I am overdue for an update here, so I apologize for the lengthy post. We have made some changes and some progress since the last update. However, there was also a very long layoff due to a 54-day stretch of work, a couple of months of poor weather, and TD being stricken with illness.

In our next session after the previous post, we did what we planned (short bites and then some simulated pursuits). Thinking that Sadie was making okay progress, the helper and I decided to try a longer escape bite. He almost got bit on the leg, but for some quick reflexes, and that bright idea was quickly squashed (we did get some "told ya so" glares from TD). Back to work on building drive for the object and working with less defense.

After that, we missed the rest of the fall and beginning of winter. A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to train 75 miles away with a newly forming club. They didn't have a TD, but I picked up some different tips and suggestions from a senior handler, and one paid off huge. We were in a strange location, and Sadie had never been on that long of a ride. She was out of sorts. We struggled through some OB practice, then she gladly did some obstacle work as I had peaked her food drive.

However, when we staked her out and a helper appeared, she went straight into full blown defense. I should have caught it, because she normally lights up as soon as she gets clipped in, but she didn't fire up until she saw the helper. I missed the signs of avoidance (and later attributed it to the new location). She was biting a wedge okay, but her focus was on the helper and not the wedge. The other handler pointed out that we needed to remove some stress and get her back in prey, so we backed off. He produced a bite pillow on a long line. I had tried this before with Sadie, but she had never shown the faintest interest in the toy. I proceeded to tossing it out in front of her and jerking it away, but she hardly glanced at it. I also ran past her with it and twirled it in the air, but she was still more interested in the helper, who had now retreated to watch. The other handler told the helper to take the pillow. He had the helper toss it near her and just twitch it, not jerking it away until she made a move for it. Her frustration was peaking, and after a couple of tosses she started trying to grab the pillow. To build her confidence, the handler then instructed him to toss it right at her feet or chest, and sure enough she latched on. Once she started biting it, we needed to get her to hold onto it. In order to do that, the helper turned his back to her and stretched her out, and her drive for keeping the wedge began to peak. We spent the next half hour building on that and working on getting her to keep and carry the item after the fight.

Last night, we finally got some mild weather combined with a dry field on a regular club night. After some stellar OB, dumbbell, and obstacle work, I was ready to build on the last successful session. I put Sadie in a wide collar and clipped her to the fence. Even before I turned to walk back to the equip box for the pillow and line, she lit up. She was full forward with a persistent high-pitched bark and a wagging tail, and she stayed out front and in prey the entire session. I started tossing in the pillow, and was getting a decent response. However, a helper showed up about then and her focus turned to him. She did, at least,remain in prey drive, so I gave him the pillow. Her work with him was many times better than what I was getting from her. She got more intense and possessive as we went. I began to sense that her "defense of prey" might be what gets her where we want her and become one of the strengths in her protection work.

We had a little debriefing afterward. TD recalled that it took us working through her defensive tendencies and lowering that threshold to get where we are at. We remembered thinking that she may never work in prey. We could have given up because we didn't want to work her in defense, but I'm glad we are working through it.

Sounds great, I know very little about protection training but it looks as though everyone is more than willing to give Sadie time and work with her quirks. What is TD? I keep thinking technical delegate which is probably wrong.

Training director

Great that you got it figured out!

Bad weather forced another three-week break in protection training. However, we now have a clear direction, and my wonderful companion always seems to pick up right where we left off.

This time, we started off with me handling, rather than on the fence. Sadie was a little unsure with this new arrangement, but with minimal encouragement she went forward and stayed there. The helper started teasing her with the pillow and she responded well, but when he let her catch it, her bite was shallow. After a couple of attempts to let her improve it, he decided to hold the pillow rather than toss it. I was concerned that she might not be ready for the pressure, but she stayed in prey drive, indicating that the work we did to raise her defensive thresholds is paying off. She started hitting harder and deeper, and the helper commented on it.

We moved forward one step and started working on drive for the toy. At first, she would move away from the helper when he let her have the pillow, but drop it when she was turned away. As the session went, she carried it farther and farther. We then did something unintentional that helped. I wanted to see if she would out while engaged with the helper, so I tried to "out" her. This created a lot of conflict for her, but she relented after I repeated it several times. When she was released for the rebite, her drive was stronger than before, and she struck hard and deep. She also carried the toy much farther. We did this twice more during the session, and each time her drive and bite were improved. We ended the session on a really good bite-and-slip, and she carried the pillow as I ran as fast as my fat old legs could carry me. She carried it halfway to the truck, which was much, much farther than ever before.

We were able to work on prey/defense threshold, strike, and grip. Her confidence was improved. Also, her drive for the object is starting to manifest, and we are beginning to get her to carry it. We also introduced the first smidgeons of obedience into the work. Going forward, I want to improve her drive for the object and have her start defending it.

Duane, with her unsureness what sort of defence are you doing with her?
It could possible be that she enjoys the tug game when the helper holds onto the tug rather then letting her take it.

Careful with to much obedience before she's comfortable in the tug game with the helper.
If your doing marker training for a bite then the tug has to have a very high value to her.
If you using corrections in the obedience then that could take away any desire to bite the tug.
Just a thought!

Thanks, Bob.

The "unsureness" didn't last long. We are trying not to work her in defense, so, when she turned back to me twice, we gave her some more distance and praise. The helper did not approach until she changed drives.

She does enjoy the contact with the helper more, but it took time for us to close that distance. Up until now, that much pressure from the helper would have put her in defense.

No corrections, not even verbally, during the bitework!!! The OB I mentioned was just the "out". When she didn't out right away, I slowly stroked her back and repeated the command. At this point in the work, she was in very high drive for the pillow, and each time the rebite was deeper and harder than the previous bite. Your concern is valid, though, as a tug or toy is not valuable enough to do ordinary OB with. I discovered over a year ago that, when she is engaged nicely in a game of tug that she has great drive for the toy. As with the beginning of Wed. night's session, one of the keys with this dog is getting the proper engagement before proceeding with ANY training or work.

We are trying to make the game valuable enough that she wants to play and goes into prey drive. We are seeing signs of progress in this regard. She likes being in fight drive and doesn't care if she gets there in defense or prey. We prefer the prey drive.

We have done bitework almost weekly since my last post. We have concentrated on drive and striking the pillow. I have been concentrating on improving her targeting and grip so that we could progress to a wedge or sleeve. This week we replaced the pillow with a bite wedge. TD would like to go right to the sleeve, but I personally would like to see more solid grips on the hard wedge first. Been three years in the making; no need to rush now.

Sadie is now working almost exclusively in prey. Naturally, she still brings some elements of defense into her fight drive, but only those necessary for fight (mostly defense of prey). She can handle significant amounts of pressure and stay in prey drive.

She now carries and holds the object. She'll also return with the object to engage the helper during the work and carries it off the field (to her crate) when the work is over.

How does the helper approach her? Coming straight in with heavy eye contact will definitely put a defensive dog in defense.

It does sound like you making progress.

Because of her defensive drive, we don't start out approaching her. She has gotten to a point where she anticipates the game, much like the other dogs, and starts getting drivey as soon as I go to ther crate and put on her working collar. I guess some would argue about what drive it is, but it is a positive reaction to what's about to happen; she looks forward to the bitework.

As soon as the helper comes on the field, I signal her to "watch him" and she goes into drive and starts barking. The bark is high-pitched, she is at the end of the lead, and her tail is either erect or wagging. As long as she doesn't turn away from him or look back, the helper works his way in. She understands the importance of the bark, and we don't have to work her hard to get nice barking. We are now working closely enough with pressure that we can start bark and hold training.

We don't spend a lot of time agitating. We usually move to a pillow (or wedge, now) pretty quickly and work on drive building, and eventually targeting and grip. Her targeting is not bad. Her grips get better as the session goes. One thing that helps at that point is to cap her with a couple of outs. The rebites are always harder and deeper.

One issue she has and that I work on a lot during tug is that she doesn't always rebite when she needs to. She is so intent on hanging on that she will not release even a terrible bite. We've tried easing off and feeding the tug into her, jerking on the tug, backpressure, and haven't made any headway. Any suggestions would be appreciated.