Introduction of the sleeve. Notice how Ray bends (but not over dog) to eliminate possibility of stress

Early prey work on sleeve. A tug of war builds drive

Open field work used to determine if dog works best in prey or defense

Bring the sleeve to ground. Also a prey or defense exercise

Winning the prize. Carrying the sleeve after the bite gives the dog confidence & reduces drive for the out.

Teaching the hold & bark. Notice the helper blocks (i.e. keeps the sleeve behind his body) to lessen the chance temptation of the dog taking a bite.

A bite in the blind helps build intensity during the hold & bark.

After a while, the dog pressures the helper to leave the blind by its intensity. The bite is then given a short distance from it. The dog learns its intensity will win the bite but not in the blind.

The end of the blind search. Rounding the final blind & finding the helper.

Ruffie in the blind

Cairo in the hold & bark

The escape. The dog commits and catches the helper in mid stride.

Preparing for the out after the reattack and drive

Reattack after the escape

Guarding after the out

Teaching the dog to come up for the high bite as well as grip improvement.

Skyler takes the catch during the attack on handler.

The backup escape lets the dog experience and get used to some impact but in a safe manner.

The parallel escape. One of the best prey teaching devices in the helper's bag of tricks.

The long grip. (The courage test) Skyler makes the catch.

The drive with stick hits. The threat of the hit usually is more stressful than the hit itself. Most dogs come off the sleeve when it is in the air.

The goal of our work--A calm, full mouth bite while under attack.