A trainer dog is specifically brought up to assist other dogs with socialisation, simultaneously correcting undesired behaviours. While interacting with another dog, a trainer dog can help communicate to its trainer what the other dog's personality and temperament are, simply through their interaction. Trainer dogs may also help with in-home leash reactivity, as they are a safe "prop" to train dogs who react to other dogs while leashed.
Trainer dogs are really useful for controlling multiple dogs at once. Trainer dogs are adept at stopping fights, able to pick up on minute cues that may be invisible to human observation. A trainer dog can pick up when another dog will be aggressive, and are effectively reactive to this, preventing violent escalation. Trainer dogs react in such a way that the aggressor exhibiting the behaviour can safely understand that their behaviour is inappropriate. Trainer dogs are trained to not react violently towards aggressive behaviour. They are trained to maintain control and deescalate through different means that may appear scary to observers, but are actually the safest way to defuse a violent situation, for example, pinning or holding an aggressor down, sometimes with the mouth (trainer dogs are taught not to bite down). Especially when treating fear aggression and leash reactivity, trainer dogs are especially skilled, and they love doing it! Dogs with a job will always feel fulfilled and this will enrich their lives, potentially extending it.
Despite trainer dogs being trained to effectively handle aggressive scenarios, they are not simply tossed into such situations as we stand back and see what happens. Each dog is thoroughly screened before meeting any trainer dog.
The dog's history, temperament, potential biting habits, and anything else that could be a threat is discussed prior to trainer dog interaction. Precautions are then taken to prepare for any potentially harmful behaviours or habits, in order to keep all involved parties as safe as possible.
Bosco is a good example. Bosco is a trainer dog from Beckman's Dog Training & Academy who taught one my of my own dogs how to train others. To appreciate just how effective this training method works, here is a video of Bosco in action.
Tomorrow, I will begin introducing my own trainer dogs, and explaining how they work. I will also begin explaining the process of picking out a trainer dog, and how to train them in the future.
I would like to give credit to my mentor, Joel Beckman, who is the owner of Bosco and Beckman's Dog Training & Academy.