If I may ask a question - Page 3

Duke :I like a little sharpness in my pp dog just my preference keeps the dogs alert. Also makes good for home protection imo.

Apple, you do know what drive the dog is in, when he goes for the toy, he is 100% in prey

for the rest, a suit is a giant sleeve if you like it or not, but its good you have confidence in your dog and enjoy the work with him

apple, maybe semantics. but the toy is used to teach control, not aggression. aggression originates in the mind and heart of the dog. aggression does not equate to bite.

I guess it all depends if one sees their dog as a controlled biter or a fighter.

once a dog has bit the suit, he will always recognize it as such and will primarily trigger prey. the muzzle fight against a civil decoy can bring out some more of the dog's character.

Yes, he is in prey for the toy. There is no defensive aggression involved in biting a toy. I am saying you really don't know what the dog is experiencing when he is sent to bite the decoy who is yelling at and striking the dog. It could be prey, it could be defense, but I just see it as a desire to bite with forward aggression. A suit is more likely seen as a giant sleeve to a dog when the suit is a bulky Michelin man suit when the dog can only feel material and not the person in the suit and if the dog genetically lacks civil aggression. I am confident my dog would bite for real, but have no way to test it unless someone tries to assault me when I have the dog or climbs my fence when the dog is in the yard and that is not likely.

ValK, yes I'm sure the are dogs out there exactly as you describe. as there are untalented handlers who probably would be better off feeding a cat.

GK!1,
I didn't say the toy is used to teach aggression. I said it is used to teach controlled aggression meaning the dog learns he can only bite the decoy when I tell him to by having to bite the toy when he wants to bite the decoy. When he does that, he can bite the decoy. I use the marker "free" to release him from a focused heel to bite the toy and the command "packen" to bite the decoy. Since this is in the early phases, after he gets to bite the decoy, he regresses a little and won't bite the toy for a time or two after being release from heeling because the decoy of much higher value to him. But he is on leash so I can keep him from breaking to the decoy. When I tell him packen, I simply drop the leash. Over time, he will become much more consistent which means his aggression is increasingly controlled. It also helps build frustration which builds frustration aggression, so to that extent, the toy adds frustration aggression which adds intensity.

@ apple, put a muzzle on your dog and let somebody in a short sleeve Tshirt attack you and your dog, that will tell you

I will do that later on in his training.

dont shape it, dont let him get used to the muzzle, dont let him punch on a guy with a suit first, just take him from the kennel, put a muzzle on for first time and attack him, that will tell you everything

duke1965 - how early have you started pups (with the supporting genetics) on muzzle sparring? I started at 8-9 months, before the suit.