Teaching a retired police dog to relax.

Teaching a retired police dog to relax.
Some more from Jet. There were some interesting (and bizarre) comments on the last video of Jet from.a couple of days ago, where I was seeing how motivated by food she was, why we want to build a variety of reinforcers, and the various things those reinforcers can be used for.
Massage, gentle petting, calm delivery of food - these are all conducive to more relaxed behaviours.
Movement, throwing/chasing a ball, tug - these are all conducive to faster behaviours like recall.
The value of "praise" is often both over estimated and underestimated and I often see praise being used where the handler thinks it's reinforcing but it's actually the threat of aversives which is being used to drive behaviour (more on this later).
Another weird comment was that along the lines of "pet dog owners and pet dog trainers (me) have no business working with these types (insert usual stereotype) of dogs." This one actually made me laugh.
Jet is finding settling in the presence of people difficult. Most probably because she's never had to do it, or never been taught. People mean something else to her (training, work etc) and very often police dogs are kept in crates in police vehicles and kennelled when not working. Exclusion is then the cue for sleep and rest, so she is learning that, in retirement, she is allowed to rest in the presence of people. We are teaching her.
This looks like a down stay. It's not. It's a relaxation protocol. How we teach it is the difference.
At the end of this session, Jet lay on her side, gave a big, relaxed exhalation, then went to sleep. Much success.
Behaviour is behaviour. Stereotypes about "but sHE's a MaLinOIs!" and has to be treated/trained in some 🐃💩 way are nonsense. Yes, we are aware of her genetics and working history. She was a working police dog with a proven track record. When cops retire (like many people), there are huge adjustments to be made (I should know). We can do it with the right approach, we're proving it here.
#dog #dogs #malinois #dogtraining

[@watchmoivies123]

Wow, she looks very young. Are you saying she was a police dog and then given up to a new owner she’s very pretty.

[@GlasgowDogTrainer]

she's 5 years old

[@andrewcollins6515]

Awesome work love the tail flicks at the end😂 Great she ignored the other whining dog too !