# I want to train the building search



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

My wife is a little paranoid about people being in the house since the break in last year. Generally when we're gone the dogs get crated. Last night I was out playing music and she went for a walk and when she came home she noticed one of the blinds was messed up and was afraid to go in. As it turn out one of the crates wasn't latched, the dog was out and was looking through the window. 

Still, for her peace of mind, I'd like have her or me, send the dog into the house to search if she is scared.

What is the best way to start?


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## kim guidry (Jan 11, 2008)

Have a decoy in house and in front of dog, give dog bite then out him. Then have decoy run and hide (not to far away) then release dog and let him find decoy. When you release dog to go after the hidden decoy, say the command you want to use ( search, find him, or you can make an announcement " I will send my dog, he will bite you, get out my house"....what ever you choose) 

After you do this a few times then move to just having the decoy hide and stand still in corner of room, then bring dog to the hall way of the room, say your command and release. From there, you can start to expand to having dog search multiple rooms and in the dark. Have fun.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Chris Michalek said:


> My wife is a little paranoid about people being in the house since the break in last year. Generally when we're gone the dogs get crated. Last night I was out playing music and she went for a walk and when she came home she noticed one of the blinds was messed up and was afraid to go in. As it turn out one of the crates wasn't latched, the dog was out and was looking through the window.
> 
> Still, for her peace of mind, I'd like have her or me, send the dog into the house to search if she is scared.
> 
> What is the best way to start?


 Chris now that would freak me out.


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## Christopher Smith (Jun 20, 2008)

Chris Michalek said:


> What is the best way to start?


The best way to start is to pick up the phone and dial 911! Why anyone would send their dog into a dangerous situation is beyond me. You pay taxes so the cops can send their dog into that situation. Put your tax dollars to work.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Christopher Smith said:


> The best way to start is to pick up the phone and dial 911! Why anyone would send their dog into a dangerous situation is beyond me. You pay taxes so the cops can send their dog into that situation. Put your tax dollars to work.



I totally understand and said the same thing. When she was calling during my gig, I said call the police but she was too embarrassed to do so but she didn't really think there was somebody there. So I said, I'll train the dog to go in there.


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## kim guidry (Jan 11, 2008)

Christopher Smith said:


> The best way to start is to pick up the phone and dial 911! Why anyone would send their dog into a dangerous situation is beyond me. You pay taxes so the cops can send their dog into that situation. Put your tax dollars to work.


It's a training scenario like any other training we do. We train our dogs to protect us. We train our dogs most of the time outside, why wouldn't or shouldn't train them to protect us in side our home?

If I felt that someone was in the house when I returned home, I would not act like G. I. Jane and take on the bad guy. However, if I return home, alone, as a safety measure ....I would like to be able to send my dog for a search of the place. If he doesn't find any one - Great! If he does find someone...I've trained him well.


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## andrew kurtowicz (Nov 19, 2008)

you will just have to be careful how this is trained to the dog....if you send the dog in to the house will he/she bark and hold or bite ??? if its bark and hold you are giving the intruder a chance to draw a weapon on your dog. if its trained to bite if it finds someone make sure your neighbors and relatives know this just incase they stop over to drop off some fresh baked cookies....lol unless you dont like your neighbors than use them for practice\\/


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## Kyle Sprag (Jan 10, 2008)

"make sure your neighbors and relatives know this just incase they stop over to drop off some fresh baked cookies"

Why would relatives or neighbors be in you house when you are not home? :roll:


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## andrew kurtowicz (Nov 19, 2008)

Kyle Sprag said:


> "make sure your neighbors and relatives know this just incase they stop over to drop off some fresh baked cookies"
> 
> Why would relatives or neighbors be in you house when you are not home? :roll:


i always have a relative with a key to my house in case of emergencys


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

kim guidry said:


> Have a decoy in house and in front of dog, give dog bite then out him. Then have decoy run and hide (not to far away) then release dog and let him find decoy. When you release dog to go after the hidden decoy, say the command you want to use ( search, find him, or you can make an announcement " I will send my dog, he will bite you, get out my house"....what ever you choose)
> 
> After you do this a few times then move to just having the decoy hide and stand still in corner of room, then bring dog to the hall way of the room, say your command and release. From there, you can start to expand to having dog search multiple rooms and in the dark. Have fun.


That's basically the way I train building search. I like to concentrate on having the dog search in a pattern of sort, rather than just running around. Having said that however, Christopher's idea is probably the best.

DFrost


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

Kyle Sprag said:


> Why would relatives or neighbors be in you house when you are not home? :roll:


I guess it depends on your relationship with the people. I know I have many friends and relatives that if I go to their house and they aren't home yet, I know how to get it (they have given me a key, an alarm code, whatever) so I can wait inside instead of having to sit in their driveway. Granted they will see my truck parked out front and know I'm in the house, but going into someones house while they aren't home isn't that unusual.


I agree with Chris though also, if I come home and I think someone is in the house, I'm going to call the police. 

On the flip side, it's a fun exercise to train, and I do train most of my dogs to do building searches. Kim had some good advice on how to start. I posted a video recently http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH8P40zCaG4 of some of my dogs working in a warehouse, this was the first time I'd done any sort of building searches with Mac. Actually with any of the dogs now that I think about it. You can see how we started, with Josh teasing him then running and hiding. You can also see the progression from the first search where he's very confused about what he's supposed to be doing to the last ones where he's gotten the idea and is now searching various rooms and hallways. One thing I should have done differently is been telling him "search" vs "attack", he does know each command and "attack" usually means bite someone who is already visible, while "search" means search.


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## Kyle Sprag (Jan 10, 2008)

Maybe I am Weird then, I don't even like people in my house when I AM home. :lol:O:lol:


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

Kyle Sprag said:


> Maybe I am Weird then, I don't even like people in my house when I AM home. :lol:O:lol:


Of course you are weird Kyle, didn't you know that? :razz::lol::razz: 
I have to say, I'm not wild about people being in my house when I'm not there, but I guess that just means most of my friends and relatives have better social skills then I do LOL


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## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

Will somewhat disagree with chris.


Obviously you will call the police if you come home in your door or window shows signs of entry, just be prepared for them to potentially take a long time. But there are many times, especially if you dont have an alarm with a motion sensor, that its common sense to let the dog go in first and have a look.


In the orig example, if they called and said it looked liked the blinds were moved, the would likely not come out or take a super long time.

Ive said it before, its a mistake to rely on the police. You better have a gun, dog, and alarm. (and im a cop)


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Along those same lines if you have guns in various places throughout your home it is necessary to consider the possibility of your entering the premises while the intruder is still there - with your gun in hand that could potentially be used against you. This did occur within my own home, thankfully the robbery was interrupted and the worst case scenario did not play out on that day. We're still unsure which of us interrupted the robbery, we both came home at different times but less than an hour apart from one another. Both of us approached the house, I arrived last and opened the door 6" to find the house tore up, I shut the door and called the police obviously I will never know if he was still in there when I did that. Two years later, the thief was caught through a DNA match. My point is to simply emphasize what a few others brought up about entering a home, which may have an intruder in it and so probably isn't the best idea.


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## jack van strien (Apr 9, 2009)

So the dogs are in the crate when you are not home,why?
In order to have a dog search the house you have to go inside and let one out of the crate to do so.Wouldn't it be a lot better idea to let the dogs loose when you go out so they can guard the house and deter anyone from entering?
Let the most yappy one loose in the yard and the more serious one(s) in the house.
Prevention is still the best option imo.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

jack van strien said:


> So the dogs are in the crate when you are not home,why?
> In order to have a dog search the house you have to go inside and let one out of the crate to do so.Wouldn't it be a lot better idea to let the dogs loose when you go out so they can guard the house and deter anyone from entering?
> Let the most yappy one loose in the yard and the more serious one(s) in the house.
> Prevention is still the best option imo.


We have six dogs.

The usual arrangement when we leave is to crate the Mal, crate the two female Rotts and put the pugs in the master bedroom. The Male Rottie has free roam of the house alone.

My wife was out walking with the Mal. To avoid the male dogs being together, she crated the Rottie when she left. The Mali and Rott get along but the dominance games begin when I'm gone so they are always separated when I am out of the house as there is no way my wife would be capable of breaking up a fight without getting hurt or one of the dogs getting damaged. This hasn't happened but it's better to be safe than sorry.

If my wife goes out for a walk, it's almost always with one of the working dogs. Both are capable of doing a search and biting if necessary. The Mal is more apt to bite without a B&H and the Rottie has so much schH training, the B&H is hard to get out of him.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

jack van strien said:


> So the dogs are in the crate when you are not home,why?




No, mine were not in crates. One was at the vet on that day which is why I left the house to begin with and the other was loose in the garage which was detached from the house at that time.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

My two GSDs live outside. My JRT is now living at my sons house. 
We occasionally leave my 97 yr old, live in FIL alone in the house. 
He is one badass mofo so, if you break in to my house, don't let him out of his closet or you'll regret it.


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## kim guidry (Jan 11, 2008)

Some of the new guys may not know but Chris's home was broken into while he was at home and the dogs ( for what ever reason ) did not alert. When you train for a building search they may be using there eyes in the beginning but as you advance in you're training they really have to start relying on their nose to find the decoy. That is why you want to train in the dark as well as really having them hide, closets, under beds, attic rooms.....etc. Hell, some bad guys even hide in dryers!

IMO if you just train your dog out side with a visible decoy you may not be using your dog to his full limit. This is one way for them to use their nose. ( and NO I am not saying that they "smell fear" ) But when stress levels are high your body does omit a stress hormone. If we want "protection dogs" they should be able to protect us inside the home. 


I am in total agreement that you should call 911 if you feel that something is "off" when you get home. However, if they are hiding or if someone sneaks in while I was home. Maybe the sound will not alert the dog but maybe the smell will?


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## Ted Efthymiadis (Apr 3, 2009)

Chris Michalek said:


> My wife is a little paranoid about people being in the house since the break in last year. Generally when we're gone the dogs get crated. Last night I was out playing music and she went for a walk and when she came home she noticed one of the blinds was messed up and was afraid to go in. As it turn out one of the crates wasn't latched, the dog was out and was looking through the window.
> 
> Still, for her peace of mind, I'd like have her or me, send the dog into the house to search if she is scared.
> 
> What is the best way to start?


I dont mean to be a jerk, but why don't you move?


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Ted Efthymiadis said:


> I dont mean to be a jerk, but why don't you move?



Money. 

If I had money, I would move to Colorado and have a few hundred acres. We don't live in a bad area but in times like this (bad economy) thieves come around to the better neighborhoods.

My yard is more secure now so there's no jumping over my back wall unless you want your hands cut up.


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## Ted Efthymiadis (Apr 3, 2009)

Chris Michalek said:


> Money.
> 
> If I had money, I would move to Colorado and have a few hundred acres. We don't live in a bad area but in times like this (bad economy) thieves come around to the better neighborhoods.
> 
> My yard is more secure now so there's no jumping over my back wall unless you want your hands cut up.


Don't you have like 6 dogs?
sell a few and get one or two man eaters.... that's what I would do. 
Man eaters you don't have to kennel.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Ted Efthymiadis said:


> Don't you have like 6 dogs?
> sell a few and get one or two man eaters.... that's what I would do.
> Man eaters you don't have to kennel.



in thats case, then it's a wife issue. If it were up to me, we'd only have two dogs


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Then sell the wife!


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