Have Dog Will Bite

On Command

By Hugh Jones

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I've been in some unusual situations for the PetGazette, but this tops the list. A large German Shepherd is about to bite me–and I'm encouraging him. The heavy, padded suit, along with a big padded sleeve on my left arm, affords some ease of mind. That is, until I step from my hiding place and lock eyes with Whitey, 30 feet away.

In an uncontrolled setting, I'd panic. But trainer Bob Armstead is by my side, and he knows what he's doing. So does his partner Sandra Tam, holding the dog's leash. So does Whitey. I'm the rookie, and my only concern is messing up this routine.

As I retreat behind the blind, Armstead shouts a command, and Whitey quickly appears, trapping me in place, barking unceasingly. On the next command, I jerk my arm upward, and Whitey lunges, clamping it in a tooth vise. Pushing him back, I manage to get in a couple of whacks with a leather stick. But I'm not winning this fight; Whitey isn't letting go. When he gets the word, the attack stops immediately. Again, the command is given, and the struggle resumes. This time, I let the sleeve slide off, and Whitey walks away with his prize. A minute later, I'm petting him, and he's licking me.

Armstead thought a little taste of decoy work would help me understand Schutzhund, a sport that involves training in three phases: tracking, obedience and protection. The German word means protection dog, and it's that aspect of the sport which attracts controversy. Some people believe Schutzhund creates dangerous dogs. While it does involve aggressive tactics (like those demonstrated for me), they're only one part of a complex process. Armstead insists that problems–the kind that get negative press–are the result of irresponsible owners and poorly trained dogs. Schutzhund, properly practiced, should weed out the bad stuff.

Actually, Schutzhund started around the turn of the century as a temperament-testing tool specifically for German Shepherds. When the Shepherds, originally herding dogs, began leaving German farms for the bright lights as police and military dogs, there was concern it could lead to careless breeding and undesirable traits. The Schutzhund test was developed to measure working ability and suitability for breeding. According to the United Schutzhund Clubs of America, the test is intended to demonstrate the dog's intelligence and utility. As a working trial, it measures mental stability, endurance, structural efficiencies, ability to scent, willingness to work, courage and trainability.

Over the years, other working breeds have joined in: Doberman Pinscher, Rottweiler, Malinois, etc. And Shutzhund has become a world sport, with clubs in many countries. In Oklahoma City, it's the OK Metro Working Dog Group, and Armstead is the training director. Training is his pastime and his business. The business is Canine Specialties, a full service boarding and training kennel. It offers everything from basic obedience to agility, search and rescue, personal protection, narcotics detection and police K-9. This is possible because several instructors are involved, each contributing a particular expertise.

Bob Armstead

Armstead's is law enforcement. He's certified by the Drug Enforcement Agency and the state drug bureau as a K-9 narcotics detection trainer. And he served as a civilian consultant for the Little Rock Police K-9 unit. In Schutzhund, he's a Class I (national championship level) trial decoy (the bitee, as opposed to the biter).

"I'm proud of our finished products," he says. "For law enforcement, we can put a dog on the street that will compete with any. Same on the Schutzhund field, but there's a big difference between the two."

In other words, you want a police or guard dog, you'd better have a good reason and you'll have to pay for it. You want sport, join Schutzhund, if you can qualify.

"We screen members," says Armstead. "The person has to be right, as well as the dog. If you join Schutzhund expecting to get a guard dog, you're wrong. Our club is devoted to training and titles. Street training is one thing, Schutzhund sport training is another. The club has rules to discourage any kind of street or guard dog work. We don't wear body suits, use muzzles or do any kind of suspicion work, like you would with a patrol dog. We don't do anything to jeopardize people in a residential-type scenario."

It's all in the training, and Armstead has to switch hats between the club and the business. "There's offensive and defensive aggression," he says. "Defensive is action, reaction. Offensive is, well, let me give you an example. Draw a line in the sand, and the dog on the other side is barking. A knowledgeable trainer can tell by the tone what he's saying. It's either please don't cross that line because I'll have to hurt you, or please do come closer because I want to bite you."

In Schutzhund trials, Armstead says the protection phase requires that the dog has a reliable temperament and shows courage without viciousness. It involves finding and warning his handler of a hidden person (the decoy), aggressively stopping an assault on the handler and preventing the decoy's escape. Exercises include a search of hiding places, finding the decoy, and guarding him while the handler approaches. The dog stands his ground and barks but won't attack until the decoy launches an attack.

When the decoy tries to escape, the dog must pursue and hold the grip firmly. But the dog should release automatically when the aggressor ceases fighting. The decoy is searched and taken to the judge with the handler and dog walking behind. Then, the decoy charges at the pair and strikes the dog with a stick–which also draws critics. But, from what I could see, the dog doesn't seem to mind. The stick is soft. The blows aren't meant to hurt, more glancing than direct. And the goal is not to make a mean dog.

The tracking test measures the dog's perseverance, his natural scenting capacity and willingness to work. A person, walking normally, lays the track ahead of time. It includes a number of turns, and the tracklayer leaves articles along the way. The dog must follow the scent and find the articles.

Obedience evaluates the dog's reliability and responsiveness to the handler. They are a team, with emphasis put on a stable working relationship. There's a variety of situations where the dog must follow instructions in heeling, retrieving and jumping.

It's similar to American Kennel Club obedience, with the exception that distractions are introduced during the routine to see how the dog reacts. The dog goes through a series of maneuvers to sit, lie down, stand, leave the handler, return. And the dog retrieves dumbbells of different weights, first from a flat surface, then jumping over a one-meter hurdle and, finally, over a six-foot slanted wall.

Besides the three phases of Schutzhund, there are also three levels. Titles can be earned in Schutzhund I, II and III, each level progressively more difficult. It's a tough test for dog and human. And to make it tougher, there's a temperament test before you can even get into Schutzhund, where the dog must prove it can handle stressful situations.

"If the dog shows fear or aggression, you will be excused," says Tam. "It's a difficult test, but it's a good way to gauge the dog and the handler. If people are willing to go through this, you can tell they're serious about Schutzhund."

"Schutzhund trainers tend to be men," adds Armstead. "The sport lends itself to strong personalities–the A type. It demands a lot of time, and the people who are going to stay with it are, if you'll pardon the expression, pretty dogged."

"But we have several women in the club," says Tam. "And they often make the best handlers. You have to be flexible and patient. They're intuitive and know how to praise and give the dog the encouragement it needs."

Armstead agrees. "Guys can be too headstrong and set in their ways. They don't know how to lighten up. Put a leash in their hands, and they don't know how to communicate with that little child on the other end. It's easier to train a novice who doesn't know which end of the dog to feed than someone with a little experience who questions everything I tell them." The fact is, they may be DOG trainers, but they're actually training both ends of the leash. And the human end takes much longer than the dog end.

Armstead considers Schutzhund the most complete form of training for the working dog. It's geared to the development of the dog's natural character. But that character requires careful molding. Training a dog with natural defensive traits to use his intelligence and strength to attack could be disastrous otherwise. That's why the club won't accept unsound dogs or owners unable to maintain control.

He uses the same caution in his business. "If someone comes to me saying they need a dog with offensive aggression, and they're not in law enforcement, they have to be able to justify it. If they can't, they'll have to go elsewhere. You can't put a dog like that in just anybody's hands. Most people who want to go into guard dog training, think that's what they need. They don't. All they need is alert work–a dog that will bark at the door or fence and challenge someone at the window. When you go past that and teach a dog to bite, you're taking on a lot of responsibility."

He says an important part of training is knowing your dog and its capabilities. "You can't speak Chinese to a Russian. Too many try, and that's why we get so many dog bites. You have a Rottweiler, and you try to make it a Golden Retriever. It doesn't work. You have to speak the correct language."

Tam points out that unrestricted breeding also leads to indiscriminate biting dogs. That's not the German, or Schutzhund, way.

Overall, I come away impressed with Schutzhund, not inclined to be critical of it. "When I'm paid for what I do, that's fine," says Armstead. "But there's an extra benefit, the sense of pride in watching a dog do what you taught him to do, one that can think clearly and react correctly under stress. It's something to see."

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