Protection dogs and their training is the most misunderstood part of dog training as a whole.
To me a favourite part of training I especially enjoy whether as the owner of the trained dog or as the trainer, both as a Handler and Decoy.
The prevailing confusion on the matter of Protection work arises from ignorance on the part of dog owners that leads to false conclusions and on the creation of false impressions on the part of professional dog trainers. Naturally, false impressions created by trainers matter more. But, why is it that a professional trainer creates false impressions? Is he not well informed? That is a certainty and a big mistake on his part to share an opinion on something he is not informed on, being a trainer and knowing that his opinion weighs more than that of a dog owner.
A protection dog is not an uncontrollable dog that barks and bites on anything that moves. A protection dog is not a threat to his family or to society. Dogs that are trained to protect are not thrown in dark dungeons to become wild neither are they mentally or physically abused to get rough. But the list is long and we have all heard a different story on the methods supposedly used to evoke a dog’s natural instincts.
You can erase all that from your mind as they are equivalent of the rumours about the Pit Bull jaws that lock, the Doberman going crazy and the Monster that will come at night to take the mischievous kids.
Protection dogs are excellently trained and socialized. They are family members and will not attack for no reason. Excellent obedience training for the dog and perfect dog-handling skills for the owner along with very good socialization are prerequisites for a dog to start training for Protection.
The decoy will work with a dog’s natural instincts like predatory aggression, territorial aggression etc. And that is a main reason why not all dogs are suitable for protection duties. It is necessary for Protection dogs to have the characteristics that will make them appropriate for the work.
The rule that applies to dogs, not all dogs are suitable for protection dogs, applies to trainers too. Not all trainers are suitable for decoys.
The decoy must be able to perfectly read the dog’s body language and be able to perfectly use his body language to get the wanted reactions from the dog. The trainer must have the ability to appear threatening without the use of physical force, to change from threatening to scared in a matter of seconds and so on. Good physical condition and adequate strength are prerequisites for a decoy. A decoy should also have self-control, lack of fear and at the same time, absolute respect for the dog he trains.
If you are afraid of getting bitten during a training session, you will not be able to work correctly. If you cannot ignore pain, remain composed and pursue your goal you will never be a good decoy. Ask anyone who has worked with the suit and they will tell you that it is especially tiring as the weight of the suit alone is about 15 kg which makes it very demanding to move wearing it, and painful as the bites are more or less painful depending on the body part that is bitten. In order to be able to ignore the fatigue and the pain, you need to have great love and passion for what you do.
A decoy’s reward is not the money, it is the outcome. Because no matter how high the price for training, no amount of money can compensate for losing a finger or splitting a tendon.
The responsibility a trainer assumes preparing a protection dog is enormous. He will have to assess whether the dog owner is in a position to handle such a dog and whether he understands the responsibility of handling such a dog. He will also assess the dog and the owner’s needs, to decide what training program to follow.
A patrol dog will require a different training program than a personal guard dog. When you take on a training like this you clearly understand that somebody has trusted you with his safety and physical integrity. There is no room for error. A dog that has failed to perform a “sit” or “stay” command is not the same with a dog that has failed to protect his owner. The trainer is responsible and under the obligation to explain to his client what to expect of his dog in a violent incident, how to react himself and the law regarding self-defence in his country of residence. The trainer will also teach avoidance and de-escalation methods for such incidents making it clear that the use of violence is not the answer.
“Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, the answer will not be violence. It will be avoidance or de-escalation. But that one time when violence is the answer, make no mistake, it will be the only answer.” - Tim Larkin
As far as dog owners are concerned, I believe that every family can benefit from having a dog trained in protection. Whether everybody needs such a dog is a different topic under the bigger discussion about whether everyone should have basic self-defence skills. Is everyone capable of handling a dog trained in protection work? Definitely not. And why is that? Because so many dog owners have absolutely no control over their dog. And that is a protection work training prerequisite like I’ve said before.
My love and respect to all the trainers that continue to work notwithstanding the fatigue and danger in every protection work training session, putting their client’s safety above everything else.
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