Andres Martin

Well...I've been wanting to post this for a while, because the results are in.

I tried it...

The case is of an intervention dog here, that did not respect his handler much when the dog (an adult) first arrived about 8 months ago. No significant bond had been developed, but the dog was required to begin training with the rest.

The dog did not like to be lifted, would forge in anticipation of bites, would move forward while on a down...in anticipation of bites...etc, etc. When the handler corrected the dog, the dog would "protest" a bit too much.

Well...pretty much as Lou Castle describes...and after I disagreed with him publicly about the merits of this...I tried escape training.

For those particular instances, the dog "discovered" that it could not disobey without feeling discomfort...AND THAT THE DISCOMFORT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS DISOBEYING...NOT FROM THE HANDLER. The handler gently guided him to the position where the dog could "escape" the discomfort, and so the dog looked to the handler for guidance.

Using continuous, low stimulation. The results were good; the handler worked on his bond without early conflict. The dog learned quickly.

Pretty darn interesting. Timing is more important with this method than in the handler driven corrections method. Kudos to the proponents of this.