Clickertraining Bite Work, a webinar with Dina Doctermann

Dina Doctermann:

 
I discovered the exciting world of clicker training as early as 1998, but only learned to use it effectively during the 00s. I am educated as a Canis instructor in 2007 and opened the Danish department of Canis with responsibility for the online store and as part of the magazine's editorial staff, as well as my own department of the dog school. From 2013 I became editor of the Canis magazine until the magazine closed and I am the author of several articles. I have run two departments of Canis Dog School and trained 11 teams from Canis Clicker Trainer education. In 2020 me and my husband have gone solo with Vesløs Hundesport. I have always been interested in the training of working dogs including the biting work and together with my husband I have developed training strategies for clicker training of the biting work - a project that is constantly evolving.

There are many ways to train your dog, and it has been obvious to most that you can train tracking and obedience with clicker training in the working dog programs. But when we come to what is most often referred to as "defense work", there are many who believe it is not a training method that is relevant. When we use the word "defense", there is an inherent conflict with the basic principles of clicker training - defending oneself is about making a discomfort disappear.

How is it possible to train "defense exercises" without provoking the biting behavior with the help of discomfort and pressure? What is important to think about in such a training setup?

There is a high arousal / intensity when the dog works in such exercises, and it can be difficult to control the dog under these circumstances and gain obedience and control. How is it possible to get control without aversive in this part? What techniques can we use to teach dogs these parts of the program? The lecture will briefly outline how we approach these dilemmas.