Pro or Con....I've had several trainers/handlers tell me that they use the same reward (i.e. a hunting retriever's bumper) for dope work. When the dog sees the bumper come out of the trunk, it serves as a cue that dope work will ensue. After the positive alert, the dog is rewarded with the bumper. Opinions?
David A. Egger
San Angelo (TX) Police Dept
Sergeant K9 Division
Matthew Grubb Webboard User Reg: 09-27-2002
Posts: 637
Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.
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I think that the most important factor is that you use the toy that the dog likes best be it a tug or a kong or whatever...... just as long as you can interact with the dog with it. I see alot of handlers going to tennis balls. Apart from the wole glue issue, you can't get that interaction with the dog that you can with other toys. I use a 12" x 2" fire hose tug with a loop handle.
I don't let my dog see the toy when we get ready to search. He figgures it out on his own when I attach his leash to the ring.
Matthew, I would agree that you should use whatever toy the dog likes best but I don't understand the interaction part. IMO, where the reward comes from does not matter. In fact I would rather the dog think that God did it or he caused it to magically appear. The reward should be enough to reinforce the behavior and any interaction from me isn't necessary. My job is to help get the dog in productive areas. You're right in time we all get caught and at some point down the road it shouldn't really matter as long as we get the proper response to the stimulus. I'm not trying to start an argument I just understand the importance of interaction.
As far as cues dogs are masters of association. The dog in the above post probably knew what the exercise was going to be when the handler put his hand in his pocket to get his keys to unlock the trunk. LOL
David,
I have a 'special' toy for narcotic finds, meaning, this toy is used for this work only. (and the favorite is a rubber hose.) My dog's 'trigger' is when I put on his working harness=time to work!
The hose does magically appear at a find and we have a happy momment and a good game of tug. Playing tug with physical contact enhanced the bonding experience during training.
There have been times (large areas, ie: bush searches) where there has been more than one find and after the initial reward, the tug 'appears' to be thrown deep into the bush (quick slight of hand in pocket) and the dog is back searching again and oh, that prey drive!
Matthew Grubb Webboard User Reg: 09-27-2002
Posts: 637
Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Offline
Howard... I "try" not to let my dog know that the reward is coming from me, I'd rather him think that it just "poofed" out from the odor source itself. When I refer to the interaction aspect I'm refering to the dog's want to interact with me after obtaining the toy.
I will get the same response from the small Kong on a string we use as an obedience reward, the big tug on a long line we will use for some tracks, or the dope toy. I like having the fun of the reward being my interaction with my dog and establishing his want to work for my attention.
My dog loves his dope toy.... and will be quite content to play with it himself, but I can realy kick his drive into gear and turn him into a searching fool with interaction.
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