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General History Of Dogs

Here is an article that I found on the history of dogs. I didn’t write it and don’t know who did. However, it is interesting. There is no incongruity in the idea that in the very earliest period of man's habitation of this world he made a friend and companion of some sort of aboriginal representative of our modern dog, and that in return for its aid in protecting him from wilder animals, and in guarding his sheep and goats, he gave it a share of his food, a corner in his dwelling, and grew to trust it ...

What To Do If Your K9 Gets Cut

When your dog sustains a cut to its skin, it can bleed profusely, and give you the impression that the injury is more serious than it actually is. Fortunately, most skin lacerations aren’t life threatening and you can easily learn how to manage them. The first thing to do is to stop the bleeding. Fold a clean cloth and press it firmly on top of the cut. The cloth may become soaked with blood; if that happens, don’t remove it or you will disturb the blood clot that is forming underneath. Just put another cloth over the first one and maintain ...

How To Correct Your Dog

It seems that these days the measure of your skill as a handler is dependent on the way you deliver a correction. So how do I deliver a correction? Well it depends on the where I am in the world. In some parts of the world some devices like pinch collars are illegal in others e-collars are banned. So depending on where I am depends on what I can use. Some devices are better than others at delivering a precise message to your dog that it has just done something it doesn’t want to repeat. Delivering a correction is more complex ...

The Best Time For Corrections

Corrections are a vital part of your dogs learning and conditioning process. Your dog will never completely ‘get it’ to the point that you never again have to correct unwanted behavior. Every once in a while you will see your dog attempting something it has been corrected for doing in the past. Your dog has survived for thousands for years of evolution because it ‘pushes the envelope’ and attempts things that it has learnt it can’t do but attempts them again, just to see what happens that time round. Why? Because it’s instinct. You would be wrong to think this ...

The Truth About Drive

You will hear the word ‘drive’ spoken no doubt, when in the company of serious K9 enthusiasts. But what does it really mean in a practical application. I mean, what good is having drive? Drive is essentially another word for desire. The deep passionate want for something. The insatiable need to possess something. Like food or sex. Drive is God’s gift to the K9. It was the single most important ingredient in the dog’s genetic makeup that gave it the mindset to persist until success. It has been almost bred out unfortunately in recent times, but for the traditional purist breeders ...

I Want A Dog With Huge Drive

That’s what I hear from people who have familiarized themselves with the security dog world and have learned the language or the K9 handler. Read more… So you’ve heard a lot about the benefits of drive and it all sounds great right? But drive is one of the hardest things to control in your dog. Creating conflict is usually the result of a poor handler who is out of their league. Getting a dog with huge Drive and not knowing how to manage this beast is irresponsible and is like letting your niece or nephew take driving lessons in a drag ...

The Best Breed For A K9

I’ll tell you straight off the bat. There isn’t one. There are a few. There are really only two considerations. Let’s look at functionality and aesthetics in reverse order. My advice is to go for a breed that you like the most, as you will be looking at that breed for the next 10 years. So if you like huskies because they look like a wolf or Dobermans because they look prestigious or you have always wanted a boxer then you should get a boxer and if you’ve always wanted a German Shepard then get that breed. That would be your ...

53 Points You Should Know About Personal Protection Dogs

Taken from my FREE report you will receive when you subscribe to www.k9ers.com. 1. Like it or not, the law will tell you what you can and cannot do. 2. In many States, councils have the power to destroy your dog ‘legally’. 3. In others, simply the Ranger/Sheriff/Police Officer/other official can legally make the assessment on the day as to whether your dog should be destroyed immediately. 4. Check the local laws regarding dogs that have been trained to bite a human on command. 5. Ask a lawyer for advice. 6. Talk to the council about the collars and muzzles your dog must wear, and signs you ...

Getting Your K9 To Listen

There is an old saying. “If you want to he heard then say little”. A chatterbox is annoying but more annoying to a dog because it can’t tell you to shut up. So a dog just shuts you out. Constantly talking to your dog creates a situation where your dog thinks that you are just flapping your chops again and tries to escape the noise by tuning you out. And it is just noise to a dog. Dogs don’t understand a word you ever say, only the tone of your voice. Your dog isn’t really going to ever learn a language ...

The Best Training Tool For Your K9

There is so much hype out there as to which training tool is the best. The simple answer is, they are all good. And, I mean all when used humanely. Train with your heart. The reality is that in the wrong hands a feather could be used to the detriment to a K9’s development. Look at it like this; if you gave a heinous weapon to the nicest person you’ve ever heard of, it would be safe to say that you would have zero concerns for anyone’s safety. So, my point is that the tool is irrelevant in the ...

Creating A Super Focused K9

Understanding what the competing forces in the immediate natural environment are extremely important. If you were just about to wash your car and a UFO landed in front of you it would be fair to say that you would probably stop what you were doing and focus on the UFO. As humans we can only think of one thing at a time. Try it. Think of a pizza and the Eiffel Tower at the same time. You can’t can you? You can think of them both bouncing back from one and the other but it is impossible to think of ...

61 Essential Points To Remember When Using The Springer

Follow these 61 points and you can’t go wrong. 1. The Springer is designed to safely exercise your dog with your bike. 2. Socialize your dog to the environment before training. 3. Dogs with a calm temperament and predictable behavior are great on the Springer. 4. Dogs of two years of age or more are the best candidates for Springer training routines but rock steady younger dogs are also a good match. 5. Vet-check your dog for health and fitness levels before starting the training routine. 6. Inspect the dog's feet each time you go out, particularly if they have soft pads and are not used to walking on ...

How To Correct Disobedience Without Diminishing Drive

Everyone knows that timing is crucial when correcting your K9 but few people realize they are also correcting wanted behavior as well as unwanted behavior at the same time. So how can you single out the reason for the correction and make it clear to your dog why the correction was delivered? The way you do this is to correct disobedience and not the behavior. Let me explain. Say you are walking down the street and your dog fixates on a scent and begins to pull you in a direction you don’t want to go. Most people just yank on the ...

The Biggest Mistake You Will Ever Make With Your Puppy

When you bring your puppy home for the first time your puppy will be extremely overwhelmed. The new smells and sights and the separation from mother and litter will be traumatic for your little friend. But don’t worry because dogs have survived millions of years due to their incredible ability to adapt to their environment and within a couple of very short weeks your dog will be just as home as you are. Now the two case stories below are typical and are repeated in varying degrees by tens of thousands of people every week all around the world PART ONE Case ...

The Best Attack Dog Command

The best Attack dog command a dog can learn is the ‘OUT’ command. This is a command to release the bite. Why is this so important? Because Tactical Disengagement (TD) is essential to your dog’s survival and yours. TD allows your dog to re-access the best position to attack from and allow for a more tactical bite. The ‘OUT’ command also allows you to keep control of the situation so you are not using excessive force where it does not need to be applied. A well timed TD allows you to recall your dog to your side and allows the offender ...

How To Apprehend An Offender With Your K9

You’ve set your dog onto an offender. The offender has buckled under the strain of the bite and the weight of the dog. What are you going to do now? So you fancy yourself as a bit of hands on kind of person and want to get in there and team up with your dog. Good for you! That is what your dog really needs now, a little back up. If you’re physically capable and understand the process of bringing the offender before the court via police then go for it. You need to consider one more thing and that’s ...

Two Kinds Of Attack Dogs

There are essentially two kinds of attack dogs. One will attack when you decide and the other will attack when it decides to attack. These are called active and reactive Dogs. Let’s look at the first one – Active. This is a dog you can walk down to the beach front. Should a friend decide to sneak up on you and jump on your back because that is what he feels like doing – your dog will not bite him. Should you decide to set your dog on to your friend (because you are an idiot too) then your ...

The Best ‘Attack’ Command

The best command is one your dog understands. This may sound obvious but you will be surprised how many times I’ve seen handlers suddenly yell the ‘Attack’ command and the dog just reacts to the tone of the handlers voice, gives a few excited steps forward and then doubles back looking at the owner as if to say, “That sounded serious, what’s going on”? The ‘Attack ‘ command is very overrated. It is nothing without other cues for your dog to understand the situation at hand or the action it is being asked to take. What you really want to be ...

The ‘OUT’ Command

When the dog is sent on a bite then latches on the offender with tight jaws sometimes the dog doesn’t get a very effective bite. For example the bite might land on the offenders jacket sleeve causing the offender initial shock but no pain or control of the offenders arm. This is really a bad situation for your dog to be in. Under no real pressure from the dog an offender can easily reach into his pocket with his other hand and produce a weapon. The dog will be none the wiser and a vicious attack on your dog will ...

Strange Types of Detection Dogs

The canine sense of smell is notoriously powerful, and humans have capitalized on this by training scent dogs for a wide variety of purposes: as trackers, drug dogs, explosives ordinance K9s and dogs that can detect human smuggling. These dogs are valuable assets to world security and can be trained for both passive alerts and aggressive alerts to achieve powerful psychological effects. However, there are a number of other types of detection dogs being used today in strange but ingenious ways. But just because these dogs aren't tracking down criminals, drugs, weapons or bomb materials doesn't make ...