Email Mark Chaffin at sch3gsd@aol.com for questions or concerns. If you would like something added to this page or have ideas to help me help our region, please email or call me at 720-233-3446. I would like to post all our upcoming regional USA Helper Seminars/Evaluations and training seminars on this page, so please let me know if you plan to have one.
National Helper seminar at the 2009 USA Nationals scheduled for Wednesday, November 4th, starting at 12:00 noon. If you have dogs that can do a schutzhund 3 routine we would appreciate you bringing them along for the seminar.
Questions or concerns about the Helper Program can also be sent to Nathaniel Roque at workingdogs@sbcglobal.net
If you have any videos or pictures of training techniques that have been successful for you and/or your club, please let me have the link so we can share it with the region. There are many ways to train for success and what works for one dog or one handler may or may not work for others. I am just adding ideas and techniques that have served me well over the years and if they can help you great.
Trial Helper:
My biggest complaint when watching helpers in a trial is they don't put the stick up first on the reattacks.
Know the rules and read the rule book.
Training:
I like to say (take no offense) the smart end of the leash is the clip end.
One of the cornerstones to my training is Reactive vs Active training:
Rhythm is important in teaching guarding:
A training exercise to create drive and correctness in guarding:
You can use this for build up or problems with guarding.
A training exercise to create drive in guarding specifically as handler approaches:
You must have a solid, clean and strong bark and hold.
It must be proofed. You should be able to walk the dog slowly back and
forth and sideways without the dog becoming dirty.
Example of Strikes:
You must teach the strike here is example of the strike. The dog must come to the helper with power. The helper can't teach the dog to just open their mouth and wait for the sleeve. That is why helpers are to move only the stick on an attack and not the sleeve in a trial.
Exercises to teach the strike are the miss/fake. You can jump back for the fake/miss or you can run by.
Out Problems?
The two step out philosophy:
We train a two-step out. Voran/revier is equivalent to an aus/out. We can use "out" command or the "voran" (even "pas auf") command interchangeably. We like the dog to either be on the sleeve or be barking. In essence the dog must not have any problems in the short time between the out and the barking. When there is a conflict for the out command we then see problems in the grip or in the initial guarding. It is a slight difference, but an important one in my opinion. We also believe that there is a lot less conflict with the out if it is a positive "voran" not a "let go" command. Also if your bark and hold is correct there is less likely hood of being dirty after an out. We often send dogs into a bark and hold with an "out" command, since it means "voran".
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