Canine Search Specialist Training

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Canine Search Specialist Training
Unit 2 Canine Behavior and Drive
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Unit Objective

• Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to
  describe the basic aspects of canine
  communication, behavior, and drive

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Enabling Objectives

• Explain how handlers and canines communicate
• Describe common canine signals
• Identify the factors that influence behavior
• Describe basic learning principles
• Identify and describe canine drives
• Describe how to apply canine drives to search
  training

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Canine Communication
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Canine Communication

• Instinctual
• Learned

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Instinctual

• Posture
• Facial expression
• Breathing
• Focus
• Intention

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Learned

• Training
• Play
• Life experience

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Myths and miscommunication

• Clever Hans
• Learned

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Miscommunication

• The guilty look
• Hes mad at me!
• He knows this!
• Hes ignoring me

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What are they thinking?

• Body Language

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Dominance

• Signals associated with dominance
• Grabbing muzzles
• Pinning head and neck
• Chin on neck and /or back
• Body slamming
• Direct stare
• Vertical retraction of lips
• Tail straight up in the air

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Submission

• Submissive signals
• Avert gaze
• Lower head and neck
• Lower tail
• Approach with C shape
• Submission grin
• Ears back

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Play

• Exaggerated looking away
• Paw raising
• Play grin
• Nibble greeting
• Nose pushing
• Panting or play face

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Fear

• Behaviors associated with fear
• Shivering or shaking
• Salivating
• Tail tucked
• Immobility

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Fear!
Aggressive
Submissive
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Aggression

• Ears forward
• Direct eye contact
• Forward lean
• Tail high
• Lips retracted
• Low growl

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Signs of Conflict

• Panting
• Yawning
• Submissive signals

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Conflict (continued)

• Displacement behaviors
• Eating grass
• Sniffing grass
• Grooming
• Scratching
• Play behaviors

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Conflict (continued)

• Ambivalent behaviors
• Looking away
• Turning back on you
• Sitting down
• Marking

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Behavior
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Behavior

• Factors that influence behavior
• Genetics
• Internal stimuli
• External stimuli

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Genetically Proven Breeds
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Internal Stimuli

• Drives

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External Stimuli

• Training
• Experience
• Environment

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The TRUTH About Dogs
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The TRUTH about Dogs

• Dogs
• Are amoral
• Live in the present
• Are completely self interested
• Will always do what they consider to be in their
  best interest at the time

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More

• Dogs
• Will repeat what works for them
• Are constantly monitoring our movement for an
  opportunity to get something for themselves
• Learn through Operant and Classical conditioning

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Learning Principles
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Kinds of Learning

• Experience Repetition
• Observational watching
• Classical conditioning reflexive
• Operant conditioning shaping

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Classical Conditioning

• A specific type of learning which connects a
  stimulus with an unconditioned response (REFLEX)
• Conditioned means learned

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Operant Conditioning

• A specific type of learning where offered
  behaviors are encouraged or discouraged by their
  consequences

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Operant Conditioning (continued)

• Add reinforcement to increase behavior
• Add punishment to decrease behavior
• The reward or punishment must be immediate to the
  behavior

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Operant Conditioning (continued)

• Behaviors that are not reinforced will extinguish
  themselves over time
• Do not take long-established behavior for granted

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Generalization

• Under-utilized technique
• Unrecognized pitfall

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Generalization (continued)
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Problem Solving 101

• Has the dog LEARNED the command?
• Has the trainer supplied adequate MOTIVATION
  (reward)?
• Is there a strong history (FOUNDATION) of
  rewarded responses to the command?
• Has the dog GENERALIZED the behavior in this
  context?

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Problem Solving 101 (continued)

• Did you PROOF against distractions (dogs, cats,
  noise, activity)?
• Did you PROOF against competing motivations
  (drives-food, pack, prey)?

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BREAK
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Instinct and Drive
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Instinct

• A canines innate response to certain stimuli,
  independent of any thought process
• May or may not produce the desired behaviors
• Those that have application to search need to be
  developed and strengthened

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Drive

• Some canines have predispositions towards certain
  instincts
• The STRENGTH of this predisposition
• DRIVE

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It is important to remember that hyperactivity
does not equal drive
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Types of Drive

• Food
• Prey
• Hunt

• Pack
• Defense

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Benefits of Drive

• Use of drive in regular training exercises will
• Improve physical conditioning
• Increase intensity and concentration
• Improve focus and attitude

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Food Drive

• A canines desire to persist in getting food, is
  not always related to hunger or biological need
  for food

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Food Drive (continued)

• One of the easiest drives to build
• Rewards can be given while the canine is in the
  correct position
• Canines can be rewarded without having to break
  position
• Most effective way to control high prey driven
  canines

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Prey Drive

• Canines intensity in chasing
• Catching
• Biting
• Carrying
• a prey object

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Prey Drive (continued)

• Can be developed into play
• Can be incorporated into each training session
• Builds stamina and physical conditioning

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Prey Drive

• Will increase canines motivation
• Increases concentration
• Stress reducer

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Hunt Drive

• Fundamental to search success
• Innate desire to hunt with nose
• Does not require visual cues
• Very rewarding to dog
• Reduces need for external motivation

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Pack Drive

• Canines desire to work within framework of the
  pack

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Pack Drive

• Needed to maintain working relationship with
  handler
• The canine needs to view handler as the working
  partner

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Defense Drive

• Canines response to protect itself from a
  perceived threat

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Defense Drive

• This behavior is detrimental to search work
  because it produces
• Avoidance
• Aggression
• Insecurities
• Unsociability (sharpness)

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REWARD SYSTEMS

• Prey Key

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Prey Key

• A reward that the canine is obsessed with (toy,
  food)

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Advantages of Using Prey Key

• Gives canine a motivating focal point
• Moderate or control other behaviors
• Gives options to difficult training problems
• Allows corrections without seriously affecting
  the canines positive attitude

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Building Drive
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Building Drive

• Frustration
• Opposition reflex
• Animation
• Isolation
• Deprivation
• End session while canine still wants more

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Frustration and Opposition Reflex
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Animation
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Isolation
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Deprivation

• Clink-Clink

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End session with canine wanting more
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Troubleshooting

• Distractibility
• Low drive
• Boldness
• Sensitivity
• Focus
• Agility

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Errorless Learning

• Teach in small increments
• Anticipate errors and prevent them
• Change only one variable at a time
• Provide adequate motivation
• Generalize behavior

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Unit Summary and Evaluation
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Unit Summary

• Explain how handlers and canines communicate
• Describe common canine signals
• Identify the factors that influence behavior
• Describe basic learning principles
• Identify and describe canine drives
• Describe how to apply canine drives to search
  training

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Unit Evaluation

• Please fill out the evaluation on this unit