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 Dr. Steve Mackenzie PhD.


It is difficult, if not impossible, to  train or maintain a patrol dog by yourself. At some point you will need  someone to search for, apprehend or act as the aggressor to allow the  dog to protect you.

Over the years this other person has been  known by a variety of titles. He has been called an agitator (because  he gets the dog agitated enough to bite); a catcher (since he catches  the dog on a protective sleeve); a helper because he helps the dog learn  its job): and a decoy (since he imitates the actions of an adversary.  Regardless of what you call him, this person is one of the most  important tools you have for training your dog. For simplicity, I will  refer to decoys as males, but I know some excellent female decoys as  well.


The Decoy's Vital Role


The decoy's skill, or lack of it, will  dictate just how far you can take your dog, A good decoy will bring any  dog to the peak of its potential. He can improve marginal dogs, help  average dogs become good and turn a good a good dog into a superb  performer. A bad decoy will decrease the performance level of any dog he  works with. The good dog will drop to average or lower. The average dog  might retain marginal skills and the marginal dog could well be ruined  completely. Over time, it is even possible for good dogs to be  completely ruined by incompetent decoys.


If you are working with no decoys at all,  most dogs will slowly deteriorate and some will decide for themselves  what they should be doing on the street (since no one else is defining  their behavior). How the dog responds to the lack of work depends on its  temperament. Weaker dogs will start biting poorly and eventually stop  biting completely, even when the handler needs protecting. Without work,  more aggressive animals will become control problems.


One of the first "behavior problems"  brought to me years ago was a dog with strong predatory and defensive  drives. The dog had been inactive for some time, and when the officer  started working it again, it completely refused to release after biting.  Prong collars, electricity and other tools had already failed to  correct the problem, so I went back to square one with myself as the  decoy. By lunchtime the dog was releasing normally, and we had not used  prongs or shock collars. We discovered that the officer's decoy had been  giving signals that stimulated aggression right at the time the handler  wanted the dog to release. In effect, there was no behavior problem.  Having access to a good decoy is important to every trainer and handler.


A Wise Investment

Unfortunately, volunteers for this type  of work do not grow on trees. Officers are often forced to work with  people who have no training in the area (and consequently limited  skills), simply because no one else is willing to help. Other officers  have decoys with minimum to average skills and consider this sufficient.  It is not. Decoys should be carefully selected, trained to the highest  possible skill level, and given periodic refresher courses for  maintenance. The extra time and resources invested in training decoys  will not only yield better dogs, it might prevent many future handling  problems. A good decoy is worth his weight in gold.


Is Training Necessary?


Why would a decoy need to go to school?  Can't he just come to training sessions, put on a sleeve and start  learning the hands on way by doing it? Certainly this has been done in  the past and sometimes is the only available option, but is not the best  approach. It's not even a good one. Any fool can put on protective gear  and take bites, but being a good decoy requires sophistication.


First, the decoy must be schooled in  canine communication. If he cannot read the dog properly, he cannot  respond correctly to what the dog is telling him. For instance, there  are times when the dog's confidence level drops in the middle of a  drill. By the time the trainer can tell the decoy to release pressure,  signal insecurity and move away, it is already too late for the dog. The  decoy must react instantly and correctly to such problems, then consult  the trainer about what to do next. If he can't read the dog well, he  can't do this.


After the decoy has learned to read the  dog, he needs to learn how to speak the language of the dog with his own  body. Decoying involves combining different signals that dogs use with  each other in such a way as to establish the decoy as a lower-ranking  animal in the pack. The mixture of signals is then changed so the decoy  is speaking to the dog in an inappropriate manner for such a low-ranking  pack member. If this is done well, the dog's natural instinct to  preserve pack order will take over and it will discipline the decoy. The  decoy has stimulated the dog to bite him without ever having to touch  or frighten it. He cannot do this well until he has learned to convey  the dog's body language with his own body. I frequently conduct lectures  and workshops on decoying and am always amazed at how little most  decoys know about this part of their work.


Next, the decoy should start working on  physical skills involving sleeve presentation, focusing the dog's  attention on different parts of the body, catching the dog on the  sleeve, and working it after it gets there. These vital decoying skills  should be practiced in drills involving no dogs until they are fully  learned.


Bring On The Dogs


The decoy is not yet ready to take his  first bite. Drills are conducted with belt flags, placement tapes,  sleeve leashes and other devices to allow another human to imitate the  action of the dog. Only when the decoy is proficient at drills without  dogs should the added complication of a living animal be introduced.  When he can read dogs, speak properly with his own body, control his  approach and the sleeve arm minimize the chances of injuring or  discouraging the dog, place the dog exactly where the trainer wants it  on the sleeve, and work it in a stimulating yet safe manner. Once it  gets there, he is ready to start working with dogs under the supervision  of an experienced mentor. And this is just for basic on-leash work. It  says nothing of moving pursuits, stick and weapon work, realistic  scenarios with hidden sleeves, muzzle agitation, full-body suits,  multiple assailants and so on.


The list could go on, but the point  should be clear: Becoming a good decoy is not a simple matter. It  requires technical schooling in subjects and skills that take time to  master. Consequently, prospective decoys should be committed to a long  learning process and program administrators should support them as best  they can. There are always enough people available to put on a sleeve  and "take a bite", but there are never enough good decoys.

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