Introduction of the Sleeve. Ray bends

down but not over the dog to avoid

causing stress

Early prey work on the sleeve

A tug of war builds drive

Teaching the dog to come up high

for the bite & improve its grip

Open field work is used to determine if the dog works best

in prey or defense

Bringing the sleeve to the ground is also a

prey or defense exercise

Teaching the hold and bark. Notice the helper blocks (keeps the sleeve

behind his body) to lessen the temptation for the dog to take a bite

The end of the blind search. Rounding the final

blind and finding the helper.

A bite in the blind, once the dog knows to hold & bark, increases its intensity in the blind. After a while, the dog

forces the helper to leave the blind by its intensity. The bite is then given a short distance from the blind.

The dog learns that its intensity will win the bite, but not in the blind

Carrying the sleeve after the bite gives the dog confidence

 and reduces drive so it can eventually out

The parallel escape. One of the best prey teaching

devices in the helper's bag of tricks.

The trial escape

Guarding after the escape

Reattack after the escape

The threat of the stick tests the nerves

Preparing for the out after the reattack. As the helper

comes to a stop, the handler waits for the dog to come

down in drive before giving the out command

The backup escape lets the dog get used

to and experience some impact but

in a safe manner

Next comes catching

the dog after the

attack on handler

The long grip is also known as "The Courage Test"

Skyler makes the catch

The goal of our work: A calm, full

mouth bite while under attack