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In some ways this article may seem a little controversial to some people. However, it has been noted that people with disabilities are the favorite target for those who prey on the disadvantaged. Criminal types pick out disabled people 5 times as often as they do “normal” people, when looking for victims; its just part of their mentality. In the mid 2000s I placed a dog with 13 year-old young woman who was deaf, and had suffered through 13 major ear surgeries. She was a recluse, had no close friends, and her life was lived out in her bedroom. The team hit it off better than anyone expected, and were inseparable, until one day, three months later, when, walking her dog around the block, she was attacked and beaten up by a gang, who then stole her dog. She went home, took her dog stuff, and threw it in the trash, and went back to living out of her bedroom. I tried to train another dog for her, but she was broken-hearted, …and so was I. She never got over it. I will never get over it. It haunts me to this day. From that day on NO ONE has and will ever beat up and steal another Dog Wish Service dog from one of my wonderful recipients. Instead, I created and designed a program for protection training with my dogs that is legally acceptable, and works great. I call it PASSIVE protection training.
In the past three months I have had three clients who were assaulted by people during dog walks. On all three occasions, their dog took over, stopped the assault, and they finished their outing without another problem. They are all very thankful, and very surprised how easy it was for their dog to handle these potential catastrophes. In each case the dog stopped the individual(s) without having to hurt anyone, or causing trauma to any bystander.
Protection training, like tracking training, is a field of endeavor that affects to total mentality of the dog. As the dog learns to perform in these areas, the exercises they learn connect the dog with a subconscious source of empowerment that changes way the dog perceives and reacts to the outside world from then on. Tracking gives the mind of the dog a whole new world of depth and understanding, enabling them with sensual understanding that is incredible. Protection training likewise broadens and balances the disposition of a dog, making them more accountable and stable, while, at the same time, adding power and ability to their self image.
It is important to understand that what we are teaching the dog is not a few separate commands that they can perform, unrelated to their “normal” life, but a complete lifestyle, all-encompassing; a complete way of perceiving and responding to the world around them. Protection may begin by learning how to do a few commands, but ultimately is something a dog “becomes”.
WAKING UP YOUR DOG
The normal dog has a mental capacity that is 98.5% in hibernation. The reason for this is that the dog has been modified through selective breeding, and environmental changes over several generations, and no longer uses many parts of their mental capacity. I have in the past, evaluating a dog, been able to “wake” the dog up in front of their owners, who experienced a complete shock. It was like the dog had changed before their eyes. It was still their dog, but it exhibited behaviors they had no conscious idea it could exhibit. (I have likewise found that many people the truth about most people.) Waking up the potentials in a dog’s behavior is an incredible phenomenon that is very exciting to witness. As the Perkingie Axiom, (an extension of the dogs’ central nervous system which go to every cell in the brain, acting like a “regulator” to measure and balance the sensory input for that brain) stimulates the brain of the dog with the information needed, the dog’s brain (hypothalamus) responds by searching through the corresponding files locked away in it’s subconscious, opening, and using them. All of a sudden you see behaviors in your dog you never knew existed. Either did your dog. I use this understanding to teach the dogs I train to become “dynamically” intelligent, and it works.
My work in tracking and protection has provided me with an understanding of the capability of our training to actually mold the character and behavioral quality of the dogs we train. I don’t teach my dogs how, but actually make them into dogs with the types of behaviors we desire. In doing this training we actually create abilities and behaviors within the dogs we train.
PASSIVE PROTECTIVE DOGS
I train passive protection dogs, for my disabled clients, who could not stop them if they decided to attack someone. In doing so I must go way beyond the conditioning provided by a normal protection dog trainer, teaching the dog to only show aggression towards someone who is putting out the “smell”, and accompanying electro magnetic energies, that someone puts out when their brain and body are involved in developing the thought, empowerment, and ability to hurt someone for personal gain. (As a Retired Police Officer, I know that criminal prey on those who they believe cannot defend themselves. They expect you to stop, question yourself, go into shock, and feel bad for having to stop them, while they annihilate you.)
How are they trained?
I therefore train dogs that can detect the smell and energy put out by someone who is in the process of committing assault again their handler. My dogs are trained according to the “letter of the law”, which means they “match” the suspect, without making the decision to physically “stop” them, and only respond according to the intentions and actions of the suspect. At first they silently alert, move between their handlers and the person who is attracting them with their criminal behavior. If that resolves the problem, and it usually does, their job is finished, and they go back to performing their other duties. If, however, that doesn’t stop the other person who is putting out smells and energies, the dog then remains alert, and watches to see what they need to do next. At anytime the other person can stop, or walk away, and leave them. The dog’s job is to perform whatever behaviors are proper to help their handler. They do not look to hurt, stop, or alert on anyone, ever. In fact, this dog is safer, because they are not afraid, and know they have the ability to say “no” whenever it is necessary. Should we leave this responsibility in the power of a dog. Absolutely. They are designed and built to handle these situations, with abilities we do not have. I have trained and re-trained many Police Dogs to work with passive protectiveness, and to bite ONLY on command from their handler. It makes them much more usable, and all around better for their job. I also have trained dozens of Service Dogs who are passively protective, never had a problem, and since I started doing this, have not had a single Dog Wish recipient attacked or hurt.
Initial Evaluations
First, it is important to do initial evaluations of each dog to ascertain their natural genetic pre-dispositions and potentials towards protection work. Unlike what you might think, I look for a balanced dog that likes people, especially children, strangers, and other dogs and animals, for this work. I check to make sure the dog is not strongly possessive or jealous, (major causes for vicious behavior), and that they have proper temperament, (the dog should see you as their equal, and act accordingly). I do not and will not train one with a pre-disposition to show aggression. This is K9 martial arts, so be selective.
Basically your dog will have two important drives, their prey drive, and their self-defense drive, which need to be assessed before you start this work. Prey drive can also be divided into two groups, prey play (like a lab), and prey kill (like a working dog).
Most dogs are non-protective
First realize that the normal dog is non-protective and only protects itself when it feels it has been placed in an experience that may threaten itself with pain and trauma it doesn’t wish to experience. Dogs normally do not attack or bite human-beings. It would be like you attacking a lion or a tiger or a bear. There is a psychological barrier there created by the electromagnetic energy we project, and the strength of our smell, that traumatizes them. Therefore, before a normal dog will engage in aggressive behavior towards a human they need to be taught it is OK to do so. I have found that my pups come with a “pack” mentality, and a pre-given understanding of what is acceptable and not acceptable behaviors.
Evaluating your dog
If you start off a dog that is prey oriented by using any defensiveness at all you will again, traumatize and scare them, causing avoidance and confusion. The dog needs, instead, to associate this experience as a game where they learn to engage themselves in the role you show them is theirs, in order to learn the behaviors you wish for them to accept, normalize, personalize, and habitualize.
If you start off a dog that has a strong defense drive with prey they will ignore you, because you haven’t challenged them to the point where they will think there is a need to react. You’re just running around acting stupid and slightly annoying them.
Therefore, before you begin, watch your dog in several situations, around other dogs first to see how they interact naturally with other peers with whom they should feel equal. Watch how they behave in social situations with these other like creatures, and what their natural inclinations are. Do they show defensiveness, are they happy and playful, do they challenge or try to control? Next, observe and take note of how they react to strangers. How to they respond when a stranger approaches? When they go up to a stranger how to they behave?
Dogs are like Bears?
Many dogs have, what I call, hibernative instinctual responsiveness as pups. It’s like their instincts are laying dormant inside their sub-conscious mind, asleep, and the dog isn’t connected to their true self. In these cases I “wake” the dog up as we begin protection training with experiences that jar their consciousness, and force them to use the parts of their genetic background they have been suppressing. If you think the dog is surprised, watch the owners….it’s jaw dropping to see your sweet, loving pet, turn into Cujo!
Desi
I received a Cane Corso, young male dog, some two months ago. Desi was raised in a home back east where he lived with a family and was treated as a normal dog. The family had to move, and couldn’t take him with them, so they sold him back to the breeder, who placed his picture on the Internet as Available. During the first few minutes we couldn’t help but notice that Desi had a pronounced play drive. He loved interaction with everyone. He was mouthy, and had his mouth around your hand or arm constantly. He was very loving, very playful, and used his drive to demand constant attention from everyone. He loved to jump up on you, and then would mouth you in a puppy live play. However, for a 100 pound, 15 month old Cane Corso Mastiff with this type of behavior, he was dangerous. The first two weeks at home it was a constant concern because Desi was confused. We have a constant influx of dog people, my children and grand children, coming and going. Desi’s instincts to protect the children were strong, and he did growl at their parents when they came over to rescue their children from the loving dog who would lay by them and lick them. However, as we observed over a week, he stopped the unsolicited aggression with my kids, the variety of workers who were on the property every day, and my clients who came for training. I did not, however, stop him from “playing” with everyone, under control.
As Desi acclimated to our environment his undesired aggressiveness stopped, and he became normal. So, on his second weekend here I had come up with a plan. We needed to institute a good obedience program for Desi, which he fell into immediately, and, like a normal Cane Corso, accepted without a strong fight. He started listening to commands and responding with true obedient desire. Desi’s desire for love and acceptance overcame his strong masculine focus, and he quickly became responsive and obedient.
Protection…a Story?
On the day we started him off in bite work I introduced a story line to the trainers we would use on Desi. It is important that a dog see the story in what you teach them. Anyone with young children has spent weeks and years reading them the same story over and over. They identify with the story, and love to project themselves mentally into each story. This is important for dogs as well, who will make a story of every experience you expose them to on a consistent basis. In the end, the story they come up with is very important as it determines their reactions and responses during your conditioning. I use my training to develop these stories for my dogs, and it pays off.
I wanted Desi to see the bite equipment as a toy. I did not want any stress to be placed on Desi to be defensively protective, but to see the protection routine as a game. This is NOT my normal style, as I do not like my dogs seeing bite equipment or bite work like they would playing baseball. I have experienced too many dogs that were trained this way and when introduced to the stress of defensive protection, crumbled.
For instance, I have two new dogs I am now training, who came to me recently. These dogs have been taught to bite for dog sports, and one does so excellently. However, they have no fight drive, no defensiveness, and no real “protective” instinct assertiveness, because the bite experience is a kid’s game to them. Therefore, we are starting over, from the beginning, and training them for protection, one step at a time. Will this hurt these dogs, or warp their personalities or behavior? No, and instead of hurting or warping them, it will make them better, stronger, more powerful, confident, and a better all around breed specimen. Especially if I want to breed them, I can’t do it without this conditioning, as the pups would be inferior.
However, especially because Desi was a Cane Corso, and since this breed is very sensitive, I did not want him to go through a mental dialogue where, in order to win, he had to mentally separate himself from those he was biting, and learn to want to bite them. So, we made it a game, and played “keep-a-way” with sacks around Desi. When we do this we follow a particular design.
The decoy approaches the dog, taunting them with a sack, which they whirl around in circles, verbally yelling and teasing the dog to make him want the sack. “Look, it’s mine, my sack, my toy, and you can’t have it.” This has to be the attitude of the “decoy”.
However, as the decoy moves in towards the dog they must become gripped in FEAR. I don’t mean become afraid, I mean that as the dog turns towards and focuses on them they need to feel hysterical, uncontrollable terror. It’s like facing a monster that is going to break the tiny chain holding them back, leap on you, and RIP YOU APART, limb from limb, bone from bone, and muscle from muscle.
Now, most of us have never had that experience, so it has to be created. In order to do this I will help the decoy out, as is needed. If they don’t understand, and aren’t projecting that fear, I will take a trained protection dog, and send one after them, without telling them. They were expecting to give a puppy a little bite on the sack, and all of a sudden the whole situation is turned around. For the first time, suddenly they have become the vulnerable, defenseless prey. This dog means business; he could hurt them badly. All they have to defend themselves is a little sack. I’ve had them throw the sack, turn and run, so scared they don’t know what to do. I’ve had them go into shock and fall on their face. I then stop the dog, and let them sit down until they relax and unwind. I’ve only been hit a couple of times.
I’ve seen hundreds, thousands of decoys giving bites to dog, and very few understand or project the correct feelings out at the dogs. Instead, they see this as a chance to act “macho”, with their egos puffed up so big they could explode, showing off in front of everyone how tuff they are, using the experience to be a brute. Some people, in their last lives, were scorpions. In order to stop them I simply turn the situation around.
On Parrot Cay Island, this past March, I took my group of British Commandos, and stripped them of all protective gear, had them go into “blinds” where a dog sought them out, found them, and held them by barking aggressively, waiting for them to move so they could bite. The handler would then come in, leash the dog, and they had to escape with the dog “on their heels”, snapping and trying to bite them, as they ran to the next blind, and the next, and the next. It was an experience that changed the way they worked the dogs from then on. They gained respect, admiration, and more feeling for the efforts of their dogs. When they did take “bites” from them, they showed respect and fear, which is correct.
Understanding and projecting this feeling of hysterical fear is imperative in good protection traini9ng. It is the decoy’s ability to project and actually feel this feeling of fear about the dog that makes it all work. The decoy must be a spineless coward who hates and wants to hurt the dog, but forgets it all when the dog challenges them, turns, and runs screaming from dog, and in so doing fills the dog with an experience of power.
We did this with Desi twice. The third time he almost broke the chain, hitting with such a powerful torque that if I wasn’t using a reinforced truck chain it would have snapped. Desi’s instincts were so outstanding that he immediately skipped several levels of experience and went right for a full mouth bite on the sack, taking the decoy “to the ground”, and overpowering them.
For the next two weeks if we put Desi on a chain NO ONE but I could approach him. He understood, loved, and wanted the game. Again, because of the very sensitive mentality of the Cane Corso dog, an ancient mentality, unlike modern dogs, I knew we had to be very careful not to allow him to feel in any way stressed. He needed to learn to be aggressive without any trauma at all. The control I introduced came through obedience training, totally unrelated to protection work.
A month later Desi is controlled, balanced, stable, and on “command” fully capable of taking down the decoy in a full suit, with sleeves, a sack, or an undercover garment. He also will stop as soon as the decoy stops, and come out of protective drive. However, unless told, or when the decoy gives in, he will knock them off their feet, into the air, and put them on their back, every time. It’s phenomenal.
Now, as the decoy approaches the dog and as the dog starts to face them, they run hysterically away, consumed in fear and terror. This is the most important part of the entire process.
What’s really important?
At first you aren’t looking for a bite from the dog. At first all you are trying to do is to instill in the mind of the dog that they do have the power and the ability to protect themselves, by facing you, and showing courage. That is the most important part of the process for the dog.
As the decoy comes in with the sack, waving it in the air, watching the dog intently, waiting for the signal of the slightest aggression from the dog, so they can turn and run hysterically, screaming in terror, the dog begins to feel strange feelings. Primordial instincts start to flash into their conscious mind as their brain, stimulated by the activity begins to send chemical and electronic messages throughout body, and the body reacts on a sub-atomic, molecular, cellular, and community level, and the dog, all of a sudden, starts responding with feelings and insights they did not know they had.
In every cell in your dogs’ body they have DNA and RNA, containing memory from thousands of years of genetics that has the capacity to activate, organize, focus, and instantly become part of their bodies working system. We rely on that system to do the work for us. As we tap into that subconscious system that is laying dormant inside the dog we bring to consciousness abilities the dog never knew they had. Suddenly, they are not a sweet little pet, they are a hunter, a warrior, a killing “machine”, strategically designed to survive and thrive in a world created for them. It’s an awakening that is awesome to watch and experience.
For dogs that need defensiveness to respond I teach the decoys to come in and strike out with their sack towards the dog, not trying to hit them, just to strike out. At the same exact, and I mean exact time they strike with the sack, their head needs to be turned, and they need to run, not worrying about ANYTHING but getting away. Again, just for repetition purposes, they need to turn their head first, so that they can see where they are going, and they won’t run into a pole, or trip and land face first in the ground, getting hurt, and run, filled with fear and terror, scared of the dog. Do not worry about the dog biting, because they probably aren’t ready to commit to that yet, and if you don’t do this properly, they may never be ready. The running fills the dog with what we call “fight drive”, and as their courage grows they will first began to snap, then nip at, and then, as they become stronger, bite hard on the sack.
In dog training, if you want a proper response, we need to take things one step at a time and do them correctly. If you skip steps, you will NOT end up with the proper results from your work. With Desi we have had to start over, take our time, and fill in the gaps. If we don’t do this now it will hurt him as he continues towards his training in the future. Take your time, go one step at a time, and proceed with intense caution, watching every detail. If your dog does successfully bite your sack, let go instantly, and keep running. Don’t stop and face the dog, as they are not ready for the conflict, and this will stop them from biting again. Do it until the dog CAN face you and bite successfully.
Very few Police Departments in America breed, raise, train, and use their own dogs. Instead we spend thousands of dollars, and send them to those trainers throughout Europe who do raise and train their own stock. At DOGWISH we breed, raise, and train ALL the dogs we place, as much as possible, because they come out incomparably better.
Every person pictures in this post was physically and sexually assaulted before they received their Dog Wish Service Dog, and has lived without incident, since. So far no dog has had to hurt anyone, and in all our stops, the dogs responded appropriately, controlled, sensitive to their handlers, and put out the right message to the persons who trying to assault them. Most of the time, just standing between their handler and the person assaulting them has stopped the situation right there.
For further information contact me at 760-662-3767, or go to http://www.dogwish.org, or email me at bob@dogwish.org.