Training Video – Mixing Prey and Defense 6-Month Old Puppy

6-Month Old Puppy, 3rd session

The puppy in the video has more defense drive then prey drive. When the dog bites, he chews and tries to “kill” the pillow.

We start the session with barking and scaring the Helper away. As you can see, it does not take much to get him going.

Tobias switches to prey drive and brings out the pillow attached to the long rope. The longer distance between the Helper, the dog, and the pillow the more it creates confidence. Tobias swings it above his head and the dog is mesmerized.

Another reason for the rope – is to support the Handler when he is cradling. The Helper can tug on the rope to help the dog with a grip. It helps it the dog knows how to be cradled. You should teach that separately.

Once the prey moves from side to side – 01:11 sec – the dog begins to switch. Tobias wants the dog to bark at the pillow to activate it because he already has enough Decoy aggression.

Move=quiet, lock up=bark. Over and over. The Helper can help the dog by whipping the whip.

It is important to reinforce the dog out of prey. This means that the Helper moves the prey and continues moving it while approaching the dog and then gives a clear bite. Shortening the distance makes it easier for the dog to focus on the bite and become silent. Otherwise, the dog will stop believing in prey.

05:34 sec – you can notice that Tobias’s movements are out of sync with the dog. The reason is that the dog barks sporadically and Tobias hopes that the dog will fall into the rhythm with him. Of course, try not to create dependency.

06:45 sec – the sessions is ended with an unusual action. Instead, of the Handler cradling and OUTing the dog, they move together while the Helper holds the tug leash, then they cradle, then move, then cradle, etc.