Teaching a Schutzhund Puppy to "OUT"

Raising a puppy with the goal of having a competition Schutzhund dog is not the same as raising a puppy to be a pet, a police service dog, or a personal protection dog.

There are only two situations in training a Schutzhund pup (under 10 months of age) that should result in a correction. The first is to COME when called. The second is to OUT an item when told to out.

It is important that trainers keep in mind the early goal of training is to teach the dog that as long as he receives no command from his handler, he is allowed to hold his prey item. Poor OUT training will destroy this confidence.

It is also important that the dog learns that the toys are the HANDLER'S TOYS and not the DOG'S TOYS. The dog learns that through training he is allowed to play with the HANDLER’S TOYS for a few minutes several times a day.

The fact is both of these areas (the COME and the OUT) require the dog going through a motivational learning phase where it first learns the meaning of the commands. Corrections are only administered when the pup knows the command and then refuses to mind. A correction is ALWAYS followed by a drive exercise or food (DRIVE-COMPULSION-DRIVE).

In the case of the OUT - it is important that this is trained correctly. When a pup has his prey item the OUT is started by getting the pup to drop the item by offering food or a second prey item. Always use the OUT command when teasing the dog to drop the prey and praise with GOOD OUT when he drops the item.

When the pup can not be tricked into dropping the prey for food or another toy it is then ready for the OUT.

The OUT is accomplished by taking the pup into your arm (refer to the DRIVE FOCUS AND GRIP VIDEO) and flanking (grabbing a handful of skin behind the pups ribs). Flanking causes a small degree of pain.

How much pain is involved in a correction depends on the level of hardness of a puppy. A level 5 pup would require a level 7 correction (please do not ask me what level to use on your pup - I cannot tell through emails). It is also important to realize that the hardness of a pup is directly related to how much drive he is in. So a pup in virtually no drive may only require a level 2 correction, but the same pup after being put into drive for a prey item may require a level 7 correction.

Reading the level of hardness of a pup can only be learned through experience.

Flanking is done very quickly with the goal of causing the pup to spit out the prey. When it is done correctly the pup does not know what happened - it just knows there was a little pain and it spits the ball out as an involuntary reaction. The INSTANT the pup drops the ball or prey item the handler kicks the prey away and the pup is aloud to chase and grab it again.

In the beginning of training the OUT, it is only done randomly. The handler should initially only do the OUT one time a day. Maybe do it once a day for three days and then skip a day and test the OUT. When you test the out you need to give the pup and OUT command and then allow it between 1/2 and 1 1/2 seconds before the correction. It is unfair to give the OUT command an instantly flank the dog. You need to give it a chance to respond.

Your goal as training continues is to only out the dog 1 out of 10 times. For people who started their training at 8 weeks of age the OUT will most likely be started around 4 to 5 months of age. Keep in mind that it is important to not do drive work while the pup is teething.

Doing the OUT too often will have a negative effect on your pup. He will become chewy on the ball or tug and will not feel comfortable coming into you arms. When it's done properly the pup will learn that OUTING the prey is not the end of the game - it only results in a continuation of the game. This is the attitude that we want to develop.

Handlers that do not allow the pup to INSTANTLY go back into drive after the prey item are making mistakes and causing problems.

If the pup looks at the OUT as losing his prey item you will have a dog that has turned on nerves when it comes into your arms and will be mouthy on the prey. You will have a dog that learns to drop the prey item when the handler comes near him.

I should mention that FLANKING is not something that is recommended on many adult dogs. It does not take an adult dog long to figure out that your hand movement is causing the pain. The same goes with a jerk on a leash to OUT an adult dog. They associate the hand movement of the jerk with the pain of the OUT.

If handlers flank their adult dog to often, they run the risk of being bitten by their own dog. It is far better to use an electric collar for older dogs. (Information on doing this is the topic of another article.)

Another very important concept for new trainers to realize is that with CLEAR NERVED dogs when the handler OUTS the dog he immediately kicks the toy away. With SHORT NERVED dogs the handler must wait for 1 1/2 to 2 seconds after the OUT before he kicks the toy away. This gives the short nerve dogs time to clear their nerves.

Puppies and Electric Collars

I am a strong advocate of the use of electric collars. They are one of the best training aids of the last 40 years.

I know that there are those that think its OK to train a young pup (3 or 4 months old) with electric collars. I am not one of those people.

I do believe that a pup should start to wear an electric collar (or dummy collar) at 6 months of age. Just as it should learn to wear a prong collar and drag a line at a young age. It should become part of its being, it should be second nature. These collars should be put on and taken off a couple of times a day so the simple act of changing collars means nothing for the dog.

Collar work (corrections) should not begin on a dog (except in certain circumstances) until the dog is 10 to 12 months old.

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