Steve K9Pro

K9: the back tie teaches dogs that being tied out is ok, like when you go for coffee etc, teaches the dog not to whine etc... Its essential that the words yes & "ok" be used. I dont use commands like "eat" or "go get em" etc. I use a free command, my word is "ok". This extends into other styles of training as does the marker yes. It isnt about sitting & waiting for food, its about getting attention & teaching the dog its a positive thing, then adding obedience commands, many as you like... Then taking this program training anywhere you are... The position of the food, the way its presented also have a strong impact... You must create food drive, or you lose the effect... So yes I would say start from scratch, like I said its far from simple as it looks on the outside.

K9: I have had a massive amount of success with this program. I started it when working dogs in drive & have spent many years building it into a program that can be used on any dog. It has no down sides when carried out correctly. I have yet to come accross a program that can be used on every dog with this much success. This is a training in drive program. When I explain drives to people, I explain that there is a trigger, threshold, drive initialisation, drive peak & drive satisfaction. I explain that this program puts the dog into the area of its drive in which it can learn most effectively. Drive is a subconscious reaction to stimuli, its also an adrenalin based behaviour. So this makes for a very fast complying dog that learns very fast... I have used it for general pets, competition dogs, sport dogs, working dogs, problem dogs, puppies & dogs with phobias, all with great success. It serves perfect for the basis of obedience training & bond building, it ensures that the old rule of training is carried out effectively, which is "The command is an opportunity to earn a reward" Each time the dog recieves a command in the Triangle, it ends with the dog eating which is drive satisfaction, its very hard to go wrong. The excercises also are taught in drive which is the most effective training method in the world. You end up creating a list of commands that are all thought of (by the dog) as positive... There are no corrections applied in the triangle. Whilst it looks like a simple feeding program, I have spent many years perfecting every step both from the perspective of a behaviourist & a trainer. I must have prescribed this to well over 20 000 people, not one failed to have results with it... It enhances the Alpha status of the person who commands the triangle, this can be anyone or every one in your home. It prevents rank issues both with human & dog pack members. It can be modified slightly to cure existing rank issues... Its a diagnostic program that can give a strong insight to how the dog views the handler, simple observation of the dog when it is released to eat can tell you if the dog has trust (see's you asthe Alpha) or not. Does the dog run straight to the food & eat or circle the bowl so it may watch you when it eats... I personally wont start training a new dog of mine until it eats without watching me... If it doesnt see me as the Alpha, I cant trigger pack drive, my training will go slowly if at all... It is a training in drive with distraction program also, it can be taken anywhere, a dog experienced in the TOT can have it taken on the road. The temptation can be anything your dog wants, it teaches the dog to ask your permission to partake in anything... I released it on DOL in August 2004. In this thread http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=13260 Many have used it & recommend it here & many other places. More recently in this thread http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...63394&st=60 I am putting the base program here & Troy has agreed to pin it so that people can access it easily & have the same successes others here have had. I would be happy to hear from others having success using it. The only condition I ask for is that if this is distributed, its done by linking to this page & my contact details are included. This ensures I can be contacted for any difficulties... Triangle of Temptation. This is a behaviour, pack structure & obedience program that takes nearly no time from your day. I created this program after many years of working with dogs. This is the basic/generic version of the program, I modify it slightly with the same basic technique to solve problems & go into advanced learning. It's remarkably effective for gaining control with no force. I have used it with dogs for many years that have been trained to engage a man in combat & would not hesitate to attack me if it were not for this program. I have also used it to rehab extremely fearful dogs that would otherwise not even look at me. It's also the basis of the bonding program I specify to all my clients… The bases of this program is to have the dog look to you for guidance & permission to partake in anything you say that the dog can, including food, toys, game etc. Our goal is to have the dog engage self control out of respect for you. This teaches the dog to control its drive & strengthen its mind. To begin the program we must follow basic training principles, they are the learning phase, the correction phase & the distraction phase. This means start the training with no other distractions around, no dogs people etc. The key to starting is to have a food driven dog, if you don't have a dog with a high food drive, miss the meal before you start or at least reduce it by ¾. Fasting is healthy for dogs. Now you have a dog that wants the food, this means the dog will have drive for the food. This is a training IN drive program. Training in drive uses the drive concept that "drive is a subconscious reaction to stimuli", this program works fast on any dog. Next back tie your dog with a flat buckle collar (non correctional collar) & rope to something solid in your yard. Make sure all other dogs are out of site, we are looking for as low a distraction as possible. Learning is best done under no distraction; we are trying to trigger food drive, not possessiveness, so no other animals. Prepare the meal inside & this should be done after all higher members have eaten. Your dog will learn, through positive results in this program that being tied out will end in drive satisfaction ie: Positive reinforcement. This is good if you have a dog that whines on a tie out. At the end of the program you will have a list of things, such as being tied out, long sit stays etc that are all thought of as positive to your dog. Allow your dog to relax on the back tie, a few minutes is usually enough. Don't go out to a whining dog. Now bring out your dogs food, show it to your dog, & begin to walk out in front of your dog, your looking for that moment in distance that your dog looks like the food wasn't for him or her after all. Basically taking the dog just out of full food drive. Your trying to trigger the dogs' high food drives but not so high as to make self control impossible, this would be called drive peak. This distance for some dogs is 2 metres, other 10 metres. Now you will find our dog looking at the food, possibly trying to get to it, this is what you want. If the dog is going to hysterics, move the food further away. (This would be an example of full food drive peak) What it shows is that the dog thinks that he is entitled to the food, but that's not the case. Approach your dog & stand at his right hand side, stand quietly whilst the dog gets all excited for the food. Look at your dog & wait. Say nothing. One of two things will happen, either the dog will go on & on & just stare at the food or he will look at you. If he doesn't look, say the dogs name. You want to see the dog look at you, when he/she does be quick to "mark" the look with "yes" then release the dog with an OK (free) command & let the dog loose to eat the food, you should sound very happy. Many people tell me they already do most of this, do it exactly as described. Missing the verbal marker & the free command will change the outcome… The next evening you will repeat the same. This exercise is very effective, as you need to feed your dogs anyway, so they may as well learn at the same time. You are looking to repeat this until when you place the food down, the dog looks at you & not the food. I can have most dogs do this in 2 – 4 days. The dog does not need to give you total attention unless you're looking for competition level results. Looking at you means the dog sees you as the person in charge; he has given up staring at the food as he knows that it's you who say when he can have it, & he can only have it when you say so. Now its time to add the sit command when you stand next to the dog. As soon as the dog sits, you verbal mark with yes. Bend down & unleash the dog, give OK command so the dog may eat. Always go inside when you release the dog. Dont allow the leash to steal your respect.... Make sure the dog only releases when the "ok" command is given, not the snap of the leash... The triangle is formed by drawing a line between you, the dog & the temptation. When you have a good sit, as that is what is being built here, you can add time, by saying stay & then verbal mark yes after 10 seconds, then 60 seconds & so on. Remove the back tie & keep it in your hands, if the dog should break the stay, you begin again. Your looking to increase the time the dog has to stay sitting by reasonable increments per day until you get over three minutes. This is all standing right next to your dog. Think of the achievement so far, your dog will tie out happily; it will sit, stay & give you attention, all in the presence of food. When three minutes has been gained & you will be certain you can go farther, start to increase the distance between you & the dog, whilst holding the tie out rope. You should increase this distance by increments of 1 - 2 metres. Up until you did this, the dog was viewing the food (temptation) as unobtainable, & you as unbeatable. Now by increasing the distance the dog will start to feel the food is obtainable & you just might be beatable. The long rope will teach the dog very quickly that you are not. The rule you need to remember is: Time before distance before distraction. This is essential for a marked improvement every day. When you find yourself able to wander inside while the food bowl sits there UN touched by the dog, you're ready to add distraction. Allow a second dog now to eat from its own bowl perhaps, remain out of site for a period of time, and change the environment to outside the front gate perhaps. These are just some ways to add distraction. Build reliability into your dog by working it. When you're at this level you will never have a dominance problem with your dog, you can't have, he looks at you to make the big decisions, like when he can have his treasure. Feel free to substitute the food for another treasure, such as a treat, ball, toy or an open back door or front gate. The key is that this gives you control of all the treasures in life, each repetition is positively rewarded at the end by allowing the dog the treasure, when you say he can have it. This is the generic version of this program, we modify this program many ways to suit different applications, from nervy stressful dogs to rank aggressive dogs to high level competitors. I use a prey item in the TOT to teach bite work, comp heeling etc etc… The power words your dog learns are yes & ok, these should translate into the teaching & training of every commend you teach your dog… We can tailor this program to suit all applications. This article is copyright protected (2000) © and can not be used or distributed without K9 force consent. You are, however, allowed to distribute this link to direct people to this site. Steve Courtney K9 Pro The K9 Professionals. Accredited Dog Behaviour Consultant. Accredited Dog Obedience Trainer. Accredited Law Enforcement Dog Trainer. www.k9pro.com.au [email protected]

K9: Yes dogs are welcome to this one no problems...

K9: works with any dog that has the drives & nerves...

K9: 80% sure on August, the cost would likely be approx $100 per person for a full day workshop, most likely be one workshop on a Saturday & one on a Sunday...

K9: I am happy to come to SA, I will be flying though lol... I'm sure someone will tell you after the Vic trip what my demo dog was... lol.. Cool sound, I think its bee's but it gets the message accross...

K9: Remember I said my demo dog, so were not talking about the SARDA Labs :D

K9: Its not a Rott, its not a BC either, nor a Kelpie, best come along & see. I will guarantee training levels you have never seen before, I will show you focus under distraction that is unbearable...

K9: High drive dogs are often labelled slow learners as the training method you are using them doesnt satisfy their drive, once you master this there is no faster dog training method...

:D K9: nope....

K9: Trained thousands of dogs to work in drive like this, if the dog has the drive, it will do the work... In fact, my demo dog that will be at the Training in drive stuff in Vic will blow you away!!! & Its not a GSD.... :D

K9: for anyone who hasnt seen it, look up my Socialsation & Neutralisation thread, this makes dogs excel in this program...

K9: I can make the cats disapear with no training.... lol

K9: Friday workshop you can bring dogs, Sat & Sun SAR ? Training in Drive you cannot.

K9: the dogs that were at my training in drive workshop, complete novice dogs, with less than 2 weeks basic work were working in drive with 20 strange people & 6 other strange dogs... In true drive you can make distractions disapear...

K9: ok one tip, dont bthrow the ball any more for him... even if you stop any ball work, bring him to my Friday workshop & if he is like you say he is (obsessed with ball), I will teach him things like you saw in the video right in front of you... In minutes...

K9: A lot of people do travel interstate, we set up a lesson per day while their here, its amazing what can be achieved. We set up the accomodation etc etc..

K9: I will travel anywhere... Someone there needs to set it up, help get the venue etc then Im there..

K9: they dont come in that colour.... :D

K9: I have one of those memories that stores just about everything, if it serves me correctly, you once posted that your high drive GSD couldnt go off leash because of her drive? Well Ruby has a lot of drive... & she recalls because of her drive...

K9: I use drive commands so that the dog knows that completing the command with the correct action will bring a drive reward, in this case toy... English commands mean that the dog complies knowing it will not get drive satisfaction... Speed of compliance will always be faster in high prey drive...

Client of mine, known to us DOLERS at Tarka sent me a progress report today... By video... Some back ground. Ruby is a young high drive GSD female, she was a little boisterous & difficult to control. She was difficult to handle around other dogs as she was over enthusiatsic to meet with them... Tarka only had one lesson with me so what you see is all him... The dog is trained in prey drive.... Well done Steve, great job... Video

K9: Maybe you should look at this article click here

K9: Most of us know that people are against prong collar through ignorance, myths & appearance... I would be happy to give a short talk & demo the collars on dogs for any club or organisation at no charge. I would be happy to advise the instructors who should use them, how & when...Again, free! (NB: within a reasonable distance or they can come to me)

K9: at the workshop I explained how to determine drives, tests the dogs prey drive & food drive, work in the best drive... K9: one of three things, 1. lack of drive, 2. nerve problem, 3 history of training in drive inconsistent... K9: Im nothing more than a member here.... not a teacher at all... K9: Hmm no your hearing must have let you down, I would build drive with any dog, no matter how manic it is to start with. One benefit (of many) is that it teaches the dog that being in full drive peak near the handler is ok, traditional training often kills that... K9: once you start focus work, to build any more drive is difficult. So build as high as you can, then begin focus, the dog will be quick all on its own... K9: I personally go more than two weeks, 3 - 4 when I start the dog, but many people struggle with two so I quote that.. If you havent got great drive in a young raw dog by then, you will never get it... K9: yes prey should be what you use, pack will come all on its own as you own & control the prey... NB: Remembering that this is just my way, not the only way....