decoy correcting the dog with cap-slap....
 

I see this a lot at our club and wonder about the need/effectiveness. On the blind search when a dog comes around to the decoy for bark and hold, if the dog attempts to bite the sleeve, the decoy will reach up, take off his cap and slap the dog on the head with it. This generally seems to work, as the dog usually backs off biting the sleeve. It just seems odd to me (and a good opportunity to get bitten) and was wondering about general opinion on the "technique".

Depends on the dog. My female would maybe clean up from that. My male would turn it into a real fight immediately

This exactly! My GF's dog if corrected by the helper just lights her up more. I learned that the hard way. It does work for some though. I haven't seen it with the cap but the stick or even hand.

It just depends on the dog and his/her prior training. If the dog is just being pushy and not "playing by the rules" this type of correction can work. If the dog thinks that the decoy is upping the fight, then a good dog will usually kick up in response.

In general, I think decoy corrections are a bad idea--doesn't mean that they don't work sometimes, though.

At one point, Nike was having trouble getting dirty after outs--the decoy tried to smack her under the chin to correct her for that. Instead, he got a hole in the webbing of his hand. Absolutely justified on Nike's part.

Agree with Christine, depends on the dog but generally, no thanks. I have some problems due to helpers correcting my dog. Of course ideally I won't send my dog in from that distance without control from me if he's not going to be clean.

Agree with both Christine and Lies. I have seen it done well a few times, but for the most part it causes more problems and conflict than it solves.

Physical corrections from the helper would cause my dog to get dirtier.


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