A helper hides behind a car and comes out slowly, acting strange. King barks. The helper turns to go, a moment too soon, and the trainer calls him back: do not run yet, come back slow. The whole exercise is in that correction, and it is aimed at the helper, not the dog. What the dog is meant to learn is said a few sessions later in one line: barking makes the bad guy go away. What his family wants from it is said at a lesson: not a biting dog, but a deterrent they can turn on and off.
Don't run yet. Come back slow. He just ran and you left.
and it's a threat barking makes the bad guy go away
the protection thing. There's the the defense, which is like 99% of the time all that you actually really really need.
The chapter in one paragraph
Protection work is recorded mostly in Dolce's file, with Savage, Bane, King and a few others, and it depends on everything in the pet-dog method before it. Before any sleeve the trainers build two things on a toy: the chase and the full grip, and the control to hold, shake, let go and wait on command; the sleeve waits until both are there, and the grip is then graded by the shake and by where the dog bites. Defence starts with the boogeyman: a helper acts strange at a distance and runs away only when the dog barks, so the dog learns that his bark makes a threat leave. Nothing is corrected at that stage, fear can be the way in, and confidence is grown with time rather than pressure. What most families want from it is a deterrent that can be switched on with "watch" and off again, checked on ordinary outings so that it does not leak into everyday life. The decoy is part of the lesson: where he stands, how he moves, what he says and how real he is decide what the dog learns. And the two things the pet-dog chapters treat as failure modes, frustration built by restraint and a dog locked on to his target, are here the qualities being built, which is also why the same trainers can explain to a pet owner how her walks are building reactivity by accident.
Principles
Before any sleeve, build the chase and the grip on a toy. A dog missing the chase has it opened up through the game until she enjoys it; a dog with defence but no play history has the two joined through the chase.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
she likes to play tough for the game style, so we're going to use that a little bit where we're just trying to open up more for the chasing part so that we can get her to really enjoy that part of the game
and then she kind of like backs off a little bit so we're just trying to boost that up before we move on to any of the other stuff
right yeah um so i'm trying to get him to like want to do the same thing all right i didn't say it yet um trying to get him to understand like the defense to the prey is the same idea
In dog training, play is God. Like, that is, like, the thing that makes everything else possible. If you can get a dog to play, you won.
Concepts: Build the chase before the bite, Play becomes the reward - and play is a contest
Exceptions
- Whether Bullet's chase work was ever attempted is not on film.
The control comes before the sleeve too: the dog must hold the toy, shake it, let go at once on command, and bite only when told. If that gate is not met, the sleeve waits.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
or like get to any bite work with sleeves or anything i need him to hold it right like that's the prerequisite basically where it's like he has to hold it and be able to shake it and like really want to kill the toy basically is the idea
because once he gets that sleeve I can't have him bite the sleeve randomly I need to make sure he does it when I tell him to bite the sleeve and then when I tell him to let go he has got to let it go right away
so that's why like i wanted to adjust it about by about a week just because like last week he was still a little too much
Concepts: Build the chase before the bite
Exceptions
- Separate release words keep obedience and the game apart ("break" for obedience, "yes" or "okay" back to the toy), so the dog cannot bite by accident (build-the-chase-before-the-bite trainer notes, watch 09:18).
- Drive first or control first is open: Dolce's file builds the chase first, Savage's holds the sleeve for control (see conflicts).
Once the bite is in, the grip is graded by commitment and target: a full shake is the visible sign the trainers want, and biting loose threads or the wrong place is named as a fault and re-presented.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
Where she's really yanking on it and shaking it because I want that kind of like commitment, right? I want her to really like, go for it, you know? Some full power, right?
At first she didn't really want to bite it, and then when she did, she was going for those little threads.
Concepts: Build the chase before the bite
Exceptions
- Handler safety with a strong dog: if he will not let go of a tug when he shakes, let go rather than hang on (watch 03:26).
Defence starts with the boogeyman: a helper at a distance comes out slowly and acts strange or threatening, and runs away only once the dog has barked, so the dog learns that his bark makes the threat leave. The helper's timing is the exercise: leaving before the bark teaches the wrong thing.
Said as a rule on filmOn 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.
Don't run yet. Come back slow. He just ran and you left.
Shh, we're gonna get one growl.
Concepts: The boogeyman: barking makes the threat go away
Exceptions
- Distance is the main dial: a rep spoiled because the dog can smell the helper is reset further away, not pushed (watch 01:27).
Nothing is corrected at this stage. Confidence is grown by adding a little time, not pressure; and a dog who comes to it through suspicion rather than prey drive has fear treated as a way in, with the difficulty being to hold ground and move forward.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
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
Concepts: The boogeyman: barking makes the threat go away
Exceptions
- Bane is the counter-case in chapter 14: protection work did not remove his fear of strangers; by the trainer's account it changed his answer to it (internal-change, watch 22:24).
What most families want from protection is a switch, not a biting dog: a deterrent display turned on with "watch" and off again. The trainers check on ordinary outings that the defence work is not leaking into everyday life.
Said as a rule on filmOn film
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.
Concepts: The boogeyman: barking makes the threat go away
Exceptions
- King's trainer says attack-dog and police work are not what they train (the-boogeyman answer).
- Whether the finished on/off "watch" cue is demonstrated on film for King is not settled in the files read.
The decoy is part of the lesson and is run as a controlled variable: one thing changed at a time (head up, louder, but no closer), his arm presentation used to steer where the dog grips, and scenes scripted so the family's own cues are rehearsed.
Shown, not saidOn film
girl good girl pop your head up but don't come pop your head up don't say
anything too loud yeah be loud use something you're actually mad at me for
and kick out with your elbow. So when you're kicking out with your elbow, he'll prop, he'll target more around the corner
you're gonna go yeah he's friendly and then i'm gonna go i'm a threat now and i'm gonna like kind
Concepts: The decoy's job
Exceptions
- "One variable at a time" is this chapter's reading of the coaching, not a rule anyone states.
- Dolce's trainer believes she can tell a performed threat from a real one (watch 00:12); it is a belief, not tested on film.
The two things the pet-dog chapters treat as failure modes, frustration built by restraint and a dog locked on to his target, are the qualities built here. The same trainers therefore explain to a pet owner that holding a reactive dog back, tensing up and having the other person walk away when he barks is the protection sequence run by accident.
Said as a rule on filmOn 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 we can
you think about what happens on a walk with Tyson, it's exactly the same, right?
That's actually how we teach protection.
not being restrained right being restrained and being able to pull creates reactivity and increases it that's how I train protection dogs
Concepts: The boogeyman: barking makes the threat go away, Restraint manufactures the reaction, Fixation is the failure mode
Exceptions
- Waffles, the resident Belgian, has intense drive on the tug but does not know how to out; staff list the pieces of bite work, but no progression is shown (build-the-chase-before-the-bite).
What owners are told
Bite work is specialist training, not a home project. If your dog is in it, expect toy work before the sleeve, and keep playing the game at home after the program, because it maintains the bite (watch 14:44). If a strong dog will not let go of a tug when he shakes, let go rather than hang on (watch 03:26). Your part is the cues you are given (watch, the bite word, out) on the trainer's signal, and a strong out afterwards; when the trainer is testing the dog's own reaction, he may ask you to say nothing (watch 09:05; watch 01:27). Ask how the trainer checks that the defence work is not leaking into ordinary outings (watch 01:25). And if you hold a reactive dog back, tense up and the other person walks away when he barks, you are running the protection sequence by accident (watch 47:18).
On film
i'll say i'm a threat i'll come forward you say watch watch and then you say attack
gonna hit my sleeve a couple times, get him interested. When I hit my sleeve, I want you
What trainers know
Two gates before the sleeve: drive and enjoyment on the toy, and control (full grip, shake, out on command, no anticipation); delay the sleeve if the control gate is not met. Rebuild bark and bite strictly on command after showing the dog does not initiate. Use separate release words for obedience and for the game. Grade the grip by the shake; name bad targeting and re-present. Belgians need rough, engaging play. In the boogeyman, make the helper's retreat contingent on the target response and stop an early exit; distance is the primary dial and a rep spoiled by scent is reset further out; escalate by noise, bigger and sudden movements and an odd gait, with cover between reps; do not cue "watch" in phase one, add the word once the behaviour exists; no corrections, grow it with time, keep sets short. For the decoy, change one thing at a time; use arm presentation to move the target; script household scenarios so the owner rehearses cues. Check on ordinary outings that defence is not leaking.
On film
make bigger movements make like sudden movements good girl here go back behind the truck
watch back up back up she smells you okay reset it start from further away don't say come here
So this is the base that we're doing because he's going to go into protection and some bite work.
In the dogs
Dolce
A Rottweiler whose bite and chase had been suppressed as a puppy. The tug game opens up the chase until she enjoys it; the boogeyman is run with the decoy held far back and brought on one step at a time; on the sleeve she first goes for the loose threads. Her first public outing after the defence work began asks out loud whether it is leaking. Her obedience ran ahead of her courage, which her trainer would give a date for and the courage not. Ending: still in training.
Savage
A young Belgian with plenty of drive and too little control. Christian calls the tug with outs and re-bites "the base", pushes the sleeve back because Savage was "still a little too much", coaches the helper's elbow to steer his grip, and later builds "a little more frustration" on the watch. The owner is told to keep playing the game after the program. Ending: still in training.
King
The fullest boogeyman: a staff helper hides behind a car, comes out slowly, and is called back when he leaves too early. King came in through suspicion rather than prey drive. His trainer tells the family the goal is a deterrent they can turn on and off, and that they do not train attack dogs. Ending: went home.
Bane
A very large family guard dog trained at home. The decoy scripts the door (a friendly visitor, then "I'm a threat", a sleeve and a mock charge that stops at the frame), and the owner cues watch, then the bite word, then a strong out. His hardest bite is praised because it came on the owner's word. Ending: went home.
Bullet
At the evaluation the owners ask about protection. The trainer says the defence is genuinely good, then names the gap: Bullet chases squirrels and birds but not the game, and the missing play history is blamed, not the dog. Ending: went home.
Baxter
The concept turned inside out: explaining the household's other dog, Tyson, who drags his owner and reacts to dogs and some men, the trainer describes how a protection dog is built and tells her that is what happens on her walks. Ending: a private lesson program.
Waffles
The resident Belgian: intense drive on the tug, no out yet, and the locked-on quality praised as what a defence dog needs.
Where the trainers differ
On film
All right come out don't say watch who's that watch watch don't come close stay back far
On film
i'll say i'm a threat i'll come forward you say watch watch and then you say attack
And then this time, that's the hardest he's ever been, for sure,
On film
and then she kind of like backs off a little bit so we're just trying to boost that up before we move on to any of the other stuff
On film
or like get to any bite work with sleeves or anything i need him to hold it right like that's the prerequisite basically
As a course unit
Know the toy-stage requirements before sleeve work and how grip quality is judged; understand how the foundation defence exercise is built and checked; treat the decoy as a controlled variable; and recognise the same sequence in accidental on-leash reactivity. Professional exercises, described as run on film, not for home.
Lessons, in order
Drills
- Toy stage, as run with Savage: tug, out, hold a position, release back to the bite on "yes" or "okay"; "break" releases without the toy (build-the-chase-before-the-bite lesson).
- Boogeyman, as run on film: decoy at a distance behind cover; reset further out if the dog scents him; decoy runs only after the target response; no corrections; short sets (the-boogeyman lesson).
- Door scenario, as run with Bane: a pleasant visitor, then "I'm a threat", sleeve, approach; owner cues watch then the bite word; then a strong out and a neutral rep (the-decoys-job lesson).
- Leak check: a public outing after defence work begins, watching whether the dog investigates or turns defensive in random scenarios (watch 01:25).
Assessment
- Your dog grips the tug hard but will not out and lunges before the release. Is he ready for a sleeve?
- The helper turns and runs just as the dog stops barking. What did the dog just learn?
- When would a trainer ask the handler to stay silent during decoy work, and when to cue?
- A pet owner holds her reactive dog back and tenses up; the other walker moves off when he barks. What has just been trained?