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A Modern Approach
By: Lazaro “Laz” Cabrera
Part I: Obedience
There are three parts to this
modern training system that I would
like to introduce to you. This is
the first of the three parts and the
foundation to having a successful,
modern, and certifiable police dog
in order to minimize the liability to
your agency.
Years ago, I learned to train dogs
using the escape & avoidance
training system. After realizing that
this method was not giving me the
desired flashiness and consistent
behavior I wanted in the dog, I
knew it was time to find a new
approach. Through my experience
buying police dogs in Europe, I
have made contact with some of
the best dog trainers in the world.
This has led me to understand that
there is “A Modern Approach to
Training”.
Escape training is pretty simple...
a dog learns to perform a behavior
in order to avoid a correction.
What I failed to realize is that the
reason so many of these KNPV
dogs endured that style of training
was because they were some of the
hardest working dogs in the world.
If you compare the obedience in
the KNPV dog with the IPO dog,
the lack of flashiness is apparent.
While I am not stating that the
escape training should not be taught
completely, I believe that it should
be taught after the learning phase
and not during.
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In order to understand this system,
you must understand Maslow’s
Pyramid of Hierarchy of Needs,
Classical Conditioning/Associative
Learning, Operant Conditioning
Quadrant and the effects that
dopamine has on your dog’s
performance as explained by Dr.
Robert Supolsky.
The KNPV method falls short in
that not all dogs have the ability
to withstand pressure at the same
level. Years later, I was introduced
to the operant training system,
through which a dog learns to
perform a behavior in order to
Maslow’s Pyramid of
produce a reward. This system
appealed to me for several reasons:
Hierarchy of Needs
the dogs’ ears were always engaged
regardless of whether or not
the dogs were corrected;
the way the dogs carried
themselves while performing
behaviors was different
(their level of energy
was not suppressed due
to over correcting during
the learning phase); they
responded more quickly
and were not afraid to make
mistakes. They essentially
cycled through behaviors in
Maslow’s Pyramid of Hierarchy of Needs Diagram
order to produce a reward,
creating an active dog. This
After observing Mazlow’s Pyramid
active dog is what is needed in
of Hierarchy of Needs, I have
police work.
concluded that the three most
I began looking into how this was
important physiological needs in
possible and I came across several
dog training are food, water and
trainers that I consider world class
oxygen. In the obedience phase, the
guys. I feel they have been a big
first thing we must do is to create
influence in my modern approach to a hungry dog. This means that to
dog training today.
do this, the dog eats during work
time (training) only. When used as
I look at training dogs as a
a reward, food is the most powerful
simple formula...
Desire for a reward + Create Hope + Pressure
= SUCCESS!
Operant Conditioning Quadrant Diagram
to Training
tool to manipulate a dog’s behavior.
This tool creates concentration and
engagement like no other reward,
allowing the dog to think clearly
and the handler to manipulate its
position without the dog being in
too high of a drive.
Operant Conditioning
Quadrant
B.F. Skinner and Thorndike,
the founding fathers of operant
conditioning, suggested that
there must be positive and negative
consequences during any learning
system. These consequences
must fit accordingly in the
phase the dog is in (learning
phase and the escape phase).
Classical Condition/Associative Learning Diagram
Classical Condition/
Associative Learning
Ivan Pavlov introduced Classical
Conditioning/Associative Learning
laws, suggesting that classical
conditioning is the most efficient
learning system for all living things.
With this approach, the marker
is the bridge to the reward, so
therefore I mark every behavior
prior to rewarding the dog. After
consistently performing any
exercise, he will comply with the
command in order to produce the
reward. This becomes a reflex
action to the dog and will produce
the desired speed we all like.
During the learning phase,
I use positive reinforcement
and negative punishment.
If the dog achieves the
exercise, I mark the behavior
and I reward him (positive
reinforcement). If the dog fails
the exercise, I deny the reward
(negative punishment).
During the escape phase, I use
positive punishment, negative
reinforcement and positive
reinforcement. Once the dog
clearly understands the exercise, I
begin to use a leash and collar to
apply corrections. In this phase,
I approach it in the following
manner: if the dog makes a mistake
on a command that I know he
knows, I give a correction towards
the desired position (positive
punishment). When the dog
complies, I remove the correction
(negative reinforcement), mark the
behavior and reward it (positive
reinforcement). In this final phase,
the dog begins to learn that pressure
equals reward.
My system:
Steps To Obedience
Step 1 & Step 2: Charging
the marker and introduce
the duration and release
marker
Place the dog off leash and make
sure he is paying attention only to
you (engaged). If he disengages,
immediately stop the exercise and
put him in his crate. If outside
distractions are more important
than satisfying his hunger, he is
not hungry enough to continue the
exercise. Once he is engaged, begin
by saying “good” or “yes” followed
by feeding the dog in a variable
fashion each time, expecting no
behavior from him other than
staying engaged.
Follow Along With Video
Luring the Change of Positions
Scan the codes above to watch
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Follow Along With Video
The Luring Phase
Teaching the Rear End to Move
Independently from the Front
Scan the codes above to watch
Step 3: Focus drills (all
sides) and luring (heeling,
turns, and position
exercises)
Focus drills & heeling
While sitting or standing in front
of the dog, when he makes eye
contact with you, say “good” or
“yes” and reward him variably
(different amounts of food). Do
not stimulate the dog into the
behavior. Allow him to come into
the behavior operantly (himself)
and reward him for it. This is the
first step toward making the dog an
active dog, not a reactive dog.
Once he is proficient, introduce
this same behavior from different
sides (standing on his left side, right
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side or have him in between your
legs) so that he learns to generalize.
Generalization is the ability to
perform the same task even though
the picture looks different. It is
one of the several things used to
measure the level of intelligence.
Begin this process as soon as
possible in order to develop this
skill.
Hold a large size kibble in the
wedge between your thumb and
index finger. Using a large size
kibble (I recommend German
Shepherd Royal Canin 24) will
prevent the food from falling out
of your hand causing the dog to
become distracted. Begin by having
the dog follow your hand, saying
“yes” as you release the food.
Repeat this with your right and left
hand so that both hands have value
to the dog. Lure the dog counterclockwise into the left heeling
position, saying “yes” as you
release the food. Repeat this to the
right side as well. When the dog is
skilled at these stationary exercises,
start to walk and lure him to heel.
Video: The Luring Phase
Turns
One of the most important
elements for training a dog to make
correct turns, is to teach him how to
maneuver his rear independent of
his front end. In my view, teaching
this skill is more important than
moving forward because the motor
skills required are more complex
than heeling forward. To do this,
use a small rubber oil pan and place
it face down. Lure the dog to place
his front feet on top of the rubber
pan. With your hand, signal the
Teaching the Rear End to Move
Independently from the Front
direction you want his rear end to
turn without removing his front
feet from the rubber pan. Through
approximation training, which
means creating small segments and
then layering them, begin making
the dog take a few steps to turn
slightly in a clockwise motion and
immediately rewarding.
As the dog learns the exercise
and begins to turn at a faster pace,
extend the time of the reward. Once
he has learned this from the front,
repeat it from the right side, the left
side and in between your legs.
Video: Teaching the Rear End to
Move Independently from the Front
Position Exercises
(Sit, Down & Stand)
The position exercises (sit, down
and stand) are taught while standing
in front of the dog or while the dog
is on a treadmill. These positions
can also be taught by luring or
allowing the behaviors to happen
operantly. If you choose to teach
through the luring method, lure the
dog into all of the above positions
always causing the motion to go
back. For example: the dog should
show a hinge like movement
on his front legs, whether he is
sitting, downing or standing. This
technique will create an optical
illusion in your motion exercises,
making the viewer think that the
exercises are extremely fast.
The sit position is taught by luring
the head straight up causing the rear
end to sit, mark and reward. The
down position is taught by pushing
into the dog in a downward motion,
mark and reward. Finally, the
stand position is taught by pushing
into the dog parallel to the floor
causing his rear end to kick back,
mark and reward. After consistently
performing these behaviors, I add
a command simultaneously as the
dog is performing the behavior.
These behaviors will become a
reflex action and no luring will be
required.
Video:Luring the Change of
Positions
Video: Creating the Change of
Positions Operantly
Step 4: Introduce place
boards for continuation of
the position exercises and
directional exercises
smells the food he goes to the
place board operantly, mark the
behavior and reward him. As time
goes on, the dog will associate the
place board with a reward and go
to the box when he sees it. When
the dog becomes consistent, add
the command “place”. Eventually,
when you say “place”, the dog will
go to the place board and you will
mark the behavior and reward him.
Luring the Change of Positions
Creating the Change of Positions
Operantly
Since the place board will not
allow the dog to move forward, also
use it as a tool to create a correct sit,
down and stand position, as well as
to introduce the dog to electronics
(come, go away and stay) and teach
him directional control. Training
the dog to “come”, “go away” and
“stay”, teaches him what activates
and deactivates the electronics.
Video: Change of Positions on the
Place Board
The place board is a box that is
open on one side, used as a target
to receive a reward. Introduce the
place board by placing food inside
the box upwind, and walking the
dog on a leash so that when he
Follow Along With Video
In police work, the importance of
directional control is needed when
conducting a building search. This
is how you command the dog to go
from one door to another in order to
search for a suspect.
Change of Positions on the Place
Board
Introducing Multiple Place
Boards
Video: Introducing Multiple Place
Boards
Scan the codes above to watch
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Follow Along With Video
Conditioning and Counter
Conditioning the Focus
Bridging from the Luring to the
Standard Heeling Position
Scan the codes above to watch
Step 5: Introduce
the Manners Minder
for indirect rewards
(condition and counter
condition the focus) and
position exercises
The Manners Minder is a remote
control food dispensing machine,
(you will need to use a smaller
kibble) which provides you the
control to reward variably and has
the ability to mark any behavior
with a tone that occurs from within
the machine. This step is very
crucial because it is the beginning
stages of your dog learning that not
all rewards come from you and he
does not always need to be focused
on you in order to be rewarded. This
is another generalization exercise.
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immediately locks into the target
area. You can now move forward to
the next step.
From a sitting or standing position,
place the machine with food
exposed and the dog in front of you.
Use the remote to dispense more
food as the dog goes to eat. When
this becomes continuous, stop
dispensing. This will eventually
cause the dog to operantly look
at you or continue to look at the
machine. Mark and reward either
behavior by dispensing food.
Continue dispensing steadily
and both behaviors will become
stronger. As the dog begins to look
at the machine more consistently,
add a command to “target” or
“mark” the behavior and reward
him. When the dog looks at
you, mark the behavior with the
command “look” and reward him.
By doing this, you condition and
counter condition the dog’s focus.
Video: Conditioning and Counter
Conditioning the Focus
Step 6: Bridging from the
lure heeling to stationary
standard heeling position,
with your le�t hand on the
le�t side of the dog’s face
Place the dog on your left side in
the heeling position. Your left hand
is naturally hanging along the left
side of the dog’s face. Initially,
the dog will try to go to the hand.
Once he realizes that his behavior
is not producing a reward, he will
eventually look up to the target area
(armpit). Mark the behavior at that
moment and reward it. Continue to
perform this exercise until you can
call him to the heel position and he
Video: Bridging from the Luring to
the Standard Heeling Position
Step 7: Introduce leash
pressure away from any
obedience exercise
This phase is where you teach the
dog to be light on the leash outside
the obedience context, allowing you
to apply small amounts of steady
pressure on the leash causing the
dog to go with the pressure until he
no longer feels it. Start by applying
pressure parallel to the ground
in a rear motion. As soon as the
dog takes one step to the rear and
gives in to the pressure, mark that
behavior and reward it. Then apply
layers to this exercise requesting
more from the dog as he starts to
understand. As you apply the rear
pressure, add a command like
“back”. Repeat this leash pressure
in all directions for generalization
purposes. After it is complete, leash
pressure allows you to place the dog
in the correct position without over
correcting him.
Video: Leash pressure
Leash Pressure
Follow Along With Video
Leash Pressure
Becoming Mobile in Your Heeling
Bridging from the Luring to the Standard Heeling Position
Step 8: Bridging from the
stationary heeling position
to becoming mobile with
leash pressure
Step 9: Introduce the
electronics on the
treadmill during focus
drills
Once you have the ability to
maintain the dog in the correct
position (because of the leash
pressure technique), you can now
begin to move forward slowly to
create the heeling picture. In the
beginning stages, because you are
now mobile, the dog will want to
get rewarded from the hand. Timing
is paramount. It is imperative that
you mark and reward the behavior
when the dog is looking at the target
area. Either store the food in your
pocket for easy access or obtain a
food pouch. As the dog understands
the exercise, start requiring him to
focus on the target area for longer
amounts of time before rewarding
him variably. Continue this heeling
process, including turns and
positions, until it’s perfected.
Introduce the electronics on the
treadmill during the focus drills for
two reasons. First, this is done to
confine the dog to a controlled area
that does not allow him to go into
avoidance. Second, because by this
time, he already knows focus drills
and it is time to incorporate escape
and avoidance training into the
system.
Video: Becoming Mobile in Your
Heeling
I am a firm believer that
electronics should not be used to
teach an exercise and this approach
is a perfect example of that. Place
the dog on the treadmill, which
he views as a sort of restaurant.
Because the dog is already familiar
with focus drills, you have to create
some type of distraction to cause
him to look away. When he does,
add small amounts of electronics
to cause discomfort. Since dogs are
constantly looking to better their
situation, he will immediately go
Scan the codes above to watch
into the behavior he knows will
bring a reward. This will become a
reflex. When he complies, mark the
behavior and reward it.
Over time, a great phenomenon
begins to happen. The stimulus
from the E-collar becomes the
marker to the reward. Eventually he
begins to look away for you to stim
him in order to get rewarded. At this
point, stim him and when he looks
at you, mark the behavior with
“good” but do not feed him. This
lets him know that an undesired
behavior will not necessarily always
get rewarded with food; it will only
be rewarded with a marker. The
dog will then realize that the only
way to produce food is by staying
focused through long periods of
time.
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15
Step 10: Introduce
electronics on the place
board and the obedience
phase (heeling, turns and
position exercises)
By now, the dog should understand
that going to the place board
produces a reward and coming out
of the place board will produce
discomfort caused by small
amounts of electronics. Now it’s
time to create speed. In a variable
fashion, when you give the “place”
command, apply small amounts of
electronics in order to speed the
dog’s behavior to go to the place
board and produce his reward. By
adding electronics in this phase, you
are now incorporating escape and
avoidance training into this specific
exercise. You have created so much
hope in this place board that the
dog is willing to take pressure in
order to produce his reward. As
mentioned earlier, this is a perfect
example of the modern dog training
formula to success. This is how I
create the operant/active dog we’re
all looking for.
Find More Videos from
PSD’s Channel
Creating
the Change
of Positions
Operantly
Scan Me!
Luring the Change of Positions
Change of Positions on the Place Board
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K- 9 C O P M A G A Z I N E
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PSD
Police Service Dogs
featured kennel
Police Service Dogs is a minority womanowned business established in 2000 as a kennel
and service dog training facility. They are
currently located in Oxford, a small town in
Central Florida. PSD’s facility sits on a spacious
five acres that includes a 1,800-square foot
indoor kennel with an air conditioning and
heating system. The facility is equipped with
a full agility course, vehicles for training on
detection searches and bitework scenarios,
environmental equipment, and a pond to conduct
water exercises and cool the canines down
during summer time.
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K- 9 C O P M A G A Z I N E
Facility operators are ATF licensed and DEA
registered providing them the ability to train all
of their dogs with real substance. They purchase
all of their explosive materials from only trusted
sources and all of their drug materials are
supplied from adjudicated cases. They specialize
in the import, training and boarding of police,
military and executive protection dogs. They
have clients throughout the United States,
including New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama,
Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida, in
addition to clients in the Caribbean, Central and
South America.
featured kennel
Training Director Lazaro
“Laz” Cabrera became a
police officer in 1995. In
1998, he graduated from
the City of Miami Police
Department as a dual purpose
K-9 handler and became a
certified police K-9 trainer in
2000. In 2005, he joined the
USPCA (United States Police
Canine Association) and went
on to win six Regional PD1
(police dog 1) Championships
and four National PD1
Championships. He currently
holds the record for the highest
PD1 National score with a
score of 697.50 out of 700
points. In 2010, he became
a USPCA PD1 and Detector
Regional Judge. He became a
USPCA PD1 National Judge in
2013.
PSD offers:
Detection
Canines:
PSD uses a modified
version of the German PSP
(Polizeispuerhundpruefung)
Police Patrol Dog Examination
System. This system tests
for a canine’s level of play
drive, possessiveness, retrieve
(metal, copper, pvc) and search
drive. Testing for these drives
is essential to help shape the
detection canine. Most PSD
dogs are hand selected in Europe
by Laz, the facility’s training
director.
During training, canine trainers
and handlers concentrate on
three things:
• Independent search pattern
(canine’s ability to be able to
search anywhere without his
handler present)
• Independent aggression to
odor (canine’s ability to go
directly to the target odor
without the assistance of his
handler)
• Independent final response
(canine’s ability to give a final
response by sitting or scratching
and stay on the target odor
without his handler being
present)
PSD teaches canines to search
buildings, vehicles, open areas,
lockers, luggage, parcels, and
any additional areas requested
by the client. Most canines are
trained to alert with a passive
final response. At a client’s
request, PSD will train a canine
to use an aggressive final
response.
J u n e / J u l y 2 014 •
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featured kennel
20 •
K- 9 C O P M A G A Z I N E
Patrol
Canines:
PSD hand selects all of their
patrol canines from Europe.
Each canine must meet the
following criteria:
•
Socially open in character
off drive
•
No handler aggression
•
High play drive
•
High possessiveness
•
High search drive
•
Environmentally sound
(to include slippery floors,
jumping on top of tables,
stairs, and confined
spaces)
•
Confident on gunfire,
whips, shakers and any
distractors
•
Full and calm grips
(indoor and outdoor)
•
Full medical exam,
vaccinations, and x-rays
of hips, elbows and back
All PSD police canines
are trained with a modern
approach. This means that they
create active dogs, not reactive
dogs. This type of training
system gives them an edge
in the industry by producing
canines that look like they
enjoy working, versus canines
that seem as if they work out
of fear of the consequences.
featured kennel
PSD teaches training and
handling techniques based on
an understanding of Classical
Conditioning & The Operant
Conditioning Quadrant because
they believe “there is no better
way to train.”
Some may assume a flashy,
well-trained police canine is
something that belongs in the
dog sport world, or that police
dogs should not look happy
while they are working. PSD
does not agree. PSD trainers
believe that a flashy, welltrained dog can also successfully
perform their duties on the
street. After a successful training
course, PSD trained dogs will be
able to perform the following:
•
Flashy obedience
•
Agility
•
Evidence search
•
Tracking
•
Area searches
•
Building searches
•
Criminal apprehension
(False start, Bite with an
“out”- suspect pat down
without an attack on the
handler, Bite with gunfire
an “out”- suspect pat
down with an attack on
the handler, and Recall)
•
Tactical training (felony
stops, vehicle bail
outs and deployment
channeling)
J u n e / J u l y 2 014 •
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featured kennel
Puppy
Program
PSD has also developed a
puppy training program that
starts with selecting young
dogs who possess the correct
drives and social character.
This puppy is then raised in
a home environment with a
marker training system - a food
based reward system. During
training, the puppy is exposed
to stimulators in its natural
environment so that as it grows,
its play, prey and hunt drives are
stimulated regularly throughout
the day. PSD custom trains the
puppies they select according to
their client’s needs, which has
become very demanding.
Many of the puppies raised
by PSD are currently working
in specialized units throughout
the USA and other parts of the
world. PSD trainers believe
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K- 9 C O P M A G A Z I N E
that a successful police dog
company will have the ability
to raise puppies from “zero to
hero” in order to survive in the
future of the canine industry.
PSD believes that eventually,
Europe will not be able to supply
the dogs needed throughout the
world. Therefore, it is important
that every company empowers
themselves with the knowledge
to be able to create their own
police canines.
featured kennel
Handler Courses:
PSD provides a 12-week patrol and narcotics
handler course, but is willing to work with
agencies to modify the length of the course
for manpower and/or budget restraints. The
course is designed according to FDLE (Florida
Department of Law Enforcement) standards.
Student handlers and their canine partners
graduate with the following knowledge:
•
Learning theory (how
canines learn and how
to communicate with
them)
•
Obedience
•
Agility (broad jump,
crawl, catwalk, tunnel,
hurdles, A-frame
and foot placement
obstacle)
The handler course is limited to 10 canine
teams, the PSD head trainer and a possible
student attending the trainer’s course. The
larger the class, the less down time there will
be in accomplishing all the tasks at hand. The
smaller the class, the ability to address individual
problems can be achieved. PSD strives to provide
personable one-on-one service during their
handler courses.
•
Evidence search
•
•
Tracking (grass and
hard surface)
Criminal
apprehension
•
Police canine decoying
•
Area searches (lots of
acreage available for
training)
•
Detection work
(narcotics or
explosives)
•
Building searches
(60,000 sq. ft.
warehouse)
•
Tactical work
(buildings & vehicles)
J u n e / J u l y 2 014 •
23
featured kennel
Trainer’s
Course:
PSD also provides a 10week trainer’s course that
is exclusively designed for
handlers with five years of
experience as a police canine
handler.
The reason for this criteria is
to assure PSD that the handler
has adequate experience and the
capabilities to fulfill the title of
police dog trainer. PSD strives
to provide successful trainers.
For additional information on
the trainer’s course, visit the
facility’s website at
www.psdk-9.com.
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K- 9 C O P M A G A Z I N E
Seminars
anD
PSD hosts training
seminars throughout
the year at their
Oxford facility, featuring
international world class
trainers such as Bart
Bellon, Dick Van Leenen
and Arizona based Greg
Thomas. These seminars
consist of knowledge that is
needed for the canine teams’
yearly certification and
preparations for that 1% in
the street.
As PSD’s head trainer, Laz
conducts training seminars
and workshops throughout the
United States and overseas.
The facility’s program offers
workshops:
training in problem solving for
police dog certification, learning
theory, detection work, tracking,
and police canine decoying for
private individuals or to any unit
or multi-agency group.
featured kennel
For more information about PSD police canines and/or
services, contact head trainer Lazaro “Laz” Cabrera, at
305-274-0057 and/or [email protected]
Future goals:
PSD has been successful at placing hundreds of elite dogs in the
hands of well-trained handlers and plans to continue to grow their
clientele list. They are in the process of acquiring a GSA number for
government contracts. They are also working on future plans to offer
onsite student housing for handlers enrolled in the facility’s trainer’s
course package offered to local, state and federal agencies.
J u n e / J u l y 2 014 •
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