# Can someone please teach me how to train this?



## John Michaels (Oct 15, 2014)

Can someone please teach me how to train this, (I'm a noob so I would really appreciate it broken down into baby steps). Thanks in advance!

http://youtu.be/-M2ARng1eb4


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Lure and shape with food, mark and reward for position then you proof it by removing the luring. All it is, is another position for heeling so you can train it exactly like that. The only thing that changes is the position and what you name that position.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

not sure which part you are looking at.

BUT

If you are talking about the dog position in relation to the handler, I train this just like I would any position, like heeling, just a different command.

it ends up being like a "transport" position / movement mostly, but in relation to the handler instead of a decoy with a different command it transfers fairly easily to decoy as well...

lure, teach position, reward it, put a name to it, correct it, demand it. or however you train...


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

I would teach it the same way I taught heeling, just change the position to between the legs. Clicker, pile of food, lure, mark, reward for correct position, then start adding one step forward, or back, or sideways. Build from there. 

Funny thought, to me, anyway. Do this with a border collie to music and it's Dog Dancing, dress it up with guns and boots and a malinois and then it's cool training. 

Going to try this with the DS this weekend. Would prefer my mali, he's always willing to try whatever stupid shit I ask of him, but he's too tall to fit between my legs.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

its pretty cool, if your dog is not too tall, or you are too short 

you can use your knees to steer dog around and swing the rear end around once the dog is into it...this helps when going in reverse..


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## Dr. David Santoro (Aug 31, 2013)

Hi,

Okay, first you need a very attentive K9 partner that has already learned and accepted all of the advanced obedience routines. You start with a training collar that your dog respects, a body/chest harness, a heavy equipment waist belt with two vertical straps that can be attached to both to the front and back of your waste belt and two control points of your K9's harness, left and right shoulders. The two straps are to convey left and right movement to your dog and the training collar is to offer forward control and attention. You may not need this but consider it if you are having difficulty in getting him/her to stay in position especially early on in this new procedure.


You should start by retraining your K9 to walk behind you and moving him/her closer as temperament allows. As with any new training start slowly and allow the dog to accept the new rules. Remember, he/she most likely has been trained from the start to walk on your left, this is something odd and completely out of the envelope so be patient and don't go faster then your dog is able or willing to go. 
As you progress you can start standing over your K9. If he/she won't accept your straddling him/her right away then just have their head poke out from between your legs. If you have maintained good food management training you can place his/her food dish in front and allow him/her to feed as you stand over the food. Again, it's all about the training, trust and relationship you have with your dog.

After some drill and exercise you will be able to walk, turn, stop and backup with your partner with increasing ease. Squatting, sitting and retreating will follow with greater ease and comfort for you both. It takes time, longer or shorter depending on you and your dog.


I do not suggest you attempt to run with your dog in this tactical position. Dogs tend to focus straight ahead when running and even if they seem to be able to handle it in training when under the stress of a real event they may loose you and you both may end up in a pile being injured by the fall and now possibly presenting a stationary target. Hardly ever a good thing...


Now, when on the range with our dog(s) we commonly have him/her positioned to our left side and/or slightly behind us. This position shields his/her ears from the sharp snap of the pistol fire as well as the hot falling ejected cartridge. If you've ever had a hot cartridge find its way onto your face or down your shirt you know what I mean. So, with your dog directly under you consider your dogs hearing and if he/she has up-turned open ears be cautious of a hot cartridge getting logged in his/her ear canal or onto an eye. This would certainly be remembered by your dog and might create a problem for him/her in confidence and trust in you and could result in permanent injury. Remember, they look to you for everything and association, good or bad will always affect your relationship.


Lastly, I have worked with dogs that need to see their handler. This is the dog that we see is always checking their position to the handler by looking up and/or over. This works, however consider this. As the dog is looking and devoting so much energy into seeing it's handler what might be happening in front or elsewhere in that short moment. Dogs eyes react to movement much better then the human eye and what might take a 10th of a second for us might be less then half of that for a dog. My point is that I prefer my dog to be looking in front where the threat most likely is, in the direction we're moving. Subsequently I train my dog to follow my voice, body and hand controls and to not necessarily need to see me, especially when we are working so closely to each other. I want her paying as much of her attention to our surroundings' as possible, he/she is better at it then I will ever be.


Hope this helps.


Good luck and happy times.


David Santoro


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Hi, David,

Please don't forget your (required) intro at http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f20/

Thanks, and welcome to WDF.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I don't see it any different then teaching a dog to heel. 

IF the dog already heels I would obviously use a different command. 

:-k Would speaking French help any? :grin: :wink:


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Dr Santoro's post was pretty cool but I think over-complicates a really simple behavior to train, like the others said lure and reward. I have almost definitely done a vid on this if you are interested.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

it is my experience that dogs trained to be in this position do not tend to look at their handler, unless a head position/attention is trained/encouraged into it. They use sense of touch on body to judge where they are at in the position. at least that is my theory from my experiences and observations.


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## Ang Cangiano (Mar 2, 2007)

Nothing 'new' about this 'tactical heeling position' despite what the vid implies. It's actually easier to teach than a normal heel, and done in the same manner. Santaro's description is way more complex than necessary. Start with the position, using whatever method of training you normally use: luring, shaping, or 'showing' the dog the correct position. Once the dog understands the correct position you then start movements. Forward, turns, backing up. Same as any method of heeling, just the location of the dog is different. 

Ang


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

I taught this to my new partner about a year ago. All the advice above is good. I used a simple luring method and lots of repetition. On the actual forward movements I used a short lead to keep the dog into position in the beginning. Ive done it under gunfire recently. My biggest buggaboo is getting the dog to walk backwards. He's just being a tard and I have to have more patience. I've actually used this position many times on the street already. He will recall to this position and heel, down, heel to the same position whilst I keep moving. I assigned this drill the command of "under". Getting him to switch from "Under" to "Heel" is another sticking point for him. Not that it's a big deal...mostly it's for show. No big tactical advantage to switching. It's a simple OB training drill but the civvies love it when we do demos.


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## Dr. David Santoro (Aug 31, 2013)

Hi Connie,

Thanks for the welcome, however, didn't I introduce myself a couple of years ago?

Dave S.


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## Dr. David Santoro (Aug 31, 2013)

Hello,

I apologize if my narrative was overly complicated, I only meant to be through. I will be more abridged in the future.

As far as my reference to the dogs visual attention, I was speaking to the video sequence and the dogs behavior with it's handler.

Dave S.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Dr. David Santoro said:


> Hello,
> 
> I apologize if my narrative was overly complicated, I only meant to be through. I will be more abridged in the future.
> 
> ...


You're narrative was superb dude, I myself would be pleased if all your posts were as thorough. What I and others are saying is you don't need to over complicate the actual training of the behavior, I didn't even use a collar for this behavior but then I don't use collars for most stuff.


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