Jumping in the guarding phase

The reason we prefer for the dog not to jump as high in Bark and Hold is that it might affect the quality of the bite during re-attack. It is not as critical while the dog is in the blind because there is no bite during the trial. It is essential during re-attack. If the dog is high in the air and the Helper moves, the dog might not bite as well because he is just in the wrong spot.

The dog in the video has many aspects that need improvement. The important part is to isolate one and focus on it. If you try to fix everything in the same session, there will be confusion and frustration from both the dog and the handler.

Tobias is trying to focus on the dog not jumping during the Guarding Phase. The dog is almost balancing upright on back feet.

02:30 sec – this requires phenomenal timing. When the dog is too high in the air, Tobias pops the leash. When the dog is just hopping, he allowed to continue barking and then he is reinforced with the sleeve that is presented at a lower level. We know that if the dog is expecting to be reinforced in a specific spot, he will gravitate to that spot. If we give the sleeve lower, the dog is more predisposed to stay lower in order not to miss the sleeve.