real criminal to get to you, the less likely they are to do so.

Let's take one example.

We once worked with a woman who came to us for help after she was raped in her own home. She was a widow living alone in a wonderful home in southern California. She had never cared about her safety before, because she lived in an area for wealthy people - a very common misconception. But then, hearing that somewhere in these parts there were several attacks on women, she got scared and bought a German Shepherd just in case. However, when the perpetrator was caught, she decided not to continue training. She did not know that another criminal was watching her house and he knew that for the night she left the dog in the yard.

On that fateful night, our client was awakened by a frantic bark coming from the yard. She decided that the dog saw a cat on the fence, and calmly fell asleep again. In fact, the shepherd warned the mistress of the appearance of an outsider who tried to enter the house through the garage door.

The second time the woman woke up from the fact that someone's hand clamped her mouth. In the blink of an eye, the rapist was on top of her. In the fight, she managed to break free and run to the stairs. At that moment, she had only one thought: you need to let the dog into the house! The shepherd was rushing through the back door. Even being untrained, the dog sought to help the mistress. However, the rapist managed to catch up with her and grab her 5 meters from the dog. The unfortunate woman was raped, beaten and robbed 5 meters from her own dog! It was only by a miracle that she survived.

After that, the dog took a course of security training and now sleeps next to the owner at night. If this had been the case that night, the criminal would most likely have gone looking for a victim somewhere else. But even if he decided to try his luck here, in order to get to the woman, he would first have to deal with the dog. At the very least, our client would have had an extra chance at salvation.

An old English proverb says, "An ounce of precaution is worth a pound of medicine." So far, no one has challenged this wisdom.

Why defense and not attack
Dogм присуще кусаться. If we do not lay this in at an early age, then as a result of the suppression of aggressive manifestations, the dog in adulthood will avoid direct contact with a person. Such forms of suppression as the prohibition of growling, barking, biting, as well as obedience training, can completely or partially inhibit the manifestations of the hunting and protective instinct.

There are many theories regarding this. One is generally accepted: the dog should not be trained until she is one year old; in this case, both hunting and protective instincts are fully manifested in her. We found two major shortcomings in this theory:

1. If you wait until the dog is physically and emotionally mature, you will lose the time needed to develop imprinting and conditioned reflexes. Thus, you will raise a dog, which will later have to be trained using violence. This will be a necessary measure in order to control a dog that does not know what discipline is.

2. With a dog that does not know the concept of "discipline", it is impossible to live together. In order to live in a family, a dog must know how to behave at home, in the yard, in a car, etc.

A guard dog should live in a family, that is, be a guard dog companion. This is what our training system is based on. We believe that in the first year of a dog's life, it should be brought up with a combination of light coercion and work with instincts.

Ups and downs
It is important to understand that in the process of guard training the dog will not always work smoothly. In one lesson it will work perfectly, in another it will be terrible. That is why the roles of facilitator and instructor are so important. They must decide when to move forward and when to repeat the past. From both a physical and a psychological point of view, a dog's ability to work varies from day to day.

The period of one to two years is critical for a young dog that is just beginning to develop its personality and instincts. That is why it is very important from the very first lessons to learn to control aggression.

Chapter Fourteen
security training — уровень II
At this stage обучения собаку уже нужно возбуждать и без защитной экипировки. This is done so that the dog gets used to focusing its attention not on the equipment, but on the person.

Required equipment:

1. Full-body training protective suit of the European standard.

2. "German sleeves" - for puppies, for the middle stage of training and for "advanced" dogs.

3. Tools to excite the dog - a bamboo or reed stick, or just a long branch.

4. Tether.

5. Training collar.

6. 5 cm collar.

7. 2 meter leather or nylon leash.

8. 10m outer harness.

If you want to compete in the Schutzhund system or dog sports competitions, training sleeves are primarily used as equipment. If you are more attracted to the so-called "European" system, closer to real life and adopted in the European police, you need to use both sleeves and a training suit. It all depends on what you really want prepare your dog.

For those who pursue purely practical goals and do not think about participating in any competitions, only a full training suit is needed.

We prefer to first teach the dog to grab a person by the legs, and only then - by the upper parts of the body. It often happens that a "soft" domestic dog is difficult to teach to bite a person's legs. In such cases, it is better to limit yourself to the upper parts of the body than not to train at all.

Many of our clients will swear to teach their dog “anything,” even if it is, we believe, a limited ability. The best way out here is to test the dog's abilities together with the client and show him its shortcomings. If the dog психологически неустойчива, решение об отказе от дрессировки остается за нами. But if she has a weak nervous system, poorly developed instincts, lacks courage, then in this case the decision is made by the owner himself.

Detention (on a leash)
Stage 1. Научить собаку кусать

You already have experience with the puppy dog. If for some reason you missed this necessary step, you need to catch up before moving on.

Then training equipment is introduced: jacket, trousers, or just sleeves, depending on the plans that you associate with your dog. Your goal in all cases is to teach the dog to bite these things, and bite hard. To do this, you need to "switch" it from a protective instinct to a hunting one. That's why we temporarily separate protective equipment from the person who has to put it on.

We take a piece of equipment and tease the dog with it. After a short fight, the dog takes possession of this object and carries off his prey.

In this case, the dog is both on an external leash and on a leash held by the owner. The leash allows the helper to be more secure, and it, when pulled tight, makes the dog clench its jaws tighter. The leash helps her feel more confident when the owner allows her to carry away the piece of equipment she obtained in battle.

Stage 2. Научить собаку командам «Стой/Дай» и «Охраняй»

Equipment should be put on after the dog is comfortable with it. You must feel it. Dog должна избрать своей мишенью те части тела, которые надежно защищены.

It is important that these particular parts of the body constantly move and be in sight. Assistant, playing the role of a "criminal", must remember that the hunting instinct is triggered by horizontal movement. If it is a hand, let it move from side to side across the line of the body and in front of the dog. If it is a leg, it needs to be moved forward and to the sides, as if inviting the dog to bite it below the knee.

It is very important that the owner does not allow the dog to tear his front paws off the ground. To do this, you need to keep the leash closer to the collar, preventing the dog from jumping. In order for the dog to concentrate on the leg, the helper cannot put on a protective jacket, so this technique is necessary for safety.

Once the dog has firmly grasped the object, the helper must continue to wrestle, moving the object from side to side. When the assistant stops fighting, the owner takes the dog by the collar and, holding it on its hind legs (the front legs are in the air), commands “Give!”. In this case, the dog must release the object.

After that, the owner sits the dog in front of the assistant and gives the command “Guard!”. When the helper tries to run away, the owner sets the dog on again, and again, after a short fight, the dog is rewarded with an item of equipment. If the helper can't get the pants off in time, you should give the command “Give it!” so that the helper can jump back to the “safety zone”.

Step 3. Teams «Фасс», «Дай», "Guard" and re-attack

At this stage, the dog works without