The Captain on Man-Work for Protection Dogs
"The Motto for work on Man, of any & every description is firstly, Obedience, secondly, Obedience, and thirdly, lastly, and always OBEDIENCE."
"The dogs' obedience testifies to the intelligence and ability of his trainer."
"The Dr. Jekyll of the service dog gives way to the Edward Hyde of the descendant of the beast of prey."
"The protection dog must be sharp, but this sharpness must be disciplined by training, turned in the right direction, and conditioned by the most perfect obedience."
"Sharpness has absolutely NOTHING at all to do with a proneness to bite; a biting dog is proof of wrong training & keeping."
"Indeed, the biting dog often bites out of sheer anxiety & irritation, for he believes, poor neurasthenic that he is, that this is the only way to save himself from the danger that is the fiction of his own imagination."
"The dog who has been made too sharp is a continual danger in the house & street, because when put to any work, can find in every harmless treatment and casual movement an assault on his master."
"The dog who is sharp as he ought to be is harmless & good-tempered, even to strangers, although he is always reserved. He warns & threatens first, he does not fight at once, and above all, never bites immediately & senselessly when he can accomplish his purpose without a fight."
"Training must give us dogs of the right sharpness, produced by intelligent keeping, careful training, purposeful schooling, which completes the work of the breeder."
"It is always good for the owner to have the dog thoroughly under control so that he might keep him from misunderstandings & their consequences, and to accustom him to the word of command which will incite him to increased watchfulness in times of danger."
"Every good shepherd dog is born watchful; that this statement does not include the poor prisoners of the kennel we know by sorrowful experience."
"During the practice of this exercise (gripping & seizing, as in KNPV or Ring) the dog must on no account be beaten."
"In a real struggle with a man, the chief consideration is that the dog help his master quickly & efficiently, and not bother his head too much about overpowering his adversary according to "Queensbury Rules."
"The dog must learn that a man who stands still must only be barked at, never attacked...this must be rehearsed over & over, and be thoroughly aquired...otherwise the dog is useless & a public danger."
"The notion of 'Man' should convey to his mind something sacred & inviolable...and he must only make exception to this in the most unusual circumstances, and then too only on the word of command."
"These then are the duties which the Protection Dog would have to discharge against men .(barking, guarding, holding, gripping due to attack on handler) The further "manwork" of seeking and routing out and escorting of one who has been arrested are duties of a (working) service dog, for which we must not use our protection dog , who must never be trained to attack men."
"Before I conclude my remarks on manwork, I would like to once again utter an emphatic warning against working the dog too much in this respect & making him too sharp."