Here is an excellent article for all those interested in using a dog for investigations and what is involved in training one to do so.
Can Dogs Find Ghosts? training the ghost hunting dog
Training a dog to successfully and usefully detect and alert to paranormal activity is not as easy as it may sound. There are more than a few factors involved both pro and con that need to be addressed and worked through before even beginning. It is a long process from the start, and is still very experimental.It is a very unique set of factors we are working with ? never before has a dog been chosen and trained deliberately for this field. The dog most suited is not chosen by breed, size or other easily discernible factors, but based on certain temperament and trainability qualities, and even ? if you will ? gut instinct.
The advantages a dog brings to this is that - if properly selected for temperament, willingness to work and sensitivity ? they provide heightened awareness of smell and sound, heightened sensitivity to such things as barometric pressure changes and even possibly geomagnetic, electrostatic and electromagnetic field fluctuations. Properly trained, a dog focuses on his task and is not easily distracted.
The disadvantages are that the trainer and handler of such a dog (trainer more than handler, as the trainer is what shapes the entire behavior while a handler CAN be trained also) must be extraordinarily aware of dog behavior, well versed in training methods beyond the basic obedience class, and well instructed in paranormal activity.
From the beginning it is a long process, but a dog that may be useful MUST begin at the beginning! For any dog that may go on to work in advance fields certain behaviors are desired (and thus encouraged) while certain behaviors are undesirable and discouraged from the very first, even before the first lesson in ?sit? is given .Obviously a strong desire to work is paramount. When I chose our first dogs to work with, I looked for outgoing temperament, steady personalities (not given to being bothered or overly startled), a built in respect for and affection for people, and a certain sense of independence. For temperament I used several time tested temperament tests involving various behavior actions and reactions. I did not want the Alpha dog ? as the most dominant dog he would be intelligent and independent, but would also challenge us in training and working, always no matter how well trained slightly testing. Nor did I want the most submissive dog?this dog would be too dependent and less likely to be able to make his own decision in a crunch. What I looked for was a middle dog ? one who was content to play independently, responded well to handler requests, did not over react to stimuli (for instance..a sharp sound resulted in a startle response and an alert look, NOT a growl or bark, or a submissive or scared reaction).
For us, at the time the ideal dog to begin with was a young adult Rottweiler who had already finished basic training. ?Abe? (Boone Farm?s Abelard V Legacy, CD, CGC) brought with him a solid base from me, as well as his heritage as a working breed. Already used as a service dog, he was experienced and comfortable in different surroundings and not particularly easy to distract from his work when given a specific command. From the first leash lesson Abe has been taught absolute respect for his handler as well as the fact the working is fun and rewarding on his level.
The basic level of training required for the American Kennel Club?s Canine Good Citizen is as follows: Basic good manners such as sit, down, stay and come on a leash, walking politely on a loose lead, as well as acceptance of crowds, individuals approaching and touching, and sudden noises. These tasks and this training level allow a dog the first building block (much like grade school) in his training. It is paramount that this foundation has no chinks in it when advance work begins. Thus attention to his handler, proper positioning, acceptance of others and swift accurate responses were taught, rewarded and enforced. This allowed for the next step to build on top.
The next level of training comprised the American Kennel Club?s Companion Dog title exercises (Abe earned his CD title at the young age of 14 months, with back to back 1st places and a standing in the top ten nationwide for Rottweilers. This feat is remarkable in that it showed not only how well and thoroughly trained he was, but how happy he was and how much he enjoyed working. An unhappy working dog will show it.) These exercises consist of Heel (moving at the left side of the handler), Auto Sit (sitting when handler stops), Sit on command, down on command, Recall (coming on command and sitting in front in a straight line with the handler), Finish (returning to the heel position), long stays (1 minute at the sit, 3 minutes at the down with the handler 30 feet away), Stand for examination (stand stay away from the handler while the judge touches him on the head, back and hips). Heeling is done on and off leash in prescribed patterns including a figure 8. All other excursuses are done off leash. While it sounds simple it requires precision, attention and confidence in the handler on the part of the dog. Again, these basics build and allow his next level.
From here Abe no longer competed, and his training took a slightly different turn as we sorted out what skills he would need, what traits should be encouraged and discouraged, and how we could identify and help him understand what he should alert to. At this point we ran into our first quandary and that was ?what DO dogs sense when paranormal phenomenon occur??. Obviously animals CAN sense these things, but it was unknown to us whether it was scent, sound or other effects.
We begin working on what we did know. The skills needed from a ghost hunting dog would be a) ability to work independently and as a team. He would be a partner, not a subject while working and needed to have the confidence that his response would be respected and never punished b) the ability to tell us in some form he had sensed something c) the confidence to try in almost any circumstance and d) the sound training that would allow him to work quietly, safely and not hinder our work or results.
>We begin by identifying certain ?no no? traits. The first was that in order to ?tell? us he had found something, he needed to do something. In his tracking and ?hide and seek? practice we began asking him to sit and watch when appropriate when he had found something. Such as?we would ?hide? a treat, allow him to ?go find? and when he arrived at the item he was to sit on or at it and wait. He was NOT to pick it up or bark. Obviously he can?t pick up a ghost and bring it back so this behavior is useless. We did not want the noise of barking for the simple reason that it would disturb equipment and sound recordings. So when he found an item and sat to alert us to it, he was lavishly rewarded with praise, treats and possession of the item we were ?hiding?. When he responded otherwise he was ignored and the item removed (this prevented him from ever feeling punished for his willingness to react, while enforcing that only the correct response would gain him praise and goodies). This was primarily coached as ?games? so that he would find them fun and look forward to each time we went out.
The next thing to work on was from where he would work. We chose to have him work either a) at the handler's side or b) from a wait (i.e. left on a stay or wait command in a room for instance). The reasons for this were that it would be impractical, and again interfere with data collection to have a loose animal. In the event someone outside our group approached or there were property caretakers involved a loose dog (especially a large one) is not going to be very acceptable. Therefore he would not be likely to work loose at any time. Instead he remains at his handlers side (or a little behind or in front, depending on the surroundings) and once told to work he lets us know something happens by sitting promptly and watching the direction he sensed the activity to allow us to point equipment or go to that area. Often, this alert is subtle and accompanied by his pushing or nudging the handler's hand. A case where a handler has to be alert to his dog! In many cases outside observers don't realize it's happening unless it's pointed out to them. On the occasions we have worked from a wait, it has been in small controlled areas and so far has been less successful than working from the side. Possibly that is simply because of the circumstances this command has been worked in and the fact it has been done so little.
His basic obedience continued to advance to include the moving stay (left on a stay command while the handler continues to move), the drop on recall (dropping into a down position on command while coming towards the handler), the send commands (sent out away from his handler on command), the retrieves on command, and other smaller but important lessons.It is important to note that in many cases these advance commands were NOT new commands, but simply higher understandings of old commands (i.e. the drop on recall ? an advance combining of come and down). While these commands may not always directly affect an investigation where he is working, they have provided him with a ?college? degree if you will, as well as being extraordinarily easy to handle since he can be told to these things if needed. We begin to work on ?hide and seek? where he watched a person hide and then went to find them...this was done with treats and toys as well. As he begins to catch on and enjoy this easy game, the stakes were raised a little at a time (such as the person going further, or hiding while he couldn?t see them do it).This, although not formally used, has fostered his sense of reasoning, thinking and independence when needed. The ?look? feature in these games directly corresponded to the "look" feature in ghost hunting, if you will.
At this point we knew he was stable, solid and able to work in the field. He knew how to tell us he found something. He knew how to work at a handler?s side for hours without disturbing the data collections. He was happy and enjoyed his working, and could reliably be left in an "off work" position (free heeling, down stay, etc.) for extended periods if his handler needed to be free to do other things, or he simply needed a break. We were then faced with working out exactly what triggered a dog to react to paranormal activity. Again, we were working completely from scratch on this.
We started by working out what it probably wasn?t. Seeing a ghost was not likely, simply because of limited sight and the fact the most paranormal activity doesn?t ?appear? in this fashion anyway. Sound was possible. Scent was possible, but again did seem as if it would be frequent enough to really work. Temperature drops were possible (and we may yet work teaching a dog to work just from that), but again not always occurring and also because they were usually very small areas and sometimes moving they may be too far away for the dog to identify. The other possibilities included electromagnetic and or electrostatic field changes?too slight for a human and needing sensors to determine, it did seem possible a dog could feel them. It also works in line with the fact animals can sense strong weather pattern changes. We were also faced that even if we know what the absolute trigger was, we were unlikely to be able to consistent reproduce it allowing for exact training (such as with a drug tracking dog). The likelihood of electromagnetic affects on the dog being the trigger is becoming more possible as we continue our work, however we are left with the fact we can't reproduce it correctly and consistently for training.
So now having an idea what it wasn?t, we had to turn the tables and learn from our prodigy. Abe was taken out in the field (at times and places where we knew activity occurred) and went out with his handler and told we were ready to work. At this point he knew from previous training and games that we were expecting him to look for something, only he didn?t know what. To begin with at any time if he alerted he was rewarded, reinforcing that this is what we wanted. As time went on, we begin to see some pattern in his alerts and were able to filter out the ?negative? alerts and ignore them. (For instance if he alerted to another investigator making a noise) Any alert that was even possibly positive was rewarded. It is at this point we are working today. Right now we strongly feel that he is reacting to the electromagnetic/electrostatic changes associated with paranormal phenomenon. This conclusion is far from final, but so far is fitting best with what we know about canine behavior, paranormal activity and our results working with him. Currently about 70-80% of the time he alerts he is accurate?about 90% he has been accurate counting undocumented results or psi sensitive persons confirming his reaction. In only one situation did he completely refuse to work?this was in a home with enormous activity and rather nasty feeling vibes. This is the one and only time I have seen him ?fold? and refuse to do anything but leave the area. This kind of fear reaction is extremely rare and rather than force the issue and possibly ruin him as well as it being inhumane (we would never ever ask a scared person to remain either) we removed him from the area immediately. As for his misses (Not alerting during activity) this does occur also and we are working with the theory that - at least in most instances - the stimuli either a) does not occur at that time or b) occurs too far away for him to pick up.
It is hard to fully describe the level of work a dog and handler can do. The partnership dynamics truly come in to play much like the difference between a horseback rider and a Grand Prix level dressage rider. Simple things like the fact he understands ?thank you? and ?shhh? are not from formal training, but simply his long time partnership with one person. We have begun working with a second dog, and are working with the possibility that if it is electromagnetic disturbances that are the trigger, it may be possible to recreate such disturbances to some degree and use them for training purposes. It will be as much as another year working with our second and third dogs, and yet possible they will wash out of training as they reach advanced work.
It is worthwhile to note that it isn?t particularly advisable to take the average pet dog to an investigation. Many reasons make this impractical, useless and even detrimental. First, if this is an investigation where you are seriously gathering data you wish to be considered, the average dog is going to interfere, whether through sounds, disobedience or simply having to keep up with him. Remember that the entire time one of our dogs is working he is attached to a handler by a 6-foot leash, and that handler isn?t doing much else. Also, an untrained dog is a liability in that he may or may not listen, may or may not appreciate meeting strangers and may or may not even feel anything. And if he does, how will you know when and where it happened? Sometimes you will get great results, sometimes it'll be a disaster. It also means you must be fully responsible for your dog?that means you better remember to bring a plastic bag in case you need to clean up after him. Yucky but true. From just the outline above it should be obvious that the dogs we choose train for extended periods of time?Abe is now 6 years old and still learning. He trained for 9 months to obtain the basic obedience levels, and has trained for several years at advance levels. He is part of our family and he learns interacting with us daily. We don?t simply let him in from the yard and expect him to work. Because we know more now than when we started, the training time for future dogs will be shorter, but not by much. Each dog learns differently and must be bomb proof when it comes to working with and responding to his handler. While every dog has the potential, not every dog can work through the training needed to become a truly useful member of a team.
We are still learning. It will most likely be some time before we can confidently say we can suitably train a dog as a an actual ghost sighting dog from start to finish. The experience has been at times, frustrating but more often rewarding and an incredible learning experience for us. We look forward to continuing with Abe and other dogs.
Source: http://www.hauntednc.com/7learn_dog2.html
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