtube.com/user/tarheelcanine

More to come soon, these videos were taken with my FLIP video camera, built in USB makes it super easy to video ad upload, and then to make movies or share.....highly recommend the HD Video option.....