The role of the Helpers in advanced SR tests, are to HELP the Judge TEST the dogs SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Not to try to make the dog fail. And…. There is a difference.
Helpers actively testing the dog’s “Defense” reaction:
The helpers are not trying to threaten your dog. They are trying to make sure your dog knows that the things they see in the world aren’t a threat. It is NOT to see if your dog can tolerate a threat. It is to make sure your dog can discern that new strange pictures are in fact NOT a threat.
Now…. Of course…. That’s the ideal. But…. The truth is there will be MOMENTS where your dog is going to feel defensive. When a helper playing the role of a carpenter starts hammering on wood loudly….. your dog may decide….. “That’s scary…. Bad man with noise stick”. And that is where your obedience will have to override their defensiveness. So…. Of course in the course of doing their job…. A helper is likely to scare your dog. But they are not TRYING to scare your dog. They are trying to show your dog pictures of things that aren’t threatening and make sure that they are either 1- Realizing correctly it’s not concerning, or 2- Even if it’s concerning…. I’m on task and can’t worry about that. I have a job to do. focus on the job. That’s not just semantics. Understanding this responsibility will change what pictures helpers choose. The need to understand this cannot be understated.
Helpers actively testing the dog’s “Prey” reaction:
THIS will seem FAAAAAR more like trying to fail the dog. I mean….. Helpers are squatting down and making kissy puppy noises enticing your dog to break the down. That for sure looks like intentionally screwing them up. But…. The truth is it’s not. When we are doing this we are testing the dogs commitment to resisting competing motivators. Social invitation is a competing motivator. So…. we must test it. Other competing motivators….. Food. Toys. Fast movements. Tempting movements and sounds. Like people playing and having fun. We need to make sure that the dog doesn’t take ANY of these temptations as an acceptable reason to break off their work. So…. we try to be creative in showing tempting pictures and make sure the dog understands it’s job. Now…. If your dog finds any of these temptations to be threatening instead…. See above points on “defense”, as this is now the test at hand. The dog inappropriately deciding a non threatening picture is threatening. And having to use obedience to keep them out of trouble. But…. That’s back to the first point. They helpers are helping test the dogs understanding of staying committed to the work at hand, and not taking any of these tempting things as a reason to quit working.
Now….. These “active” distractions, whether the dog is perceiving them as temptations or threats, will ONLY occur outside a 10 ft bubble of your dog WHILE YOUR DOG IS WORKING!!!! They will never be done inside that bubble because you as the handler have the right to control the dogs direct space. And we are not going to force your dog to tolerate nonsense directly in their face. These will only occur outside 10 ft, and only during work. During Verbal Obedience the dog has very clear parameters. During the Leash Sections the dog is at liberty INSIDE THE PERIMETER given by the leash. But…. Because the leash is a max of 6 Ft and the Helpers can only actively distract at 10 ft….. The dog SHOULD have a very clear picture…. THAT is outside your picture and not your concern. We are about that Loose Leash Job.
NONE of these “active” distractions will be done during the Liberty Sections at all. During the Liberty Sections and at all times inside that 10 ft bubble…. Helpers may only use “passive” distractions. Their neutral presence. Food or toys on their person but not “brandished”. Neutral presence of helper with or without food and toys. They may speak to you or your dog. But will ask before physically addressing either of you. And will always follow instructions inside your dogs 10 ft bubble.
During the breaks in scoring there will be NO distractions. The helpers will leave the field if possible, or at minimum get as far away and neutral as possible.
Hopefully…. This clears up the role of the Helper. And will give you better ideas for training and trialing scenarios.