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What can we learn about aggression from Schutzhund?

What can we learn about dog training from Schutzhund training and testing?
Schutzhund is the ultimate sport if you are truly interested in not only learning the difference between play and aggression; between prey and aggression; between fear and aggression...but becoming a SCHOLAR of understanding aggression and how to know when it is and when it isn't. I urge you to study some of the videos by Ivan Balabanov as he truly understands how to shape the natural drives of a dog with a no conflict method.

Schutzhund is a sport and a training system for a working police dog. It is a 300 point test, with three levels. 100 points are TRACKING; 100 points are OBEDIENCE; 100 points are PROTECTION. They must qualify in all three areas. A Schutzhund dog would not be very good if he tracked a lost person and then bit that person at the end of the track. A Schutzhund dog is required to heel off leash through a mingling crowd under gunfire. A Schutzhund dog is at heel, off leash, when a crowd of people walk quickly toward him and hover over him. He must show NO fear or aggression.
These dogs have exemplary temperaments. They would not get very far in Schutzhund if they did not have SELF control in any situation, no matter what is happening. Training SELF control is not achieved by force or aversion. It is achieved by shaping their natural drives. Sound familiar?
A Schutzhund dog must be able to be called to a drop in mid air after launching for a bite. They are taught to bite through the use of building their PREY drive starting with a burlap sack and tug of war with it. The reward, even after the dog has reached the highest titling possible, for that dog, is to parade around with the sleeve in his mouth, tail wagging...like he is carrying his favorite toy. When the DEFENSE drive is brought forward it is very carefully done always ending with the dog winning and ending with PREY. I believe a lot of people might learn a lot about dogs if they took a dog through the rigors of Schutzhund.

To join a sanctioned Schutzhund club and work in the three areas...my opinion...nothing better for a person or a dog...even a pet dog.

Here is a great video if you want to understand true Schutzhund training. Carefully watch the very dance these two do. I love it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm4cZH8STMw&feature=related
I hope you will note that the training is all motivational and when the dog is biting, at first, the helper always turns away from him building only on the PREY drive. Toward the middle-end, he briefly begins turning full frontal on the dog BRIEFLY and that turns on the defense drive, but he quickly either turns away again (prey) or lets the dog win (lets go of the burlap roll). The body language between this "helper" and this dog is incredible. Imagine people learning to read and respond as well as this "helper." I even love the term "helper" as they are not considered trainers...they are, and think of themselves as helping shape and build a dog's drives.
I also want to point out that Schutzhund is not JUST teaching a dog to bite. It is an organized sport as much as agility or herding. Isn't one of the positive ways to deal with biting puppies to let them bite and then teach them how much is too much and when to quit? This is the same thing, only better.

Aggressive Dogs

I had been reading a "conversation" in one of the list serves that is subscribed to by people who are either professionals or interested in canine behavior and/or training.
The conversation was about a trainer who had tried to work with a family (husband, wife, two adolescents) with a LARGE breed dog who had bit a few times unprovoked. The trainer asked the list serve what they thought he should do.
The family had asked the trainer to take the dog to the veterinarian to be euthanized as one of their children had a disability that would make this decision not something she could understand. So the premise was the trainer was "taking" the dog, not euthanizing the dog. The details are many, but the discussion of the best solution is what I would like to talk about here.
One list serve member strongly believed that the trainer, if he did take the dog to be euthanized, should make the owners pay in some way, to punish them so they would think about this next time. Other list serve members disagreed with this position urging the trainer to not punish the owners as dog trainers are trying to work with people, not alienate them.

Before you comment, please realize that the family was going to euthanize the dog. It was the only option at that point for that family.

My issue with the punishment of the owners idea is this: It is not reality and the focus will not be on learning, it will be on the punishment (sound familiar?). If the trainer was to try to "punish", the fallout would be the exact thing that should not happen in this instance: The focus will come off the dog's actual death and be put on the trainer.

In human psychology of relationships, we call this a "triangle." Here are the 3 sides in this scenario: 1. dog euthanized because he is aggressive; 2. dog euthanized because humans did not train/raise/manage properly; 3. trainer is now making us pay/causing problems for us. Instead of the dichotomy it is now: 1. dog euthanized because he is aggressive; 2. dog euthanized because humans did not train/raise/manage properly. This introduction of the trainer making them PAY will be the excuse to focus on THAT (THE TRAINER), taking the focus off of the real thing happening and every emotion they have will now be able to be focused on him, not the dog's death and the why of it which WILL swirl in their brains until they give it a proper "grave dressing."

The list serve member who wants the trainer to step in needs a reality check and a little understanding of the humans she is trying to reach.

Dog behaviorists and trainers need to be able to reach the humans that own the dogs ...the dog is easy. We ALL know that!

An analogy of a "Triangle" - man and woman (dichotomy) are fighting and heading for divorce. Teen son (now a triangle) gets in trouble at school constantly. Now the attention is focused on the son, not the divorce. This is a constant and typical reaction to any "trouble." The son does not even realize he is creating a diversion, but he is. The one list serve member is suggesting that the trainer become the diversion. It will backfire. Triangles for dogs is "splitting" for example.
A dog sees two dogs moving from play to aggression and he will simply trot between them. We have all seen this occur. The focus is taken off of whatever was building between the two dogs and is now on the dog that does the splitting and that dog is simply moving off.

"Grave dressing" is what all humans do when they do something cognitively dissonant to what they want to believe is something they could do. It is dissonant to think of yourself as someone who puts their beloved pet to death. It is dissonant to think of yourself as someone who did such a bad job training/socializing/managing a dog that it now needs to be euthanized. They will eventually build a "story" (grave dress) that will make this event in their life NOT dissonant. If the trainer becomes the problem, the story will be about HIM, not them. Isn't this the same as the fallout of punishment...displacement?

Dogs that bite are a sad and hard situation for anyone. Even experienced trainers.
We do have some awesome information about aggressive dogs within some of our lectures and courses.
From our Ethology and Canine Behavior Lecture Library:
BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training) with Grisha Stewart is live this week and then will be available OnDemand mid July.
Dog Play “Gone Bad” with Sue Alexander available OnDemand
Aggressive Behavior With Dogs: Solutions and Strategies with Ken McCort available OnDemand

Coming up in this lecture series is:
Developing Self-Control in Dogs with Behavioral Issues – Dee Ganley (August, 2011)
Nature vs. Nurture: Development of Serious Aggression Issues in Puppies – Sarah Kalnajs (October, 2011)

A great course on the human side of how to act to prevent and rehabilitate aggressive dogs is:
The True Nature of Dogs, taught by Rhonda Camfield who rehabilitates and places aggressive Bull terriers. It is based on, and both vintage audio and video footage is in this course by the late pioneer of "non-punishment" in training (yes, an outspoken advocate WAY back in the 1940's and 1950's) C.W. Meisterfeld. It is an amazing course with some insights into how dogs think who seemingly change from a sweet loving dog to a raging biter in seconds and then back again to sweet.
OK, back to work for me!

American Humane Hero Dog Awards

Ok, my leap into the world of blogging.
I finally have an important push. A very special student of ours, Heddie Leger, just lost her four-legged "Hero" to cancer. Though I never met Heddie or Hero, we just have always had that connection that doesn't seem to need real or frequent contact. It was Hero and my Rottweilers from the past that brought us together. We have had many long emails telling the stories and lessons these dogs have given us.
Hero and Heddie, among MANY things, were the demo dog for the Missouri Correctional Dog Training program called Puppies for Parole. One of Hero and Heddie's friend, also a part of the Missouri Correctional Dog Training Program is "Captain Jack." Captain Jack has been nominated for the "Emerging Hero Dog." He is representing the only cancer research group. It would be such a wonderful thing for his story to win as it would be featured on the Hallmark channel.

From Heddie: "There is one huge challenge. The dogs in first place have a huge support base and this is going to be a big challenge. I believe we can do it. With your help and the help of other friends I am sure we can. So here is Captain Jack's story.......

One of the dogs in the program at Chillicothe (prison) has been nominated for emerging hero. If he can win this, the earnings will be donated back to the local shelter and the Puppies for Parole Program, plus Hallmark will make a video of the dog's story. Captain Jack has a story worth telling as he beat the odds of survival and it would be great for his story to be told on a larger scale. Being from a small rural town does not give him much of a support base, so I am reaching out to others. I believe it would make quite a statement about perseverance and faith.

It will be hard for him to compete against the other dogs who come from larger cities and can get a larger support base."

So this first blog of mine after 3 years is about supporting Captain Jack and his story. You can vote once a day everyday through August 1st.

Captain Jack, and many dogs like him, spent part of their lives "behind bars" discarded, lost, sometimes emotionally scarred, deemed unable/unfit to live in society.
For some, this may be true. There are DOGS that are dangerous to others or they "committed an act" that is unforgivable and may not be able to return to society.

Correctional Institutions in this country are full of people that have served their time "behind bars" discarded, lost, emotionally scarred, deemed unable/unfit to live in society.
For some, this may be true. They may be PEOPLE that are dangerous to others or they "committed an act" that is unforgivable and may not be able to return to society.
But for others, just like the dogs in shelters, they can be rehabilitated.

That these dogs and these humans can come together in some sort of healing is, to me, a miracle.

go here to vote for Captain Jack!

http://www.herodogawards.org/view-entries.html#search/captain jack

Go Captain Jack!
Hero is rooting for you and so I am!