State of Mind. Bite Work. Snapshot. Understanding the Different Drives. K9 Kylo s Approach to School Safety. Conditioning the ON and OFF Switch

Transcription

1 Issue 11 September/October 2018 $9.95 State of Mind Conditioning the ON and OFF Switch Bite Work Understanding the Different Drives Snapshot K9 Kylo s Approach to School Safety

2 State of Mind CONDITIONING THE ON AND OFF SWITCH By Simon Prins and Kimberly Artley Almost all working dogs are transported in special vehicles, from SWAT cars with one or two kennels, to unmarked cars with one kennel, to vans with three or more kennels. They re ventilated, easy to clean, equipped with a water bowl, light-accessible and may even have a camera so the handler can check in on the dog from time to time. The common denominator in all these vehicle types is to ensure the dog is comfortable, safe, has his or her own space, and will be ready to work when the kennel door opens. September/October

3 THE ON SWITCH What we mean by the on switch is more related to state of mind and level of excitement. We always get more of what we reinforce, and what we often don t realize is that opening the kennel door means It s go time! and excitement for our dogs. Working dogs are bred to do just that: work. The most enthusiastic and driven dogs are selected and trained for specific purposes and lines of work. Dogs are typically kept in their kennels in their vehicles and on-site at their training center, and also at home and anywhere else they may spend time unless training is underway. A majority of their lives consists mostly of focused work, so you can imagine that the simple motion of a kennel door opening translates into much excitement. However, kenneling means their lives also often consist of isolation, and, without realizing it, we see classical conditioning at work, which can cause problems in the long run. In the beginning stages of working with our dogs, they are excitedly jumping, chaotically spinning, and barking frantically when we approach their kennels. As handlers, we re happy to see this level of arousal because it tells us the dog is ready to roll and wanting to work. But there s a catch. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AND STATE OF MIND Classical conditioning changes the mind of a dog. An example of this is overly excited dogs every time we approach and open the kennel door. Dogs bolt out, chomping at the bit to work. Their state of mind is already at a peak level of escalation and excitement. As trainers, we should know that this state of mind is not conducive to teaching new skill sets successfully. A dog s ability to take in and retain new and different information diminishes when the brain is excited, so we keep our dogs in a low-drive state of learning when teaching new things. Oftentimes, trainers will switch to food reinforcement in those moments, but if the dog is already in high drive, we set both ends of the leash up for failure. And this high drive, high level of excitement can be traced all the way back to the manner in which the dog left his or her kennel. 58 workingdogmagazine.com

4 EXCITEMENT CAN CAUSE OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS Not only does excitement diminish our ability to effectively teach (and the receiving end to effectively grasp), but it can also cause problems during operations. In his 25 years of operational experience with many types of military and police dogs, Simon has seen these problems firsthand. Patrol dogs oftentimes overly tired and a bit nuts, frankly, after hours of being on alert, standing, barking, and jumping. Attack dogs in special forces units often needing to walk, hide, crawl, and wait for hours upon hours before they re allowed to do what they were brought there to do attack. This can quickly drain energy, which inevitably impacts their level of performance and response. The same holds true for tracking dogs during a long track, or for detection dogs on a mission. Conditioning both excitement and calm (aka the on and off switch ) boasts enormous benefits, allowing a dog to relax, regain control, and refocus. The longer we can spare their energy, the more energy they have to track or conduct a concentrated search. K9 Koba photos by Ashley Sharp OBEDIENCE THROUGH OBEDIENCE Years ago, we thought we could train more obedience through adding more obedience pressure on a dog, achieving a calm state of mind through a firm sit or a hard down. Under pressure, it may look as if they re calmly sitting or lying down, but in reality, their minds are still activated. This hastens the learning process, which we can clearly see through our collected training data. TIME AND PLACE There s a time and place for excitement, and a time and place for calm. It s up to us to teach and train the difference. Doing so will help us maximize our dogs level of potential and also improve their quality of life. Like that of excitement, a calm state of mind must also be conditioned. It will help our dogs better control their impulses and energy, as well as increase their ability to focus and concentrate. Both play a valuable role in executing an all-or-nothing attack. September/October

5 IT S NOT SO DIFFICULT There are some simple and basic techniques to condition a calm state of mind in our dogs, creating a gateway for positive side effects all around. Inclusion Dogs are social, pack animals by nature and don t fare well in constant isolation. Due to the typical nature of training and style of life for these working dogs, they generally spend the majority of their time confined and in isolation. Their energy oftentimes is not sufficiently drained. This can fuel frustration, which opens the gateway for anxiety, aggression, and a host of other issues. Simply leaving the kennel creates a chaotic, uncontrollable high. Including our dogs in other activities, such as long walks and hikes, play, or simply sharing space, will improve their quality of life both inside and outside the kennel significantly, as well as fortify the relationship between dog and handler. The Place Command We understand we need to reinforce a sit, down, and here or come, but we often don t understand we need to train and reinforce calm, too. The place command is, personally, our favorite command to do just that. Why? It gives our dogs one thing to do, one thing to focus on, and also teaches them how to self-regulate and gain better control over their impulses. They become more of a spectator and observer 60 workingdogmagazine.com

6 than an active participant in all the goings-on around them. Place is like the canine version of meditation, as it takes away the pressure of having to control and manipulate the environment around them, allowing them to simply be and coexist. Using a special, designated place like a platform, bed, or mat, we train our dogs on place, conditioning calm through this command. The platform, bed, or mat is a clear criteria for both handler and dog. It allows us to further include our dogs during the training of other dogs (instead of sitting in kennel confinement and isolation), meetings or long talks, and other everyday occurrences. We can quickly teach this command through reinforcing the dog after incremental sessions of lying down on place, varying the duration of doing so, and layering in distractions along the way. The Kennel Door The kennel door is a threshold we need to teach our dogs to respect. An open door should not immediately translate into bolt and go. We always like to sync this action up with a cue or command. By leaving the kennel or crate door open, we can teach our dogs that staying in will eventually lead to work, relief, and freedom. Again, it creates clear criteria for both dog and handler. A calm in-kennel state of mind, as opposed to a jumping, barking, crazed, overly excited one, will lead to what the dog wants to do most. Calm state of mind and soft body language will open the door, and a clear cue will tell the dog he s free to go. We get what we reinforce, and anything gained through practicing a calm state of mind (freedom, work, meals, getting leashed up, receiving affection, attention, etc.) will reinforce this state of mind as well as foster and nurture a better quality of life and balance. Simon Prins started off his career as the youngest military diver in NATO (1985). After his military career, he joined the Netherlands Police Force. He d long had a passion for working with hunting dogs, which naturally folded into working with the police dogs in their canine unit. Shocked by the poor quality of training in those days (1993), he committed himself to doing things differently. He became an avid student of animal behavior, which led him to work with some of the most knowledgeable and influential animal behaviorists in the world. Website: simonprins.com Kimberly Artley is the founder of PACKFIT and the author of the book, My Dog, My Buddha. Her background of nutrition, human psychology and behavior, and life coaching paired with canine psychology, behavior and training blends seamlessly together to offer the most effective approach and results for a wide spectrum of canine challenges. Website: packfit.net September/October