TRUST AND RESPECT

I've often come across bad relationships between dogs and handlers. Dogs that were afraid of their handlers and handlers that were afraid of their dogs. Some trainers are still stuck in the old mode that you must "dominate your dog at all times." They teach their handlers that you must be very physical with the dog and kick his ass at least once a day to remind him who is in charge of the team.

I've also seen dogs that won't take this from any handler and so sometimes find themselves in doggie heaven because they were "psycho." (While there are "Charley Manson's" in the dog world, they're few and far between).

I believe that the relationship between the dog and handler should be one of mutual trust and respect. This is the relationship that exists in the wild within a dog pack and it doesn't happen by the alpha dog kicking anyone's ass, especially not on a regular basis. A dog may need it once in a while but only because of an all out attack on the handler.

One thing I sometimes do at both PSD and civilian seminars is to have the handlers walk out into a field with the dog on leash and then, when the dog's attention is elsewhere, have the handler lie down, flat on his back on the ground. I've had some handlers refuse to do this saying that their dog won't regard them as alpha if they allow their dog to stand over them. I've had some dogs try to burrow their way underneath the handler because they suddenly found themselves in the alpha position and freaked out, anticipating an ass kicking.

Yet this is where do most fights with suspects end up. Both the officer and the crook go to the ground. Think about being the type of handler who has kicked his dog's ass six times a week. Now suddenly the handler is on the ground fighting with a crook, who by the way, has never hurt the dog. Do you think that the dog might just decide that this is the day that he gets to be the alpha in the pack? Sometimes handlers get bitten by their own dogs out of confusion. But often it's that the dog realizes that he may have an advantage and tries to make the most of it.

There are police K-9 training schools where as many as half of the handlers are bitten by the dogs in the first two weeks. This is usually because handlers are cranking hard corrections on dogs that don't respect or trust them. Establishing trust and respect usually takes a bit of time. But these handlers are victims of a system that only lets them attend a school for a few weeks before getting back to their duty stations. And so they find themselves rushed. But the real problem is with the trainers at these schools who think it's macho when a handler gets bit by his dog and stands up to it. They sometimes have "beer-buying-penalties" for getting bitten by your own dog.

I've never had a dog bite his handler, except out of confusion (where the dog confused his handler with the suspect, not confusion invoked on a training field) because I believe that before training starts and throughout their relationship there should be a bond of respect and trust.

I think the fastest way to get this is with play and food. I like for the handler to hand feed his dog all his meals for a few weeks. In the wild the alpha chooses where to hunt and which animal to kill. I think that hand feeding, providing the dog's food, equates to that. I think it helps to establish the bond that exists naturally.

This is NOT food reward training. This is simply the handler providing the food for the dog. If the handler just puts down food and walks away, yes he's provided food but after that he's out of it. Hand feeding keeps the dog a part of this form of communication as long as the food lasts. And with every handful the dog is reminded that the handler is alpha. Food goes to a very basic level.

Play is another way to get this but not the form of play that has the handler throwing a ball for his dog. Watch the Discovery Channel or spend a few hours at the zoo watching wild dogs play. They run, they bump shoulders, they throw hips into one another. Their interaction is quite physical. I recommend this form of play to my handlers.

 

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© 2007 Lou Castle