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by Renofan2 on 02 July 2009 - 16:07
I have a question regarding a dog's tooth getting stuck on the sleeve frequently during the outs. I noticed that it seems to happen to Molly alot and last night somone told me that he noticed that she turns her head before she opens her mouth to let go. He seems to think this is causing her tooth to get snagged in the sleeve.
Any ideas on how to stop her from turning her head first before outing? I will video tape our next session so I can take a closer look at what she is doing, and of course ask my trainer, but was just curious if anyone else has come across something like this.
Cheryl
by Two Moons on 02 July 2009 - 19:07
by Slamdunc on 02 July 2009 - 20:07
Hi Cheryl,
There could be several reasons for this. First, I would check the sleeve cover, if it is worn the dog can easily get hung up on the fabric. I would probably replace the cover. How old is your dog? How did you teach her to out? I have seen dogs that would do this consistently and it seemed to become almost a habit. I think some of the dogs I have seen do this had some conflict with the out, and / or with the handler approaching and didn't want to release.
A video would be really helpful. I would make sure she doesn't have any dental problems, but I don't think that is the issue. If you have an experienced decoy, I would attach a short leash to a prong collar, have the decoy give her a bite and then grab the leash. When the decoy freezes, you give the out command and the decoy corrects pulling up and back towards the sleeve. This way she won't have the opportunity to turn her head and should out cleanly.
If you think it's an issue or possibly turning into an issue, I'd take a step back in training. I'd back tie the dog and work on the out for a few sessions. If I were the handler, I'd approach the dog while it was on the bite and calmly praise the dog, walk away and repeat a couple of times. Then I'd calmly command out and let the decoy correct if necessary.
I normally don't like the decoy correcting my dog, but if you have a skilled decoy it's not a problem for a SchH dog. Especially when fixing an issue. If you do videotape it, it would be interesting to see.
Just a thought,
Jim
by Renofan2 on 02 July 2009 - 21:07
Luckily I have a really great helper so will definately review this with him. I train with Jim Hill, who has really helped bring Molly along from the beginning. Molly (Felice vom Amulree) is 3 years old. Outs were taught originally by holding her up by the collar and waiting for her to drop the sleeve then saying out as she let go. She only required a few leash corrections when she didn't out during training. She picked up the outs very quickly in relation to protection. I never thought about her turning her head until one of the k9 police trainers mentioned it to me last night. I will definately video tape it this Saturday so I can share it. She does have problems with calmly being in front of me and outing the dumbell, but never seemed to be an issue with being in front of the helper and outing the sleeve.
Her teeth are good, nothing visible in the mouth that can be seen. No sensitivity, etc.
Thank you for the suggestions. I will share the video this weekend. Hopefully I can correct this before it becomes too much of an issue.
Cheryl
by Slamdunc on 02 July 2009 - 21:07
Jim
by VonIsengard on 02 July 2009 - 22:07
by EUROSHEPHERDS on 03 July 2009 - 04:07
by Slamdunc on 03 July 2009 - 06:07
Bernhard will be arriving to me on Monday and spend ing a week. I'm psyched! Bernhard is a great trainer and a great guy. I'm looking forward to working with him again, he was here for 2 weeks last year.
Jim
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