Once you have
established the physical requirement you need to be a decoy, the next
task is to study the language of the dog. Decoys must be able to read the dogs
they are working with. For example, if a dog’s confidence level suddenly changes
in the midst of a drill you must be able to instantly recognise that change.
The decoy must also know what the trainers
want you to do if a confidence change should occur if you always understand
what dogs are communicating and reacts according to good trainers instructions,
many problems in aggression training can be avoided.
Your ability to
understand the dog language and work in harmony with trainers can also help
alleviate problems that already exist either from the dogs basic character or
learning from previous training section
NB: When decoys are
unable to read the dog, they are much less valuable and in some cases may even
be a hindrance. Any way you look at it decoys must master the language of the
dog to be useful.
Dogs communicate in
several ways probably the best known communication method is Auditory [with
sound].
Auditory
communication
Research has shown that
the pitch and frequency of sound can affect activity levels in puppies
regardless of the language trainers uses, and handlers have known for a long
time that the tone of their voice has a great influence on their dog’s
behaviour. In the dog world, the higher the pitch of sound [both emitted and
heard by dogs], the more the sound indicates dominance, confidence and threat.
The
Whine is a distance decreasing signal, indicating that you can come closer. It
serves as a plea for assistance. This soft, high pitched sound is first used by
puppies to obtain assistance from the birth. It follows then, that submissive
animals whine when they communicate with an upper-ranking animal or authority
figure.
NB: The function of the
whine seems to remain consistent throughout a dog‘s life. Ever when adult dogs
whine they are seeking help. The yelp is another distance decreasing signal and
is usually a response to physical pain or extreme fear. Dogs interpret these
sounds in the same way, regardless of whether a dog utters them or human does.
So decoys can add to their effectiveness by using yelps and whining noises or
other tones of voice when they are trying to convince a dog that has hurt them
and that they are afraid and submissive.
NB: Screaming at dog
may be good for realism, but it in no way helps to reward a dog for aggression,
Yelping and whining do.
The
growl is a distance – increasing signal, indicating that you should move away
from the dog, and it is usually a form of threat or warning.
The growl is often the
precursor to aggression and such can be a sign that the dog is unhappy with
something and is considering doing something violent to solve his problem.
NB: Although all growls
are threats, the voice tone betrays the confidence and stress level of the dog.
The higher the pitch, the more insecure and stressed the dog is, and the lower
the pitch, the more confident and serious he is.
As
a decoy, you can use growl to complement what you are already signalling with
your body language.
When decoys are using
threatening body language, they can increase their effectiveness by uttering a
good, low growl. Many high end dogs those [that are highly motivated, highly
reactive and show high level of aggression in response to a simple growl,
unaccompanied by body language.
The
bark is a sign of excitement or high energy and is another distance- increasing
signal, indicating that you should move away from the dog.
That many stray dogs do
not bark suggests that the bark may have something to do with marking or defending
territory or personal space.
Decoys
need to pay attention to the quality of the dog’s bark because it indicates the
dog’s confidence level and therefore the quality of the decoy’s work.
Again, the voice tone rule
is in effect. The confident dog has a low- pitched bark, low in comparison to
what is normal for his breed. As the dog becomes more insecure, submissive, or
stressed, the pitch of the bark rises, indicating that he is significantly
uncomfortable with what is going on.
So
when you are attempting to get a confident reaction from the dog and the dog is
barking in a low pitch, all is well. If on the other hand, you are attempting
to get a confident reaction from the dog and the bark is high pitched, something
is wrong and you need to change something, such as your distance from the dog or
your signals, until the pitch of the bark lowers to normal or below normal.
NB: the pitch of the
bark can be a real barometer for what you are doing as a decoy.
In addition to the
pitch of the bark, you should also pay attention to the rhythm of the barking. Confident
dogs often bark in a rhythmical, almost musical pattern. This smooth rhythm
breaks up when they become insecure or stressed. So when you are trying to get
a confident reaction from the dog and the barking is smooth and rhythmical, all
is well. If, on the other hand, you want to a confident reaction from the dog
and the barking is staccato, something about your behaviour needs to change so
that the dog can regain his confidence and his barking becomes smooth and
rhythmical again.
The
voice tone and the rhythm of the bark often goes hand in hand, so when you want
a confident reaction from the dog and the bark becomes high pitched and
staccato at the same time, you know that something is seriously wrong and you
need to stop whatever is going on and figure out a better approach.
Sometimes it is the
lack of barking that is important when a dog shows predatory aggression he
wants to close the distance between himself and the prey so he can catch it.
Obviously, it would not be useful for him to make a lot of noise and use
distance-increasing signals when he wants to get closer to his prey. Barking
will work against him in such a situation, so even though he shows aggression,
the dog will become quiet.
NB: I have often seen
silent dogs with intense target-lock on their adversaries. So, if you are
trying to stimulate predatory aggression and the dog stops barking and becomes
quiet but has intense focus look on you, know you have succeeded. A fully
trained dog will often bark even when displaying predatory aggression, but that
is a product of training and reward, not natural reaction.
Other times lack of
barking is a problem. Many dogs have trouble with the sit and bark due to an
unwillingness to bark at you the decoy. They are willing to sit in front of
you, but they refuse to bark. This is completely understandable if you look at
it from the dog’s perspective. The bark is a distance- increasing or go away
signal. The dog does not want you to go away, hence his reluctant to bark. He
wants you to stay right where you are and do something stupid so he can bite
you and get his reward when his adversary submits.
The answer is not to
get angry or frustrated with such dogs do but instead to teach them that
barking will make you take the last step and come closer enough to be batter.
Once the dog realizes that sitting and barking will lead to what he wants, life
will get a lot easier.
Tactile
communication
Dogs communicate a
certain amount through their tactile sense [the sense of touch].The Bitch has
to lick the neonatal puppies [puppies less than 3 weeks old] to stimulate them
to urinate and defecate. She also dries them off and treats their cuts and
sores by licking them.
There are similarities
between being licked and being petted by a human, which seems to be infected by
dogs as sign of acceptance, care giving and concern. Fast, frantic petting
seems to excite dogs, while slow, dull petting seems to have a calming effect.
NB: we should always
pay attention to how dogs interact with one another so we can learn how best to
communicate with them.
The style on which a
dog bites also carries information. When a dog does not want his prey to
escape, he tends to use his whole mouth for biting so as to engage all his
teeth and make it difficult for whatever is in there to get back out.
This is also the
preferred style of biting when a confident dog wishes to keep his adversary
under control and dominate it as completely as possible when a dog is afraid
and would prefer the adversary to go away, he bites differently. In this case
he does not seek to control but instead to do as much physical damage as
quickly as possible so the adversary will be force to back off or go away
completely.
To achieve this, the
dog sinks his canine teeth into his opponent and thrashes his head around to
tear flesh and cause damage. While this is an effective way to defend himself
and will hurt adversary badly, many trainers feel that the slashing style of
bite is a sign of insecurity and would rather have a dog that uses what is
known as a “full month bite” when engaging a human.
Confident dogs also
tend to stay in one place when they bite, getting a good grip on their adversary and holding on until the fight ends, one way or the other.
Insecure dogs, again
seeking to do as much damage as possible, tend to bite multiple times, often,
often in different locations so that instead of one or two bites, the adversary
suffers several bites and much more damage.
In decoy work,
Sometimes the biting goes up and down the sleeves, a confident dog will bite in multiple location
when he is overestimated and too excited, but the majority of the time,
frantic, multiple bites are assign of insecurity.
NB: For these reasons,
many trainers prefer to have a dog that selects the best target on the
adversary and bite there with a full mouth, hanging on without re-biting unless
it is absolutely necessary.
Visual communication
While all forms of
communication are important, the greatest amount of information is transmitted
visually. Dogs have a precise set of visual signal we have come to call body
language.
This is the segment of
their communication system that is of greatest importance to the decoy. By
using personal visual signals in the correct way, different forms of aggression
can be triggered at exactly the time you need them for training purposes.
NB: Just as important,
triggering any aggression can be avoided when it is inappropriate.
