7 tips for training your dog from a Marine who trained dogs to sniff out bombs

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7 tips for training your dog from a Marine who trained dogs to sniff out bombs

Marine Corps Bonhomme Richard military working dog K-9

US Navy/Mass Comm Specialist 2nd Class Kyle Carlstrom

Military working dog Kuko during basic obedience training in the hangar bay of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard in the US 7th Fleet area of operations, August 23, 2016.

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  • Military working dogs are trained to do tough jobs under harsh conditions, but they're still dogs.
  • While their training is specialized, some aspects are universal and will apply no matter what you're trying to teach your dog.
  • Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

As a Military Working Dog handler in the US Marine Corps, I got to work with some of the best trained dogs in the world.

These dogs can sniff out bombs that have been buried underground, sniff out drugs that are hidden in ceiling tiles, take down a man three times their size, and track a person long after they're gone to find criminal suspects or lost kids.

As a handler paired up with an explosive detection dog, my job was to train him, maintain his skills, keep him healthy, make sure he got exercise, and make sure he was healthy. After graduating from dog handling school, I was paired with my first dog, Kuko.

As a new handler with an experienced dog, I had to get up to his level before we could be an effective team. Once I got there, I could start teaching him new things to take our team to the next level.

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While you may not be training your dog to find bombs buried in mud or drugs hidden in a car bumper, there are some keys to training dogs that will apply no matter what skills you are trying to teach.

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1. You have to build a relationship.

1. You have to build a relationship.

The first thing you do upon meeting your new MWD is begin to build rapport. If you take home a brand-new puppy, you begin training by establishing a relationship with the dog. With so many dogs in a unit's kennel, handlers take turns dropping food pans for the dogs twice a day.

However, when a handler partners with a new dog, it's a good idea to let that handler drop their dog's food for a few days to establish a good bond. The dog begins to associate the handler with good things.

This was particularly important with our, shall we say, "crankier" dogs. While our dogs weren't trained to be mean, they aren't the friendliest dogs either. They have a serious job to do, and they are serious dogs.

I've seen handlers get bit by their own dogs more than a few times. Two of the best dog teams in my first unit had scars from their dogs. Training too hard, too fast with a dog that doesn't trust you yet can lead to frustration on both sides and usually doesn't lead to good results.

2. Groom your dog every day.

2. Groom your dog every day.

Grooming your dog helps build the relationship, keeps the dog clean and healthy, and lets you check them over from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail for any problems. With hair covering most of them, dogs can have serious issues developing that you can't see until you brush them.

If your dog is running around in wooded areas, check in their ears, their paws, and in between their paw pads for ticks. Even with preventative medication, ticks can bite dogs and infect them with multiple diseases that can be devastating or deadly. Even a small cut on the paw can turn into something bigger if not treated properly, and dogs that don't feel good aren't good students.

One of our dogs contracted a tick-borne disease that nearly killed him. While we never found the tick, the dog tested positive for Babesia. He only survived because his handler had noted that he seemed more and more lethargic over the course of about three days.

Because she was watching him closely, she noticed when his gums and tongue went pale, indicating a serious problem. He was rushed to the vet, where aggressive treatment saved his life. His recovery was long and difficult and led to his retirement, but the vets and vet techs care about the dogs and will save them if possible.

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3. Consistency is key.

3. Consistency is key.

During this rapport-building time, start laying the foundations for the training that you want to do with your dog.

Don't let them get away with things that you won't accept later. Reward good behavior with praise, attention, play, or treats. Once training begins, consistency is going to be key to getting good results.

If you are training the dog to sit, set the dog up to succeed by training in the same area every time. Keep your voice the same. Don't change the way you say the command. Don't give the command unless you are prepared to reward.

4. Training takes time.

4. Training takes time.

You can't rush dog training. Some dogs pick things up faster than others. MWDs are trained for four to seven months in basic skills before they are officially called an MWD. If your dog isn't grasping basic tasks, you can't move on to the more advanced. Basic obedience, (the sit, down, and stay) is the foundation of all further training.

Take your time to master the basics, and refresh them from time to time. MWDs are professionals with years of experience, and they get obedience refresher training almost every day. It's much easier to maintain proficiency than it is to fix a problem that you have let slide for too long.

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5. Dogs have bad days too.

5. Dogs have bad days too.

Say you've been training your dog for weeks. He's performing well, and then one day he just refuses to work for you. He won't sit. He seems bored, antsy, tired, or just lazy.

Don't get mad, and don't continue to correct the dog if it isn't working. Dogs have their bad days too. Sometimes they just don't want to work. If you try to force it, you will become frustrated and angry, which hardly ever leads to good results. Recognize that there might be a medical issue at play. Sick dogs aren't usually enthusiastic students.

During an evaluation at my last base, a dog wouldn't stay in the sit. The handler couldn't get the dog to stay after multiple corrections. The evaluator took a close look and saw that the dog was positioned on an ant hill and had fire ants biting his legs. Continuing to correct the dog in that situation would be ineffective and would harm the good rapport between dog and handler.

Recognize that your dog is a living, breathing creature that has feelings and emotions.

6. Dogs need to have fun.

6. Dogs need to have fun.

Recognizing that dogs are living, breathing creatures, they need to have fun. If the dog only ever sees you for training, you are missing a big part of the relationship.

Take your dog out and let him run, play with toys, lay in the sun, take a break, and just be a dog. It will make for a happy dog that wants to please you by doing the right thing when training. In a strong dog team, the dog's desire to please the handler provides as much motivation as the toy or the treat.

My first dog was not especially affectionate, and I wouldn't say that he ever loved me in the way that a pet loves its owner. He had handlers before me, and he would have more after me, but we still had a strong bond, which made us an effective team.

I took him out, let him play, tossed a ball for him, let him lay in the sun, and took him for long walks with no commands. He knew when it was time to work and when it was time to play, and he trusted that if he did what I asked and made me happy, good things would come to him.

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7. Not every dog is going to be able to learn every task.

7. Not every dog is going to be able to learn every task.

Between buying carefully selected dogs from Europe and breeding their own at Lackland Air Force Base, the military goes through a lot of dogs. Not every dog makes it as an MWD. They fail out for a variety of reasons, from health issues to behavioral issues. Some dogs just aren't cut out for the type of work that MWDs do.

We had a dog that didn't want to bite people. She was sent after a decoy wearing the bite sleeve, and she faked a leg injury instead of chasing him down. The vet determined that nothing was wrong with her, she just didn't want to bite.

If your dog just isn't getting it, it might be the dog.

While you probably (hopefully) aren't training your dog to bite people, you might find that your dog won't sit, won't drop the ball, or won't stay for longer than a second. Keep in mind that some breeds of dogs are known for their willingness to learn, and others are not.

Don't adopt a working dog breed and keep it inside all day without exercise. That's how houses get destroyed. Do your research and adopt a dog that is going to fit in with your lifestyle and not a dog that you saw in a movie and you think looks cool.

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