Steve K9Pro

K9: Im sure that guy who won the gold medal when everyone else fell off their bikes would encourage you to kee going lol...

K: K9: I 100% know what you mean, but I think it started when they had a good dog that developed a problem, thne they fixed it with e collar, & then went from there.

YB: K9: yes, keep in mind the first distraction you need to overcome is the environment though. So maybe an early morning prey session when nothing & no one is around, to show the dog its ok to drop the concern for the new environment, go into prey & all will be ok. ******************************* H": K9: anything you do that looks like prey will do, take your dog where it is most confident, inside outside? then drop a rag on the floor, with fishing line attached, walk away round the corner & pull the string slowly, if the dog looks at the rag with interest, verbal priase, "what is that? get it!" nice low tones with a hint of excitement. If the dog takes a step toward, jerk the rag away & start laughing.. H: K9: you may find it possible to get a little use from his prey drive, but I cant see it being of any use at times of stress.. PJ: K9: I dont ever let the dogs chew toys on the ground... It creates possessiveness & then I need new toys.. It also creates a mouthy dog.

K9: lol, Im not the umpire, just a spectator. Some think Im a team of my own! Have a good nite Tarzan....

K9: I thought they were extinct after battling the Chest Beaters...?

K9: there will be around 20 there. In the future I intend producing some videos for retail market, I dont really have an issue with someone taping a demo with a dog or so but I dont think taping the who thing would be a great idea. There are other people there that may get caught on film & not really want to, that is always one concern. So, if you wish to bring a video camera, thats ok, you can record me working your dog if you wish, but unless it was going to be a professional production, I dont think taping the whole thing is not the greatest idea. If someone was able to tape & edit this into something pro, that may be different.

K9: there are people growing wings now? fofl... j/k

K9: ask away Lablover.

K9: the survival drive (defence / avoidance) is always strongest, but if your dog has a high threshold to these, which equals solid nerves, you can easily use other drives... Some dogs dont have a high prey drive, others die for prey.

K9: same as YB, make that toy so valueable, your dogs will swim underwater for it. Plenty of toys that float, sometimes if I throw a rock in the river, I give my dog a command to bring, they dive underwater & get it, 4 - 5 feet underwater...

K9: you cant imagine how I felt seeing him do that? heart stopped lol..

K9: the biggest e collar market in Oz are farmers, lil bit of trivia for you... Saves shooting them when you can train past things that you previously couldnt.

Pic?

K9: your dog has issue chasing the ball into the water, whether the water was too cold one day, or maybe the dog doesnt feel the chances of winning the item are as good in the water. When you elevate drive enough, your dog will chase through fire, if the dog has the drive, being a BC, genetics are on your side... The pic shows my own GSD jumping off 15 - 18 foot embankment, he was given a command to stop someone escaping in a boat. Damn fool trainer (me!) thought he would climb down embankment, but drive was so high, he lept off flat out... This is not a good thing for your dog to do, although he wasnt injured, I cringed when he hit the ground, not that he slowed any. Boy did he pull the guy out of the boat fast though lol. (this was a training scenario). He never disliked water anyway, but thats a big jump...

Tess: K9: the toy when used as a trining tool is delivered by you, so this shouldnt happen. Tess: K9: this does happen, but its poor handling rather than poor technique... K: K9: whilst this is true for static or slower commands, action sequences are taught in drive, no clicker. Again, it will be the choice of the trainer (or wrangler as they are called lol)

K9: e collars are commonly used by farmers today though, they would be the largest end user group in the country...

Tess: K9: I find that when using verbal markers, it promotes the handler to use a more positive body language & frame of mind, & that many of those that use clickers tend to leave everything to the clicker. Tess: K9: the studies, or one very good one was a submission, doesnt indicate this will happen, it's like a pin prick in your finger whilst your focussed on something else, split second of discomfort made up by reward. Tess: K9: I too prefer anything that makes life easy, lol.. Tess: K9: I dont feel that having more than one marker is ideal, in your dogs head one may be of more positive value than the other, you wont know that & this may affetct training. I use yes also, I vary the value of it to recover the dog from stress faster if I need to, "yes" said quietly & fast is encouraging for the dog to take the next step, "yeeeeeessss" said with higher volume & stretched out may be at the completion of the excercise... I personally feel its hard to replace that with "click". or even "click click click"...

K9: A toy will cut it if you go through the same development program that YB has. You know, lol, we dont get criminals to run down the street with a kong to get our dogs to chase them... lol. Can be done, you need to learn to control the prey item... If your dog has worked out with a tree, he / she is begging for more...

K9: when you put your dog through a prey drive development & focus program then go training its like someone turned the speed way up on your dog. Some start to reaslise they need to step up their command / reward speed as the dog is surging way ahead or waiting for them... lol... Glad its going well for you...

YB: K9: there are several studies that are aiming toward the sharpness of the clicker turns on the nerves on the dog for a millisecond, allowing information to be saved by the dog as "vital''. just like survival information is. Turning on the nerves of a dog is a very fast way to teach a dog anything from obedience to protection. They use compulsion to turn on the nerves & can get big resuls fast, but it is hard on the dogs. I think that the section of the brain that deals with flight/fight behaviours is quite unstable & if I felt that CT did actually have negative effects, I would say so. I have read the studies & it makes for quite good theory, not 100% convinced the theory = facts..

K9: seminars & workshops arent as much about training dogs as they are about me stimulting thought in dog handlers, whilst I can demo a few moves, it's really about what goes on in your mind after the day that important. There is no recipe, trainers need to adapt & over come...

K9: better have a clear head LL when I get there, I have some very thought stimulating info....

K9: Im sure the direction is right, but maybe there are short cust & maybe there arent. I dont like to show people what to do as much as I like to teach them how to understand, then work out what to do.... When you want a dog to learn to focus for a long period of time, you need to make a deal that the pay off will be worth it...

K9: detection isnt a difficult subject but I feel demo is def required to show the reactions to scent cones & so on, I think this is what motivates people to attempt this work..

Any of the ones I have seen seem to leave out crucial steps to learning about training in drive, maybe I havent seen them all but they give you an idea I think, rather than a what to do from here.