I have heard of the search pattern of Police K9s being directed by laser pointers. I am thinking of trying this technique, if it works it will give me another option to use in building searches, especially in tactical situations.
Has anyone tried this? There is one topic on this in the general forum but more related to directing the dog to engage a specific "lasered" target.
What are your ideas on starting the training? I know repetition with rewards. But any experiences would be apreciatted.
Howard Knauf Webboard User Reg: 09-24-2003
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Loc: Melbourne, Florida
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I never used a laser to guide my dog but he would search areas which were hit with a quick blip of the maglight. This was done after his initial search and when the place had to be really detailed.
Howard Knauf Webboard User Reg: 09-24-2003
Posts: 1555
Loc: Melbourne, Florida
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Shawn, I just built on what the dog already knew. Once he had a solid pattern on door seams I would hit the door with the light and give a search command as he was approaching the door like usual. I'd use long hallways with lots of doors and light every one during training. After a while the dog associated the light with the search command and he would actually change his pattern to go to the light when told to.
Once he had this exercise down, I backed off that training a little because I didn't want to have him dependant on me. He was still required to search on his own. When conducting real street searches I would only use the light when the situation warranted. This gave me a good even amount of self searches by the dog and handler assist searches. When the dog became more experienced he would search to the light without a verbal command.
David C.Frost Webboard User Reg: 01-23-2002
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Loc: Nashville, TN
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I've been out of town a few days and missed this discussion, it's interesting. I've worked with a laser in directing dogs for various applications. We started out just as Howard is describing. First directing the search, then we went to a flashlight, then on to the laser. While it's kind of a controlled search, with the dog being directed in a loose fashion where he can act on his own senses when necessary. It really isn't all that difficult. As with most things in training, it just took time and consistent steps towards your objective.
DFrost
Any behavior that is reinforced is more likely to occur again.
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