1 



3 C 



I 



Figure 7. The search chain. 



provide a basic stimulus (SO which can be as- 

 sociated or "paired," with practical actions to 

 teach the dog, in smooth steps, its job of finding 

 people and objects. Simply stated, the basic sti- 

 mulus (S,) is paired with a new stimulus (S 2 ) 

 until the dog responds to both. S, is then faded 

 out of the picture until the dog responds only 

 to the new stimulus. As an illustrative example, 

 So will represent a strange person or object, 

 and R 2 the dog's response, which may be looking 

 suspiciously at an object or alerting. Incorpor- 

 ating these new factors into the basic search 

 chain, the procedure will look like this : 



Sx + R, -> Rf a -+ S 1>2 + R 1>2 -+ Rf 2 S 1>2 + 

 R 2 -> Rf 3 -> S 2 + R 2 -> Rf , 



which can be read as "the presence of the feed 

 pan + the dog going to the feed pan brings 

 food; this leads to the presence near the feed 

 pan of S 2 ; the dog going to the feed pan and 

 alerting on S 2 brings food; this leads to S 2 near 

 the feed pan; the dog alerting on S 2 brings 

 food; this leads to the presence of S 2 without 

 the feed pan; the dog alerting on S 2 brings 

 food." By using this "pairing" procedure, any 

 number of new actions or objects can be in- 

 troduced to the dog in a short period of time. 



31. Basic Search Chain Procedure (10 Steps) 



a. Step 1 — Orientation on Feed Pan. Before 

 taking the dog into the pen, place a pan with 

 water and an empty pan at the far end of the 

 pen, so the dog can drink when it wishes. One 

 man, called the "dropper," with food in an apron, 

 will stand behind the pan (initially this should 

 be an assistant instructor; later another handler 

 can do this). The handler takes his dog into the 

 pen and stands 6 to 12 feet from the pan, facing 

 the dropper (fig 8). The dropper will take one 

 cube of food at a time, hold it at about waist 

 height (fig 9), and drpp it into the pan so that it 

 makes an audible "plunk," or noise. 



Note. The dropper should first practice this so that the 

 cubes will not bounce out onto the ground. Any food 

 which falls to the ground, at any time, must be picked 

 up and discarded. Otherwise the dog will look for this 

 "free food" rather than pay attention to its work. 



As quickly as the dog eats a cube, another is 

 dropped. After five to six trials, the dropper 

 halts and waits until the dog looks into the pan 

 (orients) before continuing. Timing is important. 

 The food must be dropped as the dog's head 

 is going down to the pan, NOT when it is 

 coming up. This procedure, if properly followed, 

 will soon cause the dog to look into the pan as 

 soon as it has eaten the previous cube. Orienta- 

 tion is considered complete when the handler 

 takes his dog to the pan and it immediately 

 orients on the pan. Training time for the average 

 dog is two 10- to 15-minute sessions. 



b. Step 2 — Recall Training. Begin this session 

 with a quick review of step 1. The handler should 

 begin by standing about 2 feet from the pan. 

 The dropper will drop one cube of food. After 

 the dog eats the food the handler recalls it by 

 giving the command (Dog's name) COME. Some 

 dogs will want to stay at the pan, and it may 

 be necessary to take the dog by the collar with 

 the left hand, gently lead it two or three steps 

 away from the pan, and turn to the right to 

 face the pan again. As the handler begins his 

 turn to the right, the dropper drops a cube in 

 the pan. At the same time the handler releases 

 his dog which, hearing the noise (plunk), should 

 go to the pan and eat. This process will normally 

 be repeated three to four times before the dog 

 starts returning without assistance. Each time 

 the handler allows 3 to 4 seconds between his 

 command and his movement to guide the dog. 

 Initially, the sound should be heard as the dog's 

 head is passing the handler's right leg (fig 10) ; 

 at this point the handler insures that the dog 

 continues around behind him and goes to the 

 pan from his left (heel) side. To do this he 

 may have to start by grasping the dog's collar 

 with his right hand until the dog's head is 

 behind him, then bend and change hands, re- 

 leasing the dog with his left hand as the dog 

 passes the heel position (fig 11, 12, 13). When 

 the handler has his dog returning satisfactorily 

 without assistance, the dropper begins delaying 

 until the dog moves a few inches farther around 

 the handler, and continues delaying (with about 

 five trials at each stage) until the food is hitting 



13 



