Yet another question has come up, but you guys are such a great source for info I can’t get enough.

Ok, my dog currently would rather eat grass and pee on a search and does not want to search for a person. And let me guess more muzzle work right??? To add to this we have gone after some people where they were in a house and I was yelling at them to comply. The dog was not interested at all. I will hit him on the side and try to pump him up but all he wants to do is sniff the floor where the other dog has been. One time the guy walked right by us the and dog pulled and pulled on the leash but not after the guy to get the cat in the room. The dog did not even move when the guy walked by us. My dog is a great demo dog with children but when it comes to looking and wanting to bite someone I am having a problem. Any ideas.
So far we did this thing we learn. We take a towel and roll it up into a long “snake” if you will. 3 or 4 guys will stand in a group and just talk. After a couple of seconds I will give him his “alert”command and the person holding the towel will swing it and hit the dog in the shoulder area surprising him. Then every one will turn and run away yelling and I will chase after them with the dog. Well at first when he is getting hit by the towel he will cower and lay down on the ground looking at me. I will run by him towards the people running telling him to come with me and giving him his bite command. By that time he is usually perked up and barking and chasing. We will do this about 3 times and on the 4th I will put his muzzle on him stand in the group and give him the “alert” command. This time he will not be hit and when everyone runs I send him for a muzzle fight.
Other then that can any one give me any other ideas of how to make this dog want to bite a person. I don’t want to loose the ability to take him to demo’s but I do want him to start hunting a person and getting excited when we are taking someone into custody. The dog is 2 year old mal and does not have a bite yet. When it comes to the suite or sleeve he is a hunting fool. But with a person he is not interested.
Also is there anything I can do to help this by myself as well. I understand it will probably take one or two people but when I am out on patrol with just the dog is there anything I can do by myself with him to help this out. As always I am greatfull for you guys you have helped out a lot and I am looking forward to hearing from all of you. Thanks!!!

Ryan…. This dog was originally an EOD Dog… was he dual purpose patrol as well when you got him or are you adding patrol to him now? How is the rest of his bitework? How is his area search work?

I too am wondering about his other bite work. If you have a dog that is cowering and laying on the floor after being hit with towel, and he is not responding with appropriate display of aggression................You do have issues.

I can speak from experience here, I had a GSD that was a great tracker, detector, bit the suit, did a little muzzle but would not bite a hidden sleeve. I actually deployed him on a subject and he sniffed the guy's leg and came back to me.

When you say you send him for a muzzle fight...what does he do? Does he fight or just jump around the guy?

To me the sniffing the floor ect is an avoidance behavior, it sounds like he is not comfortable at all in the situation you have him in.

Fortunately, my dog was washed from the program and I now have a much better dog.

Chad

The dog is clearly showing avoidance behavior, maybe he's not a good candidate for police work. And you are working him defensively, this dog is not at any level for muzzle work. The dog needs to learn that a person can be prey not jsut equipment. You need a good helper that understands dog behavior and training. You can only support him when he shows the correct behavior, find a good police dog trainer.

I agree with Alan. You seem to be working the dog on defence drive rather that prey drive. Why not take a step back and start again from the start? Some dogs get trained too quick and the dogowners want quick results which dont happen. Why hit him with the towel? If a dog is chasing prey....for example a rabbit....the rabbit doesnt wallop itself against the dog like you do with a towel............try tempting and pulling away so that he gets the prey idea. You dont give a dog the prey in the mouth or hit them with it, they have to go after it......make it more exiting for him.....sort of cat and mouse game. He goes after the prey and you pull it away, same again and again, then he wins and you go crazy with him(enthousiastic) because he won. Keep this going for a month and see what happens. He seems bored, but if i was hit with a towel i dont think id bother either <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Although there could be some huge holes in his training that has added up to this behavior it is more likely that the dog just doesn't have it.
I suggest finding a experienced individual to do a complete selection test on the dog and give you a honest answer.

But will a complete selection test find the holes that have already been dug?

I wouldnt worry about the human prey for now.....first get him to notice a fake prey......we call it a bite roll. Anything that hes interested in and tease him with it. Dont take things too fast because you cant go back as easily. He sounds a good dog. Some dogs are better in one thing than another but it doesnt mean that they cant learn the other that they are less good in. Keep him occupied with the prey aspect but let him win. Try a few times and once hes done it once or twice with good result stop while hes on a winner. Dont force him to make mistakes by doing it too long . Better is to pick it up again 15 mins later. Try during training at an unexpected moment the same thing again and let him win and show him that hes the best dog around. Id be suprised if he didnt start to enjoy it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

So the dog will do a building search if your decoy is in a suit or sleeve?? Or is there no interest in building searches at all....just sniffing around?

Hilary - unless you are police K9 handler or instructor (your web site does not lead me tho think that you are) I would rather you not post of police K9 threads. No insult intended but in cases like this sport people should not be offering opinions.