Well….. That’s not true. I ain’t retracting a damn thing. I STILL stand by my view that break sticks are shit for breaking fights. But….. A broken clock is right twice a day…. So…. You have to be able to see past your bias’s to find the value in a thing. And…. I recently had this opportunity.
But… Let’s start at the beginning…. When I was a kid, break sticks were used for two reasons.
1- breaking a fight. Which I’m already on the record about.
2- Because they never had an “Out” and had to get the dog off of the spring pole, or get the tug back from the dog sooner or later.
Once I understood training…. I realized in both instances…. They were using them because they either didn’t want to, or didn’t know how to get control. And….. I …. In all of my arrogance decided they had NO value. And that’s how I sat for like 20 years.
Then….. I saw something….
One of my mentors Ivan Balabanov was working a VERY difficult dog. A dog that was struggling to learn the out. No amount of dead toy was working. Possession was too high for a trade out game. A dog that could handle ANY amount of punishment in drive. A dog who’s breaking point to quit was so far above what was ethical, that there was really no point in going there. So…. They brought in Ivan. And…. He blew my mind. The dog got on a toy, and he was prepared to teach the out. Once he saw the dog’s state….. He said… “this will not do” Or some other cool European Yoda sounding shit. And he went and got a break stick and poof…. Toy out of mouth. Now… That would be shit if that was the whole plan. Cause that’s not training. But…. It wasn’t. Once the toy was gone… the dog wanted to get it back. And it’s a simple matter to teach any dog how to access reward. He changed the picture to ensure success. Now…. Ivan’s method for teaching the out is his gig to teach, so I won’t do into the details. But, I’ve watched him for years and have never seen or heard of him use a break stick as part of that system. What I will say is that, on THIS ONE dog…. It was helpful in showing the picture. He didn’t use the tool to AVOID teaching. He used the tool to ASSIST teaching. It was the perfect use.
Here’s where we switch and get deep….. That is the valuable use of ALL tools.
That’s the real point of this article. No matter what your tool bias is…. Retractables, or E-collars. Flat Buckles, or Prong Collars. Toys, or Heeling Sticks. A cow hide, or a Manners Minder.
Or even those fucking break sticks…..
If you can get past how all the idiots use the tools. Get past your bias. And, see the possibilities. You can see so much more potential. And…. If you can get past the nonsense…. Almost ANY tool can have value.
Even a break stick.
So…. While I guess this isn’t a retraction.…. I was wrong. They aren’t complete shit. The mark of a person truly dedicated to improvement… Is admitting when they’re off. If you haven’t retracted a view recently….. You ain’t getting better. Satisfaction is the death of Progress.