Aside from the misconception about Bark and Hold way to train your dog, the full mouth bite is another huge one. Due to the belief, many law enforcement agencies hold that a full mouth bite will help them avoid lawsuits; they tend to think when faced with strain or pain of death, the dog will let training take over and give a full mouth bite. A dog trained that way may even test well during a U.S.P.C.A. trial.
Background
Predators, like Executive Protection Dogs, possess four large canine teeth. When threatened, a dog will use them. It is a natural impulse and he will not stop and think to bite down with his molars. That is the reason actual bite marks are in the form of four punctures. A dog knows that his molars will be useless when biting through heavy clothing, naturally he will use his canine teeth for a more penetrating and effective bite. No amount of training will overcome this natural instinct.
The drive to defend himself is a choice between flight or fight. If he chooses to stay and fight back, the canine will not want to look weak or frightened. In order to survive, hunters like dogs, lions and tigers need to behave this way. A full mouth bite only alters this instinct, but cannot completely overcome it.
Importance of Communication
As I said in the blog post, To Motivate your Dog to work, when training a dog, you need to keep the lines of communication open. The canine needs stabilization that is the result of working with it in a natural, straightforward manner. Think that the nervous dog you can spot on a sporting field that refuses to bite in a manner unnatural to him is a wrong dog for the job? Rethink that! A dog uses his canine teeth to chew and digest its food. Why do we train it to use its molars?
Educate Yourself
Through this blog post, I aim to educate dog trainers sufficiently so that they can separate truth from the myths. Through stabilization, we can form dogs and their handlers into a team with their natural instincts and habits as their biggest strength. These teams will work whether in homes, on the streets or in law enforcement.
A dog is gifted with natural abilities, like strong sense of smell, the bite and agility. We did not train them to acquire these and we should not try to take them away through training, either. The dog is an intelligent creature, fully capable of differentiating between bare flesh and a bite suit. With the sleeve on, a sporting dog will use his training and give a full mouth bite. Remove the sleeve and attack its handler and you will see the transformation for yourself. When under stress, the dog will use his canine teeth to protect his handler.
Incorrect training is one of the biggest causes for the lawsuits brought in the court. If you train a dog in prey, how can you expect him to react in the same way in real life situations? Stabilize and remove factor that leads to unnecessary bites. The U.S.P.C.A. and Schutzhund fields do not factor here unless your life is also a part of the equation!