flanking has purposes other than outing. In fact, i've never used it to teach the out. I have, however, used it on STRONG dogs on the sleeve in the blind to teach them that there was a real fight to be had with a new decoy (me), because for some unspoken reason (except in dog language) there wasn't as much respect as with another, more experienced decoy.

It did make them mad, and as a result their barking and overall behavior in the guarding (no more cheap shots, more aggression, etc.) increased dramatically.

It wasn't to teach the out. In fact, if i didn't let go of them before they let go of the sleeve, i would have been in big trouble in a hurry.

The only time i have seen it used to out is on young dogs, and it doesn't take much of a pinch. And as long as the decoy was doing their job - getting the dog's attention and imediately putting them back into prey, it wasn't an issue.

I agree that for a dog to be that reactive to anyone getting near that part of their body, the flanking that took place was most likely WAY beyond anything reasonably acceptable.

A number of years ago, I had the Military Dog Training Manual, 20-20. It had pictures and descriptions of flanking. The reasons given were to test dogs for aggression. Other than the Flink's tape, the only time I ever saw it done was some idiot trying to get a rather sharp dog to drop a tug. If he was a half step slower, he would have lost his face.
Does anyone know if this manual still exist, or where to get an old copy? It was 1967 when I was given the book. Love to have another for my library.

That was FM 20/20 I think.

I found my own answer.
http://www.military-info.com/MPHOTO/p059.htm

Cool site for old stuff!

Corey,
I have been exposed to flanking by the military police that taught me most of what I know other than what I have learned here. (I am not offering training advice here, I don't know enough to do that. I am just relating my experience with the way the particular unit of K9 MPs that taught me used flanking.)
The way that they used it was never for the out. It was for when the dog was on the sleeve and not putting much effort or seriousness into the hold. When the dogs were just sort of hanging there, and slacking.
What handler would do is GENTLY grip the dog on the flank. This would make the dog become more serious in it's attitude toward the helper.
They liked the dogs to hit, and then drag the helper down so the dog's front legs were on the ground. This put the dog in a position to drag the helper to the handler better. They trained the dogs to shake their heads a little, not enough to rip or break the hold, but if the helper fought at all, then they wanted the dog to shake its head just a little to subdue the helper.
They never never did it roughly or hurt the dogs in any way, and it really would rile up the dogs in their attitude toward the helper, not the handler. They said if you did it at the wrong time or too roughly that it would make the dog let go, defeating the whole point.
They had different techniques for the little dogs that didn't have enough mass/strength to drag a person bodily to the handler
I have also seen it used again gently by a helper when a dog was not paying him enough attention or treating him like a real threat, just reach out and grab them on the flank to say hey! I'm a threat you better take this seriously.
I didn't even know people used it for outing. Of course I dont know much anyway, so that isn't saying much. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I don't think this is what you were talking about but I found some of it to be interesting.
http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p190_12.pdf

To resurrect an old post, I'll ask this: What do you knowledgeable folks think about a trainer flanking a dog upon meeting him for the first time to try to put him in defense? The dog was about 15-17mos, and was totally green. I'm curious, because the result I've seen is that now the dog distrusts every new man he encounters, and will swing his back end around to keep it out of harm's way. I noticed this when I had the dog re-evaluated, and the new trainer was trying to initiate a game of tug. The trainer asked me why he kept turning around and looking backwards. I can only guess this, because he doesn't do that when playing with me or any other familiar people.

Afterward, the flanking trainer said he had "an incredibly high pain tolerance" which didn't make me too happy-did he have a real motive besides hurting my dog?