I would appreciate any suggestions on a type of training to get my dog to bark. Oh he can be a good little watchdog and bark at distubances, but thats's it! The reason: he is a detector dog and is very good at finding his stuff, he is trained in passive and aggressive finds, but never has barked on aggressive finds. Once he makes the motions (aggressive) (pawing, trying to get at it) once realizing he has his find he will then sit (passive) and look at you. Commendable, yes, but we do a lot of off lead 'bush' searches and he is hard to keep up with. If he gets out of sight, I call him, and he returns happily. I have had finds when he is sitting, waiting for me. So, I want him to bark, to lead me to his find when he gets out of sight. I have tried with food, his ball, everything...even barking myself. He sits, downs and just does not know what I want him to do. Once I get the bark out of him I know where to go from there, just to get the bark! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I'm assuming he's a narcotic detector dog?

If he is, I think it would be a good idea to keep him on a long lead, as you don't want him to get into the narcotics, if he does, at least you have a bit of a chance to pull him off of it.

Personally I would never let my dog work like this!

Just my thoughts.

Yes he is Sabre. And I know that was coming! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> This was the method that these dogs were trained in (coming from the U.K.) and a lot of controvery surrounded it, allow him to go off on a free search for max 3 min, then systematic him. this works great indoors, but the areas I'm covering outdoors are very thick, I've tried a long lead, but it justs tangles up and frustrates the dog and where we are, the heat is a factor and the quicker the find, the better for the dog. He usually stays within sight as we sweep, but if he gets on a scent, whoosh!!! We have had 5 finds in the bush in the last 45 days (marijuana)always concealed in buckets. the good thing, outdoor hides are always packaged well! More the reason I want him to bark! I will use this advantage to also discriminate from other prey (a big outdoor problem). I also use a muzzle for those 'just in case scenarios'. Any suggestions to keep him off other prey as well? He doesn't bother cats, but loves to kill rats!

Sorry, forgot to ask this the first time, why do you him trained on passive and aggresive indication????
It would make sense only to have him trained in one indication or just sit/bark.
Now you want him to bark also, sounds like he's not going to know if you want him to poop, pee, squat or bark, pretty soon <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
If you just want him to sit and bark, then start him on that, and do not deviate from that type of indication.
I've heard of some detection agencies training their dogs as dual detector K-9's to find explosives/weapons (passive) and narcotics aggressive.
Again I would never perform this type of training due to the risks involved.

Good Luck!

Maybe Ed or a couple of the other guys could help you out also.

Ok, let me explain...Passive is for people, he sits if he detects the odor of narcotics on a person. Aggressive is when he detects it inside an inanimate object (ie: a cabinet). He has, on his own, after an aggressive indication, and after the encouragement I have given, will then sit and wait for the reward. You see, the trainers taught these dogs to self retrieve, and did not discontinue it. Unsettled with this procedure, I stopped him from self retrieve and made him wait for his reward. He chose to sit. An example was in a window airconditioning unit high up on a wall. He hit on that, and after a couple of jumps, sat and stared at it. I was pleased with this performance. I am satisfied with his indications, I just would like to include a bark with the aggressive indication to help with the outdoor searches for positive reinforcement. After 61 operational searches since his training which ended in May and 33 finds in 4 different substances (we just seized a sailing vessel last Monday)I just was hoping on a technique that someone else may suggest. I know we all train our dogs NOT to bark, so this is new. I taught my last dog to 'speak' and this was easy for her, maybe because she was a vocal dog. I know of some dogs that do bark as well as scratch with their indications, once I get the bark, this will be easy to introduce. Thank you