DOGGIE DOG BLOG

By: David Harris

I am often asked which is more powerful.  Positive reinforcement or Negative Reinforcement?  The simple answer is that they are both powerful and effective when used properly.  Unfortunately, most dog owners do not understand the principals, the laws, that underlie the proper use of either.  The most common mistake novice owners make is late timing.  The dog has already done the wanted behavior and is now getting rewarded or the dog has already done the unwanted behavior and is now getting the correction some time later.  Bad timing = Bad communication.

But, back to the the which is better question.  In my mind I see positive reinforcement as a more effective, long term solution to behavior modification.  The simple reason is that when you use positive reinforcement methods the dog is working with you to earn the rewards for the wanted behavior.  They look forward to doing the wanted behavior and use all the brain power to help you and themselves learn the new behavior and if done properly they new behavior becomes part of their normal, expected behavior.   I also understand that sometimes positive reinforcement methods are time consuming and require a level of skill higher than is required to effectively use negative reinforcement methods.  So, for short term solutions to behavioral problems that are dangerous to the dog, to other animals or to your property it is often advantageous to use negative reinforcement methods to effect a short term cessation of the behavior.  But, once the behavior is stopped I like to follow up with positive reinforcement methods to strengthen the behavior and ensure that the behavior stays gone and isn’t just temporarily masked by the use of negative reinforcement.  It is important to understand that something drives all behavior.  If the dogs prey drive is responsible for it’s desire to chase cars it is unlikely that you will have a permanent effect on stopping this behavior without someone getting the dogs cooperation.  So, using negative reinforcement you can quickly create avoidance of the behavior, but for long term maintenance it is important to follow up with positive reinforcement to maintain the behavior by using one or all of the following positive reinforcement methods to get the dog motivated to do other behaviors besides chasing cars when it is stimulated by their movement.

1) Reinforce the absence of the behavior.  Ignore the barking, then when it stops click and reward.

2) Teach a behavior incompatible to the bad behavior.  The dog cannot sit and jump at the same time.  So, teach them that when they are excited to sit in front of you, not jump, to lay on their bed, not beg for food, to nuzzle your hand, not bite it and on and on.  So, reinforce (make stronger) a better behavior to replace the unwanted behavior.  Once again to be used on behaviors that are not dangerous to the dog or your livestock or you or your property.

3) Put the behavior on cue.  Teach a command on bark, teach a command for jumping, teach a command to herd the horse and then don’t give the command.  It is really helpful to a dog to know when it is ok to do a behavior and when it is not.  All my dogs bark on command, tug on command, pull on the leash on command, jump up on command and on and on.  Having these behaviors on cue give me control over them.

4) Change the motivation.  When you are having a behavioral issue with a dog I would suggest that the first thing you do to address the behavioral problem is to determine the cause or motivation behind the behavior.  So, what drives your dog to  (fill in unwanted behavior here). Typically, the dogs behavior is a response to your reaction.  For example dogs typically jump up in an attempt to get your attention.  Stop giving them ANY attention for jumping and they will typically quit.  You would.  If you used a soda machine and every time you put your money in you got no soda in return you would quickly learn not to bother with that behavior.  On the other hand if that machine almost always give you a reward for your behavior, but sometimes doesn’t work you will try again and again to get the reward.  Dogs are like that.  If you sometimes (when you’re in a good mood for example) pet them for jumping and then other times yell at them for jumping they will continue to jump and jump on you in an attempt to find the time that you are in a good enough mood to pet them.  This is called a variable schedule of reinforcement and drives both good and bad behavior.  It is the same psychology that drive gambling an addiction in people.  Random rewards are powerful even if you do not mean for them to be random rewards.  

So, just watch your dogs behavior and decide what drives or motivates the dogs behavior.  Leave out human emotions that do not apply.  Keep it simple.  Just look at the behavior and decide what is the pay off.  Typically it is your reaction, but not always.  Some behaviors are self rewarding.  These self rewarding behaviors will have to be dealt with in another manner.  They will not simply go away if you ignore them. 

An example of self rewarding behavior is chewing.  If the dog is chewing your furniture if is most likely because it feels good to do so.  So, they will not just quit if you ignore them.  Some other form of motivation will have to come into play to create avoidance of that behavior even though the dog enjoys doing the behavior.  I personally would enjoy not having to pay taxes.  But, I do pay taxes to avoid having to pay the penalties associate with not keeping the IRS happy.

Ok, that is a brief sum up of the four methods of using positive reinforcement to get rid of bad behaviors.  Over a long period of time positive reinforcement is more effective and will maintain a behavior much more effectively than negative reinforcement will.  We use negative reinforcement to stop a behavior quickly, such as pulling on the leash, or barking at horses, but in the long run it is better to change the dogs attitude and get them looking to you for direction.

Master Trainer David Harris is available for consultation, private one on one lessons, and offers a wide range of services at his two commercial pet care facilities in Kentucky.

502-542-9746 

By David Harris

 The development of a personal protection dog and a sport dog differ in many ways, but one of the most significant is the manner in which a personal protection dog needs to be prepared for a variety of environments.  In the sport of Schutzhund nothing much changes until you get to the national level.  Most club trials will have only a handful of participants and even those few people never get anywhere near the dogs competing.  So, Schutzhund dogs rarely encounter the level of distraction faced by even lower level AKC obedience dogs.  I often hear Schuthzund enthusiast talk down about AKC obedience, but I have known many SchH 3 titled dogs that could not compete successfully in AKC.

At Animal Resorts and Protection Dog Sales we start our dogs very early and develop the level of confidence and focus necessary to cope with heavy levels of stimulus and distraction.

 Below are a couple video examples of the work we do with our puppies to prepare them for whatever might come there way in the future.  You would be shocked to know how many Schutzhund titled dogs would fold and run away from a agitator that came at the dog in a manner totally unseen in Schutzhund competition.

Hammer von Prufenpuden at 4 1/2 months.  Protection Video

Doberman Puppies. Stimulus Work Video

Additionally, we start very early with puppy obedience training.  Check out the ten week old puppy.

Chaney von Prufenpuden video.

 Give us a call and let us help you find your next great dog.  We have many wonderful dogs posted on our Protection Dog Sales Website and many, many more up and coming young dogs that are not on the site yet, but being developed and soon will be ready to enter a home and offer companionship and protection.

David Harris  Master Trainer  502-542-9747

By: David Harris

We often have to deal with the misconception that retired or flunked out x-Schutzhund Sport dogs make wonderful personal protection dogs just because they can go onto a field and grip a sleeve.  It is true that the genetic material of these dogs is often very good.  As puppies they had amazing drive and wonderful potential to be a personal protection or police dog.  But, from there the life of a personal protection dog and a sport dog diverge dramatically.  A sport dog lives a very limited life.  He often lives in a kennel and only comes out to go to the training club for his training class.  Since he is going to compete on a Schutzhund field that is where his socialization and training occur and often no where else.  I my early days I was often fooled by these dogs as well.  They look so happy and so wonderfully at ease on the field.  But, after I purchased them and took them off to the park to play with my dogs I often found that they were scared and terribly confused.  Many could not even go up and down simple steps and most could not handle slippery floors, would not go into the water to play or even be trust worthy off leash.  It was simply to much for them to go from a lifetime of very limited exposure to being thrown into a real life situation.

In this video of a personal protection dog being developed by Protection Dog Sales, you will see that type of exposure we bring into the life of our dogs that are being directed towards the life of a personal dog that will be required to handle all types of environments and perform their protective duties regardless of the pressure brought to bear by the agitator.  Sport dogs never see this type of stimulus and will typically fold under it.

If you are looking into purchasing a personal protection dogs I would suggest you visit our website and start your education by reading our articles on cost verses hype and other educational articles on purchasing a personal protection dog and how they differ from retired/failed/injured x-sport dogs that have been purchased from a broker and are now for sale to the uneducated public for grossly inflated prices.

Call us today.

David Harris   Master Trainer  Protection Dog Sales  502-542-9747

www.protectiondogsales.com

As luck would have it we have five very nice young Malinois for sale.  Very stable, well raised, happy dogs with strong protection drives and good development as you can see in this short video.

 You can see a lot more videos of personal protection dogs and dogs developed for sale at www.protectiondogsales.com and on your youtube account www.youtube.com/harrisd1dog

 Give us a call and we’ll send you additional video and pictures of this nice young dogs and others that might suit your needs.

 David Harris, Master Trainer, CEO Protection Dog Sales

www.protectiondogsales.com 502-542-9747

By: David Harris

I am often asked when protection dog training begins.  The honest answer to this question is before conception.  Without the proper pedigree and breeding plan, it is unlikely that many of the puppies from a given litter will have the necessary temperment and drive to make a quality protection dog.  So, protection training starts with quality breeding stock.  Prufenpuden Bloodlines have been proofed and have stood the test of time.  When we produce a litter of puppies we have a very good idea what the puppies will be like.  How they will mature and when we should expect them to balance out in their drives.  Most if not all of them will have exceptional prey drive and prey drive is the foundation used in protection training to develop the necessary confidence and skills require to be a safe, effect protection dog.  Defense drive will start to show its self as the puppy matures depending on many factors including socialization, genetics, training and development of the individual puppy.

In this video we’ll see a typical Prufenpudin puppy at four and half months.  This puppy is one of twenty five puppies produced by Kobe and Shakira.  Without exception all twenty five dogs are balanced and driven to work. 

Click here to see puppy protection video.

For more information on puppy development and training call us and tell us about your dog.  We offer free evaluations and would be happy to meet you and your puppy.

For more information on young and adult dogs for sale check out our website or give us a call.

David Harris  Protection Dog Sales  www.protectiondogsales.com  502-542-9747

Posted by: David Harris

I get consistent inquires on our Fully Trained Personal Protection dogs and one question I field is do our dogs bite on command?  I am always at a bit of loss for words when I get this question.  I don’t want it to seem that our dogs don’t bite when commanded, but I need to make sure that people understand that dogs will not or at least they should not bite anyone for no reason other than a command.  That would be similar to a police officer shooting a person just because his commanding officer told him to.  One would hope the officer, or the dog in this case, would show a little more sense than that.

So, I often answer this question with a flat out no.  This gets the customers attention long enough for me to explain that a well trained personal protection dog doesn’t even need a command to engage a threat.  Perhaps you never even saw the threat coming.  Do you want the dog to wait for your command?  Probably not.  What if you kids are just mad at little Billy and they command the dog to bite him?  Should the dog bite little Billy just because you kids told him to? Probably not.

Properly trained, a home raised, confident, well developed protection dog knows what a REAL threat looks like.  They do not overreact to kids with toy guns or just playing to hard.  They do not react to little old ladies with walkers that act strange, but really don’t need bitten.  They show considerable restrain when faced with people that are belligerent, but only drunk and out of control, but not really a threat to you.

So as you see, bite on command is really just a very, very small part of what a protection dog should do.  A better question would be.  Do your dogs not bite until I give them the command?  In most case it is best for the human part of the human/dog team to be in control over the situation of wether to bite or not to bite.  The adult protection dogs that we have for sale will indeed let you have the final say in who should or should not be bitten.

A dog with proper experience, good breeding, good socialization and development has the confidence to make good decisions about what a real threat to you looks like.

Another good question is.  Do your dogs ALERT on command?  The answer to that is an unequivocal YES.  All of our adult protection dogs have been conditioned to alert and start looking for a possible threat when cued.  This is often necessary when you find yourself in a possible threatening situation and want to raise the dogs awareness to a heightened state.  A good example is if you were walking in the park and someone starts to approach you that may or may not be a threat.  You simple alert the dog and wait to see how the situation plays out.  If the person approaching is not a threat then they pass on by and all is well.  But, if the person approaching does have ill will towards you the dog is alert and ready to engage the threat.  More often than not, the person approaching is harmless.  But, if the person approaching has a bad plan, the mere fact that your dog is alert and looking for a threat is enough to sway them away from you and onto an easier target.  A target unprepared and unprotected by a personal protection dog that is not just a fun companion, but also capable of laying down their life to save yours.

If you are looking for more information about Personal Protection Dogs just give us a call.  One of our knowledgeable trainers is always happy to answer you questions no matter how big or small.  No question is to silly to ask and we do not expect you to be an expert before you call.  We will be patient and understanding and take the time to make you fill comfortable with your decision to purchase a dog from Protection Dog Sales.

David Harris

Owner/Master Trainer/CEO

502-542-9747

Posted by Staff Writers on Feb 6, 2012

No one wants to think about their home getting burgled. And no one wants to think about being locked in a rickety house with a killer. It’s not easy tackling the realities of home invasion; it’s much more difficult to have to deal with a real break-in than watch a film about one. You may not be insured, things get wrecked, and you have to call the cops. Though they probably won’t prepare you for a real home invasion, try locking your doors, stay in tonight, and check out these 10 terrifying films about home invasion.

Our you might try avoiding being the victim of a Home Invasion by purchasing an affordable Personal Protection Dog.  Statistic clearly show that homes guarded by a dog are much less likely to be invaded to start with.  At Protection Dog Sales we are most happy when our dogs never have to be used to protect the family we sell them to.  But, it’s very nice to know that the dog is there when you need it.  They hear better, see better in the dark and have that extraordinary nose that detects the scent of an invader while you are still asleep or watching a movie about home invasions.

So, buy a dog from Protection Dog Sales and you not only will you be safer in your home, but not have to watch the movie alone

Click here to Enjoy the movies!

David Harris  Owner and C.O. of Protection Dog Sales www.protectiondogsales.com

502-542-9747

We have been developing several very nice young Malinois over the last year and half.  They are extremely well balanced dogs with super drive for personal defense and home protection.  Unlike most Malinois, these young dogs have been so well socialized at our training center and they are very accepting of all types of environments.  Very calm and attentive, willing to please and happy to meet and greet company, but yet very powerful and protective when the need arises.  Our staff at Protection Dog Sales has been developing their natural protectiveness and doing situation work with them to prepare them for a home environment.  One of the feature Malinois on our site is Lykin.  A very powerful protection dog, very obedient and willing to please.

 Give us a call at 502-542-9747 and let us answer your questions.  We’ll happily help you decide if a Malinois is the right choice for your needs.

We currently have three Dobermans for sale.  Two adults and one Doberman puppy well started in training.

Check out our full list of Dogs for Sale at our website.  Protection Dog Sales or call me for complete details.

David Harris

502-542-9747

Posted by: David Harris

Our low cost protection dogs are sold and shipped to California, Texas, Florida and New York as well as many other cities through out the USA.   Why?

As you cruise about the internet you will find Protection Dogs for sale at a wide, wide range of prices.  We are constantly asked why we are able to under price our competition and still provide such a high quality product.  The answer is simple.  We do not have all of our eggs in one basket.  We are dog trainers.  We own two commercial boarding facilities.  We install underground fencing, sell retail, groom dogs, breed dogs, train dogs for the public, and basically do anything you can imagine that a full service animal care facility would do.

This diversity allows us to spread out the cost of our overhead out into many areas.  In other words we do not have to make 100% of our profits from the sale of a dog.

Most of the sites you will visit will quickly impress you with all the dogs they have for sale.  Until you realize they don’t actually have those dogs. Those dogs are sitting in a kennel somewhere in Europe waiting for you to put your money down.  Once you pay them, they will import the dog and sell it to you.  The guy in Europe makes some money, the shippers make some money, the airlines make some money, the United States shippers make some money, the American seller makes some money and guess who pays the bill?

We breed, raise and train our own dogs.  We are a family run business with twenty five years of experience providing high quality, home raise, personal protection dogs to families just like yours.  Give us a call.  Visit our websites.  And enjoy our youtube channels.  Do your homework and you will see the difference in what we have to offer and you will be glad you did the research.

David Harris

Founder and President of Protection Dog Sales USA

www.protectiondogsales.com

502-542-9747