The answer
On film, protection work starts with an exercise the trainers call the boogeyman. A helper (a 'decoy') hides at a distance, comes out slowly and acts strange or threatening. The dog barks. The helper runs away, but only once the barking has earned it. What the trainers mean the dog to learn is in one of King's sessions: 'it's a threat barking makes the bad guy go away.' With Dolce, the direction to the helper is just as plain: 'Watch her. Watch her. Next time she barks, run.'
The helper's timing is the exercise. With King, the trainer stops a helper who left too early: 'Don't run yet. Come back slow. He just ran and you left.' With Dolce, distance is the main dial: if she can smell the helper, the rep is reset further away. From there the helper escalates in steps (noise, 'bigger movements', 'sudden movements', walking oddly) and hides behind cover between reps. With Bane, the rep's target is small and named: 'we're gonna get one growl', and then the helper runs. Kali and Kane's trainer gives the exercise its structure when he explains it to their family: 'boogeyman drills' run in three stages. In stage one the strangeness is made 'really obvious' - with Kane, a decoy under a tarp, making noise - and whatever the dog gives that you want again (for Kane, standing his ground and barking) makes the decoy run; then 'good job buddy' and they leave. The words are attached through the stages, and only once the dog is 'lighting up when you say the word' does the decoy's pressure rise toward 'a more obvious threat'. His reason for starting small: rush in and the dog loses the encounter, and 'their confidence goes down'. Nothing is corrected at this stage. With King, 'we're not going to correct him for being overly eager or anything like that right now', because the aim is confidence, and it's grown by adding 'a little bit of time', not pressure.
What a family usually wants from this is a switch, not a biting dog. King's trainer describes the goal: 'point at somebody and he goes, bark, bark, bark, bark, bark, to get them to go away', turned on by 'watch' and off again. 'There's the the defense, which is like 99% of the time all that you actually really really need. You need a deterrent that you can turn on and off.' He is explicit that this isn't attack-dog or police work: 'We don't train those.' King came into it through suspicion, not prey drive; 'His strongest entry is through his fear', so fear is treated as a way in, not a disqualification.
Two things keep the exercise honest. First, the check the trainers ask out loud on Dolce's first public outing: is the defence work showing up where it doesn't belong? 'She's going into defense work, but we just want to make sure she's not becoming overly defensive with random scenarios.' The answer given is something you can watch for: she's checking things out properly, not fixating. Second, a warning to ordinary owners from Baxter's lesson. Holding a dog back on the leash, being nervous, and having a stranger leave when he barks is 'exactly that sequence' used to build a protection dog, and it's what happens on a reactive dog's walk every day.
Our inference, not stated on film in these words: the same bark-and-retreat sequence builds a deterrent when a professional controls the timing and the cue, and builds on-leash reactivity when it happens by accident.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
This is specialist work for a trainer and a trained helper, not something to set up at home. What an owner can take from it: if you hold your reactive dog back, tense up, and the other person walks away when he barks, you're running the same sequence by accident (watch 47:18). If your dog is in protection work, ask how the trainer checks that the defence work isn't leaking into ordinary outings (watch 01:25).
What the trainers say
and it's a threat barking makes the bad guy go away good good good boy uh good watch all right
Watch her. Watch her. Next time she barks, run.
Don't run yet. Come back slow. He just ran and you left.
make bigger movements make like sudden movements good girl here go back behind the truck
Shh, we're gonna get one growl.
So we're not going to correct him for being overly eager or anything like that right now.
So getting him to not back up and move forward and bark and deter things, and then continuing to strengthen the association between the word watch and him putting on that big display so that you can be like, watch, watch, watch, and point at somebody and he goes, bark, bark, bark, bark, bark, to get them to go away.
the protection thing. There's the the defense, which is like 99% of the time all that you actually really really need. You need a deterrent that you can turn on and off.
She's going into defense work, but we just want to make sure she's not becoming overly defensive with random scenarios or anything like that.
same things that we do to train a protection dog. The way we train a protection dog is we hold them back with the leash and we try to be as nervous as we can and we have somebody come out of the bushes looking weird and then when the dog barks and acts scary like we want them to, that person leaves.
the boogeyman so there's three different stages and throughout those three stages you attach like the words right and you build those and then you also build more and more confidence because what you do is you increase the pressure coming from the decoy
because i go good job buddy and then we that's it we leave right that's in stage one right because all i'm trying to do is build confidence right because instead of just rushing in all at once yeah and then you bottom their confidence out because then they didn't win they lost the encounter and their confidence goes down
putting the words more clearly on they start you once you've gotten where like they're lighting up when you say the word
make sure he goes through like each of the three stages a little bit better
Run, run, good girl, good girl.
All right, we got a nice prey bark.
How it looks, dog by dog
Dolce
The exercise at length. Dolce's handler names it before starting ('a boogeyman, a quick boogeyman ... one and done'), with Jayden as the decoy. In phase one, distance comes first: the first rep is aborted because she can smell him, and they restart further out. Then the decoy escalates in steps (noise, bigger movements, sudden movements, an odd gait, a taller posture), hiding behind the truck or trees between reps. The handler is told not to cue her with 'watch' or 'come here', because her response has to be to the decoy, not the handler's voice. The retreat is tied to her bark, and the cue word is to be added later. On her first public outing, the trainer asks whether the defence work is leaking into random situations, and answers with what he sees: she investigates properly and doesn't fixate. Two short bark-building clips filmed 21 Sep show the work further on. The criterion is set out loud ('If we can get her to bark, we'll be happy'), she is now cued with 'watch', and the session ends on 'Run, run' and praise, then 'we got a nice prey bark' and 'we're going to keep building on that'; a second clip ends on 'You got him. The handler calls the bark a prey bark, not a defence bark.
On film
All right, so I'm out here with Dulce and we're going to do a boogeyman, a quick boogeyman.
back up back up she smells you okay reset it start from further away
make bigger movements make like sudden movements good girl here go back behind the truck
Watch her. Watch her. Next time she barks, run.
weird thing go away, bark at it, and then we'll add the word in there more.
but she's not she's checking things out properly and she's not fixating or trying to be overly defensive or reactive just because there's people around so all that looks really good
If we can get her to bark, we'll be happy.
We'll see first gonna see if we get some barking watch watch
Run, run, good girl, good girl.
All right, we got a nice prey bark.
All right, we're going to keep building on that.
You got him. You got him.
King
The fullest version, and the one tied to what a family wants. A staff helper (Jayden, 'one of our helpers ... often works as a decoy') hides behind a car and comes out slowly. 'Watch' starts the display, and the helper leaves only when the barking has earned it; one early exit is stopped and redone. Nothing is corrected, not even over-eagerness, because confidence is the goal, and it grows by adding a little time. Sets are short, and King is put away still keyed up. His trainer says King's way into protection is fear, not prey drive, and the hard part is getting him to hold his ground and move forward instead of backing up. The deliverable the family named is a switch: point, say 'watch', get a big display, and have it stop.
On film
um one of our helpers jayden often works as a decoy he's uh he's hiding a little bit behind one of the cars now and he's going to come out real slow and as king fixates and barks he's
Don't run yet. Come back slow. He just ran and you left.
chasing the bad guy away and the only way we do that is if we add a little bit of time
We're putting him up after he's all jacked up.
but that's not his strongest entry uh towards the protection. His strongest entry is through his fear, right?
So getting him to not back up and move forward and bark and deter things
Bane
Two short protection clips with sparse audio. The decoy challenges verbally, the handler moves Bane forward on direction, and the rep's target is named: one growl. Then the decoy runs and the handler walks him back to reset. In the second clip the decoy reports, from the receiving end, that Bane 'ran me off', stronger than before. That is his account, not a measured result.
On film
Shh, we're gonna get one growl.
I'm gonna run, and then you walk back.
We're doing Bane. That was so good. So much stronger out. He just ran me off. He ran at me.
Baxter
The concept turned inside out, in a household lesson. Explaining the owner's other dog, Tyson, who drags her and reacts to dogs and some men, the trainer describes how a protection dog is built: hold him back on the leash, be as nervous as you can, have someone come out looking odd, and have that person leave when the dog barks. Then he points out that this is exactly what happens on Tyson's walks. Reactivity, in this reading, is the protection sequence done by accident.
On film
same things that we do to train a protection dog. The way we train a protection dog is we hold them back with the leash and we try to be as nervous as
you think about what happens on a walk with Tyson, it's exactly the same, right?
You're scared and the people leave when Tyson barks
Kane
The fullest account of the stages. Asked what Kane should do if someone threatening came into the house, the trainer tells the family the dog needs the confidence to act on a threat he identifies, and that this is built with boogeyman drills in three stages. Stage one with Kane has already been run a few times: a decoy under what looks like a tent tarp comes out making noise and antagonising; Kane stood his ground and barked, the decoy ran, 'good job buddy', and they left. In stages two and three the words are put on more clearly and the decoy's pressure rises. Four days later, planning Kane's next sessions, one staff voice tells another to take him through 'each of the three stages a little bit better' rather than being 'fixated on the idea of just like fighting'. That those are the same three stages is a reasonable reading, not stated.
On film
called boogeyman drills. So it's essentially at first you make it really obvious right that like
he started barking and pulling towards him they run they run away okay
you start out by you take whatever they give you that you want them to do again
and then decoy runs then you start increasing pressure right so then the decoys coming in right it's like a more obvious threat
make sure he goes through like each of the three stages a little bit better
you're a little fixated on the idea of just like fighting
Why it works
As stated on film: the helper's retreat is the payoff for the bark, so the retreat must follow the bark and not come before it ('Don't run yet ... He just ran and you left', watch 01:54; 'Next time she barks, run', watch 00:51). 'Barking makes the bad guy go away' (watch 02:35). The cue 'watch' is attached so the display can be asked for, and the word is added once the behaviour exists (watch 00:51; watch 02:27). Confidence is protected by not correcting at this stage and by adding time rather than pressure (watch 01:22). Distance is the main dial, and a rep spoiled by scent is reset, not pushed (watch 01:27). King's trainer says dogs 'know the difference' between a suited helper and a real attack 'because everything smells different' (watch 34:24). Baxter's trainer supplies the same mechanism from the other side: restraint, a nervous handler and a stranger who leaves produce on-leash reactivity (watch 47:18). Inferred, not stated: the dog's inner interpretation isn't measured; what's on film is the arrangement the trainers intend. Words are attached across the stages, once the dog is 'lighting up' at the word (34:54).
Where the trainers differ
Cue the dog, or let the dog respond on his own?
One view
Use 'watch' in the boogeyman set to start the display (King).
On film
We want him to learn that when we hear him watch, he needs to do something.
We'll see first gonna see if we get some barking watch watch
Another view
Don't cue 'watch' or 'come here' in phase one; the dog's response has to be to the decoy, and the word comes later (Dolce).
On film
weird thing go away, bark at it, and then we'll add the word in there more.
putting the words more clearly on they start you once you've gotten where like they're lighting up when you say the word
How to read it
Probably a difference of stage (Dolce in phase one, King further along), not of method. Not stated as such on film. Both fit the stage reading; neither recording says so in those terms.
Common owner mistakes
- Holding a reactive dog back tight, tensing up, and letting the other person walk away when he barks, which builds the display by accident.
On film
you think about what happens on a walk with Tyson, it's exactly the same, right?
Watch at 47:44 ↗
Questions owners ask
What is the boogeyman exercise?
A helper at a distance behaves strangely or threateningly; the dog barks; the helper runs away, but only after the bark. The trainers mean the dog to learn that his barking makes the threat leave.
On film
and it's a threat barking makes the bad guy go away good good good boy uh good watch all right
Watch her. Watch her. Next time she barks, run.
Will protection training make my dog bite people?
What King's trainer says most families need is a deterrent they can turn on and off, not a biting dog, and he says outright that they don't train attack or police dogs. Dolce's trainer checks on public outings that the defence work isn't showing up where it doesn't belong.
On film
the protection thing. There's the the defense, which is like 99% of the time all that you actually really really need.
Um because it's different than an attack dog, right? We don't train those.
My dog is fearful. Can he still do protection work?
For King, fear was treated as the way in: 'His strongest entry is through his fear.' The difficult part was getting him to move forward instead of backing up.
On film
but that's not his strongest entry uh towards the protection. His strongest entry is through his fear, right?
Why is my dog reactive on the leash when I'm only trying to hold him back?
One trainer's answer: holding the dog back, being nervous, and having the other person leave when he barks is exactly how a protection dog is trained.
On film
same things that we do to train a protection dog. The way we train a protection dog is we hold them back with the leash and we try to be as nervous as
What are the stages of the boogeyman exercise?
As Kali and Kane's trainer explains it to their family: three stages. In the first the strangeness is made obvious (a decoy under a tarp, making noise), and whatever the dog gives that you want again - a stand and a bark - makes the decoy run; praise, and leave. In the second and third the cue words are put on more clearly, and once the dog lights up at the word, the decoy's pressure rises toward a more obvious threat. Starting small is deliberate: a dog who loses the encounter loses confidence.
On film
the boogeyman so there's three different stages and throughout those three stages you attach like the words right and you build those and then you also build more and more confidence because what you do is you increase the pressure coming from the decoy
he started barking and pulling towards him they run they run away okay
because i go good job buddy and then we that's it we leave right that's in stage one right because all i'm trying to do is build confidence right because instead of just rushing in all at once yeah and then you bottom their confidence out because then they didn't win they lost the encounter and their confidence goes down
putting the words more clearly on they start you once you've gotten where like they're lighting up when you say the word
and then decoy runs then you start increasing pressure right so then the decoys coming in right it's like a more obvious threat
The lesson
The goal
Understand how the foundation defence exercise is built and checked, and recognise the same sequence in accidental on-leash reactivity.
Learn first
The drill
Professional exercise, described as run on film and not for home. Decoy at a distance behind cover; if the dog scents him, reset further out (watch 01:27). Decoy comes out slowly and escalates by noise, bigger and sudden movements, and an odd gait (04:09). Decoy runs only after the target response, whether a bark or 'one growl' (watch 00:51; watch 07:14). No corrections; grow it by adding time; short sets (watch 01:22). Public check afterwards: does she investigate and move on, or fixate? (watch 01:33).
Watch out for
- The helper leaving before the dog has barked.
- Pushing a rep the dog has scented instead of resetting.
- Correcting an over-eager young dog.
- Skipping the public leak check.
Check yourself
The helper turns and runs just as the dog stops barking. What did the dog just learn?