To Van Camp,Im curious how often I should do maintenance training for my personal protection dog.Should this work only be done at my home?Should it only be done with a bite suit and muzzle fighting?What schedule should I maintain for him to be reliable at any time in a real life situation

Once I call a dog "finished" we will do scenario training every month, sometimes more as training time allows and with the availability of a decoy.

I will do weekly bitework basics to focus on grips, outs, and related obedience.

I suggest you train where you plan on having the dog, if that is only in the home then fine. If you take him to work, train at work. Exposure to as many different protection situations as possible will increase the chances that the dog will be able to react correctly in a real life encounter. I have a good friend that is a K9 handler, who's advice is the same. Get the dog to bite as many different people, in as many places, and as often as you can.

As far as equipment I don't focus on one piece of equipment. I like to use hidden sleeves, suits, sleeves, and/or a muzzle. One challenge is to try to get the dog to the point where he is comfortable biting anything he can get his teeth into. It's the best way I know of to prepare the dog for the once in a lifetime chance that he'll actually have to bite a person without issue.

Along those same lines, once the dog is finished, do you worry less about having a good helper available for the dog and so you can just use any random acquiantance? Is there some value in using people who're kinda freaked out and unpredictable...as an intruder might be?...provided you provide them with ample protection and remediable instruction.

Steven, the more seasoned the dog is the less I worry about the quality or experience of the decoy for PP training.

I have a bitch I'll put on anybody, anytime, anyplace without worry.

Well. . .without worry for the bitch.


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