Tables - Not For Internet Kiddies

But I was the fortunate one. I learned directly from the man who invented table training.

I learned from Gene, a person that many people consider to be a genius with dogs.

A person who can tell you what's going to happen and then show you - with just one look at a dog.

VIDEOS Flash Video (.flv) format
Many of these are Marco - the dog that would NOT* out.* Marco formerly belonged to 3 different police agencies - nobody could get Marco to release the bite. This dog was a certified lunatic in biting. It took about 5-6 weeks, and we had Marco outing reliably on one or two commands. These videos illustrate "works in progress". None are an attempt to show "finished training". It would take 90 pages of writing - per video - to attempt to explain the exact details of goals, how, and why I'm doing the things I'm doing. MORE VIDEOS HERE
Suggestion: just click a link once, and be patient as the video loads. They're fairly large, and may take several minutes to load and play. Multiple clicks won't show them any faster.			video
1	Marco never knew the "stand" command - and was never on the long table before	20 mins.	click
2	Marco, early bites on the round table	10 mins.	click
3	Charlie, a couple test bites, first time on table	3 mins.	click
4	Long table, stabilization, down exercise, 2 yr. Rottweiler bitch. This dog never needed another "down" correction during the next 9 years of her life. THIS IS OBEDIENCE - not bitework. (note: all the barking is not coming from the Rottweiler, but from a Mal in a crate in the training room - as soon as he leaves, the noise ends)	16 mins.	click
5	Marco, obedience exercises on field - we got the "stand"	6 mins.	click
6	Marco, more bites (he penetrated the sleeve, my left elbow is bleeding, the other cops thought that was funny - I didn't)	17 mins.	click
7	Marco, bites, recall, and outs on the field after 5-6 weeks on the round table - WE WON!	8 mins.	click
8	Steve the TV star (channel 44 did a 3 night special on us)	16 mins.	click
9	ESPN Sports footage (Bar the TV star)	4 mins.	click

Dogs can't go off the square or round tables. That's a physical and mechanical impossibility. Maybe a hind foot, but the DOG is on the table, and he's not going anywhere. Unquestionable proof of that statement can be found all over this website, in photos and videos. Your eyes don't lie, even if millions of internet messages do.

Dogs can - and sometimes do - go off the long table occasionally. They CAN'T hang - unless you're thinking of a miniature poodle or a cocker spaniel. But I'm talking about grown Shepherds, Malinois, Reisenschnauzers, Bouviers - large, working breed dogs. The long table was never used with small or short dogs. The long table was never used with puppies, either. In the same manner of thinking, the small, short breeds never were trained to go over 42" high jumps or 7' scaling walls.

Some things can be done with tables. Some things can't be done.

The dogs that train on the long table are tall enough to simply stand on their hind feet, with their front paws on the tabletop - it's only 36" high. (Also, as shown above, there's lower bracing around the entire table at 18" high.) There's no possibility of strangling, hanging, unconscious, or anything else. Has your dog ever put his paws on your shoulders or your chest? That's a lot higher than 36"!

WHY do dogs go off the long table? After 11 solid years of using them, on over 1,000 dogs (under contract) plus several thousand other dogs, the answer is both honest and simple: 99.5% of the time, the dogs choose to jump off the long table. They don't like that environment at first, and choose an option that doesn't benefit them at all. They simply made a mistake - big deal - they jump off the table to get back on the floor. This is a normal and expected part of stabilizing a dog to the long table. Some dogs don't learn after one experience - so they try jumping off the other side of the table - maybe that will work better? And the situation is still exactly the same - he's being forced to stand on his hind feet. BIG DEAL. When he's thought through his options, he quickly wants to get back UP on the table. Usually, he's assisted. Often, he'll attempt to jump up, and he needs some assistance. That's all perfectly normal and expected, too. Very often, he needs no assistance at all.

The other .5% of the time, the dog is pushed off the long table. Just the THOUGHT of this act gives people anxiety attacks - but nothing ever happens to the dogs - it's the humans that overreact. Pushing a dog off the long table is THE most severe correction in table training, and usually happens no more than once or twice during a dog's entire training life. (By this I mean training - frequently years worth.) Yet nothing happens to the dog - he's uncomfortable for a few seconds, limited to standing on his hind feet - then he's back on the table again.

If you have ANY doubts, and I hope you do, you WILL see undeniable proof with your own eyes.

PLEASE - READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT FIRST - IT'S VERY IMPORTANT

• Please note that the K9 handler - not me - gave the dog an OBEDIENCE command, ("coucher" = "down") and a correction.

• I gave training advice - which is what I was hired for.

• Note the time the dog went off the table.

• Note the time the dog was back on the table.

• Note how much assistance the dog required to get back on the table.

• Note the following two repetitions of the same "down" exercise. (the dog was trained with the command "coucher" - that's French for "down")

• Also note, on the last repetition, I immediately praised the dog. His previous error was done, over with, and history.

• I also kissed him, but the video doesn't show that. I'm sorry - I don't know how to edit videos.

Consider these facts: the dog in the video was a working, street police K9 for approximately 3 years before this video was made.

He'd known the "down" command for years - but refused to obey his handler on this particular day.

The dog's handler was a Sheriff's Office deputy for over 15 years.

We were preparing this dog for re-certification with USPCA, scheduled for approximately 2 months later.

There were several issues to work on with this dog, besides his erratic obedience.

Was a severe correction in order? Absolutely YES. WATCH IT and SEE.

ps: DOWNS are not PROTECTION training - they're OBEDIENCE exercises.

In December, 2009, I was contacted by a dog "handler" (if you want to stretch the word that far) in North Carolina. His name is Shane. He's in the Air Force, but leaving with disability in January, 2010. He plans to open a dog training school at that time.

He had built a square table. He wanted to learn table training. He wanted to train his dog in protection work. Daily - (often several times per day) - I spent untold hours on the phone with him, reviewing the videos. His (no prior experience) "helper" is also his roommate. I talked with him for hours, too.

This went on for about two weeks - and they ignored nearly everything I told them. However, they did buy an intermediate sleeve at my suggestion. Prior to that, all they had was a trial (bitebar) sleeve.

If I said, "don't do this, you're moving too fast", sure enough - they did it. If I suggested giving the dog a day off - a rest - they ignored me. About 12 videos were uploaded to YouTube, illustrating "progress", but I think they've been removed.

These "trainers" were determined to do everything their own way .... I guess the real reason he called me was so he could get some free training from somebody that constantly used tables for 11 years - not 11 hours - with over a thousand dogs - not one dog.

Although (with the videos) he was SHOWN and TOLD REPEATEDLY, he failed to recognize that his actions and the (no experience) "helper's" actions were creating a frantic, hectic dog, being pushed much too fast without regard to important details. Regardless of how many times I repeated myself, I was ignored.

Here's a video he sent me, PROVING how "tough" his dog is, and how phenomenal his "training methods" are. VIDEO1

It gets better (or worse) in VIDEO2 and VIDEO3 .... Now Shane thinks he's in the dog training business. This is his own description of his video:

"This is a video of one of our dogs after just 2 weeks of protection training in our unique program" (I highlighted the text)

Frankly, I think the guy is nuts. Sensible trainers would never even attempt to put this much (misguided) pressure on a dog in 2 weeks. Sensible trainers would take some time to develop a strong foundation in the dog. But sensible trainers have sense ....

Careful review of these 3 videos will clearly indicate: vocalizing in the bite (a positive sign of insecurity), hackles up* (another definite sign of insecurity), some mouthing, weakness in the grip, complete focus on the sleeve, not the "helper". There are several other repeated and rewarded problems.

I learned something from all this: NOT ME. Train a dog anyway you want, and leave me out of it.

Maybe someday I'll "Forget All I Know About Protection Training" .... (video2 - their words, not mine) and learn the real secrets from these super-trainers in North Carolina.

*particularly in the first 6 or 7 videos (which I didn't bother saving), the dog's hackles were standing straight up throughout the entire video

I LEARNED TABLES BACK IN 1991. IF THERE'S A "TABLE GENIUS", THEN HE'S GENE ENGLAND.

I KNOW TABLES, WHAT TO DO, WHEN TO DO IT, HOW TO USE THEM, WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO WITH THEM.

	Long table: 36" high, 24" wide, 16' long, overhead cable 37" above table top with free-sliding, adjustable drop chain OBEDIENCE ONLY
	Square table: 48" square top, ~40" high, center post with adjustable length chain ADVANCED AGITATION ONLY
	Round table: 6.5' diameter, 19.5" tall, 3.5" steel center post with rotating spinner and adjustable length chain BITEWORK ONLY
	Also see these links: 1 2 3