In this segment Kevin will introduce himself, his qualifications and the goals of our online course

A brief case study of a program that failed due to neglegence in training.

Presented by Lisa Converse DVM, DACVECC and Lyn Schuh CVT

Prey drive is the chase, capture, vanquish portion of a dogs drives. In the work we do it is paramount in training dogs to do protection type work. In the work we also need combat drive (also historically called fighting instinct). In this the dog is behaving much like a MMA fighter looking for an opponent to measure himself against.

Survival Drive is a component of all dogs’ character. It is important that the dogs selected for the work show little of this drive. It is also imperative that should the dog slip into survival behaviors the decoy understand what is happening and respond accordingly.

Nerve strength is a term referring to the ability of a dog to handle and recover from environmental stressors. The term sharpness is the threshold to a referenced behavior and the trigger pull to that behavior.

Rank refers to a dog who has difficulty, or inability to take a position within the pack structure.

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The agitation muzzle is a highly important peice of equipment used on the dog so the decoy can display no equipment. Proper selection of the muzzle is important for decoy safety.

There are many types of external bite sleeves. In this segment we will explain the differences among sleeves.

This segment begins with a discussion about the hidden sleeve and continues into the need for equipment and its purpose.

This is an explanation of the equipment the viewers will observe when they watch the decoy work in module 4 of this course.

These ancillary pieces of equipment can be useful to the decoy.

We are dealing with dogs that bite, a physical activity where you are exposed to this possibility. As well, the dog is an athlete and we should take care they are not injured.

We present a variety of approaches to bite work utilizing the body bite suit.

The use of the bite sleeve is generally done to develop grip and confidence. It is integral for the development of young and immature dogs. It can also be helpful in problem solving.

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Kevin discusses the pros and cons of the hidden sleeve as well as its limitations

Although novice decoys are often given sticks or whips to make noise and attract dogs they can and have been used to create and manipulate behaviors in police dogs.

The decoy should be roughy familiar that a police service dog should possess.  

America is a mobile society and training in and around vehicles is imperative for the street police dogs.

One of the core skills for a police service dog is searching buildings and areas.

Stairwells provide an extraordinary safety problems during searches. Training police service dogs to search and clear stairwells is a common application that dogs must become familiar with.

In this segment we coach decoys in modulating opposition, accepting the the counters while training, adding environmental pressure and using long line pressure in grip development.

Under some policies police service dogs can be used to increase the time and distance factors in making contact with a violent suspect. In this segment we discuss training for those circumstances.

We can issue a certificate of completion for our course. This should not be confused with a police decoy certification. This will be based on participation.