Whining/Etc. During Protection Work. - Page 2

Well you just answered one question I had. The dog does not want to bring the sleeve back to you. That is conflict.

If he is OK with an out and reward with the tug and you, but not on the sleeve, there is something that is not right with the bitework training. It should  be very easy to go from outing the toy to outing the sleeve if done correctly.

My first question is, does he eagerly bring the sleeve back to the helper?

My next question is, does the dog get rewarded by slipping the sleeve if he does out?

You say that you are dragging him away and then giving him another bite. That sends up some red flags, but of course i cannot say without seeng the dog being worked. If you do this the dog is either

A) rewarded with another bite for a not so clean out. The dog learns he still gets another bite even if he continues to go after the helper

B) The dog begins to worry that he will lose the sleeve.

or

C) a combination of both.

Since the dog is getting vocal, I would say there is conflict and anxitey between the dog and decoy, the dog and handler, or a little of both. The dog should not worry about losing the sleeve because he outs.

When you are training the out, the helper should be giving very light fight and no confrontation at all. If worked correctly, with no conflict. their is virtually no difference between outing for you on the toy and the helper on the sleeve.

I am fairly confident that there is conflict being created somewhere in the bitework.

Emily,  I asked my trainer this question today because I was curious as to what he would say and he just about told me exactly what Getarealdog just commented on in the previous post.  I'd run some of these possibilities past your TD.  Let us know what he thinks.

Get A Real Dog,

can`t agree more!

MegsdRebel,

it`s good when you can ask and get help.

But usually there are situations when before asking you`ve already done something wrong and the result is some steps back in your training or even coming back to the very beginning of it.  Waste of time and money!

Try to find some time for reading. It will give your understanding of many situations you didn`t even notice, but they can create more problems in tne nearest future.

Good luck!

Emily,

I just re-read my post and wanted to clairfy......

I don't mean to imply that you are doing anything wrong. I want to commend you for your passion in wanting to get into this sport and to do so at your age. I think that is great. i love seeing young people get into this. You are the future.

I don't like to bash other trainers or helpers, but I always try to give input to help people out. I have no idea who you train with or what their experience is, I am just giving an opinion from the info you provided, which I think was very good. I think your are probably one of the ones who possesses the inate ability to read a dog and comprehend behavior. If you can do that, you will only get better and better. I see a bright future ahead of you in dog sport.

You will learn something from every person you talk to. Some good, some bad. Always keep your ears open. Every dog will teach you something as well. Everyone makes mistakes with their first dog and hopefully learns and gets better as they gain more knowlege and experience.

Anothre piece of advise. TD often get really touchy when club memebers question what is going on in training. It is a tough spot to be in. esp if there are not alot of clubs around. Your club is probably a fine group of people so remember keep your eyes and ears open and soak it up like a sponge.

Good luck and happy training.